>and I'm supposed to fear and revere you? Maybe, but few of my
>characters would probably make that mental adjustment well, or
>at all.

But this means few of your characters are very bright. IC, you have to take it something like that the other gods of their general persuasion have seen fit to imbue them with divine power. They have become an avatar, that is an embodiement divinity. It doesn't matter if they were pushovers the day before. A garden slug turned into an avatar is a powerful being.

If an enemy who you've bullied around becomes an avatar you should be thinking "holy #### he's gained godlike power, I really hope he doesn't go columbine on my ass."

That doesn't mean you have to revere them. It's fine to hate gods antithetical to your beliefs, but you should be a little afraid of them in that case.