Gods and their Servants

Summary

There are three "Tiers" to Divines and their Hierarchy. The First are the Gods, nearly all powerful beings capable of warping the fabric of Reality as they see fit. Examples of Current Gods are Sarissa, Duna, Malgeron and the Imperial Dragons of Azlantai.
The second and Intermediary rank is Demigod. These entities are exceptionally power and wield some measure of Divine Power that places them far above most other creatures of their kind. Demigods are often extra planar creatures of extreme power, such as the Archangels, Demon Lords and Archfey. Demigods can be challenged in the power and Authority by Mortals and Demigods can challenge the Gods, though perhaps not outright defeat them. Demigods may work on their own or be subservient to a God. Nearly all of the Current Gods stand as Demigods though notable Examples include Messaria, Gelfar, Kothan and Pandemos.
Finally we have Heralds. Heralds are explicitly subservient to either Gods or Demigods and act as a way for the Gods to interact with the Mortal Realms without bringing their full power to bear and risking upsetting the other gods. Any Demigod or God can create or name a Herald. Creating a Herald takes time but those created are often more reliable than those named. Heralds wield some measure of power of their master's and often if their master is usurped or killed and a Herald survives, they will rise to fill the void left by their master. Examples of Current Heralds are Oberron as the Herald of Titania, The Angel Vellana as Herald of Sarissa and Emperor Autriom Haman was named Herald of Kothan in his youth though it is unknown if Kothan has allowed him to retain this title..

Historical Basis

The Gods have existed in some form since the dawn of creation. The Light of Heaven and the Heart of the Abyss are the creator deities of existence and it them that Creation depends upon to continue. The Heart is responsible for the physical and tangible world and the Light is responsible for the more subtle elements of creation such as consciousness and life.
They made the Archangels and Demons and eventually from their conflict spawned the Giant God, Urth. When Urth was slain, the Mortal Gods were born from his broken fragments and later when Vecna discovered the Divine Spring, the New Gods were born.
Following the Purge War, most of the Gods have taken a hands off approach to mortals, hoping to avoid a second Purge War or worse a race to destroy the Followers of other gods.

Cultural Reception

While worship of the Gods is widespread across all the planes, it has fallen off since the Purge War. Many only worship those who have "Earned" it. For example many in the Empire worship Kothan because of the law but also because the War God defended their people in the past against all manner of threats.
While other gods have similar arrangements, the bout of new Ascensions taking place in the world has led to fears that someone may start a second Purge War. Notably the denizens of the Sunfire Archipelago worry that the newly Ascended Yin Lian may clash with the Shadow Tyrant and drag others into their conflict. So far the Goddess of the Waves seems to be content to lead her people against the Imperial War Machine.