How would a God describe himself when asked "What are you"?

[Entessa]

I'm pretty sure that there is actually a definitive answer no matter the god.

Just to be slight more specific, my players have asked this question when talking to a manifestation of Murder, Kazgaroth (https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Kazgaroth). So what I would answer them?

Edit: note that they already asked the "who are you". But they kept asking "What are you". Saying

I'm a t-rex god, kinda seems underwhelming.

So I'm wondering how kazgaroth would describe himself.

[Maat Mons]

"I am vengeance, I am the night…"

[Unoriginal]

I'm pretty sure that there is actually a definitive answer no matter the god.

Just to be slight more specific, my players have asked this question when talking to a manifestation of Murder, Kazgaroth (https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Kazgaroth). So what I would answer them?

Edit: note that they already asked the "who are you". But they kept asking "What are you". Saying

I'm a t-rex god, kinda seems underwhelming.

So I'm wondering how kazgaroth would describe himself.

"*What* am I, little mortals? Do not act as if we were not well-acquainted. I am the silent arrow toward the protected monarch, the heavy axe toward the helpless prisoner, the indifference of the powerful toward the weak's plights. I am the poison in the hand of the resentful spouse, the magic in the hand of the vengeful sorcerer, the law in the hand of the joyful tyrant. I am the first strike that felt on the first mortal to step out of line in their peers' eyes, and I'll be the last too. I am the adventurer's first recourse and the doctor's last.

I am murder, little mortals. Purely, simply, murder. And we finally meet in person."

[Vahnavoi]

"Your worst nightmare" would be a classic. So is "Your doom". Depending on how much sense of humour you want to give to your giant murder lizard, you could also go with "harmless little forest creature, wouldn't harm a fly".

[pothocboots]

For the pantheon I want to use in my next game.

Sun God: Benevolence itself, what do you need?

Murder Goddess:
<Ignores the question and either kills the party>
or
"Very fond of hippos, who's that Giff in the back there? Anyone going to introduce me?"

Earth God: ... (He's unfortunately dead)

Wind Goddess: Gone, bye!

Goddess of shadows: I'm the village crazy lady!

[LibraryOgre]

I'm pretty sure that there is actually a definitive answer no matter the god.

Just to be slight more specific, my players have asked this question when talking to a manifestation of Murder, Kazgaroth (https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Kazgaroth). So what I would answer them?

Edit: note that they already asked the "who are you". But they kept asking "What are you". Saying

I'm a t-rex god, kinda seems underwhelming.

So I'm wondering how kazgaroth would describe himself.

"I am the death of the Earthmother made manifest."

[KorvinStarmast]

How would a God describe himself when asked "What are you"?

Most deities in my worlds would respond in a Robert Deniro style accent:

You talkin' to me?!

[Buufreak]

"I am a portion of eternity, one which is expressed in immortality. A primal urge, a divine insight, into the astute ideal that might makes right. To think of me is to give me form and power, the likes of which do not fade quickly. The cat that hunts the mouse. The shepherd striking down the beast that attacks his flock. The swift knife against a throat, to silence screams and steal the purse. Inevitably made manifest, far sooner than time has promised. The ultimate frailty of flesh.

I am murder. And I am that which murders."

Is that too much for stabby-mc-dinosaur? I'm not the most lore savvy, and don't know the literary talents involved.

[DammitVictor]

Question to ask yourself: Do the gods in your campaign setting actually know how the cosmology of your setting works and their role within it?

They may or may not answer the query honestly, to the best of their own knowledge, but are they even capable of answering it correctly?

[oudeis]

I am the whisper that you bellow sermons to each other to drown out. The unmarked grave amidst the splendid carven monuments celebrating your own righteousness. The enemy of civilization and the eventual end of it; and yet the beginning of it as well, its seed and its spark, for what is civilization but an attempt to bind me and blind me and deny me my due and even my very existence? Fear of me has spurred you and your ancestors to heights otherwise beyond your imagination and your attainment. And yet, for all your striving, the seed will inevitably fail , and the spark will die, or flare into conflagration. And in that time, in the ashes of of your hopes, I will come to you and you shall know me for what I have always been.

And then you shall begin the cycle anew, as has happened again and again for more Epochs of this world than there are stars in the sky.

[AssociateGreen]

For an evil deity, I would fall back on a quote from Faust:

"I am part of that power which eternally wills evil and eternally works good."

It's a play on words. "Good" in this sense just means well/efficiently/etc.

[Biggus]

"I am carnage made flesh" (or murder, or death, or...)

[Mastikator]

"I am everyone I ever killed."

[Psyren]

I'd probably wax poetic.

"I am that which steals life, the violent delight that begets violent ends."

"I am the dagger, the sharpened stone, that unleashes an endless tide of blood."

"I am the cold wind that encounters the flickering candle... and snuffs it out."

I'd probably do something along those lines, but also with an allusive eye toward famous murderers throughout literature, mythology and history. Note that these don't have to be references the PCs are familiar with - a god of Murder might know about Jack the Ripper or Cain or Procrustes, even if the PCs don't have a clue who he's talking about, it'll just sound menacing.

[Darth Credence]

I'd go for mystery.
"What are you?"
"I am."
As far as the deity is concerned in my worlds, they are the important one. That goes for all of them. They are the pinnacle of existence, what makes the rest of existence work. They are beyond such questions as what they are, they simply are.

[VoxRationis]

I would think that a god of murder would illustratively kill someone by way of reply to such a query, but that might not make for satisfying play.

[wilphe]

https://youtu.be/YzHtePuz13U?si=_Aqb08n1vJbWDIW8

[Leon]

Pointedly ignore, they are below a gods notice unless have proven worthy. They keep pestering it, it devours one and leaves

[Vyke]

"I'm Ray"

If not they may get shouted at by their friends.

[Witty Username]

'A wizard, obviously' - Fizban

'Hungry, now don't test my patience' - Tiamat

'A old knight that will help where they can' - Torm

"I am Stratos, God of Air, Supreme lord of the Heavens, bringer of storms, mover of the Firmament. Oh let's be honest shall we, in any halfway civilized world, I would be the only God" - Stratos as voiced by Tim Curry

[Vinyadan]

I
am
POWERFUUUUL!!!

(add storm sounds and flowerpots falling down from windowsills).

[gbaji]

Pointedly ignore, they are below a gods notice unless have proven worthy. They keep pestering it, it devours one and leaves

This is kinda my lean as well.

Why are the lowly mortal PCs in a position to directly address or question a god in the first place? IMO, any god lowly and physical and "mortal" enough to even notice the PCs asking the question, probably doesn't actually qualify as a god in any way other than a claimed title in the first place. And "real" gods, if they even noticed this gnat doing so, would likely soundly disagree with the claim being made.

This doesn't preclude powerful beings claiming such things. Even ones powerful enough to wipe the floor with an adventuring party. So... either that guy claiming to be a god is powerful enough that we may as well just humor him *or* he's a complete lune (and maybe we humor him anyway, "just in case"). But yeah... the liklihood of anything that bothers to give some sort of absolutist and poetic ("I am the blade in the dark...") kind of response, well.. isn't.

[Buufreak]

'A wizard, obviously' - Fizban

'Hungry, now don't test my patience' - Tiamat

'A old knight that will help where they can' - Torm

"I am Stratos, God of Air, Supreme lord of the Heavens, bringer of storms, mover of the Firmament. Oh let's be honest shall we, in any halfway civilized world, I would be the only God" - Stratos as voiced by Tim Curry

Specifically 80s Tim. Somewhere between Rocky Horror and Clue. All the fast tongue and lips, all the quips, all the sharp wits.

[Sapphire Guard]

"I am everyone I ever killed."

I'd like to tweak this to 'I am everyone you ever killed' with the implication somehow that he can unleash all their vengeful slain enemies on them if they don't tread carefully.

[Unoriginal]

This is kinda my lean as well.

Why are the lowly mortal PCs in a position to directly address or question a god in the first place? IMO, any god lowly and physical and "mortal" enough to even notice the PCs asking the question, probably doesn't actually qualify as a god in any way other than a claimed title in the first place. And "real" gods, if they even noticed this gnat doing so, would likely soundly disagree with the claim being made.

This doesn't preclude powerful beings claiming such things. Even ones powerful enough to wipe the floor with an adventuring party. So... either that guy claiming to be a god is powerful enough that we may as well just humor him *or* he's a complete lune (and maybe we humor him anyway, "just in case"). But yeah... the liklihood of anything that bothers to give some sort of absolutist and poetic ("I am the blade in the dark...") kind of response, well.. isn't.

In D&D and the Forgotten Realms, "god" is a type of entity, not an indicator of power.

[gbaji]

In D&D and the Forgotten Realms, "god" is a type of entity, not an indicator of power.

Which still doesn't counter the point that anyone who's actually bothering to answer the PCs question with some nonsense about how they are the "embodiment of <whatever>" almost certainly... isn't.

[wilphe]

I need your starship

[Unoriginal]

Which still doesn't counter the point that anyone who's actually bothering to answer the PCs question with some nonsense about how they are the "embodiment of <whatever>" almost certainly... isn't.

I don't follow the logic.

It's not nonsense if it's true.

If your point is "if it was true, they wouldn't ever be talking to the PCs, therefore it must be nonsense", then it's demonstratively not accurate. "The god shows off and makes a speech about what they are" is a common trope in D&D and in fantasy in general (not to mention actual real-life religions).

[Mastikator]

I'd like to tweak this to 'I am everyone you ever killed' with the implication somehow that he can unleash all their vengeful slain enemies on them if they don't tread carefully.

I really like this tweak. The god of murder draws power from murderers, and can give power to them, and can hold dominion over them. All to the extent that they murder.

[gbaji]

It's not nonsense if it's true.

True, but meaningless, since you can say that about anything. "I can lift 1000 lbs above my head!" is not nonsense if it's true.

Doesn't make the statement actually "true" though. Which is the point here.


If your point is "if it was true, they wouldn't ever be talking to the PCs, therefore it must be nonsense", then it's demonstratively not accurate. "The god shows off and makes a speech about what they are" is a common trope in D&D and in fantasy in general (not to mention actual real-life religions).

I get that it's a trope. But so are lots of other dumb things that characters in various media do. As a GM, I actively try to avoid having the NPCs in my games actually follow dumb tropes as much as possible. And this is absolutely one of them.

I still maintain that anyone who feels the need to "show off and make a speech about what they are" is not actually a god. They may be powerful, but not an actual deity. Or, at the very least, not a very powerful one, and certainly not one that actually "embodies" any sort of conceptual thing (like death, murder, darkness, light, whatever). They are, at the very best, some minor being, with some minor powers (likely granted to them by a higher being) in some minor area and probably act as some minor part of a larger pantheon, and can only operate in so much as an actual full on deity allows them to or something. The actual "god of death"? Doesn't need to say a thing. The actual "god of darkness". Ditto. Only the flunkies feel the need to do this.

So yeah. Even in games like D&D, where there may be a whole array of various "divine beings" with different levels of powers, the general rule still stands. Anyone spending their time bragging to you about their divine powers probably has a boss they report to.

EDIT: Eh... So just to answer the question. If I do put someone in my game saying something like this, it absolutely will be the game equivalent of some poser really hoping no one looks beyind the curtain. An actual god would either just ignore the PCs entirely, or have some underling give them instructions (and said underling may very well be pompous and whatnot, but never the actual deity itself).

[LibraryOgre]

I AM SMAUG! (https://youtu.be/Or8G_jDcLNo?si=XKNbvYuBiUgwNgXk)
I kill what I wish!
I am strong. Strong. STRONG!
My armor is like tenfold shields, my teeth are like swords, my claws, spears, the shock of my tail, a THUNDERBOLT!
My wings, a HURRICANE!
And my breath.... DEATH!

That is how a god describes himself to a mortal.


(red text is just red, not mod-voice)

[Unoriginal]

“I USHERED SOULS INTO THE NEXT WORLD. I WAS THE GRAVE OF ALL HOPE. I WAS THE ULTIMATE REALITY. I WAS THE ASSASSIN AGAINST WHOM NO LOCK WOULD HOLD.
"Yes, point taken, but do you have any particular skills?”

-Mort, by Terry Pratchett

[Slipjig]

"I am He Whose Tread Shakes the Earth."

"I am what happens when the God of Murder decides he's tired of being subtle."

"I am... hungry."

-edit-

Not really applicable to this deity, but I like, "The Storm That None Survives".

[Bohandas]

"I have existed from the morning of the world and I shall exist until the last star falls from the night. Although I have taken the form of Gaius Caligula, I am all men as I am no man and therefore I am a God."

[TheHalfAasimar]

Well, the first thing is coming from FMAB, so something along the lines of:

"I am Truth, God, whatever you want to call me"

Or, if we're going by the bible, well,
"I am Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and End"

[Maryring]

It depends so much on who the god is. Why are they even talking to mortals in the first place? What's the aspect they're manifesting through? What's their goal in this interaction?

Essentially, if the goal is to intimidate then the answer is going to be quite different from if it's trying to lure the party into a false sense of security. But either way, there's been some pretty good examples for this particular god in question. So it all comes down to what you want to present him as.

[Beelzebub1111]

I would respond with a question to try and determine why the player is asking that question. If the player wants to wax philosophical with a god of murder then it enables them to get the heart of the response. If the player wants to learn how to become a god...a primordial entity representing the idea of the first being intentionally ending the life of another is not the best place to start. If the player is trying to be clever and get the god to disprove itself by asking tricky atheistic questions, then have the dinosaur god eat him. Respond with: "That is what I am"

[Carrion Knight]

First and foremost ask yourself what a god is in your world at least in the simple sense. Is a god a manifestation of a concept, in this case murder? Or is it an preexisting entity that chose the domain of murder, to feed on it as its divine sustenance? Is it a fiction conjured into this world and sustained by the belief of it's worshippers?
With the answer to that in mind, the truth as it is, you can then look to the personality of the god. Would they lie about their origins? Are they poetic, or blunt? How do they feel about mortals, or these mortals specifically? What mood are they in, what have they been doing lately and how would that impact their current conversation?
A manifestation of a concept god with a poetic style of speech who sees mortals as playthings and has been grumpy do to recent conflict with the ocean god, will sound vastly different to a fiction god with a blunt style who hates mortals.
The former may decide to let out frustration on the party, trying to intimidate them for its amusement with a truthful and flowery speech. The latter may try to scare the mortals, requiring their belief to exist, with an enraged lie about being a manifestation god or a preexisting god as not to reveal any potential weaknesses.

Just some long winded thoughts.

[Entessa]

Thanks to everyone of you.

Really.

You truly gave me some ideas. I can say you some things, though:

1) The "I am" stuff I truly don't like, because it reminds me of the Abramitic God, while we are in a pantheon of Gods

2) I should have phrased that Kazgaroth is made from the essence of Murder, but he is not Murder. Bhaal is murder, but he is currently dead, and the party will meet him because one of the being here is a Bhaalspawn.

3) The "what are you is still hard to answer, even with all your replies.

4) Some of the phrases are really cool, such as "Death of Earthmother made manifest, or the wind snuffing the candle". I feel though they are more adapt to an answer of "who are you".

5) For Beelzebub1111: the player wishes a philosophical answer, rather than a materialistic one.

6) to Carrion knight: it an preexisting entity that chose the domain of murder, to feed on it as its divine sustenance.

Thanks to everyone <3

[Unoriginal]

2) I should have phrased that Kazgaroth is made from the essence of Murder, but he is not Murder. Bhaal is murder, but he is currently dead, and the party will meet him because one of the being here is a Bhaalspawn.

"I am what you could be: an entity made *from* Bhaal, but not Bhaal or beholden to him."

[Bohandas]

2) I should have phrased that Kazgaroth is made from the essence of Murder, but he is not Murder. Bhaal is murder, but he is currently dead, and the party will meet him because one of the being here is a Bhaalspawn.

*"In our father's house there are many graves"

*"Come with me and I will make you butchers of men"

[Witty Username]

There is the old favorite repurposed:

'Murder is my blood, and death is my bones'

It is a redux of how Jon Irenicus describes bhaalspawn, when you accuse him of infiltrating your dreams.

[Misereor]

"So glad you asked!" *stab*
- Belkar, The Halfling God of Murder

[Trafalgar]

An omniscient god would have to exist outside time. So use Dr. Manhattan for inspiration.

"We are all puppets. I am just a puppet who can see the strings"
or
"Perhaps the world is not made. Perhaps nothing is made. A clock without a craftsman. It’s too late. Always has been, always will be, too late."
or
"She says I am like a god now. I tell her I don’t think there is a God, and if there is, I’m nothing like Him".


For example, I would change the first quote for a god of murder:

"We are all puppets. Gods are puppets who can see the strings. I am the god who cuts the strings of other puppets."

[Easy e]

"I 'iz what I 'iz" - Pop-eye The Sailor Man

[KorvinStarmast]

"I 'iz what I 'iz" - Pop-eye The Sailor Man

I recall that being "Aye Yam what Aye Yam" but it's been a lot of years since I saw those cartoons.

[Bohandas]

I recall that being "Aye Yam what Aye Yam" but it's been a lot of years since I saw those cartoons.

Same here, on both counts

[Kane0]

No words, just a mental projection. A single momentary telepathic link to every creature currently murdering or being murdered. A split second glimpse into their entire perspective of existence.

[hewhosaysfish]

I recall that being "Aye Yam what Aye Yam" but it's been a lot of years since I saw those cartoons.

I thought that was Descartes?

[wilphe]

I thought that was Descartes?

So did I man

So did I

So easy to get those two dudes mixed up

[Psyren]

"I 'iz what I 'iz" - Pop-eye The Sailor Man


I recall that being "Aye Yam what Aye Yam" but it's been a lot of years since I saw those cartoons.


I thought that was Descartes?

Exodus predated both, though I don't think I can elaborate here.


*"In our father's house there are many graves"

*"Come with me and I will make you butchers of men"

Ha, cute :smallsmile:

[ArlEammon]

"I am as far beyond Mutants as they are beyond you!" - En Sabah Nur

[Easy e]

I recall that being "Aye Yam what Aye Yam" but it's been a lot of years since I saw those cartoons.

Oh! I think you are right. Faulty memory strikes again!

[Sapphire Guard]

The question 'what are you' Kind of implies an answer beginning 'I am', unless you god just says 'irrelevant. Why are you here?'

[KorvinStarmast]

I can just see the conversation if the deity in question is having a rough time at the moment.

Mortal: What are you?
Deity: What's it to you, pal?

[Ionathus]

Since many fictional "pantheon" gods (like those in the Forgotten Realms) each have a typical portfolio, usually a powerful concept in mortal minds like Death, Light, or Love, I always lead with that. That one aspect (though it can be several connected concepts) of their personality informs everything about how they think about themselves. It may not align perfectly with how mortals see that concept.

Example: Kelemvor is the god of death, but importantly "death as the natural counterpart to life." It's not something to be feared, or avoided, or inflicted upon others. It's something to be accepted and "enforced" (for those who violate their own mortality like liches, vampires, mad mages, etc.), but that doesn't make it a bad thing, and Kelemvor doesn't relish death. Even if a mortal might fear death (and by extension, Kelemvor), Kelemvor won't approach it in those terms. Kelemvor will speak of natural order, and inevitability, and be generally "fair, but cold" which is one of his taglines.

Think about if you asked two people to describe themselves and what they do for a living: a visual artist who creates oil paintings for sale, and a construction painter who spray-paints hundreds of interior rooms a year with a basic primer coat. They each work with the same medium (paint) for a living, but their approach is entirely different. One prioritizes the visual appeal, one is going for efficiency. One likely plays with different styles, and the other one has perfected a consistent way of accomplishing one task.

From what I can see of Kazgaroth on the wiki, it seems like a feral, bestial creature who relishes murder and death. It would speak like a gloryseeking gladiator or a bloodthirsty monster, and it would consider itself the highest form of being, because of its ability to inflict death on others. It would demonstrate profound ego, profound cruelty, and profound predatory cunning. Compare that to Kelemvor, who also works with death, but as a neutral arbiter, not a gleeful killer himself.

Hope that helps!


(red text is just red, not mod-voice)

Too late: through accidental use of mod-powers you have literally transformed yourself into a massive red dragon. Seek medical treatment immediately...OR seek out Peelee to set a time and place for a dragon-battle for the ages, and let us know so we can preorder front-row tickets

[Moyza]

The encarnation of murder, you say?
Let's use the principle of where comes from and to what it leads.

"I am the source of loss, the begin of sorrow, the fountain from where regret flow. I am the life cut short, the impossibility of tomorrow, the outter edge of the downward spiral. I am murder!"

…etc. My English is not that good, but I suppose you get the idea.

[Unoriginal]

I can just see the conversation if the deity in question is having a rough time at the moment.

Mortal: What are you?
Deity: What's it to you, pal?

"Mortals always ask what I am, no one ever ask how I am."

"It's not because I'm immortal that I can't be dead tired, you know?"

[KorvinStarmast]

Too late: through accidental use of mod-powers you have literally transformed yourself into a massive red dragon. Seek medical treatment immediately...OR seek out Peelee to set a time and place for a dragon-battle for the ages, and let us know so we can preorder front-row tickets You and I shall set up the concession stand, popcorn and drinks, and earn a tidy profit! :smallcool:

"Mortals always ask what I am, no one ever ask how I am." *golf clap* That got a grin out of me.

Random question:
Has Tanarii left us for other horizons? I miss seeing that name on various inputs.