Cribbing some GM-type world-building notes here…
I’ve sometimes wondered if there were any good narrative rules for running deities in a role-playing game other than the usual name-dropping or “guest appearance” during epic adventures. I’m not talking about game stats, like the “super monster” versions found in some editions of Dungeons & Dragons, but rather answers to questions like, “What actually is a deity in these fantasy universes? Why do they do what they do?”
Call of Cthulhu dismisses “gods” as extremely alien beings who barely notice the petty noise of humanity infesting their worlds. The Marvel Comics multiverse says “gods” are long-lived, human-like aliens that wield technology so advanced that it seems like magic. Some modern supernatural role-playing games, such as Nobilis, Unknown Armies, or Mage: The Ascension, pose such beings as consciousnesses that change reality through their force of narrative will over the unstable collective unconscious beliefs of mortal humanity.
A frightening and practical alternative is found in the podcast dramatic audio series The Silt Verses and the role-playing game inspired by it, written by Gabriel Robinson and Jason Cordova. In the narrative universe of that show, familiar religions (Christianity, Islam, Judaism) have been replaced in the modern world by commercialized and weaponized living deities. Some, like the Trawler-man god of waterways, only have a few illegal covert cults, while others, like the Saint Electric god of power infrastructures, command huge governmental support. In times of need, ritual mass sacrifices replace taxes, and rival military forces fire unstable, divine-tainted mutants into enemy territory to wreak havoc and spread environmental corruption.
The TTRPG lists some great guiding principles any game master could use to explain the how and why of deities in a fantasy world; from page 83…
A god makes its haunt in a place beyond our capabilities.
A god enters into our world through the tenuous places; ruins, lonely locations, abandoned wildernesses.
A god speaks a language that is entirely its own, and which must be learnt in order to communicate with it.
A god is pure in its intent. It obsessively embodies a particular element, locality, or aspect of existence, and despises those things which stand in opposition to its purity.
A god must feed. When fed, it rejoices, and may offer blessings – although its notion of a gift will likely differ from our own.
A god comes when it’s called.
A god lashes out violently when it’s left to starve, but may eventually diminish or perish as a result of neglect.
A god is driven to shape the devoted, and the world around it, in its own image.
In terms of tone, The Silt Verses shares much with the Old Gods of Appalachia podcast and TTRPG, where spirits of the Green and the Inner Dark lurk behind the facade of the modern world. While Old Gods features Deep Things, Middle Things, and Low Things as the monstrous servants of ancient powers, The Silt Verses introduces Angels – grotesque, otherworldly creatures – and Saints: humans deliberately transformed into dangerous abominations through a ritual process known as “hallowing.” In both story worlds, those who attempt to commune or exploit such gods never escape unscathed.
So… what if fantasy world gods were not omnipotent, eternal, or benevolent? What is they were driven, obsessive, fixated, hungry, and often thoughtless toward humanity. Because of their innate hungers, they must be transactional with those who can provide them sustenance. They may seem to cater to their “worshippers,” but deep down they only seek to warp reality in ways that further their comfort and existence. In these terms, temples are not houses of peace but negotiation halls. Shrines are vending machines for miracles paid in blood, memory, or years of life. Clergy are less shepherds than brokers, striking desperate bargains with beings whose love is indistinguishable from exploitation. A dark bargain indeed…