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/UndeadBBQ]

Karamoria - A DnD setting.

What is the nature of Gods in your setting?

They are chosen successors of the old gods, that came into power after a "cyclic" event. That means an apocalyptic event that requires a "reset" of the cosmos for it to continue to function. For this reset to work, the gods - synonymous with the cosmos itself - need to die. However, leaving their powers with a mortal can save their creation from total annihilation. Often the world just continues as it was before the event, with miniscule changes in it that prevent it from happening.

In this cycle, devils, demons and the Shadowfell have been brought into an alliance. Instead of fighting each other in the Blood War, they streamed out into the Material Plane and ravaged it. During the very last battle of the cosmos, the heroes were able to strike down a pretender to the title of "god of all", and inherited the cosmos to do with as they please.

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

They are the cosmos. They neither predate it, nor are they born in it. They are (meta-)physical manifestations of it. There are only 5 such beings (currently), yet hundreds of others are perceived as "gods". These are often only agents of the five, or singular entities capable of incredible feats. These are also the ones most likely to actually interact with the mortal realm.

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?

Mortals put them into pantheons, and weave stories about them and their holy deeds. If the gods entertain this categorization often depends on the individual god. Their true form is infinite and infinitely varied, forever changing the cosmos, and the cosmos changing them. They are beyond comprehension of mortals (with some singular individuals amongst the trillions and trillions of inhabitants in the cosmos who get a good idea about it, often due to them enhancing their understanding with magic).

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

The Five interact with mortals on extremely rare occasions. Caravera, the god of Death / the Cycle, is obviously the one interacting with each and every single mortal at least once. The next one comes down every hundred years or so when he spots an (one) individual with great potential (amongst the trillions and trillions). Peladriel, the Southern Star, is the god of knowledge and wisdom. All in all a very chill dude, who genuinely loves mortals, and wants to cheer the especially talented ones on to do good in the world they inhabit. The Trifecta Alune, the trinity of honour, justice and righteous wrath, as well as Levi, Goddess of Liberty, are at best passively interacting with mortals, via signs and cryptic answers to prayers. Mara, goddess of nature, is completely silent, only ever communicating via her agents, if at all. Nature just is, it needs no intervention.

The stakes of the gods are often scaled-up versions of who they were in their mortal lifes. The Trifecta Alune was a Paladin of the old God of the Cycle, bound by honour to a degree that even Death shied away from taking her. Humble, even in her divine existence, she raised the souls of two companions up into these heights, splitting the goddess into three. Peladriel was a drug-addicted druid, unsure of his place in the world, who came to cherish knwoledge and wisdom, becoming an archdruid and eventually the archdruid. He is known for being merciful, patient and for being a bit of a goofball, always in the mood for some tomfoolery.

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

Individually, gods can die and would be absorbed by the other gods. It requires an apocalyptic amount of energy, and is often accompanied by horrid atrocities committed. You don't kill a god by sticking a sword into them. You kill them with rage, and despair, sadness and apathy. They must stop to care about the cosmos, for it/them to die. Some who endeavoured to destroy the gods did so by turning worlds against them. Some die due to mourning (as the last Goddess of Death did). Once that happens, the beginning of another Cycle is on the proverbial horizon. Cataclysm across the cosmos, as the essence of the gods lose their shine. Destructive forces become greater - representations of a god's anger and hatred that they are.

What can't happen, is a discontinuation of the cycle. If no successors are found, some will either take their power, or even just happen upon it. Sometimes this creates a cosmos dead on arrival, sometimes it creates one that has no direction at all.

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 do, but for most mortals that's neither here nor there. They obviously see with their own eyes when clerics cast magic via prayer, so something has to be out there. That, even the greatest sceptics agree on. The human over an ant-hill metaphor comes to mind, just that in this case, five humans oversee an entire forest full of ant-hills. They interact with just the tiniest percentage of ants, and most of the time the ant isn't even aware of it. There are world with 0 interventions, that know the gods only by the effects of worship. Some worlds (mostly the ones where the gods originated) know them as close observers.

Just like this, the answers would vary by world, by nation, by culture, even city to city. The culture of the Wäger, chosen people of the God of Death, have entirely different stories than the archmages of Peladriel, or the Assassins of the Levicasta - a cabal of tyrant killers.