Deities and VOP [Archive] - Wizards Community

Deities and VOP [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
arntof
12-07-05, 11:56 AM Can a Deity gain the Vow of Poverty(or any other vow, for that matter)?
Objulen
12-07-05, 09:45 PM There's nothing stopping any diety from gaining Exalted feats, though VoP might be difficult for a diety to use who rules anything without heavy modificaiton.

It would also be a good idea to extend VoP, and possibly other exalted feats into the divine range, since they are designed for non-epic characters.
Aurotuli
12-09-05, 07:54 PM I actually created a modified / more potent VoP for Deities, but I removed most of the deities non-Salient traits. They gain most of their non-Salient traits / abilities from their VoP approximate, which I renamed Divine Essense.

The children of deities and mortals have the divine essense, but because they are so lacking in level it doesn't equate to anywhere near as much power. Deities, after all, typically have 40+ levels, while mortals rarely have more than 10. Even if these semi-divine children reach 20th level they will not have the potency of a typical minor deity, yet.

Anyway, I basically took the VoP apart, redistributed its abilities so as to make them indefinately expandable (ie: every x levels increase ability y by z amount). There were three columns as I recall, each with a different group of abilities (AC modifiers, attack / damage modifiers, and various specials). If you want I can email it to you or post it, although unless you intend to remake all of your deities with this trait I doubt it will help you much.
arntof
12-10-05, 07:01 PM Yes, please post your labours, aurotuli. Even if it isn`t totally suitable it will probably give nice pointers :)
Aurotuli
12-11-05, 11:18 PM Okay, it took a while to find my notes (they were handwritten, and as an encounter with a deity has not occured in more than a year, well . . .), but here it is. Initially I created this for a good deity of the Sun, but it can readily be modified for other ALs and other (primary) domains. The various notes would take a while to write up and properly arrange, and most of it is self-explanatory, so for now I'll just post this with a few brief notes where I think it might be necessary.

Note, incidentally, that (1) I use a modified version of epic rules, such that bab, saves, etc continue as normal, (2) I have only had a couple low epic games, ever, (3) encounters with deities are rare, but encounters with much lower level beings that have a touch of divinity are (only slightly) more common, (4) no deity has outsider HD - only class HD with the below template added upon it, and (5) I grant deities class levels equal to 40 + (5 * indep dvn rank) + (3 * dep dvn ranks). Thus, a deity with 5 independent divine ranks and 5 dependent divine ranks would have 80 levels. And the below continues to expand indefinately.

My purpose in creating this was twofold:
- To increase the power of deities notably. Epic characters shouldn't consider even the least of deities fair game.
- To create a pattern that could be expanded indefinately (for truly phenomenal deities) or constrainted significantly (for mortal children of the divine that have only a minute trace of the divine essense). Its a template, not a class.

01 AC (natural) +4 Divine Guidance Aura of Good (constant)
02 Endure Elements Divine Assistance Bonus Feat
03 AC (deflection) +1 Sustenance Lay on Hands
04 AC (natural) +5 Divine Strike +1 (magic) Tongues (constant)
05 Resistance +1 DR 5 / magic Bonus Feat
06 AC (insight) +1 Ability +2 Freedom of Movement (constant)
07 AC (natural) +6 Greater Sustenance Protection from Evil (constant)
08 Energy Resistance 5 Divine Strike +2 (good) Bonus Feat
09 AC (deflection) +2 DR 10 / evil or magic Nimbus (constant)
10 AC (natural) +7 Ability +4 Mindshield (constant)
11 Resistance +2 Perfect Sustenance Bonus Feat
12 AC (insight) +2 Divine Strike +3 (lssr mtls) Gentle Step / Fall at will
13 AC (natural) +8 DR 10 / evil & magic Divine Soul
14 Energy Resistance 10 Ability +6/+2 Bonus Feat
15 AC (deflection) +3 Perfect Health Inner Light (constant)
16 AC (natural) +9 Divine Strike +4 (ethical AL) Telepathy at will
17 Resistance +3 DR 15 / evil & magic Bonus Feat
18 AC (insight) +3 Ability +8/+4 Divine Mobility (wings, etc)
19 AC (natural) +10 Regeneration Consecrated Aura
20 Energy Resistance 15 Divine Strike +5 (grtr mtls) Bonus Feat
21 AC (deflection) +4 DR 15 / epic & evil Light of the Sun (constant)
22 AC (natural) +11 Ability +10/+6/+2 True Seeing (constant)
23 Resistance +4 Fast Healing +1 Bonus Feat
24 AC (insight) +4 Divine Strike +6 (epic) Ethereal / Dim. Door at will
25 AC (natural) +12 DR 20 / epic & evil Magic Circle Against Evil (constant)
26 Energy Resistance 20* Ability +12/+8/+4 Bonus Feat
27 AC (deflection) +5 Fast Healing +2 Positive Energy Aura (constant)
28 AC (natural) +13 Divine Strike +7 (+dev crit) Divine Senses (constant)
29 Resistance +5 DR 20 / epic & vile Bonus Feat
30 AC (insight) +5 Ability +14/+10/+6/+2 Greater Teleport at will
31 AC (natural) +14 Fast Healing +3 Holy Aura (constant)
32 Energy Resistance 25* Divine Strike +8 (+holy powr) Bonus Feat
33 AC (deflection) +6 DR 25 / epic & vile Healing Aura (constant)
34 AC (natural) +15 Ability +16/+12/+8/+4 C/Scry - ignore distances w/n planes
35 Resistance +6 Fast Healing +4 Bonus Feat
36 AC (insight) +6 Divine Strike +9 (+evildread) Plane Shift at will
37 AC (natural) +16 DR 30 / epic & vile Divine Aura (constant)
38 Energy Resistance 30* Ability +18/+14/+10/+6/+2 Bonus Feat
39 AC (deflection) +7 Fast Healing +5 Fiend Turning Aura (constant)
40 AC (natural) +17 Divine Strike +10 (+dth/enms) C/Scry - ingore planar boundaries
41 (( Apotheosis ))

AC (natural) +4 (I chose natural first (rather than insight) due to natural being more readily bypassed. And deities are not necessarily insightful)

Divine Guidance (this is intended to represent their intuition, hunches, etc. Or, if a child of a diety, a moment of reflection that allows them to know if their divine parent would approve or disapprove of a contemplated action)

Aura of Good (this was created for a NG deity, but any deity would emanate an aura of their alignment)

Divine Assistance (grr, I can't recall what this was, and I didn't write it down as I expected myself to recall it; I think it involved aid to a certain types of skill checks based on level or divine rank or Cha or Wis or something like that; I'll see if I can recall it later)

Bonus Feat (as stated, any type, etc)

Sustenance (no need to eat, drink, sleep)

Lay on Hands (as normal, but can also either heal or cause damage; note that I use a version of Lay on Hands that can cure other ailments with more LoH points used; 8 pts, for instance, can cure blindness / deafness; 12 pts can cause blindness / deafness)

Divine Strike +1 (magic) (all weapons used (natural, mortal, divine, rays, etc) are treated as Enhanced +1 and magical)

Resistance +1 (to all saves)

Ability +2 (+2 increase to a single ability, should be their primary one as it will be the most impacted)

Greater Sustenance (immune to fatigue, exhaustion, need for endurance checks)

Protection from Evil (constant) (can be changed, based on primary alignment)

Energy Resistance 5 (vs all energies; immune to none as yet)

Divine Strike +2 (good) (all attacks count as good (ie: primary AL), and have +2 enhancement)

Nimbus (can glow at will as per the exalted feat; alter for non-Sun deities)

Perfect Sustenance (no need to breathe, cannot suffocate, etc)

Divine Strike +3 (lesser metals) (+3 weapons, bypasses silver, cold iron based DR)

Gentle Step / Fall (continuous Walk on Water, Spider Climb, Feather Fall)

Divine Soul (SR equal to 20 + half HD + Cha (or Wis) + divine rank)

Ability +6/+2 (secondary ability chosen at this point)

Perfect Health (immune to poison, disease, sickened, etc)

Inner Light (increased power Nimbus, alter as necessary; also immune to energy drain, ability damage / drain, death attacks)

Divine Strike +4 (ethical AL) (bypass opposing secondary AL, or both if have neither)

Divine Mobility (wings, etc) (gains all movement types: burrow (1/4 speed), climb (base speed), fly (2x base speed, perfect), and swim (1,5x base speed); can grow the necessary wings, fins, etc if desired; may lessen this to just appropriate types: flight for air style deity, swim for stream / ocean deity, etc)

Regeneration (can regrow lost limbs (including head), can reattach recently lost ones, otherwise no different from Fast Healing +0)

Consecrated Aura (continuous, centered on self)

Divine Strike +5 (greater metals) (adamantium, etc, includes damage type DRs such as Piercing, Bludgeoning, etc)

Light of the Sun (glows as a daylight spell, but deals damage as if natural sunlight; alter as appropriate per deity)

Fast Healing +1 (as normal)

Divine Strike +6 (epic) (self explanatory)

Energy Resistance 20* (gains first energy immunity; it should reflect the nature of the deity (sun -> fire))

Positive Energy Aura (as per the epic feat)

Divine Strike +7 (+devest. crit) (gains Devestation Critical to all strikes)

Divine Senses (all senses are increased vastly, gain LLV (doubled if already had it), DV 120 ft (double if already had it), Scent, and Blindsense, as well as any senses that seem appropriate to the deity type (Tremorsense for earthen ones, Echolocation for Aerial ones, etc)

Holy Aura (constant, as the spell, centered on self)

Divine Strike +8 (+holy power) (gains the epic 'holy power' property to all attacks; alter to reflect AL or nature of deity)

Healing Aura (followers within aura can be healed as if by half deity's FH; perhaps alter to suit deity perhaps (plants growing in presense of nature deity, sweltering heat in presense of fire deity, etc, maybe not useable while using Pos Energy Aura or Fiend Turning Aura - or maybe yes, as if a minor Pos Energy Plane effect is present, but worshippers do not increase beyond normal maximum hp, maybe); can use Lay on Hands to any within aura range, even if not touching them.

Divine Strike +9 (evildread) (the Dread Property affects all attacks, dealing damage to those of opposed primary AL; could alter this for specific enemy types for some deities, perhaps - undeaddread, for instance, or evil outsider dread, etc, maybe should increase this per four levels (as previous), adding new enemy each time?

Divine Aura (the various types described in the DDG, now available, limited to Holy Aura / Pos Energy Aura / etc range until Apotheosis)

Ability +18/+14/+10/+6/+2 (note that short of Apotheosis only five abilities have been enhanced - and one hardly at all, so low Wis / etc deities can exist)

Fiend Turning Auran (Planar Turning epic feat, continuous with Pos Energy Aura; maybe alter for elementals - fire elementals if a water deity, for instance)

Divine Strike +10 (dth/enemies) (the Death of Enemies affects all attacks, affecting foes and their followers, often based on religion (evil deity and its worshippers) or creature type (undead, fiends, aberrations, etc); cannot affect those of same primary AL, nor creatures not opposed by aura

Apotheosis (first divine rank gained, becomes a demi-deity rather than a quasi-deity / hero-deity. Note that as Divine Ranks affect many things (attacks, SR, etc) this effectively enhances many of what came before. Also, upon Apotheosis gain Divine Rank 1+ immunities. Prior immunities - which were not effective against divine sources, are now true against divine sources of lesser rank, or against those of equal rank if independent divine ranks outnumber their own. This is true for diseases, energy immunities, etc.

Also, some specials above are further enhanced by Apotheosis - such as Divine Senses (that now allow usage of sight, hearing, and other normal senses) for a range of one mile per dvn rnk. Also, the deity gains +Cha to all saves and AC (deflection), +Wis to AC (insight), +(Con * Dvn Rnk) to hp, and a few other boni upon apotheosis. Oh, and henceforth skill points can be gained retroactively for increased Int. Note that anything in the DDG that stated a number per type of deity (Lesser, Greater, etc) that had a maximum of 20 for Greater Deities instead grants +1 per Divine Rank.

Regeneration is enhanced such that attacks from mortal creatures with fewer HD than the deity cause non-leathal damage (as per normal regeneration). Most deities have a particular type of weapon or substance or both that can be ritually prepared to bypass this even when wielded by a mortal of fewer HD. An example may be a +# vile unholy power obsidian sickle crafted in a dark ritual involving a hundred human sacrifices (death and souls) over a single night on the darkest night of the year - or of the century, etc. (IE: Mortal beings may as well not attempt to combat a deity unless they nearly divine or have the direct aid of one or more deities.)
runestar
12-13-05, 06:52 AM Imagine that, a diety having to pray to another higher power for his powers.... :rolleyes:
Aurotuli
12-14-05, 12:34 PM If you are referring to my post, note that I stated that it was renamed 'Divine Essence'. It is no longer a Vow of anything, nor is it alignment (or extreme alignment) sensitive, and (as several of its specials state) it can be altered somewhat to better suit an alignment, a portfolio, an element, etc.

As for the VoP, it is not necessary to pray for it, according to the RAW. Anyone who - out of principle - acts in the spirit of exalted status is exalted, even if they are an atheist. Furthermore, the vows available to one due to exalted status do not - unless otherwise stated in their description - require pray to or even belief in a higher power.

So a deity can, in fact, be exalted and have exalted vows without praying to a higher ranking deity. (Although, for a 0 rank or 1 rank deity under the patronage of a much higher intermediate or greater deity this could be an interesting consideration.)

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
arntof 12-07-05, 11:56 AM	Can a Deity gain the Vow of Poverty(or any other vow, for that matter)?
Objulen 12-07-05, 09:45 PM	There's nothing stopping any diety from gaining Exalted feats, though VoP might be difficult for a diety to use who rules anything without heavy modificaiton. It would also be a good idea to extend VoP, and possibly other exalted feats into the divine range, since they are designed for non-epic characters.
Aurotuli 12-09-05, 07:54 PM	I actually created a modified / more potent VoP for Deities, but I removed most of the deities non-Salient traits. They gain most of their non-Salient traits / abilities from their VoP approximate, which I renamed Divine Essense. The children of deities and mortals have the divine essense, but because they are so lacking in level it doesn't equate to anywhere near as much power. Deities, after all, typically have 40+ levels, while mortals rarely have more than 10. Even if these semi-divine children reach 20th level they will not have the potency of a typical minor deity, yet. Anyway, I basically took the VoP apart, redistributed its abilities so as to make them indefinately expandable (ie: every x levels increase ability y by z amount). There were three columns as I recall, each with a different group of abilities (AC modifiers, attack / damage modifiers, and various specials). If you want I can email it to you or post it, although unless you intend to remake all of your deities with this trait I doubt it will help you much.
arntof 12-10-05, 07:01 PM	Yes, please post your labours, aurotuli. Even if it isn`t totally suitable it will probably give nice pointers :)
Aurotuli 12-11-05, 11:18 PM	Okay, it took a while to find my notes (they were handwritten, and as an encounter with a deity has not occured in more than a year, well . . .), but here it is. Initially I created this for a good deity of the Sun, but it can readily be modified for other ALs and other (primary) domains. The various notes would take a while to write up and properly arrange, and most of it is self-explanatory, so for now I'll just post this with a few brief notes where I think it might be necessary. Note, incidentally, that (1) I use a modified version of epic rules, such that bab, saves, etc continue as normal, (2) I have only had a couple low epic games, ever, (3) encounters with deities are rare, but encounters with much lower level beings that have a touch of divinity are (only slightly) more common, (4) no deity has outsider HD - only class HD with the below template added upon it, and (5) I grant deities class levels equal to 40 + (5 * indep dvn rank) + (3 * dep dvn ranks). Thus, a deity with 5 independent divine ranks and 5 dependent divine ranks would have 80 levels. And the below continues to expand indefinately. My purpose in creating this was twofold: - To increase the power of deities notably. Epic characters shouldn't consider even the least of deities fair game. - To create a pattern that could be expanded indefinately (for truly phenomenal deities) or constrainted significantly (for mortal children of the divine that have only a minute trace of the divine essense). Its a template, not a class. 01 AC (natural) +4 Divine Guidance Aura of Good (constant) 02 Endure Elements Divine Assistance Bonus Feat 03 AC (deflection) +1 Sustenance Lay on Hands 04 AC (natural) +5 Divine Strike +1 (magic) Tongues (constant) 05 Resistance +1 DR 5 / magic Bonus Feat 06 AC (insight) +1 Ability +2 Freedom of Movement (constant) 07 AC (natural) +6 Greater Sustenance Protection from Evil (constant) 08 Energy Resistance 5 Divine Strike +2 (good) Bonus Feat 09 AC (deflection) +2 DR 10 / evil or magic Nimbus (constant) 10 AC (natural) +7 Ability +4 Mindshield (constant) 11 Resistance +2 Perfect Sustenance Bonus Feat 12 AC (insight) +2 Divine Strike +3 (lssr mtls) Gentle Step / Fall at will 13 AC (natural) +8 DR 10 / evil & magic Divine Soul 14 Energy Resistance 10 Ability +6/+2 Bonus Feat 15 AC (deflection) +3 Perfect Health Inner Light (constant) 16 AC (natural) +9 Divine Strike +4 (ethical AL) Telepathy at will 17 Resistance +3 DR 15 / evil & magic Bonus Feat 18 AC (insight) +3 Ability +8/+4 Divine Mobility (wings, etc) 19 AC (natural) +10 Regeneration Consecrated Aura 20 Energy Resistance 15 Divine Strike +5 (grtr mtls) Bonus Feat 21 AC (deflection) +4 DR 15 / epic & evil Light of the Sun (constant) 22 AC (natural) +11 Ability +10/+6/+2 True Seeing (constant) 23 Resistance +4 Fast Healing +1 Bonus Feat 24 AC (insight) +4 Divine Strike +6 (epic) Ethereal / Dim. Door at will 25 AC (natural) +12 DR 20 / epic & evil Magic Circle Against Evil (constant) 26 Energy Resistance 20* Ability +12/+8/+4 Bonus Feat 27 AC (deflection) +5 Fast Healing +2 Positive Energy Aura (constant) 28 AC (natural) +13 Divine Strike +7 (+dev crit) Divine Senses (constant) 29 Resistance +5 DR 20 / epic & vile Bonus Feat 30 AC (insight) +5 Ability +14/+10/+6/+2 Greater Teleport at will 31 AC (natural) +14 Fast Healing +3 Holy Aura (constant) 32 Energy Resistance 25* Divine Strike +8 (+holy powr) Bonus Feat 33 AC (deflection) +6 DR 25 / epic & vile Healing Aura (constant) 34 AC (natural) +15 Ability +16/+12/+8/+4 C/Scry - ignore distances w/n planes 35 Resistance +6 Fast Healing +4 Bonus Feat 36 AC (insight) +6 Divine Strike +9 (+evildread) Plane Shift at will 37 AC (natural) +16 DR 30 / epic & vile Divine Aura (constant) 38 Energy Resistance 30* Ability +18/+14/+10/+6/+2 Bonus Feat 39 AC (deflection) +7 Fast Healing +5 Fiend Turning Aura (constant) 40 AC (natural) +17 Divine Strike +10 (+dth/enms) C/Scry - ingore planar boundaries 41 (( Apotheosis )) AC (natural) +4 (I chose natural first (rather than insight) due to natural being more readily bypassed. And deities are not necessarily insightful) Divine Guidance (this is intended to represent their intuition, hunches, etc. Or, if a child of a diety, a moment of reflection that allows them to know if their divine parent would approve or disapprove of a contemplated action) Aura of Good (this was created for a NG deity, but any deity would emanate an aura of their alignment) Divine Assistance (grr, I can't recall what this was, and I didn't write it down as I expected myself to recall it; I think it involved aid to a certain types of skill checks based on level or divine rank or Cha or Wis or something like that; I'll see if I can recall it later) Bonus Feat (as stated, any type, etc) Sustenance (no need to eat, drink, sleep) Lay on Hands (as normal, but can also either heal or cause damage; note that I use a version of Lay on Hands that can cure other ailments with more LoH points used; 8 pts, for instance, can cure blindness / deafness; 12 pts can cause blindness / deafness) Divine Strike +1 (magic) (all weapons used (natural, mortal, divine, rays, etc) are treated as Enhanced +1 and magical) Resistance +1 (to all saves) Ability +2 (+2 increase to a single ability, should be their primary one as it will be the most impacted) Greater Sustenance (immune to fatigue, exhaustion, need for endurance checks) Protection from Evil (constant) (can be changed, based on primary alignment) Energy Resistance 5 (vs all energies; immune to none as yet) Divine Strike +2 (good) (all attacks count as good (ie: primary AL), and have +2 enhancement) Nimbus (can glow at will as per the exalted feat; alter for non-Sun deities) Perfect Sustenance (no need to breathe, cannot suffocate, etc) Divine Strike +3 (lesser metals) (+3 weapons, bypasses silver, cold iron based DR) Gentle Step / Fall (continuous Walk on Water, Spider Climb, Feather Fall) Divine Soul (SR equal to 20 + half HD + Cha (or Wis) + divine rank) Ability +6/+2 (secondary ability chosen at this point) Perfect Health (immune to poison, disease, sickened, etc) Inner Light (increased power Nimbus, alter as necessary; also immune to energy drain, ability damage / drain, death attacks) Divine Strike +4 (ethical AL) (bypass opposing secondary AL, or both if have neither) Divine Mobility (wings, etc) (gains all movement types: burrow (1/4 speed), climb (base speed), fly (2x base speed, perfect), and swim (1,5x base speed); can grow the necessary wings, fins, etc if desired; may lessen this to just appropriate types: flight for air style deity, swim for stream / ocean deity, etc) Regeneration (can regrow lost limbs (including head), can reattach recently lost ones, otherwise no different from Fast Healing +0) Consecrated Aura (continuous, centered on self) Divine Strike +5 (greater metals) (adamantium, etc, includes damage type DRs such as Piercing, Bludgeoning, etc) Light of the Sun (glows as a daylight spell, but deals damage as if natural sunlight; alter as appropriate per deity) Fast Healing +1 (as normal) Divine Strike +6 (epic) (self explanatory) Energy Resistance 20* (gains first energy immunity; it should reflect the nature of the deity (sun -> fire)) Positive Energy Aura (as per the epic feat) Divine Strike +7 (+devest. crit) (gains Devestation Critical to all strikes) Divine Senses (all senses are increased vastly, gain LLV (doubled if already had it), DV 120 ft (double if already had it), Scent, and Blindsense, as well as any senses that seem appropriate to the deity type (Tremorsense for earthen ones, Echolocation for Aerial ones, etc) Holy Aura (constant, as the spell, centered on self) Divine Strike +8 (+holy power) (gains the epic 'holy power' property to all attacks; alter to reflect AL or nature of deity) Healing Aura (followers within aura can be healed as if by half deity's FH; perhaps alter to suit deity perhaps (plants growing in presense of nature deity, sweltering heat in presense of fire deity, etc, maybe not useable while using Pos Energy Aura or Fiend Turning Aura - or maybe yes, as if a minor Pos Energy Plane effect is present, but worshippers do not increase beyond normal maximum hp, maybe); can use Lay on Hands to any within aura range, even if not touching them. Divine Strike +9 (evildread) (the Dread Property affects all attacks, dealing damage to those of opposed primary AL; could alter this for specific enemy types for some deities, perhaps - undeaddread, for instance, or evil outsider dread, etc, maybe should increase this per four levels (as previous), adding new enemy each time? Divine Aura (the various types described in the DDG, now available, limited to Holy Aura / Pos Energy Aura / etc range until Apotheosis) Ability +18/+14/+10/+6/+2 (note that short of Apotheosis only five abilities have been enhanced - and one hardly at all, so low Wis / etc deities can exist) Fiend Turning Auran (Planar Turning epic feat, continuous with Pos Energy Aura; maybe alter for elementals - fire elementals if a water deity, for instance) Divine Strike +10 (dth/enemies) (the Death of Enemies affects all attacks, affecting foes and their followers, often based on religion (evil deity and its worshippers) or creature type (undead, fiends, aberrations, etc); cannot affect those of same primary AL, nor creatures not opposed by aura Apotheosis (first divine rank gained, becomes a demi-deity rather than a quasi-deity / hero-deity. Note that as Divine Ranks affect many things (attacks, SR, etc) this effectively enhances many of what came before. Also, upon Apotheosis gain Divine Rank 1+ immunities. Prior immunities - which were not effective against divine sources, are now true against divine sources of lesser rank, or against those of equal rank if independent divine ranks outnumber their own. This is true for diseases, energy immunities, etc. Also, some specials above are further enhanced by Apotheosis - such as Divine Senses (that now allow usage of sight, hearing, and other normal senses) for a range of one mile per dvn rnk. Also, the deity gains +Cha to all saves and AC (deflection), +Wis to AC (insight), +(Con * Dvn Rnk) to hp, and a few other boni upon apotheosis. Oh, and henceforth skill points can be gained retroactively for increased Int. Note that anything in the DDG that stated a number per type of deity (Lesser, Greater, etc) that had a maximum of 20 for Greater Deities instead grants +1 per Divine Rank. Regeneration is enhanced such that attacks from mortal creatures with fewer HD than the deity cause non-leathal damage (as per normal regeneration). Most deities have a particular type of weapon or substance or both that can be ritually prepared to bypass this even when wielded by a mortal of fewer HD. An example may be a +# vile unholy power obsidian sickle crafted in a dark ritual involving a hundred human sacrifices (death and souls) over a single night on the darkest night of the year - or of the century, etc. (IE: Mortal beings may as well not attempt to combat a deity unless they nearly divine or have the direct aid of one or more deities.)
runestar 12-13-05, 06:52 AM	Imagine that, a diety having to pray to another higher power for his powers.... :rolleyes:
Aurotuli 12-14-05, 12:34 PM	If you are referring to my post, note that I stated that it was renamed 'Divine Essence'. It is no longer a Vow of anything, nor is it alignment (or extreme alignment) sensitive, and (as several of its specials state) it can be altered somewhat to better suit an alignment, a portfolio, an element, etc. As for the VoP, it is not necessary to pray for it, according to the RAW. Anyone who - out of principle - acts in the spirit of exalted status is exalted, even if they are an atheist. Furthermore, the vows available to one due to exalted status do not - unless otherwise stated in their description - require pray to or even belief in a higher power. So a deity can, in fact, be exalted and have exalted vows without praying to a higher ranking deity. (Although, for a 0 rank or 1 rank deity under the patronage of a much higher intermediate or greater deity this could be an interesting consideration.)