[Blightedmarsh]

I am considering the nature of the divine. I know I don't want the usual fruit basket of competing divinities and yet I also want the kind of all to human bickering gods.

Any relevant thoughts and ideas would be appreciated.

Archetypes/Patrons

These are sort of gods. They are:

Timeless: They do not age and can't be killed.
Mindless: Or if they have a mind no one has ever found it.
Celestial: They are visible as bodies (planets?) in the nights sky.
Amoral: They exist quite apart from good and evil.
Polly: 9-16 of them
Destiny: They are used in a similar way to birthsigns

Each archetype represents a force or role in peoples lives and society. For example

The warrior
The shepherd
The Mother
The Reaper
...extra

Titans

Similar to the patrons.
They where the old physical gods.
The are divine giants.
They dream or are otherwise asleep.
They embody the power of nature rather than that culture
They are the pregonators of the giants
The eldest of their children are the Jhontus (Divine nature giants)

Exarch

These are ascendant beings who have somehow managed to tap into the power of the archetypes. They are somewhere between saints, arch-beings and gods.

An archetype in this acts something like a portfolio; an exarch in someway has to be alined and resonate with his archetype.

As a person the exarch may be good, evil, neither or both in a way that the non-sentient archetypes may not. It is probably just as well that they rarely take a direct hand (or indeed interest) in mortal affairs

Most take up residence in the outer planes. They take or share a home plane to act not only as their residence but also as a soul clearing house. Some exarchs are living beings (saints).

Physical gods

These are living immortal beings who are worshiped and consume soul energy.
It is believed but not known that they can tap into the power of the patrons and the titans.

Souls

The Exarchs don't particularly need your worship or faith except as a means to an end. They want your soul; worship helps them get it.

When they get a hold of your soul they subject it to "reward" or "torment" (strong emotional stimuli). By doing so they harness the energy of your soul, sucking the power out of it until you are spent; where upon they eject you soul out of the celestial plains and if your lucky back down to earth to be reused.