God

A god is what the God-Emperor of Mankind aspires to be in authority and perpetuality, while at the same time alternately despising it and fighting or denying its existence therof.

For an "actual" more generalized definition, gods are beings or spirits worshiped as having power over nature and/or human affairs (also known as a deity), and are considered far above humanity. They are usually the central focus of a religion (a system of beliefs and teachings revolving around the belief in and worship of a supernatural power). In some accounts they are also the creator (or creators) of the world, the universe and everything in it - in-universe, in the case of some fictional universes. When it comes to the power level of different types of beings, gods are at the top (often with various power levels if there are multiple gods, both in fiction and real-life religions).

In real-life there are various religions, and the majority of the world's population are religious, and even some non-religious people believe in the existence of a god or gods (theism and deism). The most common religious belief systems are the Abrahamic family of religions (primarily Judaism, Christianity and Islam) which are Monotheistic (belief in a singular God) and share many common elements and root. Evidence of theism goes back well into human prehistory.

God or gods are also the origin of the term "miracle"; originally the term for an extraordinary and welcome event that defies, or is inexplicable, by natural or scientific laws and is either proven to be, or attributed to, a divine agency. As a result, divine power fairly often trumps any other power in a fictional story (and real-life, depending on what one believes), and is the only thing in fantasy that trumps magic.

A person's belief (or lack thereof) in a god is a very significant factor in their worldview, and as such often serves as a guiding philosophy. This is because this belief shapes people's views on the big things such as the purpose of life, how life should be lived in relation to oneself and others and what happens to people after they die. On the upside, this often leads to teachings with the goal of unity, peace and co-operation as per the teachings of most religions, some of which are adapted by or also found among non-religious systems. On the downside, this can lead to clashes over how the people involved do the will of whichever god/s they follow or whether or not people should follow a god or religion at all which can involve arguments and factionalizing, or in some cases worse things like pogroms and wars. Since they are an overarching and fairly common element in cultures, they often appear or are referenced in fiction.

There are cases, including in some belief systems, of people or things being mistaken for gods that aren't, or masquerading as gods. Given the inherent authority in godhood, some people use the claim for personal gain, out of extreme arrogance or both.

Gods in Fantasy and Science Fiction

Eru Ilúvatar- Supreme creator of the Lord of the Rings universe, though much of creation was actually done by his lesser creations, the Ainur.

Crom- Chief god of the Cimmerian pantheon, Conan invokes his name often. Doesn't really listen to prayers as he despises weakness.

The Elder God- An entity in the Legacy of Kain videogame series, manages the wheel of fate where all souls go to be reincarnated.

Aslan- Basically Lion Jesus in the Narnia series. His dad is the real Big G.

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Gods in Warhammer

The 4 Chaos Gods, duh

Sigmar- The man turned god, patron of the Empire.

The old world pantheon of Humans- Various deities worshiped by Humans, most notable probably being Ulric whose cult gets to vote on who becomes Emperor, and was also worshiped by Sigmar.

Gork (or is it Mork?)-Brutal but kunnin'.

Mork (or is it Gork?)-Kunnin' but brutal.

The Spider God- Worshiped by Forest Goblins. Likes spiders.

The Dwarf Ancestor Gods- The first dwarfs, ancestors to the whole race.

Hashut- Likes bulls and bronze.

The Elf pantheon- The various deities of the Elves, notable ones include Asuryan, King of the Gods, Isha, the goddess of healing, fertility, and the harvest, and Khaine, the god of war and murder.

The Horned Rat- The big fucking rat god of the Skaven.

The Great Maw- Giant mouth worshiped by Ogres.

The Lizardmen worshipped the Old Ones as gods, only some of which are known.

Gods in D&D

Pretty much every setting has some sort of fantasy pantheon, since gods are usually required for clerics and paladins to get their God-given powers. Still, some manage to put a twist on the typical formula.

The Forgotten Realms have a truly ridiculous amount of gods, with each race (except humans) having their own pantheon. The only one of real interest, however, is the Faerunian pantheon. That's where you have Mystra, Helm, Deneir and all the other cool guys. The only time the gods really did anything unusual was that one time they came down to solve their petty squabbles in Faerun.

Athas of the Dark Sun setting is an interesting variation in that it's one of the very few settings where gods very definitely doesn't exist. Depending on the setting you prefer, they either noped straight outta there when they saw how fucked up the world was or were all killed by the primordials. In their absence, clerics get their power from the elemental planes.

Eberron leaves it mainly ambiguous, as the gods don't really act directly. Ever, so they might not exist. Clerics and paladins do get magical powers, but it stems from belief, not actual God-given poets.

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See Also

• Mythology