When designing your Pretender God, you must first select a physical form. There are great many physical forms to choose from, suited to accommodate many needs and playstyles. Most forms cost design points. Your physical form determines the following:
Your Pretender's statistics, such as movement, protection, and number of hit points.
Your Pretender's special abilities, such as ethereality, immortality, trampling and special attack.
Your Pretender's starting magic paths and cost of taking more magic.
The Pretender Gods can be put into different classes as outlined below.
Types of Pretender God
Combat Pretender
As the name implies, this god can take whole independent provinces by himself, right from the start. Immortality, Regeneration or being undead is a big bonus. It is important to be able to cast spells that protect and empower you in combat such as Quickness, Stoneskin and Body Ethereal. Some of those functions can be gained by forging items, but that needs time and you want to use your combat pretender fast. Fatigue is one of the biggest threats for combat pretenders. Nataraja is a classic combat pretender.
Artillery platform
This god need some troops to protect him. He is tailored to cast a special spells (like hurling lightning or raise clouds of poison) on the battlefield. The spells need some time to be researched. During this time, protective equipment can be forged, so physical might is not as important as for an Combat Pretender. Keep in mind that fatigue is the biggest foe of battlefield spellcasters. A Solar Disc with high innate fire magic could act as literal Fire support pretender from the start of the game.
High Bless strategy
This god has lot of skill points in one (or more) magic skills. Having 4 or more levels in a specific magic path when starting out gives your holy troops a buff when blessed. Later in the game, the god can sit in his fortress and annihilate whole armies with far-casting spells. Bless effect gods double as artillery platforms and combat pretenders. Virtue can easily be a combined combat/arty/bless pretender thanks to her affordable cost and starting Air magic.
Rainbow, multi-bless strategy
Instead of many points of one magic path, this god has fewer skills in more magic paths. He will constantly travel the land and do magic site-searching. There are many benefits to be a rainbow mage, such as magic versatility and high research. Rainbow mages are most of the time humanoid pretenders with cheap magic picks.
However water magic doesn't allow going underwater any more. This is an important change for all mages (not just for rainbow mages).
Bargain
This god is chosen by having the lowest cost of design points. The free design points can be invested in good scales and/or magic skills. The immobile 0-point costing Oracle is a good example of Bargain pretender which can also pursue a Bless strategy.
Special Skill
This god is created around a specialized skill like forging magic items, blood hunting or assassination. Fountain of Blood is an example of a special pretender as it is a great blood hunter.
