So ... if I run a campaign and Zeus gets killed, is that a problem?

I would say "no" within the context that it's not like the characters killed the "real" Zeus in every campaign -- just the one in this particular campaign. If the events from there go south, you can always start a new campaign where Zeus lives or come up with some way that he actually escaped death even though the players thought they got him. There are always ways around this stuff.

On the other hand, if you subscribe to the notion that the gods are immortal and shouldn't be killed ever, simply ignore the given stats and have fun with the game that way.

It would be interesting to see Pundit's take on this, since he wrote LoO and gave a setting where gods could interact characters.

Quote from: hedgehobbit;965494D&D gods are, and always have been, monsters.

To be more accurate, they are superheroes and supervillians with elemental themed superpowers.

Exactly correct. I like using D&D gods in the same way I use D&D demons and devils.

I would have said "NO" a few years ago but I thought Petty Gods handled it very well and made the idea cool.

Quote from: Just Another Snake Cult;965547I would have said "NO" a few years ago but I thought Petty Gods handled it very well and made the idea cool.

This^^

For 3.x/Pathfinder, FFG came out with a short set of rules for Small Gods having a limited number of followers and granted abilities that has worked out pretty good for my own games.

Yes, with appropriate riders. You know, things like:

Blarblog, Devilish Lord of Nasty Hijinx:
[big ol' block of stats]

~Divine Immortality~
If Blarblog is on any plane other than his home plane of the Nine Hells, killing him simply banishes him.
If he is in the Nine Hells, he is immune to all weapon damage except by weapons forged on Thor'nak, Anvil of the Gods, and he is unaffected by any spell unless he has been previously struck by such a weapon on this round.

Or whatever.

Edit: Basically the god's stats should have some kind of quest hook for killing the god rather than LOL I HIT U WITH MAGIC MISSILE 5000X NOW U DIE.

Quote from: RPGPundit;965451Do you want, even in high-level play, for D&D deities to have stats? Or do you think that this just reduces them to the level of monsters?

D&D quickly escalated to that sort of thing, even in the 70s, when M.A.R Barker wryly asked "So how many hit points does Jesus have?"

Personally, I dislike the idea of encountering statted deities "in the flesh"

Personally, I prefer gods to operate entirely through proxies. Their zealous followers can be met and fought (or not),  I'm even fine with their supernatural minions (demons, angels, whatever) being combattable. But actual gods? For me gods should be ineffable. And if they aren't, don't call them gods.

Quote from: Just Another Snake Cult;965547I would have said "NO" a few years ago but I thought Petty Gods handled it very well and made the idea cool.

That's a book I have been on the fence about for a long while.  Can you elaborate on how they handle it?

Giving Gods stats is like DC killing of Superman.

It makes an interesting story, but they just come back again eventually.

I will tell you now characters in my gaming group will never become powerful enough to kill a true God.  That would just make them God like themselves and trust me my players/characters egos are big enough as it is, they don't need the added inflation.

Heh.  The original intent of "Gods, Demigods, and Heroes" was to (theoretically) show the "absurdity of a 45th level wizard, if Odin Allfather only has 300 hit points."

This promptly blew up in TSR's face; instead of "oooh, we should scale our campaign down," the vast majority of players treated the book as yet another monster manual.

GDG&H was the book that proved conclusively that Gygax had lost control of the game he published.

Don't care.  If they don't have stats, and I need them for the rare cosmic power campaign, I can add the stats.  If they do have stats, they are probably not correct for what I want to do, and thus I'll change them for the rare cosmic power campaign.  Assuming, of course, that I get around to running said campaign.

I am fine with Gods having stats. If they die they die.

It's limiting to have a single answer to this question. The answer is whatever suits your campaign. I could see stats working with something like a Greek pantheon. They seized the top spot by force, so it only makes sense that they could get knocked down. When you add in Zeus' constant seed sowing, he is essentially engaging in an inadvertent uplift campaign to make humans more divine.

Nothing wrong with transcendent gods either. Just make sure you put some thought into why you are making the decisions you are.

only if you intend on putting them into direct conflict with the PC's.

If you choose to put them into direct conflict with one another - I suggest Primal Order.

No, but they should have valets with stats.

Quote from: Madprofessor;965560That's a book I have been on the fence about for a long while.  Can you elaborate on how they handle it?

In format, it's basically the same as 1st Ed Deities & Demigods. In tone...it was done by dozens of contributors, so the tone and quality are all over the place, but this weirdly works in the book's favor. It really does feel like a collection of arcane obscure religions from across a gonzo fantasy world. It's fun to play a cleric and pick your religion by flipping to a random page.