Gods In the Divine Plane

There's not a single human who hasn't dealt with a God in the Divine Plane. Many do not see
the dieties they worship, but their presence is felt no matter where one looks. If they saw just how
brutal and cut-throat the world of dieties was, though, they might have second thoughts about sending
praises. The theological sphere of the Divine Plane is a mess that resembles endless mafia struggles
more than any religion. Gods must band together to survive, pledging fealty to stronger dieties in return
for the smallest cuts of Divinity. Many Gods are entangled into massive hierarchies, barely cognizant
of their superiors. The lowest gods beg for worship and prayers while the highest engage in decadent
games, desperate for even the smallest bit of extra power. Was this what the creators of existence
intended? Who knows...

Even Heaven's Citizens Fear Death

Gods are beings of pure divine power who watch over a particular area of the Divine Plane,
called their “fief” (though the vast majority don't actually own the fief they work in). They are ageless
and have no need for drink, food, or sleep. But they are not immortal. Gods can die like any other being
in the Divine Plane. They stave off death with worship from human followers. So long as they are
worshiped on a regular basis, they cannot die, constantly replenishing their reserves of Divinity through
the prayers and rituals of their adherents. If they are slain in battle, they simply regenerate at their
shrine within a few hours. Worship is their sustenance. A God who loses worshipers will see her power
atrophy before her very eyes; a god with no worshipers is in danger of death by draining their Divinity
reserves, and must be extremely careful. Such “Vagrant Gods” are often wretched and pitiable things,
begging in town squares and at the sides of roads for but minor prayers.
Gods vary tremendously in appearance. Many look like humans and could pass in mortal
society if not for the power they radiate. Others are more inhuman, appearing as animals
(anthropomorphic or not) or other monstrous beings. In general, however, Gods prefer to take
humanoid forms at the very least. They also vary in power just as much. The weakest are barely
stronger than a normal human; the strongest can give even puissant Heavenborn and Hellspawn
immense trouble. Gods naturally take on more inhuman appearances the more powerful they are.
Weaker ones look like humans with perhaps some strange markings, eyes of pure flame, or other minor
differences. Stronger ones can take on completely inhuman veneers—skin and hair that flows like
water, crystalline bodies, or extra limbs (no God has six arms, however).
The appearance of a God depends mostly on the location of their fief and their fetiches. A fetich
is a particular item a God is abnormally obsessed with. All Gods have fetiches; they can range from
“swords” to “water” to “the cries of anointed children”. A God whose fetiches are “swords”, “fire”, and
“stars”, for instance, may have skin that glistens like metal, hair of flame, and eyes specked with astral
lights. Fetiches are always a heavy part of rituals; the aforementioned God may require that priests hold
ceremonial swords during worship, require flame to be a major component of the rituals, and request
that they be done outside under the stars. Likewise, a follower may be able to curry favor by bringing
him an exquisite sword, or by ritually immolating themselves. If there is any logic or reason to what
fetiches each God gets, then it's unknown to all of the Divine Plane. Gods simply spring into existence
knowing what their fetiches are, and that is that.

Worship

Gods need worshipers. Human worshipers are preferred. Worship enables a God to live and get
power. Of course, if there were no benefit for the humans in question, humanity would have simply
ignored the Gods. Thankfully, there are some benefits. A God's mere existence in a fief is enough to
stave off wild Spirits and Elementals. God possess the unique ability to bind such beings into oaths,
and those beings find it mentally draining to attack people in a fief (though puissant Spirits and
Elementals often have the power to ignore such restrictions). The forces of Hell cannot taint a fief with
infernal power unless the God specifically allows it. Gods are immune to any mentally controlling
powers in regards to this, so Hellspawn and infernal Celestials cannot simply force them to say “yes”
(though threats of death are still highly effective). Finally, Gods can bless devout worshipers, and there
are many in the Divine Plane who worship out of a selfish desire to gain favor and power. In many of
the Blessed Cities, as well, the local Governments require Gods to tithe some of their Divinity to keep
many of the magitechnological machines and infrastructure running, so people worship to ensure the
heating systems don't go out during a blizzard.
Gods also get something useful from humans: shrines. A Shrine is any building devoted to a
particular God. The building must be made by worshipers; a God is not able to consecrate a building
they made themselves. A shrine allows a God to heal from their wounds in battle, and recover their own
Divinity much faster than usual. They also can only do their strongest blessings inside their shrine. And
finally, human worshipers may perform intense and specialized rituals inside shrines, giving the God a
boost from the concentrated piety. A God without a shrine can be killed through physical force, and all
Gods can instantly materialize in their shrine so long as they're inside their fief.
This is how Gods are supposed to act. They act as bulwarks against Chaos and Hell, and in
return humans build them grand shrines.
If only it were that simple.

Chain of Command

The Gods are not alone. They are organized into massive local hierarchies, where those at the
top take a generous helping of their inferior's Divinity. The method through which this is done is the
Mantra Reifying The Hierarchy. A strong God can use this Mantra with another God; they are bound
together in turn, and whenever humans worship the lesser God, the higher one takes a cut of Divinity
off the top. This happens instantaneously; there is no way to stop the transfer. In addition, if the lower
God uses the Mantra on another one, then the one at the top still receives a cut when either of the two
below her is worshiped. Put simply: The Gods at the top receives cuts whenever those below them
receive worship, while those at the bottom receive almost nothing when everyone above has gotten
their cut. The strongest Gods are at the top of chains that can number in the hundreds and go several
levels deep, receiving vast amounts of power without anyone actually venerating them very often. They
often have worships days once every few months, or annually, but otherwise they can lounge around
and receive power in exchange for nothing. The Gods at the bottom are those who deal with mortal
worshipers; in Godly society, dealing with worshipers is an undignified, low-class job. The Godly elite
have no time to dirty themselves with such simplistic matters. As such, the Gods humans most often
deal with are the lowest in the chain, who must subsist on mere scraps. Most mortals are completely
unaware that when they worship the local town God, 17 others automatically take nearly 90% of the
divine power off the top. These lower Gods often do not have control of their own fiefs, and must make
do with ramshackle shrines they share with several others. They do receive a “wage” of divine power
from their superiors, but is is often meager and prone to disappearing frequently. They often don't even
know who the top dogs are.
The system is, admittedly, self-regulating: Eventually it reaches a point where the bottom Gods
are receiving so little they are unable to keep from starving, at which point everything either collapses
or they revolt.
They have no choice. Anybody who tries to accrue worshipers of their own is quickly crushed
by the massive mafias. The mafias have a tight grip on potential worshipers, so the only way to not
starve is pledging fealty to them. Upwards mobility is extremely difficult; chances for more power
come only through killing those above you or from taking in vacancies when a God dies. The top Gods
endlessly ply their games, competing for worshipers and sometimes flat-out warring with each other. A
war may cause distress and pain for humans, but the thought of a massive new source of worship is too
good to resist—never mind the new Gods to ensnare in the system. And, of course, sometimes a chain
collapses entirely, and the resultant internal struggle can wreak havoc. Never mind working-class
revolts; though often the lowest Gods still come out badly in the struggle. The middle-class agitates the
working class and overthrows the bourgeoisie...only to become the new bourgeoisie. For many Gods,
their entire existence is endless drudgery, watching their earnings float away till naught but scraps are
left; seeing the top dogs give themselves massive bonuses and “forget” to pay wages; knowing that
they could die every day. Oftentimes, the only happiness they receive is the proud faces of the pious
humans they lead in worship along with priests.
If only those humans knew the awful corruption inherent to the system.