I need help building a character. Me and my dm were discussing the repercussions of certain actions that would inevitably bring the wrath of a god onto said character. This got me to thinking if any character properly minmaxed could one v one a god. I’d like to hear from you guys and see what methods and combinations of classes, amazing feats, magic items, and spells. I have been leaning heavily towards a barbearian as I’ve seen many a builds showcasing how tanky and resilient they are at such an early level. Anything helps, no opinions are wrong, I just need info on some of the most op combos.
It will depend very highly on what pantheon you are playing and what type of god you are fighting. The basic answer is No. Unless a DM is going to let you, you are not going to be able to kill a god. Full stop. Most of the Gods of any level have the ability to literally will you out of existence. No save, No attack roll, nonmagically just rend you out of reality. Also, most gods live on even after they "die" because all you did was kill their avatar. Most of the time that you fight a god in a game it would simply be their avatar.
That said, If you want to find some crazy builds, a quick google search of best builds in Dnd 5e should do you wonders. People can come up with some crazy shit RAW. One of my favorites (though not necessarily practical) is the Grapple King. Rune Knight Duergar. At 18th Level you can become a Gargantuan Creature via one of the Rune Knight Runes and using the Duergar ability to Enlarge yourself one size. You could literally grapple anything at that point.
I disagree with the above comments. A god can be trapped and weakened by magic, and some characters are just that powerful.
Characters are nowhere that powerful. Even a maxed out level 20 character with all Epic Boons horribly pale in comparison to a god. You need the GM's cooperation to kill a god. Unlike lesser beings like mortals, gods are not bound by the limits of stat blocks and character sheets. RAW, as far as I know, players have no way to kill a god; at best, they can defeat a god's avatar, but that is about it.
What if they're very tired old gods who no one believes in anymore? Maybe if they were the god of one specific tree?
Greek myths are full of this kind of thing - from Diomedes to Arachne. Imperial Rome and Pharaonic Egypt had gods you could go to their house and slap them across the eyes.
The answer is it depends on the world and the story. In the Forgotten Realms everyday people ascend to godhood with alarming regularity. Stymieing the plans of a God is the central narrative of Rime of the Frostmaiden. But the usual DM starting point is that it's going to at best look like Doctor Strange vs Thanos, with one inevitable outcome. Once in a blue moon, you can pull off a Doctor Strange vs Dormammu, where you come up with a specific trick that works once.
What if they're very tired old gods who no one believes in anymore? Maybe if they were the god of one specific tree?
Greek myths are full of this kind of thing - from Diomedes to Arachne. Imperial Rome and Pharaonic Egypt had gods you could go to their house and slap them across the eyes.
The answer is it depends on the world and the story. In the Forgotten Realms everyday people ascend to godhood with alarming regularity. Stymieing the plans of a God is the central narrative of Rime of the Frostmaiden. But the usual DM starting point is that it's going to at best look like Doctor Strange vs Thanos, with one inevitable outcome. Once in a blue moon, you can pull off a Doctor Strange vs Dormammu, where you come up with a specific trick that works once.
World and story ultimately depends on the GM, so whether you can kill a god still requires the cooperation of the GM. As far as I know, RAW, you cannot kill any god.
Technically, killing anything depends on the GM too, but commun assumption is that you can kill anything with a stat block. Within reason of course, so do not expect a level 1 PC to go against Tiamat's avatar and survive. Gods do not have stat blocks, so you cannot kill them. You can defeat their avatars though.
A god with a stat block would still be unkillable without specific GM co-operation. Here's a made-up stat block you can use. I'm using the name Zeus as a placeholder.
Zeus God, Chaotic Neutral Armor Class Infinity Hit Points Infinity Speed Infinite, Swim Speed Infinite, Climb Speed Infinite, Fly Speed Infinite (Hover), Burrow Speed Infinite, Teleportation At Will (Infinite Range, does not need line of sight or line of effect to target space, can be used to change planes of existence) STR Infinity DEX Infinity CON Infinity INT 8 WIS 8 CHA Infinity Senses passive Perception Infinity, Perception Infinity, Investigate Infinity, Insight Infinity, Darkvision Infinity Feet, Blindsight Infinity Feet, (Divine Oracle) Languages All, including Druidic, Thieves Cant, and that language you made up to share with your twin. Zeus is telepathic with infinite range. Challenge Infinite (Infinite XP)
Proficiency Bonus: Infinite
Shapeshifter: At will, Zeus can have any size, weight, and shape he wants.
Deity: Zeus can choose the result of any die roll he or anyone else is called upon to make, as well as adding any modifier he wants; if another deity uses the same ability, they cancel each other. Zeus can have any ability he wants from any race, class, creature, etc, at will. Zeus knows every spell and can cast any of them without spending an action (he has infinite spell slots of any spell level he likes, not limited to less than 10); he also does not need any components, not even material ones with a cost; Zeus can concentrate on infinite spells at once and all of his spells have infinite duration (he can dismiss any of them at will). Zeus knows every metamagic and has infinite sorcery points, and he can use multiple metamagics on the same spell. Zeus cannot be surprised. Zeus is proficient and has expertise and reliable talent in all tools, skills, armors, shields, weapons, ability checks, and saves. Zeus always has advantage on everything, and if you oppose him in a check, you have disadvantage on everything. Zeus does not need to eat, drink, breathe, or sleep, and cannot be forced to sleep. Zeus can turn incorporeal or corporeal at will. Zeus has an extradimensional space he can pull things from or put things into at will, which is of infinite size and contains as many as he likes of any non-artifact magic item he wants.
I have an idea. If the DM allows you, you could find a way to make your character a god. I did this with one of my characters via backstory and DM permission, and then I figured out a way that gave him a reason for being where he was, and then found a way to not make him overpowered at level one. I proceeded to make his backstory that he was rebelling against the other gods because they were acting like tyrants towards the mortals, and that all the other gods found a way to take/hide his power and memories from him, and make him believe he was a regular mortal. The idea was that he would find stuff from his past, and discover holes in his memory (Ex: doesn't remember his childhood or family) and regain his memories and portions of his power with each piece he finds, until at the final climax of the campaign, he would regain his full power and do something important. (probably after the BBEG because I wouldn't want to make that just centered around me doing god stuff. Anyways, what im saying is if your character can gain the power of a god, either by ones help or actually having that power, you can defeat or weaken a god enough that they leave you alone.
I need help building a character. Me and my dm were discussing the repercussions of certain actions that would inevitably bring the wrath of a god onto said character. This got me to thinking if any character properly minmaxed could one v one a god. I’d like to hear from you guys and see what methods and combinations of classes, amazing feats, magic items, and spells. I have been leaning heavily towards a barbearian as I’ve seen many a builds showcasing how tanky and resilient they are at such an early level. Anything helps, no opinions are wrong, I just need info on some of the most op combos.
It will depend very highly on what pantheon you are playing and what type of god you are fighting. The basic answer is No. Unless a DM is going to let you, you are not going to be able to kill a god. Full stop. Most of the Gods of any level have the ability to literally will you out of existence. No save, No attack roll, nonmagically just rend you out of reality. Also, most gods live on even after they "die" because all you did was kill their avatar. Most of the time that you fight a god in a game it would simply be their avatar.
That said, If you want to find some crazy builds, a quick google search of best builds in Dnd 5e should do you wonders. People can come up with some crazy shit RAW. One of my favorites (though not necessarily practical) is the Grapple King. Rune Knight Duergar. At 18th Level you can become a Gargantuan Creature via one of the Rune Knight Runes and using the Duergar ability to Enlarge yourself one size. You could literally grapple anything at that point.
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"Play the game however you want to play the game. After all, your fun doesn't threaten my fun."
On looking more closely at the idea I realize now this was a very naive post
I disagree with the above comments. A god can be trapped and weakened by magic, and some characters are just that powerful.
Characters are nowhere that powerful. Even a maxed out level 20 character with all Epic Boons horribly pale in comparison to a god. You need the GM's cooperation to kill a god. Unlike lesser beings like mortals, gods are not bound by the limits of stat blocks and character sheets. RAW, as far as I know, players have no way to kill a god; at best, they can defeat a god's avatar, but that is about it.
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What if they're very tired old gods who no one believes in anymore? Maybe if they were the god of one specific tree?
Greek myths are full of this kind of thing - from Diomedes to Arachne. Imperial Rome and Pharaonic Egypt had gods you could go to their house and slap them across the eyes.
The answer is it depends on the world and the story. In the Forgotten Realms everyday people ascend to godhood with alarming regularity. Stymieing the plans of a God is the central narrative of Rime of the Frostmaiden. But the usual DM starting point is that it's going to at best look like Doctor Strange vs Thanos, with one inevitable outcome. Once in a blue moon, you can pull off a Doctor Strange vs Dormammu, where you come up with a specific trick that works once.
World and story ultimately depends on the GM, so whether you can kill a god still requires the cooperation of the GM. As far as I know, RAW, you cannot kill any god.
Technically, killing anything depends on the GM too, but commun assumption is that you can kill anything with a stat block. Within reason of course, so do not expect a level 1 PC to go against Tiamat's avatar and survive. Gods do not have stat blocks, so you cannot kill them. You can defeat their avatars though.
Check Licenses and Resync Entitlements: < https://www.dndbeyond.com/account/licenses >
Running the Game by Matt Colville; Introduction: < https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-YZvLUXcR8 >
D&D with High School Students by Bill Allen; Season 1 Episode 1: < https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52NJTUDokyk&t >
A god with a stat block would still be unkillable without specific GM co-operation. Here's a made-up stat block you can use. I'm using the name Zeus as a placeholder.
Zeus
God, Chaotic Neutral
Armor Class Infinity
Hit Points Infinity
Speed Infinite, Swim Speed Infinite, Climb Speed Infinite, Fly Speed Infinite (Hover), Burrow Speed Infinite, Teleportation At Will (Infinite Range, does not need line of sight or line of effect to target space, can be used to change planes of existence)
STR Infinity
DEX Infinity
CON Infinity
INT 8
WIS 8
CHA Infinity
Senses passive Perception Infinity, Perception Infinity, Investigate Infinity, Insight Infinity, Darkvision Infinity Feet, Blindsight Infinity Feet, (Divine Oracle)
Languages All, including Druidic, Thieves Cant, and that language you made up to share with your twin. Zeus is telepathic with infinite range.
Challenge Infinite (Infinite XP)
Proficiency Bonus: Infinite
Shapeshifter: At will, Zeus can have any size, weight, and shape he wants.
Deity: Zeus can choose the result of any die roll he or anyone else is called upon to make, as well as adding any modifier he wants; if another deity uses the same ability, they cancel each other. Zeus can have any ability he wants from any race, class, creature, etc, at will. Zeus knows every spell and can cast any of them without spending an action (he has infinite spell slots of any spell level he likes, not limited to less than 10); he also does not need any components, not even material ones with a cost; Zeus can concentrate on infinite spells at once and all of his spells have infinite duration (he can dismiss any of them at will). Zeus knows every metamagic and has infinite sorcery points, and he can use multiple metamagics on the same spell. Zeus cannot be surprised. Zeus is proficient and has expertise and reliable talent in all tools, skills, armors, shields, weapons, ability checks, and saves. Zeus always has advantage on everything, and if you oppose him in a check, you have disadvantage on everything. Zeus does not need to eat, drink, breathe, or sleep, and cannot be forced to sleep. Zeus can turn incorporeal or corporeal at will. Zeus has an extradimensional space he can pull things from or put things into at will, which is of infinite size and contains as many as he likes of any non-artifact magic item he wants.
Let me know if I missed anything.
The biggest thing there -- and the primary thing being said -- "If the DM allows you,"
Without the DM's permission you are not going to be killing a god. Full stop.
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"Play the game however you want to play the game. After all, your fun doesn't threaten my fun."
as it is with most things. It would be pretty epic though.
Oh for sure.
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"Play the game however you want to play the game. After all, your fun doesn't threaten my fun."