Myths of the Realm Rewritten

[MikkoAkure]

FF1, FF2, FF3, FF4, FF5, FF7, FF8, FF9, FF10

Just to name a few Final Fantasy games that had no need of gods or beings filling a similar niche.

FF10 revolves completely around religion and the end of it has you

fight Yu Yevon, god of the religion of the world.

Hydaelyn and Zodiark also may not have been ACTUAL gods, but that didn’t stop the Ascians from specifically calling Zodiark “the one true god” since ARR and treating him as such. Zodiark is one in the truest sense of the game’s world since he actually had powers to rewrite the fabric of reality.

While we now know they, other primals, and FFX’s example aren’t gods, that didn’t stop people from believing they were with whole theologies built around them, and we even have a line in SB where we tell the Kojin that we’ll “kill their god”.

[TheMightyMollusk]

Before arguing what isn't a god, first we'd have to define what IS a god. Otherwise you're trying to prove a negative and the goalposts can just keep dancing backwards forever.

[Absimiliard]

FF10 revolves completely around religion and the end of it has you

fight Yu Yevon, god of the religion of the world.

Hydaelyn and Zodiark also may not have been ACTUAL gods, but that didn’t stop the Ascians from specifically calling Zodiark “the one true god” since ARR and treating him as such. Zodiark is one in the truest sense of the game’s world since he actually had powers to rewrite the fabric of reality.

While we now know they, other primals, and FFX’s example aren’t gods, that didn’t stop people from believing they were with whole theologies built around them, and we even have a line in SB where we tell the Kojin that we’ll “kill their god”.

Calling something a god doesn't make it a god. Something being worshipped as a god also doesn't make it a god. A creature possessing the power of a god doesn't make it a god either. It's all in the presentation.

[Ath192]

Calling something a god doesn't make it a god. Something being worshipped as a god also doesn't make it a god. A creature possessing the power of a god doesn't make it a god either. It's all in the presentation.

god
1 of 2
noun
ˈgäd also ˈgȯd
pluralgods
Synonyms of god
1
God : the supreme or ultimate reality: such as
a
: the Being perfect in power, wisdom, and goodness who is worshipped (as in Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism) as creator and ruler of the universe
Throughout the patristic and medieval periods, Christian theologians taught that God created the universe …
—Jame Schaefer
… the Supreme Being or God, the personal form of the Ultimate Reality, is conceived by Hindus as having various aspects.
—Sunita Pant Bansal
b
Christian Science : the incorporeal divine Principle ruling over all as eternal Spirit : infinite Mind
2
or less commonly God : a being or object that is worshipped as having more than natural attributes and powers
specifically : one controlling a particular aspect or part of reality
Greek gods of love and war
3
: a person or thing of supreme value
had photos of baseball's gods pinned to his bedroom wall
4
: a powerful ruler
Hollywood gods that control our movies' fates

[Absimiliard]

god
1 of 2
noun
ˈgäd also ˈgȯd
pluralgods
Synonyms of god
1
God : the supreme or ultimate reality: such as
a
: the Being perfect in power, wisdom, and goodness who is worshipped (as in Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism) as creator and ruler of the universe
Throughout the patristic and medieval periods, Christian theologians taught that God created the universe …
—Jame Schaefer
… the Supreme Being or God, the personal form of the Ultimate Reality, is conceived by Hindus as having various aspects.
—Sunita Pant Bansal
b
Christian Science : the incorporeal divine Principle ruling over all as eternal Spirit : infinite Mind
2
or less commonly God : a being or object that is worshipped as having more than natural attributes and powers
specifically : one controlling a particular aspect or part of reality
Greek gods of love and war
3
: a person or thing of supreme value
had photos of baseball's gods pinned to his bedroom wall
4
: a powerful ruler
Hollywood gods that control our movies' fates

In the literary sense. I'm confident you knew full well what I meant.
So here's a question with that very thing in mind:
If you have a civilization that worships a particular dragon as a god in a setting, but we as players/readers are aware it is not in fact a god, is it still a god?

Consider for a moment that a good deal of fictional settings include entities that fit most, sometimes all of the dictionary's criteria for godhood but are decidedly never presented as gods, are never called gods, and are often times specifically called other things to differentiate them from gods. Some such beings may be referred to as gods by a specific set of worshippers, while others (or at least readers) are made aware it isn't a god at all, even should it meet the criteria to be called such. There are countless ways to present such creatures without having to invoke the common deity tropes.

[Ath192]

In the literary
So here's a question with that very thing in mind:
If you have a civilization that worships a particular dragon as a god in a setting, but we as players/readers are aware it is not in fact a god, is it still a god?

Yes, I would say so. It is consistent with the dictionary description as well, a being or object that is worshipped as having more than natural attributes and powers. Just because we are ignorant of it, or deny it as being a god because we ourselves don't worship it, or its even presented to us as a non-god, does not mean this entity is not being worshipped and is a god to a subset of people.

Since it matches the definition, it is a god, whether you reject it or not.

[Kazhar]

FF10 revolves completely around religion and the end of it has you

fight Yu Yevon, god of the religion of the world.

10 characters.

It is a stretch to call Yu Yevon the God of Yevon. He's a prophet and the founder of the religion, but never seen as the object of the cult. He was known as a powerful summoner from Zanarkand but still a human being, not a God. They just follow his principles and ideals. People aren't even aware he's still alive in any shape or form and the entire religion is based around the idea of getting rid of the thing he's using as a vessel.

[Poporito_Popoto]

[DPZ2]

Since it matches the definition, it is a god, whether you reject it or not.

"Excuse me. What does god need with a starship?"

Sometimes "gods" are just. Not.

[RyuDragnier]

All this talk of gods and rejecting them, and all I hear is the Demi-Fiend approaching.

One more god rejected!