Of Gods and Men

How can we begin to describe the indescribable? The gods, and we know them, are beyond our comprehension, or are they? This tome makes some attempt to explain and understand the nature of the divine, their relative power, and how they maintain, and even grow their ranks. These may be just theories, but we have cited evidence where such exists.

The Pantheons

In the Flanaess, and possibly in other regions of Oerth, the gods form themselves into pantheons. Each culture in our lands worships a unique group of gods. Many of these cultures worship their gods as a family unit. The demihuman pantheons are an excellent example of this, for the dwarves, Moradin is the head of the pantheon, and every dwarven god is somehow related to Moradin. Elves, gnomes, and hin follow the same format, though the relationships among the elven pantheon are a bit more obtuse. Of the human pantheons, only the Suel or Suloise, have a familial pantheon, with Lendor, god of time, as the father, and progenitor, of the pantheon. That is not to say there are no family ties in the other human pantheons, however the pantheon as a whole is not connected "by blood" or whatever it is that gods have.
The Flan Pantheon is almost completely a "nature" pantheon. Beory, the Oerthmother, birthed the other gods and the universe. The Balkunish gods are diverse, but led by Istus, lady of fate and prophecy. The Oeridian pantheon is diverse, but as their people dispersed, the origins of that pantheon have been lost. It should be noted that the Oeridian people have a penchant for war gods, such as Heironeous and his brother Hextor.
Over the centuries that these cultures interacted within the Flanaess, some of these gods migrated from culture to culture and became more widely worshiped. If one were to put a "core" pantheon of the Flanaess together, it would include representatives from all of the various cultures. However, different regions of the Flanaess tend to worship a different subset of this core pantheon.
At this point, the book goes into a short overview of each pantheon (see individual journal entries)

Degrees of Divine Power

Sages agree that there are different "tiers" of godhood. Above the other tiers are the gods often thought about as "Greater Gods". They are often representatives of natural forces and seem the furthest distant from their mortal worshipers. Beory, the Oerthmother, Pelor, the Sun God, Rao, god of peace, Boccob, god of magic. These are but some of the representations of the Greater Gods
Just slightly less powerful are the so-called "Intermediate Gods". This tier of gods tend to interact more regularly with their worshipers, and often represent forces and powers that affect mortal life. While Beory the Oerthmother is the god of creation, Ehlonna, god of forests, flora and fauna and Obad-Hai, god of nature and the wilderness, would be classified as intermediate gods.
"Lesser Gods" have a more limited portfolio, or limited sphere of worship, Dalt, the god of portals, Delleb, the god of study, and Moquol, god of trade are examples of lesser gods.

Demipowers

A demipower is a semi-divine being who typically inhabits the planes of existence, has worshipers, and is able to grant spells to their worshipers. Demipowers often have a very narrow portfolio which they oversee. Other beings, such as the archdevils of the nine hells, the demon lords of the abyss, fey lords and ladies, elemental lords of the inner planes, and many others are considered demipowers. Though vastly powerful, these beings can be confronted by the mightiest of mortals, and even defeated, though most have some type of escape or "back-up" plan in case things ever go that far.

Ascendants

History is filled with mortals who have ascended into the heavens. These beings are called Ascendants and once they join the ranks of the semi-divine, they can begin their climb up the ladders of power. Most Ascendants were raised up by a greater power. An example of this is Zagygs ascension which was brought to pass by his liege Boccob. Kuroth the master thief was raised by Olidammara, Mayaheine was raised by Pelor, and so forth. Still, others raised themselves to godhood through magical methods or artifacts. No one is quite sure how Vecna the archlich achieved godhood And while Iuz had the blood of the demon prince Graz'zt running through his veins, was that enough? Johydee created her own artifact and since rose to a demipower, while no one knows how Kelanen or Daern became semi-divine.
Once on that "ladder" though, it is possible to rise to greater power. One of the methods of increasing power is through worship. The more widely a power is worshiped, the greater their divine rank. The opposite or worship is fear, when mortals fear you enough to placate you, that is also a type of worship primarily used by evil or destructive gods. Pledging ones-self to a greater power can also be used as a means of advancement. The boost in power a greater patron can provide is often worth losing some autonomy to a rising divinity.
Then there's conquest. It is said the astral plane is riddled with the corpses of dead gods. Mortals cannot hope to challenge even a lesser god, but mortals have defeated demipowers. A mortal who defeats a demipower for good gains some portion of that demipower's divine spark, thus starting on their own path to the divine. It's said that given the right circumstances, demipowers can challenge lesser gods, while lesser gods may be able to challenge intermediate gods and so forth. Vecna, once a lich, ascended to demipower and is now considered a lesser god. It can be done.
As the reader is aware, much of this tome is made up of speculation and allegory. As with any treatise on the realms of power and the powers themselves, nothing can be proven definitively.

Type

Manuscript, Religious