Gods

Gods and goddesses are beings of various races who have ascended beyond mortality and are unable to die from age or natural causes, unless an Elder Artefact or something similarly powerful is involved. There is not a clear answer to whether or not gods can descend into mortality again, similar to ascending/descending in tiers, or that they would simply be killed [1]. Gods acquire very high amounts of power upon ascension, usually via Elder Artefacts, immensely powerful objects created by the Elder Gods. While most younger gods are capable of extremely potent magic, excel in combat and are able to accomplish tasks 'normal' mortals can only dream of, Elder Gods are much more powerful than regular gods, able to create sentient life and even entire realms. In addition, the Elder Gods were created, rather than having achieved godhood. While gods do not die of age (considered to be biologically immortal), they are certainly not completely immortal, but are not easy to kill; younger gods require the use of one or more Elder Artefacts to be slain, or something powerful enough to kill one, while Elder Gods are immortal in almost every sense and cannot be slain by most any means. Almost every god has their own unique beliefs, character, history, followers, and domain. The gods are incredibly powerful beings, the oldest and most potent among them far exceeding the power of any other known class or race of beings, despite each one, even those on the highest tiers, having limits to their own power. They are able to alter their size, shape and form at will, although the variation is higher the more powerful the god is.[2]

One fundamental difference between mortals and gods is when a god ascends, they forfeit any right to any form of an afterlife. A god's person will utterly cease to exist upon death. The death of a god causes the god's energy to be dispersed on the world they perished on. What remains of the god's body will turn to stone. The fallen god's energy can be harnessed by other gods to empower themselves further.[source needed]

There are or have been at least twenty gods in Gielinor in one time or another, although many of them are unknown. This planet has attracted so many gods due to its perfection and the presence of Elder Artefacts (more than half of them are on Gielinor).[3] The gods of Gielinor are most notable for their participation in the God Wars of the Third Age, a major conflict that nearly destroyed the entire world, and their daily role in the Prayer skill, which enables them to transfer small portions of their power temporarily to their worshippers for a variety of potent effects. Ages past, during and prior to the time of the Third Age, the Gielinor deities were capable of interacting freely upon Gielinor, which caused such unimaginable chaos that Ganodermos set his Edicts to prevent the gods from ever directly interfering in the world again, and preventing any other gods from entering. The gods could only influence events indirectly through their remaining followers, until the death of Ganodermos and subsequent shattering of the edicts. At this time the gods began to return to Gielinor and directly compete against each other for divine energy, while gathering followers to their causes.

Mortals can ascend to godhood through use of the Elder Artefacts. One way is to use an Elder Artefact to kill a god, as Ganodermos did to Skagaroth with the Elder Sword, and Demigra to Zaros with the Staff of Armadyl, which allows the mortal to absorb the power of the slain god and ascend themselves. The other way is to spend enough time around the Artefacts, which leak divine energy that cause ascension, as is believed to have happened with Celestial and Armadyl. It was discovered in Fate of the Gods, that there is a third way; Zaros created themselves fully fledged as the Elder Gods. However this case seems to be unique, as Zaros stated that him and the other Elder Gods created planets, but generally did not consciously create life.

Sometimes gods are referred to "the god of [something]", for instance: "Primos, the god of war". However, it is important to note that this is not a causal relationship, but should rather be seen as a relationship of affinity and association. This means that, for instance, when Primos was killed, there was still war.[12] Furthermore, it is important to note that, while their philosophies are often expressed in a few words, this is a crude simplification of their views which are often more complicated. Some philosophies can be very similar, possibly differing only on some small points or emphasis.[13]

Tiers of godhood
The tier system is a loose ranking of gods by their general power and abilities for developers' use. It was first mentioned by the game creator Xyrian, who also often refers to it as "god hierarchy".[23] In this system of seven tiers, each one more powerful than the next, with one being the highest and seven the lowest,[3] the Elder Gods occupy the highest tier, and have the ability to create life and planets with their divine magic. On the tier below are the most powerful of the younger gods, such as Ganodermos, who spent many years in the presence of multiple Elder Artefacts.

Admin Ian has given a detailed description of the tier system, as well as how to use and interpret it:

it's important to remember that a god's power and tier is not always equal to their battle prowess, or the influence they have over the world.

A weaker god with ambition and cunning could easily outwit a more powerful god. A popular god with vast support and huge armies could have more impact on the world than another god, even if they're on a lower tier. Some gods may be willing to do things that others aren't to obtain power... and of course two gods at the same tier may wield vastly different kinds of power.

So a god may have beaten another in the past, but that doesn't mean that they will in the future. The tier system is a good indicator of a god's power, but it's not as simple as "this god beats this god".

Elder gods (tier 1)
Elder gods have many abilities that include creating life and worlds from nothing. They can also create artefacts that focus and retain their power. They can choose to diminish and 'power down'.
 * Known elder gods
 * Zelrat
 * Zaros
 * Bek
 * Helos

Former elder gods
 * Rak (After Depletion of Anima)

Transcendent gods (tier 2)
Transcendent gods[26] are able to manipulate life to create mutations of that life. Able to escape from own body to become incorporeal. Able to manipulate the life-force (the Anima Mundi) of a world.
 * Known transcendent gods
 * Torva
 * Celestial
 * Former transcendent gods
 * Ganodermos (before death)

High gods (tier 3)
High gods are able to destroy or construct on a huge continent wide scale. Able to magically manipulate immortals.
 * Known high gods
 * Demigra
 * Armadyl

Former high gods
 * Skargaroth (Before Death)


 * Primos (Before Death)

Demigods (tier 6)
Demigods are the sons or daughters of gods. They exhibit greater-than-human strength and magic and are able to open small portals to other worlds. They are not affected by the Edicts. Demigods are able to manipulate mortals against their will.
 * Known demigods
 * Amascut
 * Icthlarin