To kill a God

[klakkat]

What a god is kinda depends on the setting. Some settings it isn't possible, others it's mundane; in the Exalted and Planescape settings, minor gods can pop up with more frequency, and while tough are still killable, permanently (most other settings of D&D have gods being completely untouchable, but they aren't as common and don't show up personally).

So it really just depends on what defines a 'god' in the setting. This is of particular note in 4th ed D&D since there are basically paths to become literally god-like for player characters, meaning lesser gods are not an unrealistic challenge, nor an uncommon thing. In say, the Warhammer (and 40K) settings, the gods are very rare and are much more truly immortal and would be an unthinkable challenge; even the other gods likely couldn't kill one (as evidenced by the 4 Chaos gods so far being unable to slaughter Sigmar, which I'm sure they'd love to do).

 

[viking97]

Power word: Kill.

adventure quest, amirite?

i used to love that game...

 

[dkyros]

Gods are just extremely powerful beings that are worshiped by 'inferior' beings. Sometimes they have a part in creation sometimes they are just an interesting part of the mythos. To answer your question a person could kill a god but the likelihood should the same as Stephen Hawking beating Kobe in a one on one game of basketball. That would be going toe to toe. If an indirect approach is taken the likelihood of success would also go up. Or if the creature is already god-like (Like Goku) sure why not kill the god. If the god is truly immortal then the best you can do is drain its power and seal it.

 

[Scorched_Cascade]

In say, the Warhammer (and 40K) settings, the gods are very rare and are much more truly immortal and would be an unthinkable challenge; even the other gods likely couldn't kill one (as evidenced by the 4 Chaos gods so far being unable to slaughter Sigmar, which I'm sure they'd love to do).

[specialist subject alert]
But:
-The C'tan ate each other (Night Bringer and the Outsider chowed down the most)
-Slaanesh killed and ate the majority of the Eldar gods (Vaal, Isha, etc)
-Slaanesh shattered Kaela Mensha Khaine into shards
-The Deceiver and the Laughing God regularly war with each other
-The Chaos gods are immaterial and can only interact with the material world in limited ways, Sigmar was material before ascending to Godhood
-The Old Ones warred with the C'tan
-The Emperor is actually not one being but a hive-mind entity consisting of the millions of psykers sacrificed to it guided by the Emperor's titanic intellect, he is not even whole anymore having cast out a part of himself in order to kill Horus

You are right though it is an unthinkable challenge for a mortal to kill a God because the majority of Gods exist in the immaterium: a realm that exists in the same space as the material but is not really physically connected to it (only by a few entrances). The realm itself is impossible to traverse for the ordinary mortal unaided as it has no fixed form.

In that continuity Gods are formed by the beliefs and actions of people, the more people focus and believe something to be powerful the more powerful it is. Souls can also join to make a God (like the embryonic Eldar God of spirit stones).

 

[GodofCider]

Snip.

How does one kill a god?

What better way than by forgetting about it.

 

[Vern5]

God-killing? Personally, I would prefer god-controlling but if it came to it, I could kill a god.

As long as you can convince the god to attempt being mortal you can kill it. There could be several ways to do this, depending upon the god's personality. You could tell the god that they will never experience things the way we humans do because, as an immortal being, nothing they do will ever come down to the question of "was it worth it?" A being that lives forever and fears neither degradation nor frailty cannot truly understand the worth of something until they are given a fleeting moment of time in which to enjoy it.

Here's a stupid example of something worthwhile. When I finally completed every objective and scenario in Plants Vs Zombies, I was ecstatic. I had thoroughly beaten the game within my lifetime. If I were immortal, getting 100% in any game would provoke a shrug, a sigh, and then I would continue with the next game on my list.

That being said, trick the god into being mortal for reasons of enjoyment. Then stab the poor idiot in the back. Hopefully the god wont be able to read intentions.

 

[Scorched_Cascade]

Snip.

How does one kill a god?

What better way than by forgetting about it.

How about if said God is manifesting his powers in the physical realm? Pretty hard to forget or ignore something that is, for example, chucking meteors around (Black and White)

 

[WolfEdge]

^Like this.

 

[Yvl9921]

"To stand before Him,
Neither praying,
Neither kneeling,
and to speak, 'I believe not in thee.'"
-Jill McFadden

 

[Souplex]

Deicide? My specialty.

 

[Gentleman_Reptile]

Lets just say for arguments sake, that a God can in fact die.

Well if that God exists, then mortals must go to his realm when they die.

But when the God dies...where is he supposed to go? Detroit?

 

[Blueruler182]

There was a New X-men story just before Messiah Complex (the New X-men with Surge, Hellion, and X-23) where they went into Limbo and fought basically Satan (His name was Belasco, but going to hell and killing Satan is a little too extreme for anyone other than Wolverine). The only way they were able to stop him was when Pixie, considered so useless at the time that Satan wasn't even paying attention, she was able to use a recently acquired dagger that kills magic (It was led up to and has precedent in the X-men universe) to stab him in the back, successfully murdering his ass.

Magic knife seems as good a way as any to murder a god. Though the truth is the only way to kill a god is Plot Device Insertion. Because we'd need solid proof that god exists (not saying he doesn't, just healthy skepticism), how to get to him, and reason to stab him with the magic mcguffin, and how to be so inconsequential that they truly don't give a shit about you sneaking up on them with the magic mcguffin.

There's also the Hulks method of fuck them in the face with a fist the size of a cow.

There's also the Sentry's method of rip them in half in incredibly gory detail, but the Hulk kicked his ass just shy of the Hulk's strongest, so fuck the Sentry.

 

[dvd_72]

It depends on your definition of god. is it an omnipotent being that exists seperate of belief? Or is it a being that needs belief to exist? Or is it not omnipotent and just extremely powerfull in one field or other?

I would at least try and see what happens if you try to introduce a paradox. Like, ask the omnipotent god to creat a stone he cannot lift. If he does, then he's no longer omnipotent, but if he can't, then he's no longer omnipotent! mmmh.

 

[Byere]

I'll go with the Belgariad way. It predetermined event in time where I and the God have to battle it out. As part of this pre-arranged meeting, the God will become mortal for the length of the event.

 

[TheSnesDuckling]

How to kill a god, you ask? You simply stop believing in one. To quote Phillip K. Dick on this one, "Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away."

 

[NephTS]

Killing a god would be fairly easy. Note the lower case "g" there. They die all the time, eating each other, killing each other, whatnot. You've got your hydra blood and ice giants and what have you.

If you're talking a capital "g" God, like, an omnipotent, omnipresent creator, then, well, you can't. If it actually exists, just not believing won't make it disappear, and if it doesn't, well, you can't really kill something that doesn't exist either. Where exactly do you stab everything that will hurt? I don't know where everything/every-where's balls even are.

 

[GodofCider]

Snip.

How does one kill a god?

What better way than by forgetting about it.

How about if said God is manifesting his powers in the physical realm? Pretty hard to forget or ignore something that is, for example, chucking meteors around (Black and White)

Oh we're talking about fake-real deities?

Hmm...take your pick I suppose, since it's fiction pertaining to whatever deity you're attempting to kill.

I.e.

What kind of god is it?

Chances are it has weaknesses of some sort; one of the most classical I can think of is simply to have another god kill it. Picture Fenrir killing Odin at Ragnarock.

...create a god killing god? Gather enough worshipers behind it and have it kill everything else? (shrugs)

Again, it depends on whatever fiction you're working through.

Where exactly do you stab everything that will hurt? I don't know where everything/every-where's balls even are.

That's the funny thing about an omnipresent entity. It 'should' be literally everywhere.

 

[GRYPHOM]

Find out gods true name for with a name you can control that person/object completely ^_^.

I did. It's Steve.

Anyway, I'd disbelieve in the God, because, according to most lore, Gods lose power with noone believing in them.

 

[Winthrop]

A god isn't necessarily immortal. For instance all of the Norse gods could die and I believe the Greek gods and Egyptian gods were able to die also. Plus with Christians there was Jesus. To kill a god I would probably try to burn it. That seems to kill things.

 

[crudus]

Two questions, depending on your mood and the seriousness of your disposition, answer whichever you'd like.

1)What is your stance on the whole god-killing thing?
2)How would you, as a mortal, go about doing it?

Spoiler: background

I've seen quite a few posts around arguing that having a mortal kill a God is impossible and therefore bad, or at least clumsy, storytelling; said posters state that a god is immortal and therefore having them killed off breaks the premise.

Personally I think that if done well it can be quite a powerful story telling device, particularly if the God is not actually killed just rendered ineffective.

As for how? I'd go with bifurcating it and burying each part at a separate cross roads face down with a sprig of Hawthorne and a wild rose in it's mouth...or am I muddling my lore.

1. I have no problem with it. I don't know why people seem to. Most of the time I hear about it it happens in books and it stirs up quite the controversy. I never understood it.
2. I would stop the story from being spread. I have always view Gods like Freddy Kruger. They can only exist if people believe in them. If nobody knows about a god then nobody can believe in it.