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1Otherwise known as "When a character yells SmiteMeOMightySmiter, the chance that the Mighty Smiter will [[LiteralGenie actually oblige]]."
2
3On a scale of 1 to n:
4
50: '''Gods Don't Really Exist'''.
6
7Religion exists but no one is really receiving the prayers. At best, the gods are myth and superstition; if the author is charitable enough toward religion, they may have religiously-motivated characters at least doing good works in the name of their god. If the author is less sympathetic, then BeliefMakesYouStupid and better people have OutgrownSuchSillySuperstitions. Or you have a ReligionOfEvil and/or PathOfInspiration where the only real beneficiaries are the corrupt men that run it.
8
91: '''The Gods Have Left the Building'''
10
11->''"Between them they helped the ancient of days out of his crystal cell; it wasn't hard, for he was as light as paper and he would have followed them anywhere, having no will of his own, and responding to simple kindness like a flower to the sun. But in the open air there was nothing to stop the wind from damaging him, and to their dismay his form began to loosen and dissolve. Only a few moments later he had vanished completely, and their last impression was of those eyes, blinking in wonder and a stab of the most profound and exhausted relief."''
12-> ''Literature/TheAmberSpyglass''
13
14God or gods were present once, but for all intents and purposes have left or died or were sealed away (think the Titans of Greek myth). If you were four billion years old, you might want a vacation too.
15
162: '''The Watchmaker''':
17
18->''"But suppose I had found a watch upon the ground, and it should be inquired how the watch happened to be in that place; I should hardly think of the answer I had before given, that for anything I knew, the watch might have always been there. (...) Every indication of contrivance, every manifestation of design, which existed in the watch, exists in the works of nature; with the difference, on the side of nature, of being greater or more, and that in a degree which exceeds all computation."''
19->William Paley, ''Natural Theology''
20
21A god or gods exist, but they keep out of worldly affairs. They may be The Creator and may keep the laws of nature working behind the scenes, but there's no way to tell if they care about being worshiped or not. Might be either TrueNeutral or AboveGoodAndEvil. Or they are NeglectfulPrecursors. Authors who write Watchmaker gods are either neutral about the idea of God or hold the viewpoint that the beauty of nature, physics, math, order, etc, are sufficient justification for God's existence (A.K.A. the Watchmaker Argument), though they may not share the same views about organized religion. Sufficiently hard sci-fi works rarely go above this level on the scale.
22
233: '''God Works InMysteriousWays''':
24
25->''It is said that the gods play games with the fates of men. But what games, and why, and the identities of the actual pawns, and what the game is, and what the rules are — who knows?''
26->Terry Pratchet, ''Literature/GuardsGuards''
27
28Gods have an influence on the mortal plane and a vested interest in the people on it. However, they do not (i.e. TheGodsMustBeLazy) or can not (i.e. GodsHandsAreTied) intervene directly. They may send signs, omens, and occasional lightning strikes, or a mortal in their service acquires powers to do the god's will, whether or not they're entirely sure what that will is. If two gods are fighting, expect the fighting to spill over to their followers. Or they exist outside the mortal plane, but their power can be drawn on by the occult-minded. An atheist or a NayTheist may still get away with not being struck down. At this level, gods start to acquire {{Anthropomorphic Personification}}s and may [[GodsNeedPrayerBadly Need Prayer Badly]]. This is about as high as strict realistic settings go.
29
304: '''God Walks Among Us'''
31
32Gods can manifest themselves directly. It may be a GodInHumanForm and it may be [[GodWasMyCopilot your copilot]]. Probably makes the rain fall and the wheat grow. May even take human husbands and wives. If you piss this type of god off, expect a mighty smiting. Pray that they aren't JerkassGods or expect to be smitten more often and painfully. However, people still have reasonable free will (at least in the sense that gods are not directly controlling their actions) and the gods are not necessarily infallible and may still need the help of their followers to do their smiting.
33
345 through Infinity: '''God-King of the Cosmos'''
35
36God is everywhere, omniscient, omnipresent and truly omnipotent, and makes sure everyone knows it. In this universe, YouCantFightFate if Fate does indeed exist. ''Usually'' only present in FluffyCloudHeaven, but there are exceptions.
37
38'''Sandbox God'''
39-> ''I am god here!''
40-> Jobe Smith, ''Film/TheLawnmowerMan''
41
42For this "God" all of the above may or even may not apply, but only for their little world, or sandbox. Outside of this sandbox however, he or she is powerless, or at the very least, just simply not all-powerful. Not actually gods by the traditional definition.
43
44
45'''Ignorant God'''
46This entity is a god, but for all intents and purposes, does not realize that they are a god. Can manifest as any of the above 5, as since they don't know what they are, their power, while undeniable, is also random (''Literature/HaruhiSuzumiya''). Said ignorance can be due to any number of factors, including a divine memory gambit meant to delay insanity due to being everything and every possibility at once, and being unable to evolve or change (see ''[[Literature/{{Dune}} God Emperor and Heretics of Dune]]'', and ''Anime/GhostInTheShell1995'').
47
48
49Gods who are actually SufficientlyAdvancedAliens are difficult to place because they might fall anywhere on the scale from 1 (setting themselves up as gods making lesser races their worshipful servants) to 2 ({{Precursors}}) all the way up to 5 ([[Franchise/StarTrek The Q Continuum]]). That baring the debate over whether they count as gods at all.
50
51See also JustForFun/SuperWeight.
52
53!!Examples
54
55[[foldercontrol]]
56
57[[folder:Class 0]]
58* ''Valdorian Age'' setting for 5th edition Fantasy Hero (Hero Games). There's temples, there's priests, but no direct divine activity.
59* The ''Franchise/AssassinsCreed'' series. It isn't immediately obvious, but the [[MurderInc Assassins]] are narratively the most correct about the apparent nature of reality when they say "[[AntiNihilist Nothing is true]]"; this apparently even extends to religion. Faithful adherents of religious groups run the gamut from sympathetic to monstrous, but the organizations themselves tend toward the black end of the BlackAndGrayMorality.
60* In ''Literature/TheseWordsAreTrueAndFaithful,'' some characters appeal to God or fate, neither of which obliges. Toward the end of the book, a formerly devoutly Christian character discusses the problem of evil.
61* The works of Creator/GregEgan fall here whenever the subject of religion comes up (except for "Crystal Nights", which has a Sandbox God instead). Religions are invariably portrayed as the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_reservoir disease reservoir]] from which every human flaw and wickedness springs, and the people who run them are never anything more than abusive authoritarians who treat their followers the way a totalitarian government treats its citizens, and they always, ''always'' [[PersecutedIntellectuals forbid scientific inquiry]]. ''Literature/PermutationCity'' has the female lead discover at the very end that not only do no gods exist, but no gods ''can'' exist, since creating a self-consistent simulated reality and turning the simulation off causes it to appear in an alternate universe that can never be visited from the "original". "Literature/{{Oceanic}}" has fictional religions exist in the future solely because [[ApocalypseHow society reverted back to the Middle Ages]] at some point and scientists had desperately clawed their way back to a 21st-century understanding over the course of millennia. Representatives of those religions are either [[SnakeOilSalesman frauds]], [[TautologicalTemplar bigots]], or [[SuperGullible imbeciles]].
62* Wholly {{Constructed World}}s made for the sole purpose of fleshing out [[ConLang constructed languages]] will be this if the idea is to make the world as naturalistic as possible. Mark Rosenfelder's [[https://www.zompist.com/virtuver.htm Almea,]] for instance, is as religiously diverse as Earth, and several of its myths have been written down by the author, but the Thinking Kinds are the only sapient creatures and they all evolved naturally from animals. (But magic does work in the setting, though [[WildMagic not consistently]].)
63[[/folder]]
64
65[[folder:Class 1]]
66%%Zero-Context Example * ''Literature/ThePenelopiad''.%%
67* The entire point of ''ComicBook/{{Preacher}}'' is that God has abandoned His flock and Reverend Jesse Custer seeks Him out to demand to know why He hasn't done right by His creations.
68* In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'', the Maker departed the cosmos long before the events of the game; the plot revolves around the fal'Cie wanting to [[ColonyDrop smash two planets together]] in hopes that the millions of deaths might summon Him. The protagonists obviously have to stop this, and succeed...[[HeroicSacrifice sort]] [[TakenForGranite of]].
69[[/folder]]
70
71[[folder:Class 2]]
72* Chaos Gods from ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}/[[TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}} 40k]]'' are Type 2. The spend most of their time fighting amongst themselves, but occasionally somebody or something in the physical universe manages to attract their attention. They cannot interact with the physical universe directly but can grant their followers new powers and mutations, as well as send their daemonic servants into the physical universe.
73* Interestingly, ''Literature/LordOfTheWorld'' falls here despite being a Christian End Times novel. The actual Second Coming of Jesus does not directly occur on-page; instead, the setting is JustBeforeTheEnd and focuses on TheAntichrist using [[{{Mundanger}} wholly mundane means]] of persecuting the Church. The only divine intervention ever seen is just after said Antichrist wipes the last surviving Christians off the map, whereupon the book ends immediately. The SpiritualSuccessor ''The Dawn of All'' is even stranger, as it takes place in a future where [[MirrorUniverse everything goes the opposite to]] ''Lord of the World'', meaning that instead of atheism reducing Christianity to a tiny persecuted remnant, Christians successfully convert the entire world despite there being no more evidence of God's existence than there currently is.[[note]]There is a {{handwave}} about [[WhatWeNowKnowToBeTrue recent scientific discoveries proving the Gospel]], but that's it.[[/note]] Even [[spoiler:the Second Coming of Christ]] is surprisingly mundane, with the main character hardly reacting to it, though that is at least justified by [[spoiler:it being AllJustADream]]. Ironically, since that spoiler is heavily implied to be direct divine intervention to save the narrator's soul, [[TheEndingChangesEverything it pushes it up to Category 3]].
74[[/folder]]
75
76[[folder:Class 3]]
77* The Avatars ascended to Stratosphere from TabletopGame/UnknownArmies are 3. They can't influence the world directly but they can manipulate Fate and work through people following their Archetype.
78* God in ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|2003}}'' is a weak Category 4 or strong Category 3, definitely intervening, but not terribly interested in smiting. Also, He doesn't like to be called "God."
79* In Literature/TheBible, God is Category 3 and up, depending on when you're talking about. He is Category 4 during and before the Israelite Kingdom, during the ministry of Jesus, and when speaking directly to prophets, and borders on Category 5 before the Flood (and is unambiguously Category 5 during the [[Literature/BookOfRevelation Apocalypse]]). In all other times (including the present), He is Category 3.
80* God (the One) in the ''Literature/YoungWizards'' series only acts indirectly/subtly. presumably because acting directly would tear apart the fabric of reality. After all, just God's TrueName is so powerful that it has to be kept in two parts, lest the might of its whole form destroy several universes.
81** One of the means God uses to act indirectly are wizards, since God is where they get their power from - hence, in a way, ReligionIsMagic.
82* God, also known as the White God, works this way in ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'', according to Uriel. Paraphrased: "The battle between light and dark works on so many levels that you literally could not begin to understand how it all happens."
83* Eru Ilúvatar from ''Literature/TheSilmarillion'', he has everything planned down to the last angstrom, but uses the Valar (Archangels or small-g gods) to bring about his creation. The Valar can be considered level 4 gods but they are not omnipotent nor omniscient.
84* Gods in most ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' settings default to this. They're actively interested in what goes on on the Prime Material Plane and can endow mortal servants (like clerics) there with magical powers, but usually prefer to themselves stay in their divine homes in the Outer Planes and directly visit the Prime only rarely — and then usually only by sending a less-powerful (but if need be disposable) avatar.
85* In ''Creator/JohnRingo'''s ''Literature/SpecialCircumstances'', Barbara Everette is a devout born again Christian follower of Jesus Christ, who is openly and emphatically ''Main/ThePaladin'' for the Old Testament Bible God (many times respectfully referred to as "The White God" by devoted followers of many other religions). She channels God's power in battles with demons and other [[Main/AlwaysChaoticEvil dark creatures]].
86[[/folder]]
87
88[[folder:Class 4]]
89* The gods of Myth/ClassicalMythology would be roughly a 4.5 on the scale, falling short of 5 only because they can be tricked and ''could'' probably be defeated by something powerful enough. (And because Fate, not they, control the actions of mortals.) They take human shape and walk among their subjects often, the AnthropomorphicPersonification of Fate spins the thread of men's lives and you ''really'' don't want a god ticked off at you, least they turn you into a spider or keep you from getting home to your family for 20 years.
90* Books from ''Literature/TheCampHalfBloodSeries'' (''[[Literature/PercyJacksonAndTheOlympians PJO]], [[Literature/TheHeroesOfOlympus HoO]], [[Literature/TheTrialsOfApollo ToA]]'') (plus spin-offs like ''[[Literature/TheKaneChronicles Kane]]'' and ''[[Literature/MagnusChaseAndTheGodsOfAsgard Magnus]]'') by Creator/RickRiordan generally follow in the footsteps of the myths they came from with gods walking about, [[ModernizedGod enjoying modern life]], and [[DivineParentage having]] [[SemiDivine kids]].
91* The gods of the Literature/TortallUniverse are about a 4, maybe a hair under it. They have been known to make personal appearances and can make what they want to happen happen, but as the Graveyard Hag would say to Daine, "We have rules, dearie." — they have to use mortal vessels for many things.
92* In the Literature/YoungWizards series, the god-like PowersThatBe will ''sometimes'' fully manifest and do things. It's implied that, contrary to [[TheGodsMustBeLazy being lazy]], that they're constantly doing things to help, but that most of the time its in ways that can't be perceived by mere mortals.
93* ''Literature/TheRifter'': The Rifter is the human incarnation of a god, who has great powers of destruction (the current incarnation, John, is using them for rebuilding too). Some people believe that the creator god, Parfir, is miraculously guiding events. John is skeptical about that.
94* The Star-Eyed Goddess of the Hawkbrothers, Shin'a'in, and Kal'andel, and Vkandis Sunlord of Karse and Iftel in the ''Literature/HeraldsOfValdemar'' series. The latter got fed up with the CorruptChurch that ruled Karse for a couple centuries and rearranged things for the better, with a BoltOfDivineRetribution for starters.
95* The ''VideoGame/{{Neptunia}}'' goddesses all fit this. They live among people and use their powers to keep them safe, usually by going out and beating up whatever is causing the problem.
96* The [[EldritchAbomination Lords in Black]] of WebVideo/{{Hatchetfield}}, present as this, manifesting directly from [[EldritchLocation The Black and White]] and can pull folks back and forth between dimensions. This happens multiple times in the anthology.
97[[/folder]]
98
99[[folder:Class 5 and Beyond]]
100* God as understood in most Abrahamic religons (especially UsefulNotes/{{Christianity}} and UsefulNotes/{{Islam}}) goes here, all-knowing and all-sustaining.
101* The [[VideoGame/KatamariDamacy King of All Cosmos]] being, well, [[KingOfAllCosmos what he is]], is a type 5+: he has Phenomenal Cosmic Powers...but the mind of a CloudCuckooLander.
102[[/folder]]
103
104[[folder:Sandbox God]]
105* ''Film/TheMatrix'': The machines have a very large degree of control over the world and bluepills within the simulation, but are restricted to reality in the real world.
106* ''Film/TheTrumanShow'': Christof.
107* ''Film/TheLawnMowerman:'' Jobe Smith is all powerful within the simulation.
108* Technically, the player of every SimulationGame, and the author of every work of fiction, is in this category. They have total control of what is going on in the work of fiction, but are just normal humans who are just as bound by the laws of physics as anybody else in RealLife, and (hopefully) are not worshipped by anybody.
109* Universal Gods in ''Webcomic/LsEmpire'' are noted as being incredibly powerful Class 4s so long as they stay in their home dimension. Subversal Gods are weaker but they aren't restricted to one dimension.
110* "Crystal Nights" by Creator/GregEgan is about a programmer who creates a simulation peopled by fully sapient beings both to prove he can and to kickstart TheSingularity before the means to do so fall into the wrong hands, but most of the story is about how his creations feel about the whole situation (which [[GodIsInept isn't very high of him]]). Since the programmer is a mere human, [[spoiler:his plan and his simulation end up destroyed by his own hubris]].
111[[/folder]]
112
113[[folder: Ignorant God]]
114* The ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' episode "True Q" features a young woman named Amanda Rogers, who is actually a Q that was raised as a human by Q parents, that were [[spoiler: killed by the Q for leaving the Continuum.]]
115* Koizumi's theory about why Literature/HaruhiSuzumiya can create Closed Spaces and subtly modify reality to her liking is that she is a deity who doesn't know it. However, he doesn't give this as anything more than a [[GodzillaThreshold worst-case scenario that his Organization is operating under just in case]], and the later novels establish that other characters had the RealityWarper powers before Haruhi did, and that they can be transferred with enough power. But back when [[AdaptationDisplacement Season 1 of the anime was all the non-Japanese fanbase had to go on]], [[MisaimedFandom this was ignored]], particularly [[WMG/GrandUnifyingGuessesHaruhiSuzumiya on this very wiki]], and the fans spoke about her as though she were truly a god.
116[[/folder]]
117
118[[folder: Mixed or Other]]
119* ''Franchise/StarTrek'': See the note about SufficientlyAdvancedAliens being hard to classify. If they use trickery and are obviously false gods (the ones Kirk defeats mostly), they could be considered a 0 or 1 case. The Bajoran Prophets of ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' borderline 'actual' gods as far as the setting is concerned (a 2-ish): They exist out of linear time, and their powers are hand-waved to the degree that one could argue they're more magic than science on the scale of sci-fi hardness.
120* Franchise/TheDCU's supreme being, The Presence, varies depending on who's writing about Him. In power He's usually around a 4.5, fully omnipotent but fate is still capable of being fought, though in behavior He can be a 2 in that He rarely gets involved unless the stakes are really, really high (like that time in ''Comicbook/SwampThing'' where the sentient darkness that existed before the creation of the Universe came after Him). By the end of ''Comicbook/{{Lucifer}}'', [[spoiler:He willingly demotes Himself to a 1a, retiring to allow His granddaughter to take His place, with all evidence pointing to her being a more competent and loving Creator than He ever was.]]
121* While most [[OlympusMons Legendary Pokémon]] consistently fall under Class 4, Arceus, the creator of the Pokémon who in turn created the universe, tends not to show itself in [[{{Franchise/Pokemon}} the Pokémon world,]] making it a Class 2. For years, it was only obtainable through exclusive event distributions, meaning it was impossible to actually seek out and catch it in-game. ''VideoGame/PokemonLegendsArceus,'' naturally, upgraded it to Class 3 by having it [[spoiler: send the PlayerCharacter back in time]] to stop [[spoiler: Volo.]] However, while [[spoiler: it can be caught without an event distribution, it still only appears in the Hall of Origin,]] [[GodWasMyCopilot sending occasional texts]] to the player character's [[{{Magitek}} Arc]]-[[SchizoTech Phone,]] and [[spoiler: even when you ''do'' catch it, the Pokémon you obtain is described as "a piece of Arceus," implying it is simply a significantly nerfed Arceus-shaped stand-in for an omnipotent, unknowable entity.]]
122* Played with in various ways ''Literature/TalesOfMU''. Lord Khersis and Mother Kheele are strongly type 4, while the Elven Gods are either type 3 or 1A, depending on who you talk to. Khersisians also believe in the Great Star Drake who created the universe, but than doesn't interfere with it (type 2).
123* The character of The Author in ''Webcomic/BobAndGeorge'' slides between the different categories. Sometimes he knows everything that's going on and is working Category 2 or 3. Other times he is there among the characters and has no idea what is happening. What makes this odd is that he is THE AUTHOR OF THE ENTIRE COMIC. He's the one writing and drawing the whole thing! The in comic universe (where There Is No Fourth Wall) cannot exist without him. More than once villains have plotted to destroy the comic universe by killing Author. Sometimes Hand Waved away and Played For Laughs by stating The Author just makes everything up as he goes.
124* [[Literature/TheLordOfTheRings Middle-earth's]] hierarchy of divine beings cover practically the whole scale. [[{{God}} Eru]], the universe's creator, is a 2- he has a plan for existence, but feels that the cosmos as he built it will naturally reach that end without direct interference. Since the creation, he's interfered precisely ''twice''. [[CouncilOfAngels The Valar]] are 3s- they're more active in Chessmastering events, but still keep their hands largely off unless they're absolutely needed. Evil deities like [[{{Satan}} Morgoth]] and his one-time servant Sauron, as well as divine messengers like the wizards, are 4s, living among (and in some cases ruling) mortals. Tom Bombadil is a Sandbox God- essentially all powerful in his own little country, but he won't leave it or extend beyond it.
125* Most ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' gods are a Type 4. Gods who present themselves to their followers as the King of All Cosmos (such as [[Literature/SmallGods Om]] and [[Literature/MonstrousRegiment Nuggan]]) end up as Sandbox Gods; all-powerful and all-seeing but only within the area where their worship is centred.
126* In the ''Literature/CircleOfMagic'' series, there are various gods and religions, with the one that the main characters either follow or interact with being the Living Circle religion. However, it is not made clear if the gods don't exist, or if they do but don't do anything.
127* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' mixes it up through all 15 Seasons.
128** In Seasons 1-3, Demons exist and {{Hell}} exists but there's no direct evidence of a God existing, though Sam Winchester prays and believes there is one. His brother Dean, however, rejects the notion of a God which would allow all the terrible things he's seen. Pagan gods do exist, but they are portrayed as monsters who feed off of belief.
129** Seasons 4-5 confirm the existence of [[OurAngelsAreDifferent angels]] who claim to be working for God. Lower-tier angels believe this is the case and operate on faith, but the higher-level ones believe God is dead or missing. The Winchester brothers learn God is not dead and has intervened on their behalf, but doesn't care to do more. The Season 5 finale heavily implied that a prophet character was, in fact, God walking among humans.
130** Seasons 6-15 confirm that the prophet Chuck is God and introduces beings as powerful as him, such as Amara his sister, and The Empty, a cosmic entity that embodies nothing. Nephalim, angel/human hybrids, are also portrayed as powerful as God and one defeats Chuck to become the new God, more benevolent God in the final season.
131[[/folder]]

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