Nominations for the Vacancy in the Human Pantheon

In the past when there was a vacancy, someone came forward to take the place & keep the power in balance.Who would you nominate to replace Balithazar?Although not a human I would like to put forward Taimi, because clearly she is living enbodiment of deus ex machina.

@Grimmtooth.4163 said:In the past when there was a vacancy, someone came forward to take the place & keep the power in balance.Who would you nominate to replace Balithazar?Although not a human I would like to put forward Taimi, because clearly she is living enbodiment of deus ex machina.

Kilroy Stonekin

Balthazar would have a replacement already, due to the established lore of how god's divinity functions. Without a host, it'll explode in a force powerful enough to destroy everything nearby in the Mists - from the heart of the Realm of Torment, Abaddon's magic threatened to destroy the world of Tyria, and even was enough to wake up Primordus and the other Elder Dragons. Balthazar was stripped of divinity before we met him in GW2, between the two games, so that divinity had to go somewhere.

So Taimi is 1,000% off the list. And Kilroy Stonekin is dead and buried.

Honestly, the timing would be right for the GW1 PC to ascend into godhood as the new god of conflict. And they certainly have the merit for it. Though the Hero of Nightfall ascending to godhood would mean it would never be brought up or seen, due to the laws of no canonical name.

Baring that, if I had to look at an NPC alive in GW1 that would fit the bill, and we don't see them alive/dead in GW2, I'd go with Mhenlo. He served as a priest of Balthazar, fought in wars, and dealt with the fiery personality of Cynn. He'd be a good candidate in all honesty. General Morgahn would be a good choice too, but he was old by Nightfall so I doubt he'd have lived along enough for Balthazar's fall from grace.

If we go with non-humans, there's Talon Silverwing and Razah as decent candidates for divine replacement in the decades after GW1.

@Konig Des Todes.2086 said:Baring that, if I had to look at an NPC alive in GW1 that would fit the bill, and we don't see them alive/dead in GW2, I'd go with Mhenlo. He served as a priest of Balthazar, fought in wars, and dealt with the fiery personality of Cynn. He'd be a good candidate in all honesty. General Morgahn would be a good choice too, but he was old by Nightfall so I doubt he'd have lived along enough for Balthazar's fall from grace.

If we go with non-humans, there's Talon Silverwing and Razah as decent candidates for divine replacement in the decades after GW1.

^ this

Well a lot of things happen 50 years after The Great Destroyer died, and we know Koss died fighting Joko in between so i would assume the PC from GW1 either became the new god of war or died before Koss took on Joko.

just like Abbadon, the other gods would have left some of Balthazaar's own magic to keep his form, possibly to wait until a worthy medium to replace him.

But at the end of PoF, we saw whatever was left of Balthazaar was sucked up by Aurene and Kralkatorrik, so much for Balth's replacement ¯_(ツ)_/¯

@crepuscular.9047 said:just like Abbadon, the other gods would have left some of Balthazaar's own magic to keep his form, possibly to wait until a worthy medium to replace him.

But at the end of PoF, we saw whatever was left of Balthazaar was sucked up by Aurene and Kralkatorrik, so much for Balth's replacement ¯_(ツ)_/¯

Abaddon was never stripped of his power, unlike Balthazar. Abaddon was imprisoned with 100% divine magic intact, but sealed behind eight locks. Hence the need for Kormir to become the new goddess upon Abaddon's death. Balthazar and Dhuum, however, were stripped of their divinity before their imprisonment. Dhuum regained strength by consuming souls over a millennia, while Balthazar took magic from the Maguuma Bloodstone, Jormag, and Primordus.

What Aurene and Kralkatorrik ate was pretty much 99.99% Bloodstone, Jormag, and Primordus and not divine power. Balthazar, presumably, had some power left while imprisoned, but this was only enough to ignite Sohothin and use the Mists' natural abilities to make portals. And for all we know, Balthazar took magic from Sohothin to do that, causing the sword to extinguish in the first place.

Just as Grenth replaced Dhuum while Dhuum lived, Balthazar's replacement has existed for over a century (depending on how long Balthazar was imprisoned for, exactly; dialogue makes me think 200-150 years - e.g., between the rises of Primordus and Jormag).

What Aurene and Kralkatorrik ate was pretty much 99.99% Bloodstone, Jormag, and Primordus and not divine power. Balthazar, presumably, had some power left while imprisoned, but this was only enough to ignite Sohothin and use the Mists' natural abilities to make portals. And for all we know, Balthazar took magic from Sohothin to do that, causing the sword to extinguish in the first place.

I would like for this to be correct, but I have a feeling the writers may just be like "nah, no new god, the dragons just ate his energy".

Other candidates that would make more sense canonically aside, if I really got to just choose anyone, would definitely go Kasmeer (makes a neat ending to her whole arc related to Balthazar turning bad), Aurene, or maybe someone like Logan or Jennah. Wouldn't that be cool, the humans get a God-Queen to lead them to victory, suck it Joko.

I would like the GW1 PC to have taken Balthazar's place as a kind of "nameless, faceless" god of 'rightful' conflict, aka, fighting to protect someone or something, rather than fighting for fighting's sake.

But given the timeline issues probably not? Though to be honest, if the GW1 PC died before they were required, Grenth could have had them resurrected specifically for the purpose of replacing Balthazar when he went haywire.

Either way, his replacement needs to be following that same idea with "rightful" conflict. War is definitely a requirement to protect friends, loved ones and nation after all.

Hell, if we go the "Grenth could have resurrected the replacement" route, it could be Prince Rurik or any number of other candidates. That'd be nice.

... I really want it to be Prince Rurik now.

@"Artagan.6845" said:

What Aurene and Kralkatorrik ate was pretty much 99.99% Bloodstone, Jormag, and Primordus and not divine power. Balthazar, presumably, had some power left while imprisoned, but this was only enough to ignite Sohothin and use the Mists' natural abilities to make portals. And for all we know, Balthazar took magic from Sohothin to do that, causing the sword to extinguish in the first place.

Anet devs have repeatedly stressed that Balthazar was stripped of his divinity before Season 3, as that is the actual, canonical, stated several times in the story, reason for Balthazar's crusade.

Breaking canon with no new god, or having a new god, Kralk and Aurene didn't eat his divine magic.

I like suggestion of Brother Mhenlo. There was a big focus on him in the original guild wars game and was a personal favorite of mine. All of the other big characters I would’ve been into as gods (that I remember) died. Cynn would be a fun, if petulant God.

Eve would be interesting too but she doesn’t seem like a war god - not that the new god would have to fill his exact portfolio.

I personally love the idea of Gwen becoming a divine because she is probably my favorite gw NPC ever, but her life/death seems too well recorded to make that happen.

Edit: In general I think it’s a bad idea for the GW1 PC to become the new god. It’s just too hard to make that fit a formless character.

I feel like this should be a poll. Democratic polytheism in action.

@"ThatOddOne.4387" said:Either way, his replacement needs to be following that same idea with "rightful" conflict. War is definitely a requirement to protect friends, loved ones and nation after all.

Not necessarily. Domain over “war” or “conflict” could easily pass to another of the remaining six, as these domains are subject to shift around when gods fall/rise (IE, water originally belonging to Abbadon and then shifting to Lyssa).

Conflict/war/battle could pass to Kormir since she seems like an Athena archetype god, and she was a soldier in her mortal life.

Never considered the idea of Grenth ressurrecting someone though. That’d be interesting.

Edit: Grenth seemed to pretty much inherit Dhuum’s portfolio. Kormir seemed to subvert Abbadon’s portfolio entirely as well as pass of certain minor domains to other deities. Not sure if there’s any rules/distinction of major domain (like war) vs a minor one (like fire).

What I am describing is exactly what Kormir did to Abaddon. At it's core, "Secrets" and "Truth" are the same domain, but with a different intent behind them. Similarly, "Conflict" and "Protection" can both fall within war.

@"ThatOddOne.4387" said:What I am describing is exactly what Kormir did to Abaddon. At it's core, "Secrets" and "Truth" are the same domain, but with a different intent behind them. Similarly, "Conflict" and "Protection" can both fall within war.

Using the GW1 PC basically locks them out of naming or encountering the new god forever and ever, and it will contradict people's headcanon for their characters' fates anyway, so it's the worst of both worlds.

I think the most likely candidate is Mhenlo -- he exhibited the sort of virtues you described, was a key player in the events of GW1, and received a lot more character development than most of the other henchmen (Devona might have been better, but...). Alternatively, if they aren't really married to the number Six, they could have given Mhenlo the Just War (or "challenge" -- garden of the gods implies their key spheres are life, death, challenge, order, growth, and beauty) portfolio and given Cynn the fire magic.

@"Svennis.3852" said:

@"ThatOddOne.4387" said:Either way, his replacement needs to be following that same idea with "rightful" conflict. War is definitely a requirement to protect friends, loved ones and nation after all.

Grenth and Kormir both kept the primary domains that they received - Death and Knowledge (yes, Kormir is often called Truth and Abaddon often called Secrets, but their domain is ultimately Knowledge; Abaddon was also called Wisdom, and Kormir is also called Secrets).

What passes about are secondary domains, like ice, water, and fire.