Help making up certain attributes of gods?

[ClearDragon]

So, I've been creating some gods for my stories and have some trouble with certain things.
I want there to specific things that happen to mortails when they see or come into contact with the gods, but can't think up any more.
I have seven gods, all inspired by a real or fictional animal.
Dragon: So majestic that anyone who looks into his eyes go blind.
Wolf: Fur so soft that anyone who touches goes numb.
Griffin: Call so beautiful that mortails go deaf.
Cephalopod: So frightening that people have permanent nightmares. Maybe this could be better?
Bat: I've got no idea for this one.
Salamander: Or this one!
Insect: This is the one I have the most trouble with, I don't even know what kind of insect it should be!
I appreciate any ideas.

 

[Orc Knight]

Oooh, this is like making a new Power Ranger team!

Dragon: The fury of fire and magma, the molten core of volcanos and at ease while slumbering but of great wrath when awoken.
Wolf: The wild wind of the north, the howling that brings fear with it.
Griffin: The lord of sky and plain who strikes swiftly and surely.
Cephalopod: The keeper of the deeps. Far smarter then given credit for and the lord of the drowned.
Bat: The night host of a thousand watchers ever out to keep those of the night safe within it's wings.
Salamander: The fire of the hearth and home. Unless it's the actual animal sort, then it is the swamp keeper and those that dwell within.
Insect: The terror. The Locusts. They who Hunger and Swarm.

 

[ClearDragon]

Oooh, this is like making a new Power Ranger team!

Dragon: The fury of fire and magma, the molten core of volcanos and at ease while slumbering but of great wrath when awoken.
Wolf: The wild wind of the north, the howling that brings fear with it.
Griffin: The lord of sky and plain who strikes swiftly and surely.
Cephalopod: The keeper of the deeps. Far smarter then given credit for and the lord of the drowned.
Bat: The night host of a thousand watchers ever out to keep those of the night safe within it's wings.
Salamander: The fire of the hearth and home. Unless it's the actual animal sort, then it is the swamp keeper and those that dwell within.
Insect: The terror. The Locusts. They who Hunger and Swarm.

Interesting, but not quite what I was looking for.
Hmm, locusts are only impressive in a swarm, I want an insect that is impressive by itself! I'm now thinking of a praying mantis, those are cool!

 

[WooHooMan]

I had an idea for a deity whose presence sucks out the heat and light from the area. So where ever it is, it’s cold as ice and pitch black. Even if one survives the cold of being around it, they would have no idea what it would look like.
Maybe that could work for cephalopod.

But I think that naming them after animals takes away their grandeur a bit. Calling something a “salamander” isn’t quite as majestic as a series of interlocking wheels and wings called a “Throne”.

 

[ClearDragon]

I had an idea for a deity whose presence sucks out the heat and light from the area. So where ever it is, it’s cold as ice and pitch black. Even if one survives the cold of being around it, they would have no idea what it would look like.
Maybe that could work for cephalopod.

But I think that naming them after animals takes away their grandeur a bit. Calling something a “salamander” isn’t quite as majestic as a series of interlocking wheels and wings called a “Throne”.

I don't mean their names, they actually resemble those creatures. Except they would be huge and have amazing powers.

 

[Maker of Things Not Kings]

Ooohhh how can the insect NOT be the praying mantis? Which causes those who fall under it's gaze to . . . do I even need to say it?!
Salamander -Well, around here we have rough skinned newts which can have a toxic attribute to their skin so perhaps the person who touches it become toxic when touched by others themselves and they are called poisoners.
Cephelopod - I like the nightmare idea but maybe whatever befalls the person in the nightmares really happens to them while they sleep. (injuries etc)
Bat - Insomnia. I know, not the most terrible of afflictions at first. . . but if one could NEVER sleep at night. . . or the afflicted develops a sonar type ability that drives them mad because they cannot turn it off.

 

[ClearDragon]

Now I lik

Ooohhh how can the insect NOT be the praying mantis? Which causes those who fall under it's gaze to . . . do I even need to say it?!
Salamander -Well, around here we have rough skinned newts which can have a toxic attribute to their skin so perhaps the person who touches it become toxic when touched by others themselves and they are called poisoners.
Cephelopod - I like the nightmare idea but maybe whatever befalls the person in the nightmares really happens to them while they sleep. (injuries etc)
Bat - Insomnia. I know, not the most terrible of afflictions at first. . . but if one could NEVER sleep at night. . . or the afflicted develops a sonar type ability that drives them mad because they cannot turn it off.

Now I like those ideas!
So when somebody sees the cephalopod, they have nightmares that leave real injuries!
Salamander is a good one. Bat is cool too.
But I don't know about mantis, you mean the people start praying?

 

[Maker of Things Not Kings]

Oh no. . . When praying mantises mate, the female will often kill the male afterwards and devour it. This is thought to actually take place to help the female ensure their own survival and that of their young (one less mouth to feed? But don't quote me on that.) Same thing can happen with mantis siblings and they usually bite the head off of their prey. They are an apex predator (and cannibal) of the insect world.

 

[ClearDragon]

Oh no. . . When praying mantises mate, the female will often kill the male afterwards and devour it. This is thought to actually take place to help the female ensure their own survival and that of their young (one less mouth to feed? But don't quote me on that.) Same thing can happen with mantis siblings and they usually bite the head off of their prey. They are an apex predator (and cannibal) of the insect world.

Oh, I see! Interesting, but I might go with a horned bettle insted.

 

[ClearDragon]

Oh no. . . When praying mantises mate, the female will often kill the male afterwards and devour it. This is thought to actually take place to help the female ensure their own survival and that of their young (one less mouth to feed? But don't quote me on that.) Same thing can happen with mantis siblings and they usually bite the head off of their prey. They are an apex predator (and cannibal) of the insect world.

Oh, I see! Interesting, but I might go with a horned beetle instead.

 

[CupofJoe]

Dragonflies... One of, if not the most successful hunter in the animal world. It is successful in over 80% of hunts. It has a gaze speed of something like 1000 frames per second [humans are about 20 frames a second]. It has 360-degree vision, above and in front and has incredible depth perception because of the hundreds of facets in the compound eyes. For its size, it flies incredibly fast and can come to a near-instant stop while flying, pulling tens of G.
I am in awe of the little buggers.

 

[Crescent]

The bat could be a vampire bat specifically, metaphorically being a vampire by gradually draining energy or body heat from those around it, the energy draining faster closer to the god.
This could lead to a person approaching the bat and gradually going numb. Thinking it is merely fear, he presses on, closer and closer. He sees the bodies of others who died standing and understands too late as he gets too close and loses the ability to even move, then slowly dying in the great bat's presence, he cries for he cannot scream. He dies as his life force is leeched from his body, and the bat didn't even notice he was there.

 

[LostName]

There is a Greek myth about Hera tricking some mortal woman Zeus was boning (as he does) into making him promise her to do whatever she asks of him and then telling him to show her his real form which killed her instantly, this stuff is not at all weird for gods.
Even if you have an idea that's totally different from myths and other fiction, if you like it, go for it because that's how fantasy stays interesting instead of it all just copying Tolkien / DnD.

The insect god could have aspects of many different insects or frequently change its shape to resemble different insects, OR it could be a Nyarlathotep style literal crawling chaos of a myriad ever shifting insect body parts that cause anyone seeing it to go mad (permanently or temporarily) in true Lovecraftian fashion.

Also, the wolf having fur so soft it causes people to go numb is silly and a weird thing to say. Not to mention it would only happen when a mortal touches a god, something presumably extremely rare. Wolves are usually associated with being scary so e.g. its appearance / howl causing people to become extremely frightened and maybe even permanently paranoid about it makes more sense.
Or going the other way it's appearance is so majestic it inspires unwavering loyalty, maybe because of this it has more followers than the other gods.

Maybe the bat god's echolocation causes mortals to be temporarily paralysed or deafened or just is so strong it's like being exposed to intense vibrations that can rupture blood vessels or internal organs or cause bone fractures or such, especially dangerous because the bat would use it constantly so it could be a god considered evil (even if not actually the case) or being a follower could be a double edged sword, followers are exposed to the harmful echolocation but get something they consider worthwhile in return (e.g. being able to use bat like echolocation themselves, e.g. they could be assassins and they and their god are shunned / ostracized by the rest of society)

The Salamander should be obvious, anyone near enough to clearly see it or hear it is exposed to incredible heat that might just be as hot as a desert or might be hot enough to cause first or higher degree burns. Or since it's a lizard something something detachable tail something (tbh only half an idea lol).

As for the cephalopod...ink? tbh I dunno. Might overlap if if the wolf is also scaring people.

Though, it's best if you think about where you want to actually go with this because obviously gods that can cripple people, even if only temporarily, just when seeing or hearing them have a massive impact on a setting as they could be all considered evil because of this, could be like Japanese kami where people usually only pray to them occasionally and donate / sacrifice some money to their shrine in exchange from hoping to have their wish granted, an intermittent and transactional relationship or they are worshipped by most people / very day like regular fantasy gods and their awful majesty than hurts mortals is just one of their aspects proving how superior they and how inferior mere mortals are.

And of course there is the important question of how much they interact with mortals, maybe once a century so knowledge about their awful majesty is known but only through tradition or maybe far more often and people suffer the ill effects of interacting them as martyrs (like the religion in Blasphemous) or mortals in fact gain something valuable in return, e.g. bountiful harvests, certain victory in battles, etc..

The latter would imply that the ill effects are temporary, e.g meet the bat and ask for the skill to smite your enemies but in return you are bedridden for a week cause of the slowly subsiding paralysis effect.