Talk:Exarch

Further Clarification Please?
I think this article along with Demigod) needs further clarification of what it is concerning. The differences between demigods, chosen, lesser deities and exarchs all seem to be quite muddled from what I understand of 4e. Is an Exarch simply the 4e name for Demigods or has something fundamentally changed in the Deific realms of Forgotten Realms that I'm overlooking. Any chance someone can clear up what the difference is between the two. The current term is not really helping at the moment.

The Demigod article seems to define the differnce more clearly and both artcicles state there is a fundamental difference between Demigods and Exarchs. I assume Exarch refers to chosen, proxies, divine servents and the like as opposed to the spell-granting demigod. However it appears many articles are muddling these concepts. Can anyone elaborate on this article for a clearer distinction? --Eli the Tanner 10:16, March 12, 2012 (UTC)


 * IMO the Exarch is like a saint in roman catolicism. A divine being that can grant mortals some support in certain aspects of their life, but is venerated as a paragon rather than worshipped as a god, whereas even the weakest Demigod has a handful of mortal worshippers. Technically the Exarch is the formerly missing step between achieving Demigod status and being given a proper portfolio by Ao. Some former mortals may be content with having achieved divinity, and not interested in being worshipped by mortals (and, by Ao's decree, being *forced* to care about it), while others may need to prove themselves before Ao considers them worthy of mortal worshipers, and yet others are destined for a portfolio that is currently occupied by a more powerful deity... --84.152.227.254 07:06, August 22, 2012 (UTC)

Merge?
Dear community,

I made a merge suggestion after seeing that the exarch article claimed “proxy=old name for exarch“.

They share so many characteristics that it is easily believable. The problem is, that I didn't find the information in the reference, is this a mistake? And even if it is, should it still be merged, after all, the characteristics are very similar as to be mistaken with each other?

Thank you for reading

Best Regards

I see that there is a large difference. For example, Proxies recieve a lot of power from the Donor Deity in question, where's an Exarch does not. Normally they are powerful in of themselves. Proxies also have the same powers as DemiGods, where an Exarch does not.

More simply put, a Proxy is a being empowered to serve their Deity, where an Exarch is a powerful being who serves a Deity.

There is another difference as well: how they are viewed by Deities. A Proxy is seen as a manifestation of the Deity, almost an Avatar. Exarchs are servents. 122.107.102.21 08:06, July 23, 2017 (UTC)


 * As pointed out in Talk:Proxy, proxy has a still different (though similar) meaning in 2nd edition Planescape, which is used a few times in Realms material. Is "proxy" in the sense from 3rd edition Deities and Demigods ever used in Realms material? Daranios (talk) 19:47, July 25, 2017 (UTC)


 * I believe 4th edition comes close. From page 72 of the Forgotten Realms Player's Guide, describing the Epic Destiny "Chosen": "Your deity chooses you to serve as his or her proxy in mortal affairs. You protect your deity's worshipers, battle your deity's enemies, and champion your deity's causes. To suit you for this task, your deity breathes into your soul a spark of divine energy that grants you powers comparable to those of a demigod....Unlike the Demigod, you are sworn to the service of a particular deity. While operating as an epic hero, you can function as a worldly exarch, receiving advice and commissions from your deity."

This seems to treat proxy, exarch, and chosen as being roughly equivalent, at least how I read it. &mdash;Moviesign (talk) 04:06, July 26, 2017 (UTC)