Godlike

"The godlike are children of the kith ("civilized" races) who have been blessed with physical aspects associated with the gods (though some do not consider it a blessing). These aspects may take many forms and often come with mystical powers. Aberrant head shapes are typical, and godlike are unable to wear protective headgear as it is near-impossible to find anything that fits. Because of their unusual nature and their inability to reproduce, godlike are often viewed with fear and wonder."

Godlike are one of the civilized races that inhabit Eora. They are beings that are thought to be "blessed" by the gods before birth. While far less common than the other races due to their rarity and inability to reproduce, godlikes exist throughout Eora, albeit in low numbers. Depending on the social view of the culture they are born to, godlikes are often either glorified as a physical embodiment of a god, or shunned and outcast as an abomination.

Seven sub-typed of godlikes are known to exist: death, fire, moon, nature, avian, endings, marine and Skaen godlike. The Watcher can be any of these except Skaen, which does not appear in the games, Avian, which is unique to Pallegina, Marine, which is unique to Tekēhu, and Endings, which is unique to Vatnir.

Background
As far as anyone can tell, godlike can be born to any race in any part of Eora. They are children of humanoids (most often humans) who have been "blessed" before birth (or cursed, depending on personal or social view) with the physical manifestation of a divine spark granted by the gods. Godlike manifest their divine heritage in a variety of ways: wings, horns, strange birthmarks, talons, odd eyes - but they always manifest it somehow. Though their appearance may vary, there's something unmistakably otherworldly about them. Godlike are viewed differently by the various factions, faiths, and cultures of the world. Sometimes, the reaction they get is overwhelmingly positive, such as in the Deadfire Archipelago among the indigenous Huana tribes. Many times, the reaction is overwhelmingly not.

Godlikes cannot reproduce, making marriage difficult for godlike in many areas as most societies consider marriage to exist mainly for the purpose of producing heirs. In the Vailian Republics, godlike are legally considered to be without sex or gender regardless of how they appear or self-identify. Legal constructs that explicitly name (favorably or unfavorably) sexes or genders can cause problems for them.

The Vailian animancer Giacolo has made it his life's work to study the godlike, and discovered that each has a unique "chime" within their souls. He has developed technology able to detect such chimes in utero. If this chime is severed while the godlike is prepubescent or in early puberty, many of their distinct features will fail to manifest, and the ones they have already developed will be reduced (although not entirely removed). While they are still not entirely normal, they retain an appearance much closer to the standards of the race of their parents. He also created an amulet that can enhance godlike with new abilities by creating a harmonious chime.

From the Pillars of Eternity Guidebook: Volume One:  
 * Features: Facial structure tends to be as the mother’s and father’s (e.g., a mountain dwarf godlike will tend to have a wide jaw and more square face shape, even if the skin coloration is completely different).
 * Skin: Skin tones sometimes come from the mother and father, but often are completely unnatural or blend into some sort of unnatural growth (e.g., moss, feathers, etc.). In many cases, godlike skin is completely unnatural, looking like it is made of water, fire, gold, or some other seemingly impossible material. Substances like fire or water have a realistic appearance, but do not burn or transfer moisture. Like many aspects of godlike physiology, their seemingly supernatural attributes defy commonly understood physical truths.
 * Hair: Hair is often not hair but horn, fire, plant growths, feathers, or other oddities. Sometimes they do have hair but it is of an strange tone or texture and blends in with other growths.
 * Eyes: Godlike eyes are always unusual in some way, from an unnatural coloration to odd iris shapes (e.g., goat or bird iris shapes) to no visible iris or pupil.

Godlike sub-races
There are many different sub-races of Godlikes that were "blessed" before birth by different deities of the world and manifest their divine heritage in a variety of ways.
 * Playable godlike
 * Death godlike (Berath) – The most distrusted of their kind. Strange growths cover their eyes - or, in some case, entire face - giving them a sinister appearance. The growths are transparent for the godlike but opaque from the outside, hiding their features. Death Godlike are commonly killed at birth because many cultures consider them harbingers of doom. The clergy of Berath within the Deadfire Archipelago (and possibly other lands) recognize death godlike as the chosen of their god and the majority of the high priests of Berath in Neketaka have been death godlike. Powerful and intelligent undead vessels such as deathknights also recognize them as children of Berath, and will often stay their hand rather than bring violence against them.


 * Fire godlike (Magran) – The bodies of Fire Godlike often resemble hot metal, burnt wood, or stone, with harmless flames that erupt from the cracks in their skin. Fire Godlike are objects of both reverence and fear in the Deadfire Archipelago. Many locals believe they have the power to awaken volcanoes - or that killing one will cause a volcano to awaken. In the Dyrwood, Fire Godlike are often seen as a sign of the blessing of Magran, goddess of war and fire.


 * Moon godlike (Ondra) – Moon Godlike are the most tolerated of the godlike. While their skin tone and a large moon-like growth on their foreheads may be strange to some, their appearances are generally considered more palatable by the other kith. Sailors have many beliefs about Moon Godlike and their propensity to bring luck, though there is little agreement as to what kind of luck they tend to bring. They have physical properties associating them with the moon and water, which are both aspects of Ondra.


 * Nature godlike (Galawain) – appear to be a fusion of kith and animal features, often covered by plants, moss, or fungi. This has led to the common stigma that they are diseased, and many are killed at birth because of it. Many druidic orders have a keen interest in Nature Godlike because of their general curiosity as to how souls occupy animals, plants, and stones.


 * Companion-only godlike
 * Avian godlike (Hylea) – Their divine heritage can be seen through their golden bird-like eyes, the presence of fully developed nictitating membranes, and the feathers that grow from their skin. The Avian Godlike will also have a beak. (Pallegina is an exception since she had a procedure done in her youth, not wanting to change.)


 * Endings godlike (Rymrgand) – The touch of Rymrgand can leave a kith's soul a source of disease and decay. Sometimes referred to as endings godlike, these unfortunates find the power bestowed by their divine patron attacking not only their own body but the bodies of others.


 * Marine godlike (Ngati) - Another form of godlike associated with Ondra, particularly the version of her worshipped by the Huana as Ngati, marine godlike have features much like creatures of the ocean, including anemone tentacles instead of hair, scaly skin, clammy flesh, bioluminscent patches, and glands that produce ink when they are distressed. While most godlike are revered in the Deadfire Archipelago, marine godlike born to the Huana are in particular considered an incredible blessing to be shared with the whole people.


 * Unplayable godlike
 * Skaen godlike (Skaen) - Children "blessed" by this god are born mutilated and deformed. Many are killed before anyone even realizes they are godlike, and even knowing what they are, many parents are not willing to raise what is considered to be an abomination. Those who do survive spend their whole lives in misery.

All godlike share one common function: They act as failsafes for the gods, who can elect to possess their bodies if they are killed or used as living batteries to empower the gods with their souls. With thousands of godlikes across the world, it's a potent reservoir of power. The gods think nothing of this potential mass sacrifice, believing theirs is the greater good.

Gameplay
Godlike are handled differently than the other races in character generation. In you choose the type and the parent's race instead of choosing a sub-race. In, after choosing godlike as a race, you select the subrace then a "body type" (where the body is that of of all other races). Selection of a godlike subrace is limited to one of four godlikes: Death, Fire, Moon and Nature.

All godlike get attribute bonuses to their Dexterity and Intellect, but due to their head shapes (and in many cases a presence of horns), they're unable to wear headgear.
 * +1 Dexterity
 * +1 Intellect

Each subtype has a different passive bonus that is a little more powerful than passive bonuses from other races. In Deadfire, a few of the godlike subraces have two bonuses.
 * In
 * Death godlike - Death's Usher: increases their damage against enemies with a low percentage of remaining Endurance.
 * Nature godlike - Wellspring of Life: The souls of nature godlike respond powerfully to distress and the impending collapse of their physical body. While a nature godlike is below 50% Endurance, they gain a bonus to Might, Constitution, and Dexterity.
 * Fire godlike - Battle-Forged: When reduced below 50% Endurance, Fire godlike glow like metal in a forge and have higher damage Threshold, while doing fire damage on getting hit.
 * Moon godlike - Silver Tide: Every Encounter when reduced below 75%, 50%, or 25% Endurance moon Godlike generate waves of healing moonlight that heals Endurance to them and their allies.
 * Avian godlike (Pallegina only) - Elusive Quarry: +10 Deflection against ranged attacks, +10 Defense when Disengaging while Endurance below 50%, +3 Perception while Endurance below 50%.


 * In Deadfire
 * Death godlike -
 * Death's Usher: +20% Damage against ≤ 25% health targets
 * Pallid Fate: +3 All Power Levels while Near Death (≤ 25% health)
 * Fire godlike -
 * Battle-Forged: While Bloodied or Near Death (≤ 50% health); 2-4 to attackers, +3 Armor Rating to self
 * Ashen Skin: +2 Burn Armor Rating
 * Moon godlike - Silver Tide: While Hurt, Bloodied, or Near Death (≤ 75% health); +10 Health Restored to allies in friendly AoE (once per encounter)
 * Nature godlike - Wellspring of Life: +1 All Power Levels while under the effects of a Body inspiration
 * Avian godlike (Pallegina only) - Vigilant Quarry: Resistance to Intellect and Perception afflictions.
 * Endings godlike (Vatnir only) -
 * Child of the Void: +5 All Defenses against Body Affliction / Mind Affliction attacks.
 * Plague Host: Foe AoE (per 6.0 sec): Sickened for 6.0 sec.
 * Marine godlike (Tekēhu only) - Wave Walker: Immunity to Fire attacks (cleared every 6.0 seconds). Immunity to Water and Slog Zone attacks

In
Category:Pillars of Eternity godlike, 3

Category:The White March - Part II godlike, 1

In
Category:Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire godlike, 3 Category:Beast of Winter godlike, 1 Category:Seeker, Slayer, Survivor godlike, 1 Category:The Forgotten Sanctum godlike, 1

Trivia
Godlike have been compared to aasimar, tieflings, and genasi of the Dungeons and Dragons series.