Shoptalk: Avatar and Appearance

Another post about Godhood. Man, does it ever end? Yes, it does. But not for a while, because my players are on the threshold of Godhood and it's got me super-excited.

To the main topic! One of my players asked me if a Relic he owns, a cloak made of pure darkness, could actually become his character's shadow that billows around behind him on its own and conceals his face in darkness. Sure, I said, why not?! Because that's awesome and it works perfectly for the dark, brooding God that he's working on. This got me thinking about two things. Well, one thing, and the other came from the note about how I work Avatars included in the last post.

First thing is first, though: Godly Appearances. Gods aren't mortal, they're not human and they're not constrained to human forms. Gods can be feathered serpents, dragons, crocodiles, fish-headed monsters and more. They can be on fire, they can have eight arms and a hundred heads. They can pretty much be whatever they want. If a God of Darkness wants to be nothing more than a living, animate shadow, he can do that. He doesn't need any Boons or Knacks for it, that's just what he is. As a Demigod, he does need Boons and Knacks, but as a God his physical form is simply a reflection of his Legend and it can be expressed however his player sees fit.

Essentially, all Gods are able to define their form however they wish. This is very distinct from giving them all Unusual Alteration because without that power, or something similar, they cannot change how they look. Sobek always has a crocodile head and Nüwa is always a dragon, unless they use some supernatural power to change their form.

Aside from using something like Animal Form or Unusual Alteration, the only other way for a God to redefine their appearance is using an Avatar. Avatars can look however the God wishes, but (again) these forms are locked once created. If Cernunnos wants to appear as a humanoid stag with hooves and antlers, he can do so at any Legend rating. What he can't do is disappear the antlers without invoking a Knack or Boon, or constructing a new Avatar that doesn't have them. He sets the shape of his Avatar at its creation.

This opens the door for Gods to manifest Avatars of all kinds, including animal Avatars. A Stag God can choose to appear as a human, a stag or a hybrid of both, it doesn't matter to him. All three are equally valid expressions of who he is. He can be a Legend 4 stag if he wants to, or a Legend 8 human.  There are some cultural issues that arise, particularly with draconic forms generally being reserved for higher levels of power, but these are not systematic restrictions so much as etiquette. It's impolite for a Kami to assume the shape of a dragon without also manifesting an appropriate amount of divine power.

The moral of the story is, go crazy! Have fun with your appearance in God-form and Avatar-shapes, but remember that if you aren't a shapeshifter, each form is set once created.