Classifications of Powerful Beings

A rough ranking system for beings far more powerful than mortals.

Cosmic Beings

Far beyond the concerns of materials realms, cosmic beings shape the universe itself.

Solar Wyrms

Representing the light of the universe, solar wyrms pull energy and matter from the elemental planes to create the physical objects throughout the cosmos. After hatching from eggs, they explore the universe until growing large enough to create their own planet. After reaching full adulthood, they become powerful enough to manifest a new star, spreading their light further.

Strange solar wyrms, or those who have experienced excessive stresses, may become a more unusual cosmic object, such as a nebula or a black hole.

As they exist almost exclusively in a deep, multiplanar sleep, solar wyrms dream. Their dreams mingle and merge, forming The Astral and enforcing a set of natural laws that the planets (and their connected planes) follow. Their common dreams are also responsible for the similarity of lifeforms found across these worlds.

Great Old Ones

Opposing the solar wyrms and representing the infinite darkness of deep space, great old ones are impossible for mortals to comprehend. They exist to snuff out all life and will attempt to destroy or corrupt anything they can find. Great old ones come in a wide variety of shapes. Angel-type old ones are made of colossal, dark rings, Mind-type are shadowy masses of eyes and tentacles.

Great old ones infect the material planes with void magic and terrible knowledges. This corruption manifests as strange spells, an unutterable language and as changes to creatures.

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Deities

Powerful beings local to a material plane, deities are usually directly involved in divine magic and artifacts.

True Gods

True gods are those that are able to bestow divine spells upon their worshippers. They do not usually act on the material plane itself - the great template does not allow this - but may be able to manifest avatars or aspects to act in their place. Ascending to true godhood usually involves direct contact with a solar wyrm, usually the one dwelling within the local material plane.

On Urvén, the true gods are one with The Weave, having no physical form and instead shaping magic itself. They are shaped by belief, often having different forms and personalities towards the different peoples that worship them. Examples include Thirasmus, true god of Order and Veldressir/Valdrassir, twin-souled true god of Arcana and Knowledge.

Lesser Gods

Lesser gods are greatly powerful beings that usually rule over an outer plane and/or have created an artifact. They usually get their power from the energy that souls radiate in the afterlife. Like true gods, they are usually limited in their capabilities in the material plane. They often represent a powerful force or concept that is not represented by one of the true gods.

In Urvén, examples include Ortiniach, god of Justice, bearer of Terminus, Judgement's Edge, and Annamyrellia, goddess of Artistry, both of which preside over outer planes.

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Epic Beings

A broader classification that includes beings that are usually one of the most powerful within their home plane. They are almost always immortal, having a natural way to reform if destroyed. If they don't have control over a whole plane, they usually rule over a large part of one.

Archfey

Royal Archfey, Archfey, Minor Archfey

Natives of the Feywild, no two archfey are alike. They do all, however, preside over a fey domain - a pocket of the Feywild that bends to their whims. They usually have magical abilities that do not appear to follow the laws of The Weave and have motivations only fully understood by themselves. They vary in power immensely, from The Baba, ruler of all hags, to the Toad Prince, lord of a small lake and the creatures within it.

Demon Lords

Demonic power spreads as a corruption, consuming entire worlds if left unchecked. These worlds become new realms in the abyss, doomed to repeat the process with other worlds they come near to. Each type of corruption is led by a demon lord, who hungrily attempt to gain more territory and the souls within. One such example is the Corrosive Mother, who spreads a realm of acid and pestilence.

Devil Princes

More local to an individual planet, devil princes lord over a hell, an evil plane that exists both to punish lost souls and to stand in the way of the spreading corruption of the abyss. Devil princes usually have an intricate ranking system in order to be certain of where they stand in relation to each other.

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Lesser Beings of Power

Encompassing all those who are stronger than mortals but are not represented above, lesser beings of power are those who are powerful enough to enact change in the multiverse but are not powerful enough (yet) to lay claim to a large portion of it.

Great Spirits

Belief and extended periods of time create immortal beings known as spirits. A particularly old tree may have a minor spirit that has become part of it, as would a river. The object or concept that a spirit springs from is known as an anchor. Great spirits are those that either represent a larger concept - like the Great Spirit of Wolf - or are the spirit of a particularly large or old anchor, such as Lesate, the fallen moon spirit. Great spirits may be worshipped as gods, particularly by local cultures that rely on or are affected strongly by the existence of their anchor.

Heroic Figures

Creatures who are pushing the very limits of - and beginning to transcend - their mortality are heroic figures. In gameplay terms, this would represent characters who have begun taking epic boons after reaching level 20.

Primordials

Existing in and made from the raw fury of elemental creation, primordials are rarely sighted by other beings. When a planet is created by a solar wyrm, the energy and matter drawn from an elemental plane leaves behind a mostly inhabitable shadow. Primordials exist outside of this, like large fish around a small island. If unleashed upon the material plane, a primordial could cause untold harm but would struggle to survive. Earth primordials are like impossibly dense mountains, Entropy primordials are like city-sized shadows, drawing the life from all around them.

Worldember 2022

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Archfey, The Baba, Bag of Bountiful Bread, Ceaseless Slough, Classifications of Powerful Beings, Echo Pastries, The Eldest Tree, Frostbite Jelly, The Hedge, Hollowfolk, Home At The Centre Of The Maze, Languid Lake, Plane of Creation, Recurrants, The Scribes, The Toad Prince, Underbridge, Week of Shadows