Three only semi-related questions on this topic:
-Is there an in-world difference between a 10th tier mythic character (with Immortality) who has Divine Source, and a demigod? (Or indeed any 3rd+ tier mythic character with Longevity, Divine Source, and maybe Pure Body?) Or are those characters demigods for all practical purposes?
That is my interpretation. IIRC, a being is considered a demigod if they can grant spells and have a CR 30 or below.
-Do most people in-world (who are not clerics or religious scholars) know the difference between an empyreal lord and a good god, or between a demon lord/horseman/archdevil and an evil god?
Probably not, since thinks like tiers or levels, templates etc are game mechanics, not how people describe the world. Within given Churchs however, I could see certain hierarchies existing that would be part of dogma, and might contain the differences between empyreal lords and full dieties
-Is Lamashtu a demon lord AND a deity, or a deity who was formerly a demon lord? (Similarly for Rovagug, Sarenrae etc.)
I would say Lamashtu has surpassed what it means to be a demon lord, and it would probably be inaccurate to refer to her as such outside the game. Inside the game it's possible there are people who probably consider her just a particularly powerful demon lord
Seems like the next step up for a living demigod is to add hit dice in outsider or otherwise evolve into a unique being, leaving playability behind while still having mortally comprehensible stats. Full godhood and a character sheet full of Wingdings follows.
I asked whether Mythic characters who could grant spells were demigods in a separate thread, and got a reply from James Jacobs. He said: Technically yes, but not even remotely in the same league as the established Demigods. He went on to say that they may have to come out with new terms for such characters.
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Three only semi-related questions on this topic:
1-Is there an in-world difference between a 10th tier mythic character (with Immortality) who has Divine Source, and a demigod? (Or indeed any 3rd+ tier mythic character with Longevity, Divine Source, and maybe Pure Body?) Or are those characters demigods for all practical purposes?
2-Do most people in-world (who are not clerics or religious scholars) know the difference between an empyreal lord and a good god, or between a demon lord/horseman/archdevil and an evil god?
3-Is Lamashtu a demon lord AND a deity, or a deity who was formerly a demon lord? (Similarly for Rovagug, Sarenrae etc.)
1) Yes; a demigod has a relatively widespread faith and a planar realm of significant size. A high tier mythic character with divine source is on the same tier as something like a nascent demon lord—their cult is relatively small and/or localized, and they're very unlikely to have a significant realm under their control on the outer planes—they might have a castle or small region, but not something the size of a continent. In a way, one could categorize mythic tier characters and nascent demon lords and the like as "quasi gods" and then leave the phrase "demigod" for things that inhabit the power tier between a level 20/tier 10 character and a full-on god (AKA the CR range of 26–30).
2) I would say probably not. That bit of lore is probably a DC 11 Knowledge (religion) check at minimum, and thus you need to have at least be trained in that skill to know this.
3) Lamashtu is the most powerful of all demon lords. She's a demon lord AND a deity, in the same way Asmodeus is an arch devil and deity, and Sarenrae is an angel and a deity. Rovagug was once a qlippoth, not a demon.
Rovagug was once a qlippoth, not a demon.
Woah! I know Shattered Star #4 said there was speculation that he was a Qlippoth, but I didn't realize it was confirmed. Awesome.
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EDIT: So was Arazni (at the time she was Aroden's herald and killed by Tar Baphon, not the current lich version) a "quasi god" or a full demigod?
We have never used the phrase "quasi god" in print, and it doesn't really have much meaning yet as a result, but I suppose that yes, Arazni would have been in that category.
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EDIT: So was Arazni (at the time she was Aroden's herald and killed by Tar Baphon, not the current lich version) a "quasi god" or a full demigod?We have never used the phrase "quasi god" in print, and it doesn't really have much meaning yet as a result, but I suppose that yes, Arazni would have been in that category.OK, thanks!
"Quasi-deity" was a 3e term, and I'm pretty sure it's in the SRD, so you could use that.
I do know it was first introduced to the game back in 1st edition. If it was carried through to the 3rd edition Deities & Demigods, and was then carried through into the Deities & Demigods additions to the SRD, then yes we could.
I do know it was first introduced to the game back in 1st edition. If it was carried through to the 3rd edition Deities & Demigods, and was then carried through into the Deities & Demigods additions to the SRD, then yes we could."Quasi-deity" was a 3e term, and I'm pretty sure it's in the SRD, so you could use that.
Creatures of this rank are sometimes called quasi-deities or hero deities