God

''This article is about local universal deities. For Diem's yang aspect, see The God. For a list of specific divine creatures, see Divinities.''

A god is a being with a divine spark within a universe. In most universes, gods are created directly by The God and The Goddess at the time of the universe's creation. The gods are then delegated the task of creating planes, a world, and mortal races on the aspects' behalf. This is not the only way that gods can come into existence, however. For example:
 * On Golarion, the Starstone transforms anyone who touches it into a god.
 * On Materia, The God and The Goddess created five ur-deities (Byakko, Genbu, Seiryuu, Suzaku, and Taiia) who then went on to create pantheons of gods themselves.
 * Asmodeus of Torven was granted godhood through a deal he made personally with The God.

Divine Spark
Gods have nearly omnipotent power within their own universe, able to shape reality at will, forge planes, and create races. The source of this power comes from a "divine spark" which every god has within them. The divine spark is akin to a soul; a formless, massless substance held within the body. Divine sparks are made of aether, the material universes are made out of. When a mortal gains godhood, that mortal breaks a shard of aether off of the very universe itself and forms it into a divine spark. Thus, gods literally contain a piece of the universe within them -- this is why they hold such omnipotent power over it. However, this power is tied to the universe it comes from -- if a god ever travels to another universe, the divine spark is useless there.

The exact nature of gods' divine sparks varies from universe to universe. In some universes, like Golarion, each god's divine spark is a separate sliver of aether, allowing nearly limitless new gods to be born and die over time. In others, like Torven, the fabric of the universe is divided evenly into a number of pieces equal to the number of gods at the time of creation, and there must always be exactly that many gods for eternity -- no more, no less.

The divine spark grants a number of benefits, including but not limited to:
 * Immortality
 * Immunity to any weapon or force that is not itself divine in nature
 * The ability to create planes, planets, mortals, and sometimes other gods
 * Control over one or more "domains" of influence
 * The ability to grant magic to their mortal followers (e.g. clerics)
 * Some limited ability to directly reshape reality at will

Demigods
Occasionally, mortal beings (usually long-lived outsiders) grow powerful enough to harness aether itself as a power source. While such beings do not literally have a divine spark, they are infused with the power of aether, inextricably tying them to the universe itself and granting them an approximation of godly strength. These beings are called demigods, and they usually have the following characteristics: Since this power is derived from aether, much like the divine spark, if a demigod leaves his or her native universe, these abilities cease functioning.
 * Immortality, as a god
 * Immunity to any weapon or force that is not itself divine in nature, as a god
 * Aether-based divine power, which can bypass gods' and other demigods' immunities
 * Possibly some limited control over one or more "domains" of influence, but not to the extent of a true god
 * Possibly the ability to grant some limited magic to their mortal followers (e.g. clerics)
 * No ability to create planes, planets, life, or gods
 * No ability to directly reshape reality to their will