Question I don't know if this is the right area of the forum for this but ...

The most common way to handle a 'god' interacting with an Avatar is to use the subset of Avatars called Paladins. In Paladins, the deity creates a small splinter of its actual power and the mutant hosts just this sliver of godhood. Only a ridiculously powerful Avatar would be able to host an entire divine being... and then only if the divine being were basically starving itself to live off the energy its host could generate to feed it. And in that case, the power the Avatar would gain would be meager, because the god wouldn't really have anything to spare.

Alternately, the Avatar could be a Channeler. This variant doesn't actually host a spirit or god, but instead acts more like a space station with docking ports. The spirit cooperates with the Avatar in times of need and acts on the physical world through the Avatar.

The key is in understanding that an Avatar does two things for a spirit (or extradimensional being). One, it provides a safe place for it to exist in the physical world. Generally, in their own places (other planes), spirits might be ancient and powerful beings able to acquire and wield great strength. But crossing into the physical world costs them a great deal of energy and cuts them off from their normal abilities to sustain themselves. Even just existing here constantly depletes them. Unless they are protected by a hallow... like the ones Avatar type mutants have within their extradimensional being. So... one, a spirit visiting the physical world gets to stick around without an ongoing drain on its lifeforce, pursue an agenda and so forth. Additionally, Avatars generate a spiritual energy that these beings can feed on and grow in strength. So, whether the spirit is fulling crossed over and embodying the Avatar or linked in from the other side of the veil, they benefit by gaining strength.

The Avatar gains from this arrangement only if they are either dominant enough to control some of the actions of the spirit or if the spirit has an agenda that requires its host to be 'more' than just a common baseline. So some Avatars have a 'large' hallow... which allows them to host a 'large' spirit or more than one small one without everyone bumping elbows and feeling cramped for space. Others have smaller hallows and run into space problems with many types of spirits. The actual 'size' of a spirit is not something directly tied to its physical appearance or power level, of course... but you could say that divine beings are... LARGE. They have to be because they come with a lot of baggage. This is why, when they choose a champion/paladin, the splinter is often focused on a specific aspect of their nature, as opposed to reflective of the whole being of the god.

Also, Avatars can get some advantage out of the fact that the energy that sustains their spirit also lets the spirit grow in power... if the Avatar generates too little for it, the spirit is unlikely to bond with them... or may just limit its efforts and make due with sustaining itself. But usually spirits will be attracted to Avatar in whom they can 'gain' and grow. So they feed well, and allow some/more of that power to spill back in benefits that they give the Avatar. Mostly, they have to commit to that infusion of power while the mutant is manifesting... because its easier to make changes in the host during that time when change is already in motion than to force them on a mutant who has already stabilized. But its a 'smart' move for a spirit to put everything they have into creating the most powerful host they can right from the start; because the long term benefits are worth it.

Now... a god or goddess is going to look at moving into an Avatar like being forced to live in a 100 square foot shack and eating 10 for a dollar ramen noodle packs for years. It's just not worth the energy they'll get from one person. Maybe its more than they get from ten or twenty others via faith/ritual... but still, the conditions! But getting a share of that energy by giving the Channeler a tap into your power while serving your agenda? That's not a bad deal. And neither is giving a weaker aspect of yourself over into a splinter self and allowing it to grown up while guiding your Paladin around the physical world to eventually bring all that strength and energy back to the main self when the Avatar eventually dies? That's a really good long term investment.


So the examples that other folks are tossing around? Miyet was a Paladin. Kayda is a combination example (Avatar-Tatanka and Channeler-Wakan Tanka) ... or something unique but similar enough that I can describe it like this without being 'too wrong'. Wyatt, however, is indeed an Avatar... and an enormously powerful one, which is how he manages to host Kodiak. But even with ALL that power, Kodiak is as close to a god as he manages to host.


Personal recommendation? Go with a Paladin or Channeler. But keep in mind that the power of the god doesn't have to be a blunt instrument in the hand of a host. Heka, as a source of magic and healing, is obviously powerful.... but a Paladin of such a being doesn't have to be inherently powerful him/her self. Being able to acquire knowledge and find places of power is more important than raw energy (finesse over brute force)... and being able to know where healing will be needed is perhaps more important than having the skill or power to give it. Narrowing down what specific aspect of Heka's nature that you want your Paladin to pursue, will help define your power set.

*nods*

Of course, the energy from Avatars hosting them isn't the same as faith/belief based power that gods get from being worshipped... but when it comes to making things happen, power is power. So it greatly benefits gods to grow in this fashion. But yes, there is certainly an aspect of 'investment' in the process of Avatar hosting of spirits.

And, as you can see in the Ayla stories... that isn't the only place the universe mechanics parallel economics. Just look at how Mages and their handling of Essence works.

*nods*

Kettlekorn wrote: Investment and economics in general are really generic concepts that apply to nearly everything. Business, weight loss, reproduction, warfare, writing, wilderness survival, gaming, engineering, whatever. What economics is really about at its core is decision making -- modeling a situation so that you can determine the optimal course of action.

Gamers: Risk vs reward?