Gods vs. GodModding

There are several definitions of the term God/god. ‘A being of supernatural powers or attributes, believed in and worshiped by a people, especially a male deity thought to control some part of nature or reality’ This definition just about covers it.

Understand that in role play that anything and everything can be destroyed. Some creatures, objects, beings are just harder than others. A god is no different, but it is harder to destroy a god than a mortal being. This is where cleverness and common sense come in. To be a god does not mean invincible, understand the term.

As a god, you are stronger and possess more precise and effective supernatural abilities, depending on the realm that you are representing. You have longevity of life and are practically immortal, but NOT INVICIBLE. In role play, there really isn’t such a thing as a universal god, such as there is in a monotheism, that has power over absolutely everything and with just the snap of a finger have the ability to wipe beings out of existence.

A mortal cannot defeat a god on skill/ability alone. A mortal does not possess the stamina, the will power, reflexes, or mentality to do so. A god can have a faceoff with another god as if it were two mortals battling it out power against power. It is skill of role play against another and is considered an even playing field.

All gods have a weakness, I am sure that they will not give this information out freely so that will require some patience and study on the mortal’s part. Once this weakness is found, numerous mortals can band together and attempt to use the weakness against the god until it is defeated. Numerous spiritual beings/witches/developed psychics could band together and use their powers to bind the god, but the chances of actually defeating it are slim.

It must be understood that not just anyone can be a god. A being, after so much experience can ascend to godhood after they have mastered all the elements of role-play but their strength and power comes from their support. The more followers that believe in your skill, the more powerful you are. This is role play, but through mythology, many gods have come and gone. The ones that are still around and viewed to hold actual power are the ones that still have followers.

Some weaknesses may be the removal of their heads, hearts, souls or destruction of specific personal objects. The ultimate destruction of a god is when followers abandon him. Faith comes into play with role play. Certain abilities will not work on people who do not believe in you either by lack of faith or just over powering faith in another deity. This does not mean they are immune to all actions, just certain abilities such as causing awesome fear within the person for example. Certain resolve based actions, such as attacking a non-believer mentally have a higher risk of not working. Illusions have a lower chance of fooling them. Personally, to me it is over-rated to be a god, but that is me and just a character I wouldn’t jump on to play.

God modding is quite different. It is not only frowned upon, but no respectable role player will do it or acknowledge it. It is shunned and if the person doing it is often chastised and loses credibility as a role player. The term noob comes to mind as it is genuinely believed, only someone so insecure, ignorant and lack of experience and skill would do such a thing. It is not awed it is not praised or even complimented.

One of the definitions that best covers the term god modding is: "God Modding" is in essence when someone’s character has the ability to do practically anything without limits or boundaries. An example is when they simply cannot be harmed by any and all means other role-players try.

-It can be killing or injuring a character without the player's express permission.
-It can be when they simply can’t be hit and dodge all attacks or anything for this matter aimed at them.
-It can also be using other characters that other people RP with. In other words, if you do not RP as
Legolas, then you cannot have Legolas say anything, or do anything, without the player's express permission.

The absolute worst is when they make out another character to be what they’re not, just to make their own character seem superior. They make others seem weak, screaming for help, when they’ve made it quite clear about their advantages and strengths. This is called power-play. It’s a strain of God-Modding, but instead of just being irritating, it’s offensive to boot.
Forums may have a set god per the story set, leaving no room for others to play a god character. Some forums stories may revolve around gods and there are more god characters than mortal ones and moderators keep a close eye on them to make sure they are playing the character properly. Ultimately, in forums and groups, it is up to the creator or storyteller on what flies and what doesn’t as it is their story and their forum or group.

Meta-Gaming is another term that should be understood. Meta-Gaming is a strain of God-Modding. It is where the person playing uses outside information to play there character. For example: :John went into the other room, closed the door and proceeded throw a silent tantrum:

usan laughs and calls out: It's nothing to get upset over, stop being a baby.

John was in a room with the door closed and was throwing a silent tantrum. Susan cannot see him and cannot hear him. There is no way Susan can know what he is doing.

Example 2: :When Susan turns her back to John to and moves to the chair. John sticks out his tongue at her:

"Don't stick your tongue out at me!"

Susan's back was to John, no way she could see what he was doing behind her back. The role player saw it, they are the one that read it happen, they know, the character however, is completely oblivious. That is Meta-Gaming. Do try and avoid it. Experienced role players will call you out on it.

In almost a decade role-playing, table top and online, I have yet to encounter anyone who can play a god properly without slipping into god modding. Playing a god isn’t easy. It requires a lot of experience in role-play, knowing the rules of role-play and not only knowing, but enacting them efficiently in every role-play and developing a connection with other role-players who also believe that you know what you are talking about and can play the character as it should be played. On the other hand, anyone can play a god-modder. It requires absolutely NO skill and is in fact, an insult to the role-play community so avoid it. Do not acknowledge anyone who does it and keep yourself aware of your characters actions to keep from becoming one yourself.

Question, What about Angels? If someone tries to kill a Angel and they get stabbed by like a human . Then they automically heal. I s that godmod?

It depends on how they are play. Angels are supernatural creatures so they require more than a simple stab by a mortal's weapon to do them in. In theology angels are spiritual. They are like ghosts ( just like demons ) so other than banishments or prayers, nothing can really be done to harm them. But, if they take corporeal form ( a physical form meaning you can touch them. ) Then that is different.

When an angel or demon takes a corporeal form, then they are subject to laws of nature. So let us say that a human were to stab an angel, an angel can heal automatically, but they still feel the pain of being stabbed and in rp any action, must portray that pain. Keep in mind, their threshholds are different and much higher so having a knife stabbed into their arm would be the equivilance of stepping on a tac. That is, if the weapon is weilded by a human with no special additives, like dark light, attached to it.

Even though they are in corporeal form, their bodies are ran by the spirit. If the spirit isn't destroyed, then the creatures still lives. Now, to keep anyone from thinking that angels and demons are gods and cannot be destroyed let me clarify. Angels and demons are very intriquette creatures. They have levels and ranks to them. The higher the rank, the more that creature is able to do. I would suggest reading up on the creatures and ranks to get a better idea. Higher ranks are the ones that are able to take corpreal form, unless of course a story is played out or a back story/history is written in detail on how a lower one was able to do so. IE: A summoning or a command from their superior God or Satan. ( Fill in your choice of deity ). Back to the point, if a successful kill to their bodies are made, then their spirits are banished back to their point of origin. In essence, that character is dead because they are no longer in this plane of existance. In my studies, if a demon is banished, they are stripped more or less and must remain in hell for a hundred years. In this time they regain their strength. So, like I said, in essence, the character is dead and the person behind it must create another one.

For your example, if a human was trying to kill an angel and stabbed them, let's say, through the heart then it is possible for them to heal from it, that is, if it is a regular weapon that is not enchanted. (In a fight, enchantments or special abilities must be stated in the opening post.) They can heal from it, but they still feel the pain and are inhibited so their actions would not be as fast or as strong. If the sword remains in the heart then their bodies continually take damage and their essence is drained and then their corporeal form can die.

It is godmodding when the stabbing is done and it was not acknowledged. A God can be stabbed, they may not feel it and it may not actually do damage, but they have to acknowledge it in rp that it did in fact happen and they have to do something about it. If the angel pulls out the sword and they describe that the wound heals instantly as the sword is removed, they still would have to acknowledge the slice of the sword coming out and the ache of the area and would take at least one post for them to gather their bairings.