All deities who have climbed above quasi-deity status claim a special place in the cosmos, both figuratively and literally. In the metaphoric sense, the deity gains a portfolio, a special bond with a facet of the cosmos. In the literal sense, the deity gains a divine realm, a physical place that is an extension of the deity’s personal presence.

A deity may establish its divine realm anywhere in the planes, and has sweeping control of the realm’s features and connections to other realms. Most deities establish their realms in or budding from like-minded planes. Gods of the dead, for example, may have towering fortresses looming in the Shadow, demon- and devil-gods raise mighty prison palaces and temple keeps in the Hells, gods of good are drawn to the idyllic expanses of the Heavens, etc. A god can even create its divine realm whole-cloth in the ether or astral reaches. As the deity’s power grows, its divine realm also grows, and it gains greater influence over the fabric of its realm.

The material plane, however, hosts few divine realms. The unusual essence structure of the material plane makes its real estate more expensive and problematic. A divine realm rooted in the material plane is not as free to expand as its extraplanar counterparts, and its geographic relationship is essentially fixed, making it a target both to pilgrims and enemies.

Gods enjoy a number of privileges in their realms. While few of these perks are known among lesser beings, most scholars agree that a god can only be destroyed by slaying it (and any of its avatars) in its home realm. It seems that gods gain special regeneration and recuperative powers while in their realms, making them more potent there than anywhere else.