The gods you worship are actually demons!

Yes, it is possible. I'd take inspiration from Hinduism. Lots of good stuff there. Don't do full on Abrahamic demons. Try to make them like Hindu gods except they're all really selfish and like fucking with mortals more than normal. (no not that way. Unless you want)

What do you think the difference between gods and demons is?

The Demons are actually trying to be decent Gods out of remorse for whatever actions they took to overthrow and impersonate the old Gods.

The pantheon has Gods, who are actually from the world and whose motives and purviews lie within it, and Demons, who are from outside and whose motivations are utterly alien, even though not necessarily malignant or indifferent (they aren't automatically Cthulhu is what I'm saying)
Over time people kept on worshipping the two groups for different reasons and sharing rituals and lore until the difference in mortals' eyes muddled and everything thhat is worshiped is a God, for easiness of reference.
Advanced practitioners with a direct line to their God and students of ancient, occult lore might discover the truth, though at this point the difference is largely in semantics.

Dont be stupid. The computer term 'daemon' comes from having a summoned servant do stuff for you, named like it is because computer terminology was made by neeeeeerds.

Same reason installers are called Wizards.

The gods were killed, but the demons that took over got bathed in goodwill and ended up being even better gods than the previous gods.

What used to be hell is now a literal utopian heaven, and everyone gets there.

...

No wonder we see less and less interesting names as the tech industry is taken over by chads.

Grow up and stop caring about what some random assholes might whinge about as "edgy"?

In the beginning, the world was torn by war. The demons that ruled over it fought constantly, playing their pawns against each other and attempting to gain primacy.

Some, however, realized that it waas better to rule together than lose alone, and so banded together. They began to share their ideas with each other, impose more order on the mortals that they ruled. As they cooperated, they began to see their mortals as more than simply pawns, and began to view even their lowliest pieces as having some intrinsic value. Eventually, the alliance was able to claim the entire world and banish the other demons to the netherworld.

So, yes, the gods are demons. Demons that learned to be gods.

>What used to be hell is now a literal utopian heaven, and everyone gets there.

“The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven..”

What about Greek Gods and Titans. They're pretty unabashedly dickish by modern standards, but people still thought they're worth worshipping.

The only way you can play this off without pissing off the players is by making your gods look terrifying but actually be benevolent. What even are demons anyway?

>god of mercy and self-sacrifice
>"I was a demon all along!"

Good luck with that.

There's something innately fedora about that guy, you know the one, who's gonna be standing on the steps of the temple screaming "You were idiots to worship these gods!"

Turns out your actual god is imprisoned by a trickster demon who has been taking you on a ruse cruise this whole time.

The demons still enjoy their portfolios and strive to serve their worshipers as best as they are able
They're not inhumanly Evil, just inhuman, part of the reason for organized religion is for the educated priest caste to limit human interaction with the gods to ways that both parties can understand

They're still horrifying monsters and Bad Shit will happen if you overstep the boundaries laid down by The Church for your safety, but not out of malice.
They're just a bunch of gibbering madnesses trying to make sense of themselves and this little toy they've created floating in the maelstrom of an uncaring or even hostile universe

Nichol Bolas basically pulled that, alongside simultaneously pretending to be four other gods.

Encouraging people to willingly sacrifice themselves to you apparently is a pretty good way to gain power.

The actual creative force Deities who create or sustain reality never involved themselves with worship or are too big to perceive humans. Demons are just creatures who come in and fulfill the niche of devouring faith and the energy of worship in exchange for miracles and holy powers, and lying about being the creators of the world simply helps them as salesmen.

>pretending to be four other gods
No, he only ever claimed the title of God-Pharaoh. He just manipulated and bound the five surviving gods to his plan, with Bontu's assistance.

t. Lorgar

Maybe he is worshipping other gods and thus no "fedora".

...

Gnosticism a shit.

Turns out the Demons are actually nice, and worth worshiping.

There are gods, and there are demons.

The distinction between "gods" and "demons" is largerly of convenience, they are all the same kind of stuff, with different power levels and attittudes. There's nothing less demonic in the river "god" than in the desert "devil".

The gods, on the other hand, are terribly vast, terribly incomprehensible, and terribly static. You could worship these, and for a lifetime of servitude get one toenail less smashed than the regular guy. Demons deliver, gods are sorta there.

God was super pedantic and though demons turned everything to shit when BTFOed him they still gave the world the freedom to make something of that shit.
God returns and works to revert everything to normal but people don't like it because it'd unmake their own accomplishments.

>Chads

No, Just Losers.

YHWHwas a mistake.

Still butthurt about your tree, pagan-kun?

Greek Gods were somewhat different from their common modern portrayals, largely because their modern portrayals are largely influenced by most of the surviving material being in the form of secular plays and poems. The actual religious doctrine concerning them was secretive and not as well preserved as popular plays, but as scholars uncovered more and more material they came to realize that the comedically lecherous Zeus or the Always-Angry-Alway-Jealous Hera were more akin to parodies, while the actual gods that ancient Greeks worshiped were considerably more reserved and benevolent.

It's kind of like if in two thousand years, people decided to base what they knew about Jesus from watching South Park.

>What do you think the difference between gods and demons is?

God has long since abandoned this creation and demons are satisfied being rulers of creation and don't fuck with mortals past the current levels of suffering

YOUR TREEFUCKING WAS REPLACED BY DIVINE LITURGY, YOUR MUD ALTAIRS WITH CATHEDRALS AND YOUR PETTY SERVANT CODE WITH CONCEPT OF THEOSIS AND THERE WAS NOTHING THAT YOU COULD DO ABOUT IT

My setting actually has such a god.
It was a demon which managed to transcend its kind like no other before him.
Like every other demon, it craves the empathy of mortals, but instead of obtaining a quick and soon faded shot from eating the object of mortal's empathy like the other demons do, it learned another way. The prayers are now what sustains it, and prevents it from going back to the mindless chaos that was its former self.

It is now a benevolent creature, in the sense that it will do anything to protect mortals from demons, and still completely alien, driven as it is by his hunger for faith.

...

I don't think you have to make them demonic in appearance only to avoid pissing off players. Just make each demon deity truly a representative of their domain, but with a slightly hard to stomach twist.
>God of mercy is also a demon of sloth
>God of justice is also a demon of vengeance
>God of the arts is also a demon of unchecked passions
>God of martyrs is also a demon of masochism
Etc. As long as they encompass both their normal domains as well as the less savory flip side of those domains I can't imagine the players being too pissed. At worst a lawful good paladin could become a Guts expy.

Does it make you feel better to spout your rhetoric?

t. Shlomo Shekelstein

But user-kun, this already happened in real life. Why not just use that solution?

:^)

Demons are fallen angels tasked with working on earth to gain a place in heaven again or something like that.

Assuming the demons are meant to be intrinsically evil, have it be a long-con where they replaced the now dormant gods.

It's a cool twist, stop caring so much about avoiding internet buzzwords.

Pull a reverse Lucifer
>Creator make humans and consider them a mistake, so set out to destroy them and try again
>An angel defies the creator and protects them so is cast down
>Humans worship this 'demon' as their creator while knowing nothing of the true one

Thanks for the spoiler, fucknugget.

Demons are just another part of the celestial bureaucracy. They're not malevolent, just middle management

>fallen angels were the children of the gods
>the demonic fall from heaven was their teenage edgy phase where they ran from home
>they became today's gods by realizing that the virtues of their parents really weren't so bad
>too late to reconnect with the departed True God's
>they try to guide the mortal races
>the mortals come to realize the Gods and the primordial demons that tormented them are one and the same
>use their technological power to rebel
When you coming home dad, I don't know when/But we'll get together then

There is something obscene about the way he holds that brick.

Make your true gods of the setting forces of nature with no reasoning with them. Demons have wills of their own, which leads to them being either more benevolent and able to be reasoned with, or the opposite.

Gods don't give a shit, but the demons have had a greater influence on your species in your setting. The difference between a hurricane and someone who's invested in the tales being told by humanity

>Is there a way to do this twist without it coming off edgy?

>the gods you worship are actually demons!
>the demons are manifestations of the people's fears, cravings, and emotions
>the actual God set it up so people would get what they want, even if it means their undoing
>the one true religion is a mix of Christianity and Buddhism, teaching transcendence above worldly attachment and salvation in a God who embodies/emanates not!Platonic ideals of good, truth, and beauty

>Middle management
>Not evil

What said.
The One True God busts into the scene and gives you a divine mission to spread His truth to the world and kick some demon ass. It'll only get Fedora and edgy if you feel like doing a Garth Ennis (pic related).

See the eldrazi from magic the gathering. They where just titans sealed away for Aeons.

So, Muhammad was maximum fedora?
>M'hammad

There is no god. Well, there is, but he left. God is a creator, but all creators get bored of their current toy and move on to something new. Naturally with the only thing keeping hell closed up gone all the demons fled, and with their boss up and gone heaven was in disarray. when the demons invaded the cataclysm ended up destroying the whole place, and the cosmic fallout is why magic exists, all that divine energy just sorta fell into the mortal world. With the status quo destroyed and no definitive higher power around anymore the demons pretty much got what they actually wanted and the survivors on both sides just sorta ended up getting along. Now they just sorta dick around in the ruins of heaven letting the mortals think what they want.

Monotheists in pagan settings are inevitably insufferable fedora assholes.

Not really sure why that would be over the top. Humanity has considered each others gods demons for ages and it's not like in most realistic settings you can prove them right or wrong.

basically Berserk

The demons are actually pretty benign.
I mean, if they weren't, someone would've figure this out a lot earlier, when the god of mercy and life started asking for blood.

Yes, simple. Take Christianity.

Say that God still exists but that, over the course of thousands of years, his word has been twisted by subtle editing and changes of context such that it conflicts with God's desires. You don't actually have to worship demons, you just have to empower them via actions.

Have the demons originally be assholes, but over time their exposure to Heaven has altered them into good, or at least neutral, figures.
Optional: have the 'real' gods come back and say "Just as planned", since they knew that Righteousness is contagious, especially on the slopes of Mount Celestia or whatever.

Personally, I prefer the "your gods are actually eldritch abominations with entirely alien goals/outlooks your religion has horribly misinterpreted"

I think the best one is always "The gods you worship are actually gods. But they might as well be demons instead."

I agree, I love the reveal that the god is a terrifying being and I like to continue in its service anyway.

For a practical man, the difference between either is reduced to which ones give aid or harm.

Exactly. You go to use an ancient holy relic and discover its effects are horrifying/non-euclidean/involve tremendous amounts of body horror.

But, y'know, it's also seriously OP. So...

Does that mean they are fuckable?

Damn, Hellsing got so much about religion absolutely perfectly right.

All I'm saying is, if some power wanted to give me say, a giant grab claw arm or a tentactle cluster limb, I'm not going to refuse.

>Implying gods aren't fuckable

Chances might be better or worse than you expected, depending on what kind of gods you thought they were. But still, I wouldn't bet on it, not like there's a shortage of less-fuckable-than-average demons.

"Don't you get it? Your gods are nothing but sap monsters!"

>This doesn't happen in real life...

>Hey God want to check out my new social experiment
>Sure Satan, I am bored and the TV broke
>Great I will just need you to allow me to fuck up Job

>non-euclidean
yes, nothing scarier than projecting a cartesian plane onto a curved surface.

The demons are actually pretty benign and do godlike, helpful stuff.

The demon part is just to explain why they haven't fixed EVERYTHING bad in the world yet.

He said WITHOUT being edgy.

Demons are kind of edgy by nature.

By making those gods be the pagan ones. Then you're a fundie jackass

What the fuck are you people talking about, everything Hellsing does is to be edgy. Hirano probably went ''Shit, it would be so cool for a dude to stab himself with one of the nails of Christ and get torn powers because Crown of Thorns''. It's literally just that, shallow edgy symbolism.

Demon is just another word for god, as anyone with near infinite power will have their own agenda as long as their are others. The strongest "benevolent" demon probably is worshiped as god by humans, but he's the same species/type of being as demons are.

In the game I'm currently running a goddess of good and heroism died, and a demon took her place without anyone knowing.

In the end it actually started believing in the things the old goddess stood for, after several thousand years of smiting evil.

This is honestly how I like my gods in settings to be. I mean how do you really prove anything is a god? You can prove they have vast powers but that won't stop the nation next door saying that their gods are more powerful then yours and yours is merely demons.

I always like my supernatural creatures to have many origins and then let people try to figure out the clusterfuck.

Something something Lilum, something something succubutt goddess

Though in all seriousness though, I like the idea of a former evil deity that's turned good, particularly if they have some aspect/domain that seems at odds with their new role but they still try to turn it to good

>Demons and Angels are essentially just Elementals from the Negative and Postive Energy Planes
>Gods of those planes are essentially the same as Elemental Lords or whatever your setting calls things like Ogrémoch
ez

Enough cultists insisted it was good-aligned, and so it had to become good-aligned or risk non-existence.

Yes, by doing a twist on the deadly sins
For greed you could twist it like this
>I wanted everything, so I took their hopes, and their dreams, and I took their freindship and love. Its mine now, mine to protect, to gaurd, to hoard. This world and it's people belongs to me, and I won't let you harm them.

>gods are actually angels acting on instructions left by a more powerful singular Creator
>demons are fallen angels
>the only real difference between them is their attitudes
>therefore gods == angels == demons

It's not edgy.
What's the difference between a evil god and a demon?
Even some demons can be good too

Even monotheistic religions tend to support existence of "false" gods. If your setting has multiple gods and they aren't fixed concepts that don't change (which pretty much turns them into non-entities like gravity or weak nuclear force), the only difference between a god and a demon is whatever scripture you believe in. Especially if demons can reach equivalent power levels to commonly accepted gods; it comes down to divine aristocracy.

Does god A deserve to be recognized as the pantheon's god of Fire after the previous God of Fire died doing what gods do best*? *(He got drunk and decided to wrestle the god of Oceans for a bet. It didn't work out too well) Or does Demon B, of similar fire domain, deserve the spot? Beyond the veneer of law, it comes down to popular support - and most aren't going to support the guy with hoofs, goatee and a pitchfork.

I really want to see this be canon in a major supplement or something