Ideal version of a demigod

[Omegalith]

Who said anything about distant? I meant children and stuff. :P

I meant to say more distant.


...Actually, a tribe of Godblooded elitists who descend from a small group of demigods and who refuse to dilute their blood any further by marrying outside the tribe (Unless the prospective partner is obviously more powerful than them, in which case they see it as strengthening their lineage) could be pretty cool.

Though, really, demigod can be used to refer to sufficiently powerful people in general.

I think that's more a comparison than a categorization, really.

[Sol M]

I meant to say more distant.


...Actually, a tribe of Godblooded elitists who descend from a small group of demigods and who refuse to dilute their blood any further by marrying outside the tribe (Unless the prospective partner is obviously more powerful than them, in which case they see it as strengthening their lineage) could be pretty cool.

I'm pretty sure that actually happens, or used to happen.

I think that's more a comparison than a categorization, really.

It's a label, which is what really matters.

[Omegalith]

I'm pretty sure that actually happens, or used to happen.

Yes, but with actual superpowered quasideities rather than just a bunch of crazy inbred nobles.

It's a label, which is what really matters.

Meh, Movie M. Bison isn't a god just because he says he is.

[mailedbypostman1]

Meh, Movie M. Bison isn't a god just because he says he is.

Well he isn't just because you say he isn't!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Sol M]

Yes, but with actual superpowered quasideities rather than just a bunch of crazy inbred nobles.

I'd be surprised if such a thing hasn't already been done countless times.

Though oddly, I can't think of any such works offhand.

Meh, Movie M. Bison isn't a god just because he says he is.

You don't call yourself a god. You have other people to do that for you.

Usually followers or worshippers, as anyone else would probably consider you to be a godlike being instead.

[wayfarejourneyman]

IMO, demigods shoudl have set "baseline" abilities that are, above all else, consistant. Then, they shoudl have one or two superhuman abilities that are thematic with their godly parent.

So, in the Wayfare-verse, you might say that simply being god blooded puts you a bit above CBPH...lets say it makes you an average Inhuman in terms of strength, speed, durability, etc.

Ok, now, being a demi-god is the same as beging god-blooded, but you get a few "gifts" from your divine parent. So, you are an average inhuman...and you have significantly increased Strength and Durability -- lets say class 10 Strength and you are Bulletproof. Now, here you are, the Child of Heracules!

The Child of Zeus might be a normal Inhuman in all characteristics, but she gets superhuman charisma and the ability to call down lightning and imbue her melee attacks with a deadly charge.

[Sharkerbob]

For me demi-gods should be Superman level beings and the full gods should be heading into cosmic territory.

Pretty much this. Hercules and Jesus are pretty much the standard as I see it as far as classical depictions go. The demigods of the Scion game are also a good example.

[T51R]

Depends on the story being written I guess, the one things I learned the hard way is that the characters need to suit the work so there's better integration inside of "the big picture" as it were.

For example, if I were writing for the modern-day tribesman who actually wanted to believe in the supernatural, while having access to technology like you and me I'd want to make the Demigod somewhat compatible with current human knowledge, and "future-proof" the character quite a bit. i.e. the "face on mars was a mountain carved by the mother of Bob, the Demigod, which only looks like a face at a certain hour on a certain day so that in the future, mankind can pay Bob tributes when they land there..."

If however, I needed to write for ancient men I'd start dragging in modern-day pseudo science, science fiction and urban myths but re-word them into understood terminology. i.e. to a shepherd or goat-herder I would say "he who came from the west, a mortal man who was gifted by the blacksmith of Heaven his knowledge and hands, and whom with these gifts put upon himself a thousand shields, given life by the furies of both cloud and flame...by the way, his name was Don." Now its pretty clear to us that I'm trying to describe Iron Man, but to someone who'd have difficulty grasping the concept of Iron Man, it'd be much easier for them to understand than my saying "...so we have this guy who made a suit out of high-strength metal, powered by electricity coming out af an arc reactor stuck in his upper ribcage, filled it with missiles, lasers and rapid-discharge super capacitors which emitted high-energy plasmas through a process not unlike cold fusion...and he made it all at home in his office in the middle of a city of millions of people." That last part, since they wouldn't have a concept for a number that high yet, I'd more likely say to them "where the tribes of the world mingle."

So yer. Demigods to order.

OR. I could just tell them the story of Asura's Wrath and say to them "if you go around hurting women and children while being a dick, Asura will revive and come for you. And if he does, you will pray to go to Limbo, because the High Father nor Mother of the Dead will not want you in Heaven or Hell for fear of pissing Asura off even further..."

[Kirika]

I think another factor here is the level of the god that is a parent in the first place, a demi gods power can depend simply on whether or not their godly parent is at a certain rank.

The children of minor gods aren't on the same level as the children of lesser gods or greater ones.

[Powerboy]

There are different versions of demigods in fiction, many more powerful than others, however the question here is what you think they need to be to suit your standards? How above or different from normal human beings should they be? What powers should they have?

Depends entirely on the setting really. I'll use Heracles/ Hercules as an example.

Sorboclese is plenty powerful enough within his setting. Weaker and he wouldn't feel like a demigod and wouldn't have a chance against the gods. More powerful and he would be too powerful for most of his (human) opponents to be any threat.

In Marvel Comics, though I'm not completely up to date, I think he should be just a little stronger than any opponent who is not a god or demigod but just a little stronger than his most powerful superhuman but non-god/ demigod opponents. Also, in Marvel, you've got quite a range of what counts as a god or beyond a god. I guess a corollary would be whether anything *should be* beyond a mythical god or at least the highest echelon/ sky fathers. Obviously, this is simply opinion about what you like.

As to powers and vulnerabilities, depends on the demigod. Strength is prevalent among Greek demigods but I guess my image of a demigod is that he's better than all non-gods at something but not everything or even a wide variety of things.

[Kirika]

Hercules from the actual mythology was the son of Zeus, but didn't really show any sort of lightning abilities like his father, so as far as themes go, I think we can dismiss the idea themes in themselves being needed.

[wayfarejourneyman]

Hercules from the actual mythology was the son of Zeus, but didn't really show any sort of lightning abilities like his father, so as far as themes go, I think we can dismiss the idea themes in themselves being needed.

I think the thing he got from his dad was simply being the "best" of the demi-gods.

[Kirika]

I think the thing he got from his dad was simply being the "best" of the demi-gods.

That goes in hand with what I stated about gods and ranks.

[Mormel]

I think the thing he got from his dad was simply being the "best" of the demi-gods.

Which is strange, considering that Perseus (his ancestor), Castor+Polydeuces, and Tantalus, have all been fathered by Zeus w/ a mortal mother, but none were touted as 'the BEST of the demigods'. Except Perseus did have a hero's reputation, and Castor and Pollux were pretty badass too. But never as legendary as Hercules.

Also, Hercules is supposed to have achieved godhood following his death on the pyre when he had succumbed to poison. It's a minor peeve of mine that modern popular fiction insists on sustaining Hercules as a demi-god. Imagine what kind of awesome stuff he'd be capable of as a full-on god.

[wayfarejourneyman]

Which is strange, considering that Perseus (his ancestor), Castor+Polydeuces, and Tantalus, have all been fathered by Zeus w/ a mortal mother, but none were touted as 'the BEST of the demigods'. Except Perseus did have a hero's reputation, and Castor and Pollux were pretty badass too. But never as legendary as Hercules.

Also, Hercules is supposed to have achieved godhood following his death on the pyre when he had succumbed to poison. It's a minor peeve of mine that modern popular fiction insists on sustaining Hercules as a demi-god. Imagine what kind of awesome stuff he'd be capable of as a full-on god.

In some renditions I've read, Herc goes on to be the Heimdal of Mt. Olympus, guarding olympus from threats. Thats fairly awesome.