The four ingredients to a god

[pwning doodes]

https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots1144.html

I was just rereading Thor's explanation, and it got me to wondering: what happens when gods are deprived of each of the four sources of power? We know that Hel has barely any worshipers, and he implies that she's gone a little crazy because of it. What would happen if you didn't get any souls and had an empty afterlife? What does it mean to have dedication without souls or souls without dedication?

And most importantly... what happens if people believe in you but no longer worship or follow you? Do you still exist, just not as a god? Do you become a normal mortal? Maybe you become an Epic-level mortal?

[C-Dude]

And most importantly... what happens if people believe in you but no longer worship or follow you? Do you still exist, just not as a god? Do you become a normal mortal? Maybe you become an Epic-level mortal?

https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0085.html

[speculation] Being forgotten is bad news. Forgotten gods are basically comatose until they get some worship, and are warped by whatever discarded ideas sink down to the bottom of the astral plane and accrete on their slumbering forms. Thus are the Banjhulus formed. [/speculation]

[Roland Itiative]

We can only speculate, but there's good reason to believe Odin's mental situation is a direct side-effect of lack of one or more of the four "dietary components". Since the northerners in the previous world despised magic, he probably got close to no Dedication or Worship from them. But he probably still got enough Souls and Belief.

[Dr.Zero]

We can only speculate, but there's good reason to believe Odin's mental situation is a direct side-effect of lack of one or more of the four "dietary components". Since the northerners in the previous world despised magic, he probably got close to no Dedication or Worship from them. But he probably still got enough Souls and Belief.

I thought it was more because in that world people considered magic something fool (but only arcane magic, apparently) and so he, being the god of magic, was thought to be a bufoon/idiot and he lost some of his mental faculties as consequence.

[Particle_Man]

Agreed. Gods need belief as one of the four food groups but belief can change the god’s nature, from hair colour to the inability to tell the truth (with few exceptions) to lower mental faculties. Looks like it is a slow process that carries over from world to world. Odin might be ok in another 3000 years.

[Particle_Man]

Come to think of it, I wonder if an evil Tree Demigod might spring up due to the dwarven belief system?

[Metastachydium]

And most importantly... what happens if people believe in you but no longer worship or follow you? Do you still exist, just not as a god? Do you become a normal mortal? Maybe you become an Epic-level mortal?

Look at Hel. That's what happens. She only gets belief and souls, but (having no clerics and followers) no worship and no dedication.

Come to think of it, I wonder if an evil Tree Demigod might spring up due to the dwarven belief system?

That would be way cool.
Nevertheless, I'm not sure that's even possible, because a.) all freshly ascended gods were originally particular persons rather than abstract representations of a category on the material plane and b.) even if there was a particular, much reviled tree who could ascend, I'd suppose it takes a soul to do that. Do trees have souls in the Stickverse?

[Dr.Zero]

Come to think of it, I wonder if an evil Tree Demigod might spring up due to the dwarven belief system?

They must believe in it, though.
If some bard starts to tell the story of an evil brother of Thor, who was transformed in a terrible, enormous tree as punishment, and all the trees of the world are his sons and daughters, it might work.
I still have hopes for Banjo and his evil brother, thanks to the faith of the orcs.

[Riftwolf]

Do trees have souls in the Stickverse?

Pretty sure Treants have souls, and if any tree is going to be reviled by Dwarves to the point of apotheosis, it'd be the Tree That Fought Back.

[firelistener]

I had completely forgotten about Banjo (please don't smite me Banjulhu!) and I would not be surprised at all if in the end we discover the Dark One is actually Banjo or that they are part of the same purple pantheon.

[Peelee]

I had completely forgotten about Banjo (please don't smite me Banjulhu!) and I would not be surprised at all if in the end we discover the Dark One is actually Banjo or that they are part of the same purple pantheon.

I would be surprised, as that would completely undermine the main themes of the comic.

[Metastachydium]

Pretty sure Treants have souls, and if any tree is going to be reviled by Dwarves to the point of apotheosis, it'd be the Tree That Fought Back.

Behold the Tree That Fought Back, Evil god of Evil Trees! I like that line of thought. Especially since plant creatures seem to be miserably underrepresented in all three (four) pantheons.
Sole problem is, I can't really see where the Tree would get its daily Worship and Dedication from.

[firelistener]

I would be surprised, as that would completely undermine the main themes of the comic.

What makes you say that?

[Roland Itiative]

I thought it was more because in that world people considered magic something fool (but only arcane magic, apparently) and so he, being the god of magic, was thought to be a bufoon/idiot and he lost some of his mental faculties as consequence.

That is another possibility, but I feel like it's a bit weirder, since the current world already lasted longer than the previous one, and Odin is believed to be wise in this one, yet this isn't reflected in how he actually acts. It makes more sense, to me at least, for such a lasting effect to be a result of an unbalanced diet than a direct consequence of people's ideas shaping a god.

[JSSheridan]

Are rules for demigods different?

I doubt they get much of anything

Could a god get knocked down to a demigod?

[Omomuro]

They must believe in it, though.
If some bard starts to tell the story of an evil brother of Thor, who was transformed in a terrible, enormous tree as punishment, and all the trees of the world are his sons and daughters, it might work.
I still have hopes for Banjo and his evil brother, thanks to the faith of the orcs.

Astonishingly enough, this happened way early in the run of the comic books that OotS!Thor bemoans, although the tree Loki was trapped in didn't explicitly have any offspring (the condition to get out was for literally anyone anywhere to shed a tear over his plight, which he masterfully rules-lawyered by dropping a leaf into Heimdall's eye at just the right moment.)

[AdAstra]

Behold the Tree That Fought Back, Evil god of Evil Trees! I like that line of thought. Especially since plant creatures seem to be miserably underrepresented in all three (four) pantheons.
Sole problem is, I can't really see where the Tree would get its daily Worship and Dedication from.

I could see them becoming a minor player in the Elven pantheon?