Basic Trope: A god takes the form of a human.
- Straight: A deity takes the human form, bones and flesh, to walk the world unspotted.
- Exaggerated:
- In a setting with multiple deities, every single one takes a human form.
- A deity takes a human form so successfully it's basically human being with interesting backstory.
- Downplayed:
- The deity has some human form, but doesn't use it very often.
- The deity takes on a form that is far more humanoid than their true form, but it still has some noticeable differences from actual humans, such as an odd skin color.
- Justified:
- The deity has some business in the material world, but its true form would cause this very world to shatter.
- A trickster/malevolent deity likes to pretend to be human in order to screw with its followers.
- The deity has fallen in love with a human and assumes human form so they can be with them.
- The deity has to pass some crucial information to The Hero without attracting too much attention to both of them.
- The deity is punished by stripping it of its powers and sending it to the world in a regular body.
- As an immaterial being, the deity can't do anything in the mortal world unless it has a material body.
- The deity hides from a different deity as a mortal being.
- Inverted: Deity of Human Origin
- Subverted: Everyone suspects that Bob is god in human form, but it turns out it's just a human with superpowers.
- Double Subverted:
- Everyone suspects Bob is a deity. Other gods of the setting repeatedly confirm Bob is not a deity... only to be revealed that he truly is, and just asked his fellow deities to hide it from everyone else
- Or it turns out that Bob is not a god after all, merely a superpowered human... but later on he becomes a god.
- Parodied: God doesn't look like human at all, but keeps on telling everybody "I'm not god! I'm a human! I'm absolutely ''Homo Sapiens''!". Other comply just to make it feel nice.
- Averted: Gods can't fit into a human form because they're too powerful.
- Enforced: Author writes the story for religious organization and their deity must be present, no matter what.
- Lampshaded:
- "You mean you actually came to Earth and pretend that you're human?"
- "You don't look like a god at all..."
- Invoked:
- The universe has multiple legends about gods taking human form.
- Alice pretends to be god in human form in order to execute her plan.
- Exploited: Alice, knowing that Bob is a deity, isn't scared of the mortal danger, because she knows Bob will save her with his powers.
- Defied: "... You're suggesting I should take human form? What good would THAT do?!"
- Discussed:
- "I wonder... what if one of them is a god? Would we recognize him?"
- "Well... it's technically possible for god to take human form. By why would he do that?"
- Conversed: "... and in the end it turned out Bob was the god all along, would you believe?"
- Implied: Sometimes things happen around Bob, things that aren't exactly... normal.
- Deconstructed:
- Pretending to be human requires a deity to give up its godly powers, meaning this form is utterly useless... Or worse, as without its powers it can't leave its human body and it could be stuck in it forever.
- Alternatively, the human form is extremely uncomfortable/limited and annoys the deity endlessly.
- Or the deity forgets about its god-being and, upon finding out the truth, prefers to stay human.
- The deity was a creator god. After depowering, reality starts to crumble, but the god cannot return to normal because they now lack the power to do so.
- Reconstructed:
- Deities are able to retain enough of their powers to return to their original form. However, the suppressed state is otherwise functionally human and does not run the risk of causing supernatural effects.
- The ability to experience pain is irritating, but pleasant sensations overwhelm deities that have no prior experience with them, so becoming mortal is never-the-less fairly common.
- The character did all they needed to as a God (they might be replaced in the future if the need arises), and lives a fulfilling life among their former worshippers, who are grateful for being granted miracles.
- Creation was made intrinsically stable to allow it's God to live as a human with no consequence, just in case this eventuality came up.
- Played for Laughs: Upon taking human shape god has no idea how to act as a human, utterly fails Popculture Osmosis and stumbles upon trouble after trouble it had no idea about before. Hilarity Ensues.
- Played for Drama: Alice finds out that Bob, with whom she's completely in love, is a god and as such, unable to feel love.
Now, here's the God in Human Form page. Go there and don't tell anybody who I truly am, or I'LL SMITE YOU!!!
