r/worldbuilding's Official Prompts #1!

[u/Pyrsin7]

I used to do these a while ago. and unfortunately life got me pretty busy and I wasn't able to keep it up. But they were a lot of fun, and I've really been wanting to come back to them!

With these we hope to get you to consider elements and avenues of thought that you've never pursued before. We also hope to highlight some users, as we'll be selecting two responses-- One of our choice, and the comment that receives the most upvotes, to showcase next time!

This post will be put into "contest mode", meaning comment order will be randomized for all visitors, and scores will only be visible to mods.

If you've got any other questions or comments, feel free to ask in the comments!

But with that, on to the prompt! This one is a suggestion left over from last time, submitted by u/Homicidal_Harry:

• What is the nature of Gods in your setting?

• Are they creators of the universe that predate time itself, or just very powerful beings perceived as gods?

• Are your deities a pantheon of immortals in the image of man like Greek gods, or vast, indescribable, otherworldly entities too great for mortal minds to comprehend?

• How often do they interact with the mortal world? If they do, what stakes do they have in the events of your setting?

• Can your gods die? If so, explain how the consequences that would follow.

• Do your gods even exist in your setting? Even if they don't, how would the people of your setting answer these questions?

If you have any suggestions for prompts of your own, feel free to submit them here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf9ulojVGbsHswXEiQbt9zwMLdWY4tg6FpK0r4qMXePFpfTdA/viewform?usp=sf_link

[u/RegionHistorical6428]

• What is the nature of Gods in your setting?

There are two types of gods: Greater Deities and Lesser Deities. Greater Deities include Outer Gods and Conceptuals, smaller groups among two branches of gods, while Lesser Deities include Angels, Demons, and Great Old Ones, larger groups among three branches of gods.

• Are they creators of the universe that predate time itself, or just very powerful beings perceived as gods?

The latter, though some of them predate some worlds. There were two greater dimensions that came before two lesser dimensions, and the Outer Gods and Conceptuals were the first creatures to populate the greater dimensions, making them a lot older than other species.

• Are your deities a pantheon of immortals in the image of man like Greek gods, or vast, indescribable, otherworldly entities too great for mortal minds to comprehend?

Lesser Deities are more of the former while Greater Deities are more of the latter. Angels, Demons, and Great Old Ones are powerful, but their power has limits. Conceptuals and Great Old Ones are incomprehensible.

• How often do they interact with the mortal world? If they do, what stakes do they have in the events of your setting?

There are four dimensions: Infernius (where Demons come from), Eldron (where Great Old Ones/Outer Gods come from), Haloes (where Angels/Conceptuals come from), and Mortalus (which is basically just a normal world). Multiple versions of Mortalus exist in certain planes within Haloes, but everything that exists there in the way of something that's actually mortal is just a puppet show for the Conceptuals.

Instances of these gods breaching/trying to breach Mortalus are very common, but mostly among Lesser Deities since the Conceptuals never want to leave Haloes and most of the Outer Gods don't care about anything that happens outside of their world (also either of them exiting their realms would cause levels of destruction akin to a dimension-wide black hole).

As for why: Demons have a hierarchy based on souls collected; they like to interfere with Mortals to claim their souls and become more respected. Angels are there to do the same thing but for different reasons; they're loyal to the Conceptuals who have what is basically a scary version of heaven where they rule over any souls they collect. Then there are Great Old Ones who do the same thing as either of those, but instead of claiming dominion over the souls, they just harness the energy from them to increase their own power.

In addition to trying to claim souls, they sometimes just try to enter Mortalus and use their power to claim dominion there. It doesn't happen very much within short spans of time since the process for traveling between Dimensions is complicated, but it's a very common plan.

• Can your gods die? If so, explain how the consequences that would follow.

The process is mostly just like a human dying. Nothing really happens. It's only Outer Gods and Conceptuals that are completely unable to stop existing, but Great Old Ones, Demons, and Angels are killed all the time.

• Do your gods even exist in your setting? Even if they don't, how would the people of your setting answer these questions?

Yes. They exist and all of my people know about them. A majority of them see having anything to do with them as shameful.