Post/Author/DateTime	Post
kitplane01 07-11-05, 02:46 AM	Suppose a deity (I don't care which one, lets say Zeus) begins to romp through modern Atlanta. He's going to stay and play until something kills him. Could such a deity with his stats be brought by the modern US military. Please remember that he's clever and unlikely to say and watch as the F-15's make a second targetting run. Also remember that the Air Force also has clever people, and they will not send in a 19th wave of fighters if the first 18 waves have all failed. They will think of a different strategy. Finally ... NO NUKES!
Eliza_Stormwhisper 07-11-05, 03:43 AM	Whiskey Tango Foxtrot
Rumple_Cragstan 07-11-05, 04:49 AM	I don't know the stats for gods off hand, but I believe that they have outrageous epic DR, so I would say no. Because if you look at things, I believe that most 'average' people would have 4-10HP (depending on CON). With this in mind, anything dealing about 20 damage is deadly. But with Deific DR going into the 50s (I would think) that would mean that only the most powerful weapons in the army's disposal could even break skin. And even then, they would only be doing minimal damage. Gods have HP in the upper hundreds/lower thousands (once agian, I would think) so it would be retardedly difficult to take one down. As well, from what little I remember, gods all have 20 levels in cleric of themselves. Which means that they can even heal themselves at a moments notice. And that they have retardedly powerful magic at thier disposal. Not to mention thier portfolios. I mean if say Posiedon (sp?) wanted to wreak havok, damn right he would. Remember that Tsunami that hit around christmas? The god of the sea could make that one look like a wave to small to even surf on. If ANY nature god wanted to kill people, there are already volcanoes for that, not to mention the fact that they could spontaniously create Mag. 10 quakes with a heavy belch. no ammount of technology, real world or D&D, can ever, should ever be able to, defeat a god. Keep in mind that I'm the kind of person who really thinks that the Deities and Demigods book was a mockery of Diefic power.
Flushmaster 07-11-05, 04:54 AM	Whiskey Tango Foxtrot I'm gonna second Eliza here.
Drake Dragonslayer 07-11-05, 01:30 PM	Whiskey Tango Foxtrot Indeed :S
Board_Rider 07-11-05, 02:28 PM	Whiskey Tango Foxtrot 'bout sums it up for me. 1 god? 1.3 million troops....hmmmmm. I am gonna have to say that ol' Zeus will have to pray to whatever god HE worships. Have you ever seen what a 16 inch gun can do? Cleric or not he'll feel that. Besides, why Atlanta? Michael Vick plays there. Who would want to spell the demise for the NFLs greatest athlete? CERTAINLY not Zeus!!!
yeknom 07-11-05, 07:16 PM	Michael Vick plays there. Who would want to spell the demise for the NFLs greatest athlete? CERTAINLY not Zeus!!! Off - Season withdrawals?
Board_Rider 07-11-05, 08:54 PM	Off - Season withdrawals? Is it that apparent? Whats funny is that I am not a big fan of him.
Roreck 07-11-05, 10:14 PM	U.S. military versus a diety uhhh duh ZEUS. Gods are imortal last time I checked, and you know near unlimited power that is beyond any comprehension (of humans) would lead me to believe that the god of thunder would have a pretty good (his odds of failing is probably worse than a trillion to one) chance of enhilanting the U.S. military and the whole world if a diety so desired. And why would a god destroy Atlanta? Have you seen their highways? They like circle the city that is unnatural. Any deity that claims to be good would have destroyed it a long time ago. Plus the south s**ks. NY rules.
LordHell 07-11-05, 10:26 PM	Well again, like the dragons vs planes topic, this thread is going to come down to whether or not you use highly underpowered D20 modern stats for military equipment, or common sense. I would have to see the DR/stats of a God, but even baring nukes there is a world of hurt that most modern militaries can inflict on anything. I think a D&D God could make himself invulernable to all this, again, it depends on their stats and the spells they use. Im not qualified enough to speak on their behalf, but the firepower that modern weaponry has is truely frightening. Range would also be an issue for the God, unless he can teleport around at will, which he probably can. I think one of the biggest problems would be the fact in this scenario the U.S. military probably wouldnt want to completely destroy the civilian population of Atlanta, so there would be a minimal amount of things they could do. LGBs, cruise missiles, and maybe future tech we do not know much about (massively high powered railguns, lasers to blind the god, etc).
The Club 07-11-05, 10:40 PM	Besides, why Atlanta? Michael Vick plays there. Who would want to spell the demise for the NFLs greatest athlete? CERTAINLY not Zeus!!! And if he ever learns to pass, he could be one of the better quarterbacks. The Club
Ut-Napishtim 07-11-05, 10:43 PM	Well based on the rules in d20 CoC I'd say he wouldn't have a defiler's chance in Hades. You think the stealth fighter and bomber are state-of-the-art? That crap's already obsolete - or else we wouldn't know about it. Heck, a stealth fighter was shot down over Kosovo during the Clinton administration. Ever heard of "Puff the Magic Dragon?" An AC-130 can fire a single 20mm round into every square foot of an area the size of a football field except those occupied by friendly troops in a single melee round. We used to wear glint tape on the top of our kevlar's so the computer would register us as freindly and not shoot us - and that's Vietnam era technology. A single Navy battleship could level Atlanta from the Bahamas in about an hour. Sure, their big guns might not be accurate at that range, but their dozens of cruise missiles are. Heck, Clinton's entire Al-Qaeda strategy was shooting cruise missiles from the Persian Gulf into Afghanistan some 2,500 miles away with 1 meter accuracy. How many currently commissioned battleships does the US have? At least two dozen, not to mention that they're not the only type of ship employing cruise missiles. Of course, in a world in which Zeus exists the Pentagon could send a team from SFOD Delta though their secret arcane gateway unearthed in Egypt in the 1950's. These operatives could travel magically to Olympia and offer Ares 5,000 pounds of gold from Ft. Knox (the US got off the gold standard in the late 60's/early 70's so it's actually worthless to us,) to come help us fight Zeus and crown him lord of the Pantheon. Impessed by the warrior spirit of the Delta Force operatives he agrees. With his divine intervention and US military hardware Zeus quickly finds himself getting a royal spanking and is forced to retreat to a hidden demiplane in shame.
Dartanel 07-12-05, 12:29 AM	This, of course, is why deities don't rampage through cities. God of War (the game) nonwithstanding.
KelanenPrinceofSwords 07-12-05, 12:38 AM	According to Deities & Demigods, most greater deities like Zeus are aware of events concerning themselves days or weeks in advance, which would pretty much make it impossible for any mortal creature to succeed in even aiming an attack.
Vanigo 07-12-05, 01:55 AM	I have to go with Zeus on this one. Modern weapons could mess him up pretty badly if they had a little time to work on him, but I have to believe he could trash them too fast for them to really do much. With his prescience, he'd be able to pretty easily avoid things like long-range missile strikes. Only way I can see him going down is if they nuked the city. I imagine nuke damage is measured in the tens of thousands, so he'd pretty much die. They'd want to evacuate the city first, of course, but they're going to be doing that anyway.
Edymnion 07-12-05, 02:17 AM	Finally ... NO NUKES!Why not? If a rampaging deity was tearing up a major US city with plans to move on to another one, and all else failed, why WOULDN'T we just nuke 'em? Seems very arbitrary to me. "Who'd win, the military or the god? Oh yeah, and by the way, the military doesn't get to use tanks, airplanes, bombs, rockets, guns, or rocks. They only get to run up and hit it with sticks and call him hurtful names."
Delory Sunsmith 07-12-05, 05:16 AM	Why Zeus would actualy manifest himself within range of all them sparkly weapons is what I want to know. If he simply thunderstormed the place into the dirt no one would think of launching missiles into the clouds. They'd just comment on what a horrible natural disaster it was and blame some poor scientests.
vivid_disorder 07-12-05, 05:49 AM	Zeus once laid waste to the entire Earth, sparing only two people, deucalion and Pyrrah (this puts him on a power level roughly equivalent with Jehovah, I'd say). He is Elder brother (maybe father, I can't remember), and acknowledged superior to Apollo the sun god (the sun is essentially a monstrous atomic bomb going off in space for billions of years, so a nuke is small potatoes by comparison). Zeus is vanquisher fo the Titans and wielder of the thunderbolt (I think that lightning might well be pound-for-pound as potent a force as a nuke - it's certainly pretty hot). What makes you think that a human H-bomb would even catch his attention? He'd turn it into a butterfly, or eat it, or just send it back where it came from. This is a GOD, not a fleet of bombers, not Godzilla, it's the All-father of the universe. Nuke a god? Are you mad? Is there no end to American hubris? I seem to remember that Zeus' wife turned Ariadne into a spider merely for suggesting that she could weave better than the goddess. Can you imagine what Zeus has stored up for those who suggest he might be defeated by a mortal army :plotting: p.s: in mythology, Zeus turned atalanta into a lion.
Earthcrosser599 07-12-05, 06:50 AM	Mechanic wise, a greater diety shouldn't ever die. He knows about anything that has any chance of killing him at least 2 months in advance and can take appropriate measures to ensure his survival. My opinion, more or less, is pretty much the same. A diety can create worlds and keep track of millions of followers and stuff. I don't think he'd have trouble unraveling the detonation device on a few hundred warheads.
yeknom 07-12-05, 08:38 AM	Is it that apparent? Whats funny is that I am not a big fan of him. No, not really. I myself am in a similar boat, only I am in a part of the world where the off-season is nearly year round. Thank Zeus for Football Outsiders and Sportsterminal. :)
demonpunk 07-12-05, 09:46 AM	Even going by D&D game stats for a god (which is kinda silly if you think about it), I have to give it to Zeus. Guns would have no effect against his Damage Resistance, and he has mad energy resistance, which should help against any explosives. Besides that, he has enormous magical power and knows any plans the enemy has. And no, even if the military teamed up with Ares they couldn't beat him. It would still come down to Zeus vs. Ares, and no way can Ares beat him. (I think its funny though that its assumed that the U.S. would try to ally with the CE god of War)
rbingham2000 07-12-05, 01:12 PM	First off, I'd say that this would make an INSANE concept for a movie. Second, Zeus is a god in the Greek sense, meaning that neither he nor his siblings in the pantheon can be killed. Third, the battles that would ensue between Zeus and the army would be absolutely insane. We're talking thunderbolts blowing up missiles, tornadoes blowing jet fighters away, the WORKS. And finally, if Zeus is around, the other gods are probably around too, particularly Hera, who is notoriously jealous and likely Not Happy about her husband's new bout of partying and philandering. And with all that boinking, there's bound to be a few kids as a result -- and any avid reader of Greek mythology knows what generally comes of that...
urial angel of death 07-12-05, 01:20 PM	U.S. military versus a diety uhhh duh ZEUS. Gods are imortal last time I checked, and you know near unlimited power that is beyond any comprehension (of humans) would lead me to believe that the god of thunder would have a pretty good (his odds of failing is probably worse than a trillion to one) chance of enhilanting the U.S. military and the whole world if a diety so desired. And why would a god destroy Atlanta? Have you seen their highways? They like circle the city that is unnatural. Any deity that claims to be good would have destroyed it a long time ago. Plus the south s**ks. NY rules. two things 1. because Zeus is not an overdiety he has stat in dieties and demigods. and becuase of how much cruise missiles do he would be dead very quick. 2. Haven't you ever noticed how in a lot of monster movies New York and other U. S. costal cities get destroyed there maybe reason for that I would also Like to point out that Apollo doesn't control the Sun in Greek mythology a titan did that, becuase fire could harm the gods and they were to afraid to go near the sun or most other big fires. Yes in Greek mythos gods could be killed and I believe a few of the less important ones did.
Malcoren 07-12-05, 01:42 PM	Someone mentioned hubris? "Zeus once laid waste to the entire Earth, sparing only two people, deucalion and Pyrrah (this puts him on a power level roughly equivalent with Jehovah, I'd say)." Via deluge. Tell me, what do ships do? "He is Elder brother (maybe father, I can't remember), and acknowledged superior to Apollo the sun god (the sun is essentially a monstrous atomic bomb going off in space for billions of years, so a nuke is small potatoes by comparison)." You're confusing Apollo with Helios. In any event, the sun in greek mythology is a flaming chariot pulled by equally flaming horses. So, I agree, Zeus has more power than a flaming chariot. But in the real world, where the sun is what you describe, he's small potatoes. "Zeus is vanquisher fo the Titans and wielder of the thunderbolt (I think that lightning might well be pound-for-pound as potent a force as a nuke - it's certainly pretty hot)." What, you mean his parents? Lightning isn't nearly as powerful as a nuke. This is why thunderstorms leave cities unscathed whereas nukes destroy them outright. So, yes, lightning rods might have to be installed on various installations, and bunkers would likely render winds pointless, but his power over meteorological phenomenon won't help much. Especially since most aircraft can take a lightning hit or three before becoming unfliable. PS: Poseidon does earthquakes, so those bunkers are pretty safe. ;) PPS: The control over the 'thunderbolt' was a gift from the Cyclopes.. many of which we see defeated by mortals. "What makes you think that a human H-bomb would even catch his attention?" It wouldn't. It'd be along the lines of "Hmmm... funny-looking overlarge sling sto..."BLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAM! "Nuke a god? Are you mad? Is there no end to American hubris?" Wee bit biased, much? "I seem to remember that Zeus' wife turned Ariadne into a spider merely for suggesting that she could weave better than the goddess." Uh... yeah, she's the goddess of dark magic. What did you expect? Oh, last time I checked, this was Zeus, not Hera we were talking about. "p.s: in mythology, Zeus turned atalanta into a lion." Yeah. Gettin jiggy with it in the All-Father's temple was generally a bad idae. rbingham2000: "Second, Zeus is a god in the Greek sense, meaning that neither he nor his siblings in the pantheon can be killed." Really? That's odd. Last time I checked, the Titans could be killed, and they were even more powerful than the 'gods'. "And with all that boinking, there's bound to be a few kids as a result -- and any avid reader of Greek mythology knows what generally comes of that..." LOL!!! Oh yes. ;) "demonpunk" "It would still come down to Zeus vs. Ares, and no way can Ares beat him" You're kidding, right? It'd go a lot like this: Military Op: "Yeah, we know your Big Brother is strong, but things have changed since back in your day. Spears? Bows? Come on, check this out... " *holds up a Barrett Light Fifty* "You still ride in a chariot?" *moves to stand over by the M1A2* Ares: "Tell Me More, Mortal Man..." Yeah, after a few hours of preperation, it'd be wicked sick. "(I think its funny though that its assumed that the U.S. would try to ally with the CE god of War)" Except, he's only CE in D&D. "Earthcrosser599" "Mechanic wise, a greater diety shouldn't ever die." Unless, of course, we're dealing with the "Deity gains power from worshippers" bit of rules in said same book. *looks around* Well, since I don't exactly see Zeus-worship as a common enough religion, nowadays, I think He'd be royally screwed if He decided to pay a visit. --- --- --- --- --- I think we're missing the main point here, though. It's not like you have to fight him to win, merely keep him busy. As Zeus was one of the most prolific womanizers ever, not to mention quite the clever gambler, I think it would be fairly simple to win this fight with no lives lost. Just take him for a drink and a meal at Hooters and show him as much as you can about Vegas. I guarantee that he'd be out of the area in no time, after more 'desireable' pursuits. Of course, the one problem there is, in true form, would be what happens when his wife comes down and finds out what you did. I'd place good odds on a modern military taking Zeus in a fight, but Hera is the sneakiest snake short of Loki to ever cruise a pantheon. Methinks even we'd be outclassed. ;)
Vanigo 07-12-05, 01:58 PM	(I think that lightning might well be pound-for-pound as potent a force as a nuke - it's certainly pretty hot).Given that the weight of a lightning bolt is effectively nil, I'm forced to agree. Makes for a rather pointless comparison, though, doesn't it? What makes you think that a human H-bomb would even catch his attention? He'd turn it into a butterfly, or eat it, or just send it back where it came from. This is a GOD, not a fleet of bombers, not Godzilla, it's the All-father of the universe.Because we're using the Dieties & Demigods stats. Therefore, he has hit points and is vulnerable to hit point damage. And I'm not sure, but I don't think he has access to those kinds of powers. Nuke a god? Are you mad? Is there no end to American hubris? I seem to remember that Zeus' wife turned Ariadne into a spider merely for suggesting that she could weave better than the goddess.I seem to remember that she was right.Can you imagine what Zeus has stored up for those who suggest he might be defeated by a mortal army :plotting:I imagine nothing, what with the whole not existing thing.
Ut-Napishtim 07-12-05, 02:28 PM	I seem to remember that she was right. And that folks is a royal zinger. :rofl:
Mula 07-12-05, 03:20 PM	Would nukes really harm Zeus? I'm pretty sure he could make himself immune to them with Alter Reality salient divine ability. Anyhow, if Zeus became ethereal or incorporeal, he'd become invincible. Not sure if he could harm anyone at that point, though. Shouldn't be a problem with Alter Reality.
Roreck 07-12-05, 03:22 PM	Some of you are under the impression that all of us know the stats of Zeus (I don't own Dieties and Demigods cause why would a diety show up in a dnd campaign). So if someone could post his stats that would help Zeus would know well before hand the details of any plan the U.S. military thought up and would be able to counter. Zeus whould most likely have other powers than a little wind and some thunder. Hurricanes come to mind (not sure if Zeus could conjurer them up but hey just for if he could which he probably could). One very powerful huricane(s)/tornade(s) could level a city which is apparently Zeus' goal. Remember to win Zeus only has to destroy the city which he could do without ever manifesting himself. How effective could an army be at stoping Hurricanes? oh that's right army's can't stop those. And as far as I am conserned Dieties are immortal that is what makes them dieties. As I remember greek myth the gods were imortal as long as their tummies where full of ambroisa (sp?) and nectar which I believe one of the gods could easily create (probably all of them at least more than one). Zeus would most likely not work alone (kings do not do their own dirty work that is the point of being king getting others to do things for you) All the greek gods versus U.S. pah goodbye U.S. The might of the gods can't be stoped. Also their is an issue of people seeing this as devine retrubtion, and others crtitizing the military for attacking a god and hampering his will. Also it should be noted the OP meant any god using Zeus as an example. If you find it unbelieve that Zeus could destroy a city/military protecting it (which by the way he could) than picture another god. Pelor Nerull We Jas Boccob or who ever any god could do it. As for NYC and other coastal cities usually being attacked in films (ex. Godzilla) Most of those monsters are see creatures. A sea monster attacking Denver or Moscow would make no sense. And as I said before Altanta should be destroyed for their anyonning highway system. And NY rules :cool:
Edymnion 07-12-05, 03:46 PM	Actually, if you wanna go by Faerun rules, a New York bum with a broken bottle could kill Zeus. Zeus has no active worhippers, he has no organized religion (well, beyond a handful of people). He has no faith base, he has no power, he has no godhood. Almighty Zeus lands in downtown Atlanta as a guy with a curly beard and wearing a toga. He'd be carted off to the funny farm in hours, where he would live out the rest of his mortal life with everyone believing he is insane. :P
Board_Rider 07-12-05, 04:06 PM	Actually, if you wanna go by Faerun rules, a New York bum with a broken bottle could kill Zeus. Zeus has no active worhippers, he has no organized religion (well, beyond a handful of people). He has no faith base, he has no power, he has no godhood. Almighty Zeus lands in downtown Atlanta as a guy with a curly beard and wearing a toga. He'd be carted off to the funny farm in hours, where he would live out the rest of his mortal life with everyone believing he is insane. :P Funny, this was just what I was about to post when I read this. I call it the Freddy Krueger effect. If there is no belief, then he would have no power. But this thread was a bit of whimsy and I didn't want to sound serious.
Knights_Disciple 07-12-05, 04:58 PM	Zeus once laid waste to the entire Earth, sparing only two people, deucalion and Pyrrah (this puts him on a power level roughly equivalent with Jehovah, I'd say). :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: Oh, were you trying to be serious with that one? :rofl: :heehee
vivid_disorder 07-12-05, 06:12 PM	Via deluge. Tell me, what do ships do? Sink, explode, turn into fishes, get transported to the centre of Atlanta and detonate in a Nimitz-sized nuclear hellstorm? Ships can do all kinds of things when they try to rumble with gods. ;)
vivid_disorder 07-12-05, 06:47 PM	:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: Oh, were you trying to be serious with that one? :rofl: :heehee semi-serious actually. Zeus/Jupiter cut the knackers off of the entire universe (in the persona of his father Saturn). As the leader of the Olympic pantheon, he was a representative avatar of the one-that-is-all, much like the hindu gods are reflections of Brahma, the overgod who is incomprehensible to mortal ken. In the belief systems of the greeks (as opposed to those of TSR/WoTC) Zeus was as powerful as Jehovah. Edymnion's probably right, though. If you accept the reasoning that Men make Gods (cf Terry Pratchett's Small Gods), then Zeus would be a shambling old lunatic nattering his way through whatever Skid Row gets called in Atlanta. If Vishnu or Shiva ever decides to cut up rough, though, then that's a different story: millions of active worshippers, magic weapons out the wazoo in Vishnu's case anyway, bad attitude towards evildoers (Ted Turner, I'm looking at you...).
Knights_Disciple 07-13-05, 02:32 PM	Putting aside my actual beliefs for a minute.... And I was going off my best understanding of most literary recordings of Jehovah in the world. Zeus, strong as he was, had a father. He had a beginning. Best as we can tell, Yahwe claims no such thing. In fact, He claims pre-existence and self-existence (His quote to Moses from the burning bush: "Tell them that I Am That I Am sent you..."; can't remember reference off the top of my head.) He is stated to have created all things ex nihilo. I don't recall if the same is said of Zeus. I could go on, but those two items grab my mind immediately. And if we go off the "worshipper theory", then He also has the edge. I've seen figures as high as 1-2 billion for Yahwe. So if that was a measure of power.... Of course, according to the literature He is in, His power is seperate from His worshippers. Sure, Zeus could destroy things willy-nilly "back in the day", when he had lots of worshippers. But according to the Noah account, Yahwe destroyed the whole earth when only 8 people worshipped/followed Him. Just as another note. Aren't you proud of me for handling that academically and with literary references, and not screaming incoherently at the "infidels"?
vivid_disorder 07-13-05, 03:02 PM	likewise, outside of any personal beliefs or real-world concerns: In primitive Greek thought, Zeus et al did have a father, etc. the primal force which created the universe was (if I remember rightly) Kaos, and Kronos was the progenitor of Zeus. In later, more Sophisticated greek theosophy, such as that of Thales, and I think Anaximander, Zeus became identified with the supreme godhead, as Pantheism (or Monistic Theism/Monotheism) began to replace Polytheism. Xenophanes described the whole multiple god deal as folly about 600 BCE. Pythagoras identified a singular godhead, but I think he associated it with number or music or some such, maybe Apollo? It's a long while since my classics teachers tried to beat all this into me, so I'm sure someone will correct me soon :) . For the record, it's not my purpose to argue that paganism is/was superior to the Abrahamic tradition. My purpose was to point out the hubris and simplicity of assuming that a mortal army, of whatever technical sophistication, could defeat the supreme god of a pantheon. The only hope that the Army of any nation would have would be to use their own cleric/chaplains to summon gods of their own. They could exploit the Native Americans as well: Zeus, St. Jude and the Wendigo duke it out in Turner Field. One night only. Pay-per-view rights still available. :eek:
Knights_Disciple 07-13-05, 03:30 PM	For the record, it's not my purpose to argue that paganism is/was superior to the Abrahamic tradition. My purpose was to point out the hubris and simplicity of assuming that a mortal army, of whatever technical sophistication, could defeat the supreme god of a pantheon. Indeed, indeed. A good purpose.
Koga:The ninja trick 07-13-05, 07:58 PM	*Koga presses the big red buttom to summon Tarrasque from the ocean depths* Godzilla noises. :P But seriously, considering we're talking the fricking king of Greek gods here, The Koga would expect his HP to be somewhere around 600, with maybe spell-like abilities such as chain lightning and lightning bolt several times per day. The Koga thinks the American goverment and thier defences would probably win, but afterward our entire country would be distrought and broken. We'll have to wait though to go to war with Zeus untill a democrat is in office to declare the war on God lol.. Why'd it have to go and be in Alanta?! That's too close to The Koga for comfort. (The Koga is a Floridian..)
Stardrake 07-13-05, 10:11 PM	A single Navy battleship could level Atlanta from the Bahamas in about an hour. Sure, their big guns might not be accurate at that range, but their dozens of cruise missiles are. Heck, Clinton's entire Al-Qaeda strategy was shooting cruise missiles from the Persian Gulf into Afghanistan some 2,500 miles away with 1 meter accuracy. How many currently commissioned battleships does the US have? At least two dozen, not to mention that they're not the only type of ship employing cruise missiles. Well, to be perfectly pedantic, the US Navy has NO battleships left--the last 4 IOWA class ships (IOWA, NEW JERSEY, MISSOURI, and WISCONSIN) were all struck from the Navy List on January 12, 1995. There are, of course, many other warships that use cruise missiles (in this context, the LOS ANGELES class attack subs may be the safest). Zeus would have to also deal with Air Force ALCMs and JSOWs. Unfortunately, if Zeus was real he'd be immortal, so it's hard to say how well all of this hardware would work..... It may well be a case of the irresistable force striking the immovable object. There would be all sorts of interesting side effects.....
Mula 07-14-05, 11:21 AM	But seriously, considering we're talking the fricking king of Greek gods here, The Koga would expect his HP to be somewhere around 600, with maybe spell-like abilities such as chain lightning and lightning bolt several times per day.Koga seriously underestimates Zeus. The stats for him in Deities & Demigods give the Father of Gods and Mortals 1 550 hp (he's an outsider 20/barbarian 20/fighter 20/cleric 10), DR 30/epic (and 4/-). He can use any spell of 9th-level or lower as a standard action (no xp or any costs), he can surround himself with a vortex of electricity that extends 190 ft. in all directions and stops thrown weapons and projectiles (including modern missiles), and basically all of his weapon attacks destroy targets outright (including 19 000 cubic feet of nonliving material; the Fort save DC is 107). He can see, hear, touch, and smell everything within 19 miles, and is aware of everything that happens under the open sky 19 weeks before it happens. He can take any shape, as big as 1 600 ft. in its largest dimension (including the Tarrasque, with all of its abilities). He can make an unlimited number of attacks of opportunity, and if he becomes Colossal, his reach is pretty damn good. He can blast targets (up to 95 individuals, or a cone, burst, spread or cylinder; dimensions in the thousand of ft.) within 19 miles with an attack that deals 336 points of damage. Everytime an attack deals at least 20 points of damage to him, a random monster is created from his blood. His divine aura extends to 19 miles, which means unless you save successfully (Will DC 37), you're either dazed or frightened. Zeus is not the worst: there are deities that can kill every mortal on the planet, at will. Some deities simply return back to life in a few days after being killed; only a deity with equal or greater divine rank can permanently kill such gods. If a mortal (or any number of them) approaches some deities within 10 ft. per divine rank, the mortal dies, with no saving throw (and as Disciple of Darkness pointed out just below me, Zeus has this ability). Gods are hard to kill. Edit: oh, yeah, Zeus can create nukes at will.
Disciple of Darkness 07-14-05, 12:29 PM	Hard to say. Certainly, Zeus could withstand a nuclear blast or two, but how many before he would fall? Coupled with as many missiles as the US military would throw at him, he is bound to die at some point, if he stays on one place (of course, he can teleport at will, so that's rather hard, but they could of course bomb the entire Atlanta and take Zeus out that way - but then ol' Thunderhead would win, he just wants to make the city of Atlanta to feel a world of hurt and US military just barbequed that place to the ground). But under NO circumanstance can a soldier or any mortal come close to him - if I remember correctly, he has that Divine Splendour salient divine ability, which snuffs out every mortal's life who sees him in his true form. But yes, I think that he could finally be brought to his knees and destroyed - but at what cost?
StormKnight 07-14-05, 12:47 PM	Meh. Just makes me think of the classic Cthulu Now quote: "What happens when we nuke Cthulu?" "He reforms 15 minutes later. And now he's radioactive."
Sarella Starshine 07-14-05, 06:27 PM	it depends on how you want your game to be. If its important to your plot that Zeus (or any other diety) is killable, then he is, if its important to the plot that he is unkillable, then he isn't, if it does not matter, go with which ever is the most fun for your party. If its fun for them to be able to kill a god, then let them do so. its up to each individual DM to determine the killablity of the gods and godesses of thier worlds, and the effects of what would happen if they can be killed. while this may not seem to answer the question : who will win a god or the US might, if you read what i said carefully, it does answer the question..the one that will win will be the one the DM feels should win.
Yoho1.5 07-14-05, 08:10 PM	Zeus: I'm here to take on the entire U.S army! Atlanta Local (AL): What? Zeus: Didn't you hear me mortal! AL: Why do you want to do that? Zeus: Because some gamer guy dared me to okay! And Baccaus and Possidden bet me I couldn't do it. AL: Their right, you can't. Zeus: And why do you mere mortal doubt my power? AL: I don't doubt your power... it's just that the U.S Army isn't here right now so you can't take them on here in Atlanta. Zeus: What? not here! (Zeus tries to blaspheme, but being divine in nature, he uses the names of the gods, in conversation, more than in vain, so all he does is get the attention of the other gods by calling their names out in a stern and demeaning way.) AL: If your done cursing can I go now? Zeus: No, mortal where is the U.S army? AL: Well most of them are tied down in Iraq right now so they are far to busy to take on any divine beings right now! Zeus: Well when to you think they will be done? I'm a patient God I can wait for them. AL: No one knows, some say they could be over there for years and years. Dick Cheny thinks that the insurgents are in their last throes, but I've heard that before, so I don't think its going to be over soon. Zeus: Hmmm.... I could go over there and meet them. AL: You don't want to do that, Iraq isn't exactly a tourist destination. Its a highly unstable region that is extremely dangerous, besides it's summer and that part of the world is as hot as hades hell right now. Zeus: How about the marines then, I can take them on instead. AL: I'm afraid not their in Iraq too! Zeus: The National Guard then! AL: Nope, Iraq Zeus: Well raise an army then! and be quick about it. AL: We can't. Zeus: Why Not! AL: Well recruitment for all services is in sharp decline, in fact the Army has missed its recruitment goals for 20 straight months now. Zeus: Why don't you just borrow a few armies then? AL: Well we have borrowed the British Army. Zeus: Great send them to me. AL: We can't they are in Iraq too. Zeus: Just borrow some other army then! AL: You see that's a tough one, in our haste to go to Iraq we ticked off a few other countries and no one else will loan us any. Zeus: Hmmm... This is embrassing I tell you what, I'll just leave and we pretend this conversation never happened it sounds like you guys have enough problems without battling a God. AL: Hey Zeus do you think you could help us out... You know with Iraq? Zeus: (Zeus ponders the Iraqi problem with divine wisdom) Well I'm going to tell you the same thing I told Pandorra... NO!
Roreck 07-14-05, 08:15 PM	Zeus: I'm here to take on the entire U.S army! Atlanta Local (AL): What? Zeus: Didn't you hear me mortal! AL: Why do you want to do that? Zeus: Because some gamer guy dared me to okay! And Baccaus and Possidden bet me I couldn't do it. AL: Their right, you can't. Zeus: And why do you mere mortal doubt my power? AL: I don't doubt your power... it's just that the U.S Army isn't here right now so you can't take them on here in Atlanta. Zeus: What? not here! (Zeus tries to blaspheme, but being divine in nature, he uses the names of the gods, in conversation, more than in vain, so all he does is get the attention of the other gods by calling their names out in a stern and demeaning way.) AL: If your done cursing can I go now? Zeus: No, mortal where is the U.S army? AL: Well most of them are tied down in Iraq right now so they are far to busy to take on any divine beings right now! Zeus: Well when to you think they will be done? I'm a patient God I can wait for them. AL: No one knows, some say they could be over there for years and years. Dick Cheny thinks that the insurgents are in their last throes, but I've heard that before, so I don't think its going to be over soon. Zeus: Hmmm.... I could go over there and meet them. AL: You don't want to do that, Iraq isn't exactly a tourist destination. Its a highly unstable region that is extremely dangerous, besides it's summer and that part of the world is as hot as hades hell right now. Zeus: How about the marines then, I can take them on instead. AL: I'm afraid not their in Iraq too! Zeus: The National Guard then! AL: Nope, Iraq Zeus: Well raise an army then! and be quick about it. AL: We can't. Zeus: Why Not! AL: Well recruitment for all services is in sharp decline, in fact the Army has missed its recruitment goals for 20 straight months now. Zeus: Why don't you just borrow a few armies then? AL: Well we have borrowed the British Army. Zeus: Great send them to me. AL: We can't they are in Iraq too. Zeus: Just borrow some other army then! AL: You see that's a tough one, in our haste to go to Iraq we ticked off a few other countries and no one else will loan us any. Zeus: Hmmm... This is embrassing I tell you what, I'll just leave and we pretend this conversation never happened it sounds like you guys have enough problems without battling a God. AL: Hey Zeus do you think you could help us out... You know with Iraq? Zeus: (Zeus ponders the Iraqi problem with divine wisdom) Well I'm going to tell you the same thing I told Pandorra... NO! LOL is all I have to say.
Miles Vorkosigan 07-14-05, 09:01 PM	Zeus: I'm here to take on the entire U.S army! Atlanta Local (AL): What? Zeus: Didn't you hear me mortal! AL: Why do you want to do that? Zeus: Because some gamer guy dared me to okay! And Baccaus and Possidden bet me I couldn't do it. AL: Their right, you can't. Zeus: And why do you mere mortal doubt my power? AL: I don't doubt your power... it's just that the U.S Army isn't here right now so you can't take them on here in Atlanta. Zeus: What? not here! (Zeus tries to blaspheme, but being divine in nature, he uses the names of the gods, in conversation, more than in vain, so all he does is get the attention of the other gods by calling their names out in a stern and demeaning way.) AL: If your done cursing can I go now? Zeus: No, mortal where is the U.S army? AL: Well most of them are tied down in Iraq right now so they are far to busy to take on any divine beings right now! Zeus: Well when to you think they will be done? I'm a patient God I can wait for them. AL: No one knows, some say they could be over there for years and years. Dick Cheny thinks that the insurgents are in their last throes, but I've heard that before, so I don't think its going to be over soon. *SNIP*Don't you think that is getting a leetle bit political? Back on the subject, I think Zeus would be able to take the US army on pretty easily, though it would take him awhile. Just glancing over his stats I see that a full attack by Zeus would deal approximately 280 damage, which, according to the d20 Modern SRD, means that he can nearly take out 4 Abrams tanks (not taking into account things like Cleave and haste, of course). Abrams tanks are armed with cannons that deal 10d12, enough to get past Zeus's DR most of the time, but then he has a through the roof AC(86). In addition he has all sorts of spell-like abilities, resistances and SDAs. Oh, and he can rage so he deals even more. And, like Mula said, he can hear, see, touch and smell everything within 19 miles (considering his background, I'm most scared about what he will touch :eek: ), coupled with his ability to teleport without error at will, he could easily find all points of resistance and take them out. Basically his only limiting factor is time: he cannot destroy America's entire army at once, it could take him a week or more. -MVK
Yoho1.5 07-14-05, 11:58 PM	Ah miles I knew you, or someone like you would show up eventually. I did stray from my usual (99.9% of the time) posting practices in which I save my non-D&D thoughts for my sig. But this topic was sooo ludicris I thought it deserved some jest! Firstly any arguement.. I mean disscussion, like this usually devolves into a contest between two camps the Dietists which will say that you can't kill a God no matter what thats why they are Friggin GODS and the Tom Clancy o' Philes who would love to quantify real life hardware and capablities into game stats to show how much their beloved whatevers kick ass. The only problem with this one is that any real life stuff has to come from somewhere and I'm just pointing out that the US is a little tight right now for military resources and that if a Diety Showed up in Atlanta today the US military would be really inconveninced as they are having trouble enough without divine intervention. No matter what d20 modern book you want to pull out or what weapon you want to stat and employ verse Zeus you can't deny that the US military's present character sheet's inventory is a little light on stuff. I'm pretty certain that if the mayor of Atlanta called the Pentagon for Help to fend off a GOD, the Pentagon would be hard pressed to make a response worthy of Zeus. And Yes Miles youre right Zeus couldn't Destory the whole US Army at once because they are spread out across the entire Friggin Globe and Zeus would have to go on a World Tour to get the job done. I'm done, I'll make no more posts on this topic, as I've probably already gone farther than I should have. :embarrass