What Gods Are, and How to Treat With Them

In the World's End, "god" isn't a category of being. If a spirit or entity receives offerings and prayers and answers in kind, then it's a god — whether it began as a great spirit, a Things Below, a spirit of the wild transformed by worship, the child of two gods, a mortal revered in death, or a spirit born from belief itself.

Gods shape the world subtly: through synchronicity, dreams, omens, and work in the spirit world. Even Tor, who sometimes walks the world, limits himself to testing mortals and bestowing gifts or curses. For most people, religion is a practical matter, not a moral one — you perform rites and give offerings to court favor and avert wrath. Priests aren't necessarily devoted; they just know what the gods expect and how to read the signs.

When a god touches a mortal and sends them forth as an instrument, that mortal becomes prophet, saint, hero, or villain. A Blessed, Judge, Lightbearer, or Storm-marked Heavy is likely one of these god-touched.

Day-to-day rites earn no special boon — they simply avoid disapproval. To call on the gods for real aid, a PC Bolsters: time, effort, rites, and offerings above and beyond the usual. Ask the PC which god they petition, what aid they seek, what they offer, and what other work goes undone while they do it.

For a specific boon (curse lifted, injury healed, insight granted, foe cursed), Make a Plan. Useful requirements include:

• Learn the proper rites or offerings
• Obtain a sacred object, or the help of a particular spirit
• Wait for an auspicious date or sacred site
• Spend hours, days, or weeks at the rite
• Make a sacrifice of Value 2 or more
• Risk angering the god by getting any of the above wrong

If a god takes ongoing offense — or ongoing interest — write them up as a threat (a magical entity).