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How would you defeat a God, or a ruler of the Underworld, like Hades? I'm really struggling with how to resolve conflict in a story I'm working on.
How would you defeat...
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Can you tell us a little more about the context of your story or the person who is trying to defeat them?
It would help
It would help
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--chop him into bits and eat him
--feed him to a Python
--pit him against a Titan
--bury him in molten lead
--trap him in a box and sink it in the ocean
--blow up his head with my mind
--explode him so thoroughly that his pieces only exist in cellular sizes, mix them into a smoothie with bananas and meat and feed it to Cerberus
--infect him with anthrax
--infect him with syphilis
--find a stronger god to kill him
--mercury poisoning
--lightning
--feed him blowfish
--taipans in his underpants
--freeze him in the centermost circle of hell with Satan
--feed him to Monstro
--turn him into a wooden puppet and set him on fire
--feed him to a Python
--pit him against a Titan
--bury him in molten lead
--trap him in a box and sink it in the ocean
--blow up his head with my mind
--explode him so thoroughly that his pieces only exist in cellular sizes, mix them into a smoothie with bananas and meat and feed it to Cerberus
--infect him with anthrax
--infect him with syphilis
--find a stronger god to kill him
--mercury poisoning
--lightning
--feed him blowfish
--taipans in his underpants
--freeze him in the centermost circle of hell with Satan
--feed him to Monstro
--turn him into a wooden puppet and set him on fire
What's the powerset of said God or the person trying to defeat them?
Gods have a huge variability in their power-level. Some are omnipotent, some are fairly weak.
Obviously you can go either the "power-for-power" route of defeating, or the more poetic way, which utilizes their weaknesses(whichever they may be).
You might need the help of other gods, or some artifacts, or not.
More info is definitely needed.
Gods have a huge variability in their power-level. Some are omnipotent, some are fairly weak.
Obviously you can go either the "power-for-power" route of defeating, or the more poetic way, which utilizes their weaknesses(whichever they may be).
You might need the help of other gods, or some artifacts, or not.
More info is definitely needed.
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Excellently referenced.
Go John Ritter!
Wizard: "Do you know what a person is called who goes up to a wizard armed with only their disbelief?"
Jack Deth: "A sceptic?"
Wizard: "Dead meat."
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Rules. Gods conform to rules lest the other gods smite them. Trick the god into breaking the rules, or, put the god in a position that forces them to follow the rules in such a way that allows the MC to win.
Every fantasy has rules. Even if you haven't made them explicit to yourself yet, your story has them. (Or it sucks.)
Once you are clear with yourself (and us) what those rules are, your answer will become much, much clearer. Sometimes the answer is contained in the properly expressed question.
The first question shouldnt be how to kill them, it should be is said god truly immortal (aka infinite) or just doesn't age/hard to kill immortal.
If you're actually using Hades or another god of a similiar pantheon, then the answer would be choice b - he's just hard to kill. If you are using Hades, I would dredge up some other old greek/roman myths and use some items/poison/etc appropriate to the story to end him. If you're creating your own pantheon or borrowing from one no one except ancient history majors has ever heard of then you'd be fairly safe making up pretty much anything to get the job done. Most pantheons had multiple instances of gods being contained or destroyed and its usually accomplished by other gods or a demi-god armed with some mystical magical item/potion/poison/spell.
If the god you're talking about is truly immortal (for instance the Christian idea of God states that he is infinite - not arguing theology here just stating for the explanation) then he cannot be killed. Containment would be the only option and a hard sell if said god was infinite and trascendental (ie - Christian concept of God).
If we had a little more information I'm sure you'd get something more specific and relevent to your story, but that is one seriously open ended question.
If you're actually using Hades or another god of a similiar pantheon, then the answer would be choice b - he's just hard to kill. If you are using Hades, I would dredge up some other old greek/roman myths and use some items/poison/etc appropriate to the story to end him. If you're creating your own pantheon or borrowing from one no one except ancient history majors has ever heard of then you'd be fairly safe making up pretty much anything to get the job done. Most pantheons had multiple instances of gods being contained or destroyed and its usually accomplished by other gods or a demi-god armed with some mystical magical item/potion/poison/spell.
If the god you're talking about is truly immortal (for instance the Christian idea of God states that he is infinite - not arguing theology here just stating for the explanation) then he cannot be killed. Containment would be the only option and a hard sell if said god was infinite and trascendental (ie - Christian concept of God).
If we had a little more information I'm sure you'd get something more specific and relevent to your story, but that is one seriously open ended question.
Also, you should consider what happens to that world after you've defeated the underworld god. Modern retellings like Disney and Riordan tend to show Hades as an antagonist, a villain. Hades was a self-volunteered *jailor*. He kept some really nasty examples of Greek mythology under lock and key so the rest of the Olympians could prance around in relatively-safe sunlight.
If you remove the warden, what happens to the prisoners?
If you remove the warden, what happens to the prisoners?
It depends on what a "god" is in your world. There are lots of stories about deicide, but they operate by different rules. Since that's what most people have been saying, I'll try to list some examples:
- When gods are just stronger people, all you need is a bigger gun/sword/boat.
- Some gods have specific weaknesses that allow them to be killed, which works better in a mythology-styled world.
- Likewise, there are often processes to make a god a mortal.
- If gods exist on a higher plane you need something comparable, either other gods or their own weapons.
- In some worlds gods are powered by belief, so they cease to exist when not worshiped.
- If the god is closer to omnipotent, it could be governed by rules (even self-imposed rules) that can be exploited.
- Even if the god is unassailable, victory doesn't have to mean killing. In the god of the underworld example, if you found a way to make everyone immortal, then you can "win" without direct conflict.
- When gods are just stronger people, all you need is a bigger gun/sword/boat.
- Some gods have specific weaknesses that allow them to be killed, which works better in a mythology-styled world.
- Likewise, there are often processes to make a god a mortal.
- If gods exist on a higher plane you need something comparable, either other gods or their own weapons.
- In some worlds gods are powered by belief, so they cease to exist when not worshiped.
- If the god is closer to omnipotent, it could be governed by rules (even self-imposed rules) that can be exploited.
- Even if the god is unassailable, victory doesn't have to mean killing. In the god of the underworld example, if you found a way to make everyone immortal, then you can "win" without direct conflict.
I'd personally find a way to annoy him enough to make him concede defeat out of sheer annoyance.
You can honestly do anything if it is well written. Turn them into a bunny, infect them with "humanity", gorge them on their own pride, etc.
Every brand of mythology is chock full of examples of bizzare things killing a god. Baldur was killed by Loki with mistletoe (yup, mistletoe), Uranus was castrated by his son Cronus who was, in turn, gutted by Zeus, and Set murdered Osiris by tricking him into a box that he tossed into the Nile.
Long story short, classic mythology is about as wacky for killing gods as you can get, so feel free to get creative.
The first thought to comes to my mind would be to make a pact with a powerful demon or some other type of higher being that's capable of matching said god's power.
Wow..you'd need the Infinite Probability Drive from the Heart of Gold to reach the answer to this question. It is almost infinitely open-ended without knowing the specific circumstances of your novel, your rules, your gods, your heroes, and everything that's happened up to the point said hero faces god.
Maybe you could narrow it down by providing us a setting and the circumstances in which the hero will face the god?
Maybe you could narrow it down by providing us a setting and the circumstances in which the hero will face the god?
Ask God to make a hot dog so hot that even He can't eat it.
Then, as He is turned towards the grill, hit Him on the head with a frying pan.
The old paradox-and-a-whacking combo works for most omnipotent deities.
Then, as He is turned towards the grill, hit Him on the head with a frying pan.
The old paradox-and-a-whacking combo works for most omnipotent deities.
Go back to the classics... read Homer and find out how it was done by several of the heroes in there. Hades, in particular, was defeated by Orpheus playing beautiful music. But then that was how Orpheus solved all his problems, including Cerberus
Defeat does not mean 'kill'. It could mean persuade or trick or imprison or any number of other options. There are a lot of classic tales about mortal men (well, in some cases, demigods) defeating gods in various imaginative ways.
Defeat does not mean 'kill'. It could mean persuade or trick or imprison or any number of other options. There are a lot of classic tales about mortal men (well, in some cases, demigods) defeating gods in various imaginative ways.
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