Demigod (Species)

*"Those whom the gods love die young."*

**Demigods,** or half-bloods, are a race of supernatural beings who are half-mortal, half-god. They possess mortal souls and are vulnerable to old age and death; however, their blood contains small amounts of **ichor**, which bestows special abilities that allow them to achieve feats not usually possible by humans.

## History

The gods have been having children with mortals as long as they have walked the Earth.

Demigods were once plentiful throughout the world as the gods ruled human populations and mingled freely. Many great heroes were the children of gods. These heroes traveled the world, fighting monsters, recovering relics and questing for their godly parents.

As Christianity and Islam rose to prominence around the world, many of the old gods were destroyed. Because of this, demigods too faded from the world. Their bloodlines remained, of course, but with so many generations existing between the gods of old and those modern Legacies, the power of the old gods was thought to be truly gone from the world.

However, not all of the old deities were truly gone. Many survived, their worship being enough to keep them alive, but they were driven into hiding. In the modern day, however, the gods seem to be stirring again. More demigods are beginning to appear all over the world.

How these creatures will fit into the world, being *relatively* new to the supernatural scene in Shadowfell, remains to be seen.

## Description

Demigods are the end result of a **Deity** and a human having a child together. Because these children are part god, they have above-average physical abilities, an affinity for the native tongue of their Pantheon and may have some level of control or skill over an aspect of their godly parent's realm. Due to their body housing both mortal and divine aspects, many also have certain disorders, such as ADHD, OCD, Dyslexia or Intermittent Rage Disorder.

When a demigod reaches a certain age, normally their teens, their divine spark awakens. This often occurs after the demigod undergoes some kind of circumstance related to their aspect. This tends to be an extremely stressful, and often a near-death, experience; sometimes it can be euphoric or enlightening.

At this time, their auras change and they release a mystic pulse that monsters and other demigods are able to detect. This pulse will become stronger once the child learns what they are. If the child never learns of their true nature, it is possible for monsters to overlook them. It is possible to dim this pulse, but they cannot ever truly extinguish it. It is dangerous for demigods to use cellphones, as monsters can "sense a demigod's voice in the air". They also tend to avoid flying, to avoid the sky gods of rival pantheons.

Demigods tend to be social outcasts among mortals, with many labeled as troublemakers, weird kids and loners. This is due mostly to the fact that most demigods have an innate spark of adventure, aggression and restlessness from their divine parent. Many demigods feel that they do not belong in either the mortal or divine world. Thus, since they don't belong with either group, they tend to stick together in groups of their own.

True to their divine nature, most Demigods love to party and very many are hedonistic, indulging in alcohol, cigarettes, drugs and constant parties.

## Breeding

A demigod is mostly human and they breed just like humans. Being part god, demigods have many of the same base urges as their divine parent, which means they often have a hard time maintaining relationships. Demigods of love deities even more so.

Demigods have an extremely low birth rate, even lower than **werewolves.** On the rare chance that a demigod is able to sire children, they are referred to as a **Legacy**. These individuals, which are second or third generation descendant of a god, tend to possess certain abilities to their godly ancestors, but nowhere near the level of a demigod. The Legacy produced from two demigods will have minor aspects of both of their parents.

### On the nature of Divine Blood and Family Relationships

Few demigods have full-blooded siblings (excluding twins and other multiple-birth scenarios), as their godly parents almost always leave their mortal consorts after conception. This isn't to say that a demigod doesn't have *any* siblings; most demigods have at least a half-dozen half-brothers and half-sisters.

It should be noted that no god is truly the sibling, father or husband of another god or goddess. Thus, no demigods may be cousins to another; children of Athena and Apollo, for example, are not considered cousins, or even related.

### Divine Bond

All children of the same god share a bond of loyalty; there is an unspoken kinship there. Such siblings have a minor empathetic, telepathic bond. All sibling demigods can sense when they are within a mile of each other, though this radius can be larger if one of the demigods is considerably powerful.

In such a state, they can communicate basic emotions, call for help (using the Divine Pulse) and otherwise sense their brothers and sisters. They share blood, after all. A similar bond exists between demigods of the same Pantheon, but it is not quite as strong as that between sibling demigods.

### Habitat

Demigods can live anywhere humans can live. However, demigods tend to prefer environments comparable to the celestial homes of their divine parent. For example, Asgardian demigods tend to prefer cold, mountainous environments while Egyptian demigods would rather live in dry, sandy areas.

### Diet

Demigods can eat anything a human can eat. They tend to be hedonistic, indulging in alcohol and other vices. Some, depending on their divine parent, are capable of eating things that a human cannot; children of Sobek, for example, can eat raw meat.

## Pantheons

A Pantheon is a sort of Divine Tribe, each connected to a Flame of Civilization. These groups of gods share an intrinsic, magical, divine connection to one another and their offspring share this connection. Demigods are counted as members of their pantheon for magical purposes. Not all demigods are the children of gods that belong to a Pantheon.

Some of the more well known Pantheons include:

* **Asgardians:** The warlike gods of Norse mythology.
* **Atua:** The peaceful gods of Hawaiian mythology.
* **The Bogovi:** The grim gods of the ancient Slavs.
* **The Daeva:** The beloved deities of India and its surrounding countries.
* **The Kami:** The ineffable and eternal gods of ancient Japan.
* **The Netjer:** The ancient, alien gods of Egypt.
* **The Olympians:** Undeniably the most recognizable pantheon on Earth, worshiped by both the ancient Greeks and Romans.
* **The Shen:** The celestial bureaucracy of China.
* **The Teotl:** The bloodthirsty gods of the Aztecs.

## Powers & Abilities

A demigod, as part god, possess certain supernatural abilities:

* **Divine Gift:** All demigods have a power or ability that is connected in some way to their divine parent. For example, a child of Zeus might be able to fly or control lightning or a child of Sobek may have superhuman strength, control of water or be able to shapeshift into a giant crocodile. Demigods tend to develop more gifts as they grow in age and experience. They are also able to absorb divine essence through certain perverse rituals.
* **Magic:** All demigods can perform at least rudimentary magic and rituals. Certain gods, such as children of the goddess Isis, are much more powerful spellcasters.
* **Multilingual:** A demigod is naturally capable of speaking in the tongue of their pantheon. For example, Olympian Demigods can speak ancient Greek.
* **Supernatural Sight:** Demigods can see the world for what it really is. The veil is parted and the horror of the truth is apparent to them.

### Weaknesses

* **Angel Blades:** These blades, borne by angels, can kill a demigod outright.
* **Binding Circle:** This ancient sigil is capable of trapping a demigod on its surface. While trapped, the demigod cannot use their powers and are effectively helpless.
* **Blood Loss:** If a demigod is severely wounded and bleeds out before they can heal, they can die.
* **Celestial Sigils:** Certain celestial sigils are capable of preventing a demigod from detecting or finding someone. They can also be used to prevent a demigod from entering a building, to harm or weaken a demigod and to prevent a demigod from hearing anything within a warded area.
* **Celestial Weapons:** A demigod can be killed by making a killing blow with a weapon forged of celestial metal.
* **Consecrated Weapons:** Weapons that have been consecrated are harmful to the children of certain gods.
* **Death's Scythe:** This weapon will instantly kill a demigod.
* **Decapitation:** Decapitation will result in instant death.
* **Demonic Blades:** These blades are fatal to demigods if stabbed through their hearts.
* **Divine Flaw:** All demigods have a divine flaw, usually connected to their divine parent and/or personality.
* **Desecrated Weapons:** Weapons that have been desecrated are harmful to the children of certain gods.
* **Fey Magic:** Demigods are especially vulnerable to the strange magic of the fey.
* **Heart Extraction:** Ripping a demigod's heart from their bodies will kill them instantly.
* **Hunter's Knife:** These weapons have the ability to kill almost anything and since they were forged in a Dwarven forge, can kill a demigod.
* **Gods:** Deities are, in general, able to harm, trap and kill demigods.
* **Magic:** Demigods are susceptible to both arcane and divine magic.
* **Mental Disorders:** Many demigods develop certain disorders, like ADHD, OCD, dyslexia, Intermittent Rage Disorder, etc. In rare cases, this can result in serious mental illness.
* **Poisons:** Demigods are no more resistant to poison than a normal human.
* **Weapons of Heaven:** Certain Weapons of Heaven can slow down, injure, trap or even kill a demigod.