Editing Deities (section)

===Usage by Practitioners===
The usual way for a [[Practitioner]] such as a [[Priest]] to interact with a god is to provide them with worship and obedience in exchange for occasional acts of overwhelming divine power; with the god aiming to recoup more from their worshipper than they invested.<ref name=":12">They can be used for divine power, but the Nex Machina is so mercurial and inconsistent in power level, prone to the vagaries and the rise and fall of the internet’s interest, that the act of building up the favor to spend on a greater act is often too risky. If successful, the Nex Machina may be invited to appear, swiftly enveloping an area with the power offered.  Oftentimes this is just faster than summoning, but with a steep and precarious price paid in advance (by way of the favor garnered). - [https://docs.google.com/document/d/1cwFiwUBPuDm4wV5THrv_dRfM7PuPHW6mCDxnPLvffV0/edit Beastiary: Nex Machina]</ref><ref name=":9">“That snake was ''his''.  You killed it.  You maimed his servant’s hand.  For all intents and purposes, there is a gun pressed to your head  as we speak.  There has been since you hurt that snake.”<br><br>[...]<br><br>“Or I crack.  I call on my god to show the way, and in the doing, I disarm myself of my primary source of power.  You hurt the snake, and that counts a great deal against you.  I could ''probably'' assume that’s enough that he’d grant me the favor, despite the disappointment in me.  But probably isn’t certainty, and   I’d normally be unwilling to call on my god for three great acts in a single week, let alone a ''day''.” - [https://pactwebserial.wordpress.com/2014/08/30 Excerpt] from [[Mala Fide 10.6]]</ref> This is fairly inexact, with the god deciding whether they will respond and the exact manner they do so.<ref name=":9" /><ref>“I have my own responsibilities,” he said.  “When I wield power, it isn’t with lines on the floor and carefully worded contracts.  I only ''ask''. I can change the wording, pick the phrasing, decide the poetry of it, and read old texts, from my god’s days of glory.  But when I want to ''practice'', I only speak.  A single ''word'' will suffice.”<br><br>He wasn’t murdering me or getting us all killed while he talked, so there was ''that''.<br><br>He continued, “My challenge is to show I’m worthy.  In the heat of the moment, I don’t need to do anything special.  Outside of those moments, I have to curry favor.  There aren’t any gauges, no measurements I can take.  I have to watch for signs and trust him to show me his pleasure or displeasure.  If I overstep, asking too much for how little favor I have, he may punish me.  If I hold his favor but do not spend it, he might revoke it.”<br><br>“Easy to get wrong,” I said.<br><br>“I don’t shape how it manifests.  He does.  But when he works…”<br><br>“He can knock down all the barriers in a house that’s supposed to hold up against a pair of angry chronomancers and enchantresses.” - [https://pactwebserial.wordpress.com/2014/08/30 Excerpt] from [[Mala Fide 10.6]]</ref><ref>“You’re telling me you went after the one person in Jacob’s Bell who 
has the most dangerous knowledge around, the one person who can tap into ''world ending'' forces, who’s maybe a little hard to anticipate to ''begin'' with, and you got her ''drunk''?”<br><br>“I’ve been led to believe my ''god'' impaired her faculties,” Jeremy Meath said.  “As I said, doing what I do is far from an exact science.” - [https://pactwebserial.wordpress.com/2014/08/30 Excerpt] from [[Mala Fide 10.6]]</ref><ref name=":10" /> Entertainment or struggle can be another reason to give power, for a certain sort of god,<ref name="dance">“You leave, I find her, we mutually prevent anything stupid from happening, and Sandra gets to do whatever she’s planning to do to Mags and Molly,” I said.  “You and your god win.”<br><br>“It’s not that simple.  When my god ''created'' this situation, he posed a challenge to me.  If he simply ''gave'' me what I needed, what would that be worth?  I have to ''work'' for it a little.  His era of gods are especially fond of making the little mortals ''dance'',” Jeremy said.  “If I walk away from that challenge and fail to dance, I ''disappoint'' him.”<br><br>“Seems to me,” I said, picking my words with care, not breaking eye contact with him, “Following a god like you do is very nearly as tragic an existence as being a diabolist.” - [https://pactwebserial.wordpress.com/2014/08/30 Excerpt] from [[Mala Fide 10.6]]</ref> as could because the target offended them.<ref name=":9" /> Others such as a [[Chosen]] increase the fame and power of a deity with their deeds, with success or failure on their part effecting the diety.<ref name="champ" />

Certain times and events are important to gods and how they operate.<ref name="Astro" />

With a positive enough relationship, a god can be used for [[Host Magic]] or as a [[Familiar]], but due to their immense power and alien mentality this is a very one-sided relationship with the Practitioner at the god's.<ref name=":2" />

Gods can be [[bound]], but this is usually done simply to compel them to stop causing problems. A bound god can be drawn on as an immense battery of power, although this is dangerous every time it's drawn on.<ref name=":2" /> Their diffuse, abstract nature makes them immune to most bindings, however.<ref>Binding: Much like a God, cannot be bound.  Can be contained, however, with attention and steps taken in advance.  Technomancers have the tools necessary to limit the reach of a Nex Machina with any presence. - [https://docs.google.com/document/d/1cwFiwUBPuDm4wV5THrv_dRfM7PuPHW6mCDxnPLvffV0/edit Beastiary: Nex Machina]</ref><ref>Strengths: The Nex Machina is a spirit, not a physical entity, and exists as a scattered, ephemeral thing across the digital landscape.  It is an advantage to the Nex Machina that it is not a thing that many are equipped to deal with because it is new to the lists of Others, and it is too ‘big’, in a sense, to easily encircle and bind.  In this, it is similar to a great spirit or deity. - [https://docs.google.com/document/d/1cwFiwUBPuDm4wV5THrv_dRfM7PuPHW6mCDxnPLvffV0/edit Beastiary: Nex Machina]</ref>