Stranded gods

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Stranded gods are "gods", usually fairly minor ones, that were stranded in our dimension after Halla got cut off during the Collapse. These gods are immortal, and usually very reclusive, often hiding in the middle of the wilderness with little contact with mortals, or wandering between mortal settlements attempting to keep a low profile. Some gods, however, have attained significant status in mortal society, and continue to hold it, as politicians, scholars, artists, and so on. Certain states are even ruled by gods who have managed to hold sway over a large number of followers. Most gods acknowledge that their memory of Halla and the years during and before the Collapse are foggy at best and forgotten at worst, and, contrary to popular pre-modern beliefs, do not possess any metaphysical godly powers that are derived from the power of their worshipers' belief.

Instead, they are simply very powerful mages at this point, with many being far more powerful than even the most talented mortal mages, often being most powerful in the school most associated with whatever they are supposed to be gods of - for example, a god of fire and war might be exceptional at using pyromancy to kill people and cause collateral damage in a way a mortal mage could simply not match; a goddess of fire and the hearth, however, might have untold healing magic and simply believe in fire as a life-giving part of nature and society.

While gods can be powerful allies, players are expected to not simply use them as "win" buttons, especially in modern times. A general rule of thumb is that the gods who are powerful enough to actually change the course of a war or some other significant historical event single-handedly are usually not interested in mortal affairs - the more powerful a god is, generally the less 'human' they are, and thus they empathize with mortals less and have far less interest in meddling in their affairs, even if they can enslave a civilization or have virtually infinite wordly pleasures.

Gods, while effectively immortal, are not invulnerable. Many gods have arcane, obscure weaknesses and laws that bind them, which can be exploited to combat and influence them if discovered. Likewise, modern advancements in weapons and magic allow powerful mortal antimancers - usually backed up by large, heavily armed military units - to theoretically take on and defeat gods. Gods, while much more powerful than mortal mages, can still exhaust themselves through too much spellcasting, leaving them vulnerable. However, gods are unable to be truly 'killed' in the traditional sense - they can simply be reduced to a state where they are unable to do anything meaningful while they slowly regenerate (usually for centuries, if their body is totally destroyed). Injuries, even ones lethal to mortals, will typically heal fully and automatically within several weeks, or even faster if the god (or an empathetic mortal) has access to healing magic.