Archive:Greenwood's Grotto/2023-02/Deity power levels

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 * query     = So on the God's not entering the material plane, is their a certain level of power that a being has to obtain to be barred from directly walking the material plane? Would an exarch/demigod/quasi-deity still be able to walk the plane or would they be forced to abide by the same exceptions? I'm a bit confused what the difference between an Aspect and an Avatar is, and if they are the same sentience as the deity that formed them or not
 * questioner = The Entire State of NJ#1776
 * answer    = Beware of all absolute statements, regarding the gods. ;} The short answer to your question is that yes, there is a power level "requirement." The Realms is full of place-spirits (think of Old Man Willow in Middle-Earth), and yes, demigods and exarchs can live in the Prime Material. The prohibition is on (most) gods moving their entire divine form from an outer plane to the Prime Material. Which most of them would be loathe to do anyway, because if slain in the Prime Material, they're dead and gone (Mystra was again an exception, because she had bits of her own divine essence wandering around in many mortals, and could be slowly brought back, in lesser form, by combining them). Avatars are created vehicles (either out of "whole cloth" or by taking the living body of a creature who willingly submits or whom the deity mentally "overwhelms") for a god to invest a small portion of their divine power into, to walk the Prime Material for them; the host body starts in the Prime Material and so, doesn't have to be transported into it. Avatars are based on the deity and are USUALLY in direct mental contact with/under control of the deity, but may have more limited awareness, memories, and cognitive abilities. If an avatar is slain, the deity loses that part of their divine power that was invested in it, but (again, usually) that essence will slowly drift through the planes to return to them (often years or decades later, from the timekeeping POV of the Prime Material).