Divine Rules
General concepts & mechanics
Things that apply to gods in general.
What makes a god
Three things: a divine spark, a portfolio, and a power source.
The divine spark
That ineffable "essence" of godhood. In some ways, this can be thought of as the divine analogue of a mortal's soul. Like a soul, it's generated when a god is born, whether from a divine union or some other divine origin. The spark is necessary for a god's existence. The analogy can't be stretched too far, however; unlike a soul, a divine spark does not travel to any afterlife at a god's death, nor can it be extracted and stored in an inanimate holding device, or separated from a god while he lives. In fact, the divine spark is the reason a deity cannot be killed by non-deific beings or mortal magic; in this capacity it's analogous to a lich's phylactery. If a god "dies" to mortal magic or mortal weapons, the god's divine spark is what allows that god to regenerate.1 Unlike a phylactery, a god's divine spark, as a part of his being, cannot be attacked or targeted.
1 A quasi-deity (divine rank 0) is a being who is not a god in its own right, but possesses a divine spark. Such a being is capable of permanently killing full gods (assuming the combat capacity to do so, which is unlikely), but can be killed by mortals (same assumption). Quasi-deities do not have portfolios or planar domains. For example, after the awakening of Thrym?, all frost giants regained their ancient power and became quasi-deities.
The portfolio
The god's "domain", in the sense of the aspect of mortal life or reality in general that the god is associated with. A god both exercises power over, and draws power from, things that are part of his portfolio. For example, a god of fertility and agriculture might have special powers related to sexuality, childbirth, planting, harvesting, etc.; and in the opposite direction, said god would derive power and influence from his name being invoked in the context of those activities. (The mechanism is rather more nuanced than this, but that's the overall gist.)
A god's portfolio is more than a concept; it is essentially the link between the god and his power source (usually worshippers; see below), and is partially linked to locations in the multiverse. For instance, the portfolios of the Norse deities are inextricably linked with Asgard?, and the fortress of Valhalla specifically. The Heart of the Sun, Svarog?'s planar domain, is the seat of Svarog's portfolio (fire, the forge, the sun). The Serpent Throne in the Other World, at the base of the World Tree, is where Volos's portfolio (death, the earth, wealth, trade, the underworld) is anchored. It is through that location that Volos receives the power that he draws from his worshippers and the souls that he rules over in death. It is not by coincidence that most gods are at their most powerful when encountered in their planar domains.
The power source
Usually, gods draw their power from worship by mortals. Gods also derive power from souls that reside in the afterlife associated with the god in question. (For this reason, souls that have passed on to their rightful afterlife eventually, over the course of generations or centuries, fade and merge with the essence of the plane on which they reside, slowly absorbed by whatever deific being rules there.)
Drawing power from worship is a complex affair. For example, Volos gains a bit of power when a merchant invokes his name to ask for luck in a business deal, but more power if that merchant visits a shrine and makes an offering, and so forth. For some deities, the very existence or prevalence of things or activities encompassed by their portfolio gives them power. For example, Bataraz, Cherkess god of martial prowess and valor in battle, gains a bit power whenever a Cherkess warrior defeats an enemy in combat, even if his name is not invoked. In still other cases, a deity's power fluctuates by time of day (Svarog? is strongest during the day, Chernobog? at night) or time of year (when the winter blizzards come, Stribog?'s influence is at its highest). (In mechanical terms, these fluctuations are reflected in effective divine rank, or access to certain powers and salient divine abilities.)
Deific succession, and other roster changes
When a god dies, several things take place.
If a god is killed by another god, the deceased god's divine spark is snuffed out forever (unless the killer god chooses otherwise — that is, chooses to hold back his divine power from the attack, rendering it equivalent to mortal magic/weaponry). If a god is killed by a mortal — in the rare case where a mortal has gained access to divine magic or weaponry* — the deceased god's divine spark passes to that mortal. Most mortals are destroyed by this (utterly, body and soul), and the divine spark dissipates as well.
The death of a god usually leaves a great deal of "unclaimed" divine power, hanging around the planar domain or location to which that god's portfolio is linked. Sometimes, the god's portfolio and domain are claimed by another god, usually in addition to the new god's own. In such a case, the new god gets all the remaining and future divine power belonging to the deceased god's.
If the deceased god's divine power, portfolio, and planar domain remain unclaimed, he may still continue to be worshipped after his death. In such a case, power from worship and the souls of the faithful dead continue to pour into the god's planar domain. In any case, after a god stops being worshipped, his remaining, unclaimed divine power eventually dissipates.
Divine progression rules
Advancing through the divine ranks.
http://br.sabindeus.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=109
In addition to the material set forth at the above link, the following guidelines dictate the way in which an ascended mortal might rise in divine rank and gain greater deific power.
Followers
Gods need followers. It is from mortal worship — the invoking of a god's name, sacrifices made and deeds done in his name, and things existing and happening with which mortals associate a god — that deities get their power. These many and varied factors affect a god's divine standing in subtle ways, but at the lower reaches of divine power — those occupied by demigods and hero-gods — it's the number of worshippers which has the most direct and immediate impact. The numbers on the following table are rough guidelines only, but should give an idea of the scale of influence required for ascension through the divine ranks:
| Divine rank | Followers required |
|---|---|
| 1 | 1,000 |
| 2 | 2,000 |
| 3 | 3,000 |
| 4 | 5,000 |
| 5 | 8,000 |
| 6 | 13,000 |
| 7 | 20,000 |
| 8 | 32,000 |
| 9 | 50,000 |
| 10 | 80,000 |
| 11 | 130,000 |
| 12 | 200,000 |
| 13 | 300,000 |
| 14 | 500,000 |
| 15 | 800,000 |
| 16 | 1,300,000 |
| 17 | 2,000,000 |
| 18 | 3,000,000 |
| 19 | 5,000,000 |
| 20 | 8,000,000 |
Deeds
To advance in ranks, in addition to worshippers, you need deeds: heroic and epic acts, accomplishments, etc. Defeating mighty enemies, working great works (of either a magic or non-magic sort), overcoming insurmountable challenges, going on great quests (of a sort as mortals would not even think possible); these are the sorts of things which form the basis of myths and legends, and are required in order to rise in the estimation of mortals (and thus, attain greater divine rank).
Nikolai-specific things
Edited chat log excerpts:
Obormot\Gaia: So, while sitting on the throne, you can see all things that happen everywhere in the universe Obormot\Gaia: That's the general idea Obormot\Gaia: The specific mechanics are that, currently, you can see ANY thing that happens ANYwhere in the universe Obormot\Gaia: So currently you can see A thing Obormot\Gaia: Somewhere Obormot\Gaia: Any place of your choice! Obormot\Gaia: The range of your vision is fairly short Obormot\Gaia: As you gain divine rank (should that happen)... Obormot\Gaia: It'll expand Obormot\Gaia: So for instance Obormot\Gaia: Currently Obormot\Gaia: You could look at Obormot\Gaia: An aerial view of Novgorod Obormot\Gaia: Google Earth style Obormot\Gaia: Or you could look at Obormot\Gaia: The dining room in Lev Gurov's house Obormot\Gaia: When your divine rank is like, a lot Obormot\Gaia: You'll instead be able to be like Obormot\Gaia: I am looking simultaneously at all points in Midgard, at the same resolution as if I were standing right there, and able to pay attention to them all simultaneously Obormot\Gaia: Between DvR a little and DvR a lot, your ability to make use of the throne's omniscience power will gradually progress from the former to the latter Obormot\Gaia: Restrictions and caveats: Obormot\Gaia: 1. Your perceptions are still limited by your still-largely-human mind's ability to process what you see Obormot\Gaia: That's resolved mostly with Spot checks Obormot\Gaia: So for instance Obormot\Gaia: If you're like Obormot\Gaia: I scan through the entirety of Chernovsky's cube, by viewing one corridor, and then 0.01 seconds later the next corridor, etc. Obormot\Gaia: I'd be like Obormot\Gaia: Well roll me some Spot checks Obormot\Gaia: DC: a bunch Obormot\Gaia: So that's one thing Sabin: magical bonuses to spot checks count? Obormot\Gaia: Sure, it's just a spot check Sabin: good Obormot\Gaia: Not like, a super special awesome crazy unusual spot check Obormot\Gaia: The only things that don't count Obormot\Gaia: Are things that come from anything that straight up physically enhances your vision Obormot\Gaia: Like if you were to wear glasses Obormot\Gaia: That does nothing for you because it's not your eyes that are in question Obormot\Gaia: Likewise Obormot\Gaia: Shifting into eagle form won't help you Sabin: right so Sabin: things that grant bonuses to spot checks Sabin: only work if they are like Sabin: not competence bonuses? Sabin: or racial Obormot\Gaia: No, competence I believe should generally work Obormot\Gaia: Racial won't, right Obormot\Gaia: Circumstance... is what will tend not to work Obormot\Gaia: Those are usually from make-your-eyes-better sorts of stuff Obormot\Gaia: Case by case basis, you know? The rule should be fairly straightforward, I think Obormot\Gaia: Anyway, couple other restrictions Obormot\Gaia: 2. Magical protections against scrying can stop you! Obormot\Gaia: But Obormot\Gaia: Any kind of spell which is like Obormot\Gaia: This makes you immune to scrying! Obormot\Gaia: You get a check to overcome Obormot\Gaia: The check is a level + DvR check Obormot\Gaia: Against 11+CL Obormot\Gaia: One-time check... probably... maybe once per some time Obormot\Gaia: But not like, once per Spot check or once per sitting down in the chair or anything Obormot\Gaia: Finally, the third thing which isn't a restriction so much as a pre-emptive clarification Obormot\Gaia: 3. This functions more like Clairvoyance than like Scrying, by which I mean that you can't be like "I want to look at Bob, wherever he happens to be" Obormot\Gaia: You gotta be like Obormot\Gaia: I want to look at place X (specified geographically/cosmographically/similar) Obormot\Gaia: So Obormot\Gaia: Questions so far? mrcab: what if Bob mentioned the name "Nikolai", and Nikolai was therefore allowed to know where he was or some such Obormot\Gaia: What Jay says is quite true Obormot\Gaia: That is of course unrelated to the omniscience chair Obormot\Gaia: Just an innate property of being The New Odin Sabin: which of course you will not need me to remind you of Sabin: because that wouldn't make any sense for me to do preemptively mrcab: I'm more getting at the ability to use them in conjunction with each other while forgetting exactly how the other one works Obormot\Gaia: Remind me of? Naturally, remind me of all things regularly Obormot\Gaia: "Hey Sandy, is anyone talking about me" Obormot\Gaia: "You'd tell me if someone was talking about me, right" Obormot\Gaia: "Are they saying good things" Obormot\Gaia: "They're not saying I suck, are they" Sabin: :| Sabin: that's going to get annoying for both of us Obormot\Gaia: Yeah I mean Obormot\Gaia: I'll try Obormot\Gaia: I can honestly say that I can't guarantee I'll remember this at all times Obormot\Gaia: If you remind me once a session, that might be in your best interest, I guess? Sabin: ... ok.... Sabin: I have a question Sabin: For effects that alert you when you're being scried upon, does the chair of omniscience count? Obormot\Gaia: Like Obormot\Gaia: Detect Scrying and such? Sabin: yes Obormot\Gaia: Gonna go with... opposed CL vs. HD+DvR checks to determine whether yes Obormot\Gaia: I think we can now answer all of the "locate <thing>" questions in one fell swoop Obormot\Gaia: The answer being that you can look at places and see what's there Obormot\Gaia: So the way I suggest we handle all of these searchings Obormot\Gaia: Is that you can be like Obormot\Gaia: I want to look everywhere in <some reasonable description/specification of an area/volume/locale> Obormot\Gaia: And I'll be like Obormot\Gaia: Well let me calculate how long that'll take and how many Spot checks I'll need Obormot\Gaia: Basically, this sort of thing will be done in the aggregate
Local divinity
Are gods portable?
In other words: is a god still a god, no matter where he goes? Yes and no.
Consider first the gods of mortals: from Svarog or Zeus or Ra, to the most minor sort of deity that might be worshipped by a small tribe somewhere. From mortals they get their power; and to the world of mortals they are linked and bound. Their divinity, and their ability to affect the world, is inextricable from mortal worship, mortal life and death (and afterlife), and mortal concerns. Ironically, the least powerful among the divine ranks — known variously as demigods or hero-gods, who are usually ascended mortals — are the most free, and can travel across the multiverse, to realms distant from their home cosmologies2, with only a token diminishment of power (at least in the short term). Gods above them — who have come to so fully represent the ideas with which they are identified that they themselves are more concept than entity — cannot leave the regions in which their power resides without being greatly diminished. Certain deities, who are more closely linked to natural forces, may be unable to leave their home realms at all.
2 For the Norse or Slavic cultures and the deities worshipped there, this refers to the Nine Worlds. A similar, partially-overlapping set of realms fulfills this role for other human deities, such as those of the Olympian or Pharaonic pantheons (in principle, that is; both pantheons are long defunct in the time period when Beyond Ragnarok takes place).
Go elsewhere in the multiverse, however, and you might hear of another sort of being: distant from the concerns of mortals, wielding powers rivaling many gods, worshipped by the denizens of the plane on which they reside... are they gods, these entities? And are they portable? The Elemental Princes of Evil, for example, fall into this category, and archdevils also. Such beings reside on planes that belong to no "local" cosmology; they are not worshipped by mortals (and rarely concern themselves much with mortal affairs). They have nothing like a divine spark; instead, their divinity is linked inextricably with their home realm — they are, in some strange sense, manifestations of its nature. They cannot be simply killed in combat on their home plane; neither can they truly leave it. (Though it may be possible to summon their physical form to other realms, and even destroy it; but such death is never permanent.) Such "gods" (though they are almost never thought of in this way on their home plane) have great power in their home planes, but almost none that can reach to other realms.