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superbeings
- Thread starter Writeking
- Start date
GeekDavid
Auror
If you can write it well, almost anything goes. 
deilaitha
Sage
Gods and demons are pretty normal in fantasy stories. As GeekDavid said, if it's written well, almost anything goes.
Feo Takahari
Auror
The standard rule is never to put the protagonist on a higher power level than the main antagonist. My rule of thumb goes one step further: never put anyone allied with or sympathetic to the protagonist on a higher level than the main antagonist, unless the protagonist's goal is specifically to win by enlisting the help of the more powerful being. For instance, if a benevolent deity is or is allied with the protagonist, that deity will always have some weakness or restriction to make it less powerful than the villain (that, or the deity's weakness is itself the focus of the story rather than any outside antagonist.)
In addition, unless you're writing specifically for the religious market, never, ever use a deity as the walking embodiment of your moral code. In every single book I've read that did this, the deity proceeded to do something horrifically unethical*, and having the deity praised before and after this act as the embodiment of goodness left me seriously shaken.
* Most frequently killing someone who posed no threat, torturing someone, or forcibly and permanently altering someone's personality to make them more obedient and helpful.
In addition, unless you're writing specifically for the religious market, never, ever use a deity as the walking embodiment of your moral code. In every single book I've read that did this, the deity proceeded to do something horrifically unethical*, and having the deity praised before and after this act as the embodiment of goodness left me seriously shaken.
* Most frequently killing someone who posed no threat, torturing someone, or forcibly and permanently altering someone's personality to make them more obedient and helpful.
Guy
Inkling
Gods in my stories don't directly intervene in the actions of mortals. They expect people to solve their own problems. The only use I've made of demons so far is to have sorcerers enslave them and use them to either gather information or sic on someone else. I'm thinking of creating some hard core demon characters, stories written from their POV. I'll work out the rules when I write that.
shangrila
Inkling
Personally I have no problem with it so long as they're not used as a get out of jail free card in order to solve problems.
wordwalker
Auror
Agreed, the obvious question is what people have said: controlling power, and avoiding Deus Ex Machina. I like the idea that even with gods, if there are two opposing gods they can't act very directly because they'll blow up their sandbox between them, and even if there's just one He tries hard to avoid acting because the real goal is for humans to learn to do the job themselves. Even if you aren't dealing with gods, beings of great power limit themselves by trying not to make trouble for the people or society they care about; consider Superman.
Or read Sanderson's Second Law (By the way, Brandon Sanderson fans: he recently added a third Law of Magic.)
Feo's right, one way is that an ally might be more powerful if the story's about winning his help. And, be careful with "gods" or "moral paragons" that get more praise for their wisdom than the story deserves.
Or read Sanderson's Second Law (By the way, Brandon Sanderson fans: he recently added a third Law of Magic.)
Feo's right, one way is that an ally might be more powerful if the story's about winning his help. And, be careful with "gods" or "moral paragons" that get more praise for their wisdom than the story deserves.
Addison
Auror
It depends on the story, but depending on what you want to have happen, it's entirely up to you. If they fit into the story, either as characters or just a religious base, then write them in.