I'm curious how most GMs have attempted to implement deities in temporary 'mortal' form, esp when not revealed to be such throughout most of a given campaign. Random inconspicuous halfling who's actually Asmodeus? One of the Ascended in what appears as their pre-ascension form? Tsukiyo appearing as a samsaran, as he is their patron deity?
So far my take is to depict them as if they were simply extremely devout characters of that deity's faith (cleric or otherwise) to the point they wear what the deity would usually be depicted wearing (perhaps in the deity's sacred colors) with 0 steps away from the deity's alignment, the deity's favored weapon over all else, the appropriate use of the deity's (un)holy symbol, and any opportunity the avatar's class provides to possess a companion/servant matching the deity's sacred animal. Perhaps full access to the deity's domains if in the form of a cleric, paladin, etc and limited access if in an appropriate non-divine class.
Starter question: In canon, how have deities taken mortal form in the past? Have they limited themselves to particular races/classes?
The example I'm trying to lead with for a campaign is an avatar of Urgathoa as a Kuru cook or something (Witch?) with the above parameters but could simply be mistaken as a highly devoted follower, not the goddess herself. Had it been Norgober himself, the avatar could appropriately wear a mask, but what's a big curiosity is if Urgathoa could manifest herself as a living mortal at her choosing, would her limitations for hedonisn be moot? (Beating around the bush here, but, wouldn't she be capable of indulging sexually if she were able to manifest as a mortal with undisturbed nether-regions?) How could she masquerade as a Kuru while also not being obvious walking around with skeletal pelvis and legs?
A PC set to be in my campaign is a Kuru and defines cannibalism loosely instead of literally, and I'd like to play around with options such as her being present when a wendigo attacks, and/or her becoming the PC's next meal leading to a form of ascension similar to Lao Shu Po ingesting Tsukiyo's former corpse and becoming a rat-deity.
Any interesting suggestions? If she did manifest with flesh and muscle on her nether-regions despite her divine form lacking it, would she exhibit warped privates and/or STDs, considering her affiliation with diseases?
I still want to play around with opportunities an avatar of Urgathoa could open up, but since this campaign focuses on horror and food, with a pinch of video game logic, perhaps the avatar is a Kuru Gingerbread Witch (for flavor ;D) who offers the party a dark option: to bring her members of their own races (under the false pretenses of needing hands around her bakery) in exchange she will provide them ____ Candy (____ = Races brought) that idk either A. Provides enough or almost enough EXP to level up or B. Another dose of their appropriate racial modifiers. as a nod to popular joke theory that Professor Willow from Pokemon Go turns the Pokemon you give him into the candies he gives you.
Pretty sure a deity is a deity and can do whatever the hell they want in relation to the party. Deities are at a level that you absolutely cannot attain within the rules, with CRs vastly above anything in the books (for example, Great Cthulhu himself is unkillable, and is unbeatable unless you defeat him twice in a row, and he's not a true deity at CR 30). The better question is not what could she do, but what WOULD Urgathoa do.
Pretty sure a deity is a deity and can do whatever the hell they want in relation to the party. Deities are at a level that you absolutely cannot attain within the rules, with CRs vastly above anything in the books (for example, Great Cthulhu himself is unkillable, and is unbeatable unless you defeat him twice in a row, and he's not a true deity at CR 30). The better question is not what could she do, but what WOULD Urgathoa do.
The only reason I ask things like "Could...." is her portfolio seems to include experiences (and satisfaction) including sexual ones, and yet her characterization implies she's limited to OTHER hedonistic sensations that are pimarily non-physical. I suppose just a dark witchy dress that fully conceals her legs would work fine, and she could retain bony nethers.
What it comes down to is that a deity has infinite power. An Avatar may only have a small portion of that power but it is still infinite Think of it in mathematical terms, what is infinity divided by 10?
A good rule of thumb is that a deity can do anything they want unless another equally powerful or more powerful deity is preventing them. They can assume any form they want with any ability they want. They may have preferred forms, but that does not prevent them from taking other forms.
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I was running a campaign of RotR that was acting as a sort of "audition" the gods (specifically the formerly mortal Starstone gods) were using to see if certain mortals had the potential to handle a bigger issue. Iomedae and Cayden Cailean were banking on the party, Norgorber was banking on some of his cultists. They kept their influence minimal, popping up now and again to keep them on track, usually appearing as they did when they were mortal (with the exception of Norborger, who was just a hooded figure). Iomedae appeared as a paladin (and was taken as a worshipper of Ionedae rather than the goddess herself). Cayden Cailean could've been taken for a cleric, but most of the party seems to have figured out who he is.
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Think of it in mathematical terms, what is infinity divided by 10?
Zero point eight.
In seriousness, gods or their messengers taking human guise happens all the time in stories. While appearing as a devout member of their faith is certainly a possibly, a lot of old stories actually tend to involve a god or their messenger taking the form of somebody meaningless, in order to best gauge their followers' actions. It is, after all, not how one treats their peers but how they treat their inferiors that measure their character.
For the Golarion setting, of course, this might not be the case for all deities. Many are self centered or malicious enough that they don't really care how members of their church treat a ragged homeless peasant begging for food. Honestly, at least one faith would likely kill such a person on the spot.
In those cases, where the god is manifesting in order to achieve some other goal, being inconspicuous is still important. They might dress in appropriate colors for the faith, and might have a holy symbol lying around, but otherwise the closest sign anybody will get is that they act in general accordance to their philosophy.
Gods get a +1 trillion to their Disguise check, after all.
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James Jacobs has suggested that the avatar of a deity should range, as needed, from CR 1/10 to CR 30.
Given that, Urgathoa must circumvent her organic lacking by appearing in mortal form all the time lol
So Urgathoa may very well appear as any race with the avatar's body fully intact, any class (though it stands to reason that they may prefer classes offered in the Evangelist's description) and if fully equipped might favor their.... favored weapon, if possessing an animal companion/familiar may favor their own sacred animal... all where applicable. Holy symbols and the like may only apply if they are in the guise of a religious individual, and/or are a self-gratifying deity.
In a horror campaign featuring dining as a central theme (and rightfully, cannibalism) as a witch, she may care for "creating' new followers by swaying the PCs towards darker indulgences. The primary reason I do not just utilise one of her faithful is I'd like the option to A) have her avatar BE cannibalised in the literal sense (be the same race as the cannibalistic PC) and B) her avatar's eaten corpse to give the PC a 'taste' of divinity, similar to Lao Shu Po, an interesting option I have prepared is making the PC become a divine Urgathoan Wendigo.
What are divine qualities recommended to add to any creature discovered (or purposefully revealed) to be an Avatar of X?
I'm curious how most GMs have attempted to implement deities in temporary 'mortal' form, esp when not revealed to be such throughout most of a given campaign. Random inconspicuous halfling who's actually Asmodeus? One of the Ascended in what appears as their pre-ascension form? Tsukiyo appearing as a samsaran, as he is their patron deity?
I don't and I probably never will. Because I prefer that mortals be the centerpieces of the story for good or ill.
James Jacobs has suggested that the avatar of a deity should range, as needed, from CR 1/10 to CR 30.
My current source for this quote... so, second hand at best...