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The_Losar
2005-09-23, 05:58 PM
Some people prefer to use pre-made campaign settings with their own pantheons, make their own settings and borrow deities from other settings, or just don't even bother with gods. I enjoy making deities, though, and I assume others do too. Post yours here, I'm interested, or post why you prefer premade or no pantheons.

In my current campaign, which has been running for a year now, I created a new setting. It was all kind of rushed, but after a session or two I managed to pull out a few gods, made specifically so that the players can get their minds out of Forgotten Realms. I made a few names, assigned them to some alignments, and focused on the game for a while.

Later I decided that I was going to make two gods for each alignment: 18 gods, in other words. Months later, when the party's paladin began to wonder about what, exactly, were the teachings he was supposed to be following, I finished the list of deities so I could make a more complete Book of reidman, the paladin's deity. The party cleric, seeing special treatment, asked for the teachings of his deity, which was much more confusing in any case, so I fleshed them out a little more.

So here we go:

In the beginning there was a Thought, and that Thought created 18 Truths: Humility, Mercy, Compassion, Pity, Loyalty, Love, Purity, Balance, Growth, Wisdom, Protection, Gain, Life, Change, Activity, Justice, Happiness, and Death. These truths worked together to create the world, as Thought commanded before it went away. When the world was made and populated, the Truths worked with the mortals and guided them. However, a dispute broke out, to make a long story short, over the wisdom of Thought's plan. In the end, Thought reappeared and the Truths who defended his plan remained Truths, the Truths who opposed him became UnTruths (a corrupted verson of the original Truth), and the Truths who attempted to take no side became Half-Truths (similar to the original Truth, but not the same). The good deities try to maintain the balance of power in the world, the neutral ignore the balance, and the evil try to shift the balance in their favor.

Lawful Good
Humility: the truth that we accomplish nothing on our own. He is the most powerful of the Good deities and, arguably, the most powerful deity. Domains: Good, Law, Strength. Common name: reidman.
Compassion: the truth that being conscious of another's distress helps to alleviate it. Goddess of healing and consort of reidman. Domains: Good, Healing, Protection. Common name: Camille.
Neutral Good
Pity: The truth that sympathy brings understanding. Goddess of white magic. Domains: Good, Magic, Knowledge. Common Name: Palindae.
Mercy: The truth that sympathy for those under your power is honorable. God of the crusade. Domains: War, Good, Fire. Common name: Verdecchio.
Chaotic Good
Happiness: The truth that all search for it. God of art, music, and generally harmless fun. Domains: Luck, Travel, Trickery. Common name: Tas.
Balance: The truth that all Truths must work together equally. God of elaborate, often confusing plans to keep the balance of power in the world. Domains: Good, Chaos, Protection, Destruction. Common name: Kiryn.

Lawful Neutral
Judgement: Originally Justice, the truth that there is right and wrong, now Judgement, the half-truth that right and wrong is clearly defined. God of law and order, the judge. Domains: Law. Common name: Kincheloe.
Favor: Originally Loyalty, the truth that trust laid on others is sacred, now Favor, the half-truth that trust within the family is sacred. God of Dwarves and Stone. Domains: Law, Earth, War. Common name: Duukan.
True Neutral
Reason: Originally Wisdom, the truth that understanding leads to knowledge, now Reason, the half-truth that knowledge leads to understanding. God of research and neutral (red) magic. Domains: Magic, Knowledge, Travel. Common name: Neoindae.
Harvest: Originally Growth, the truth that everything matures and develops, now Harvest, the half-truth that things mature and develop to be harvested. Goddess of farmers and ranchers. Domains: Animal, Plant, Sun, Earth. Common name: Barouka.
Chaotic Neutral
Esprit: Originally Life, the truth that living is a blessed experience, now Esprit, the half-truth that living in nature is a blessed experience. The god of forests and the wilds. Domains: Plants, Animals, Air, Protection. Comon name: Darius.
Mischief: Originally Action, the truth that things must happen, now Mischief, the half-truth that you must cause things to happen. God of tricks and thievery. Domains: Trickery. Common name: Tak.

Lawful Evil
Tyranny: Originally Protection,the truth that it is the job of the strong to defend the weak, now Tyranny, the untruth that it is te job of the strong to control the weak. God of dictators and others with the iron grip. Domains: Evil, Law, Protection, War. Common name: Belkar.
Greed: Originally Gain, the truth that an increase in wealth produces an easier living, now Greed, the untruth that increasing your wealth is the most important part of living. God of corrupt merchants, lawyers, and politicians. Domains: Law. Common name: Bialeystock.
Neutral Evil
Exploitation: Originally Love, the truth that intimacy provides a path to other Truths, now Exploitation, the untruth that intimacy provides a path to controlling others. Goddess of bigotry and manipulation, favored by chromatic dragons. Domains: Evil, Water, War. Common name: Iona
Murder: Originally Death, the truth that eternal rest comes to all beings, now Murder, the untruth that eternal rest comes to all things, or not, at the will of those who can control it. God of Assassins, cutthroats, liches,and necromancers. Domains: Death, Evil, Trickery. Common name: Ansem.
Chaotic Evil
Destruction: Originally Change, the truth that all things come to pass, now Destruction, the untruth that things must be destroyed in order for them to pass. God of destructive and other, more sinister (black) magics. Domains: Destruction, Evil, Chaos, Magic. Common name: Banemae.
Nothing: Orginally Purity, the truth that there exists a time and place of no corruption, now Nothing, the untruth that the only time and place of no corruption is the Void, where there exists nothing. God of indiscriminate obliteration of all things. Domains: Knowledge, Death. Common name: Zoc.

Some of the names for the Truths, Half-Truths, and UnTruths were difficult to choose, since often a simple word simply didn't seem to exist for what I was looking for. For example, Esprit is kinda odd and probably isn't even used right. Exploitation is awfully long, and Murder doesn't completely fit the definition. On some others, the definitions aren't worded as well as I would like, such as Happiness and Harvest. I am particularly proud of Wisdom/Reason, Action/Mischief, Protection/Tyranny, and Purity/Nothing, though. I plan for all of them to have four domains each, though obviously most don't have that yet and some only have one. I'll figure that out later, I guess, and maybe make my own domains where neccesary. Also, the common names are the ones I first thought of, often from things and people I know: reid and Camille, a couple I know; Tas, as in Tasslehoff Burrfoot; Tak, T.A.C. from Kirby Superstar; Bialeystock, as in Max Bialeystock from the Producers. Belkar's name is a coincidence, as I created him before reading OOTS, but there's no confusion since they're he's very different anyway. Palindae, Neoindae, and Banemae is an example of the way I invent suffixes and preffixes in my world to mean things, such as with my dwarven cities: Dolgirth, Folgirth, Morgirt, Torgirth, and Ingirth.

Anyway, I'm still developing, so any suggestions are welcome.

The_Werebear
2005-09-23, 06:57 PM
That is interesting. The evil gods are corruptions of the good ones, truth being shifted to falsehood. Personally though, I would switch balance and compassion. Planning is a lawful thing, and compassion occasionally allows those to ignore the law to do the right thing.


edit for grammer

Leperflesh
2005-09-23, 07:02 PM
I love the concept, and if I hadn't already created and exposed a pantheon in my own game, I'd be sorely tempted to copy yours wholesale. It's certainly a challenge to come up with all the names and aspects, and you've done a good job so far.

I agree that 'esprit' doesn't quite fit. Things that come to mind include 'Feral' (which is an adjective, not a noun, so I guess that doesn't work), or 'Wild' (again usually an adjective, although it is also used as a noun). It's not exactly right either though.

For a bit of a stretch and a strong connotation you might not like to have in your game, consider 'Virgin', the idea that the untouched is best, is quite similar to the way you described 'esprit'. (think 'virgin forest', that kind of meaning.)

For 'Exploitation', consider 'Betrayal', which is again not exactly the same, but points in a similar direction.

The only other criticism I'd level is that the War domain doesn't seem to fit well for 'Mercy', which is in essence the act of sparing. It's also not usually a 'neutral-good' domain. I do get though that you might desire to have at least one of the good gods/aspects have the War domain... it probably fits best in 'Balance' but then there, you'd have to kick out another domain and the four you've picked already do seem quite important. I don't suppose you could break the rule and have five domains for Balance?

Anyway very good idea, very good work, and I am rather envious.

-Lep

The_Losar
2005-09-23, 07:47 PM
My logic behind Mercy being War is that in order to be put into a position to show mercy in the first place someone or something has to be "at your mercy." Beaten to a point, taught the lesson, and let go. Another way to think of it is fighting for the greater good to come, or to fight back evil in the most literal sense. Violence without cruelty. I do understand what you're saying, though, and it's not the first time I've felt somewhat limited by my two-for-each-alignment rule. I have toyed with the idea of switching Mercy and Compassion, though.

As for Balance being Chaotic... to understand how it works you'd have to understand the personality of Kiryn. His plans to keep balance are chaotic so that they aren't predictable by those who might thwart his plans (good foresight on Thought's part). Usually they consist of pushing people into situations they might not usually be in, causing small changes to totally shift the wealth and power of a realm, or even causing the destruction of a city, whatever it takes. It's usually very subtle, though, and the blame never goes to him. He's also not opposed to helping evil if good has become too powerful. He's a complicated character who makes perfect sense to me but is very hard to put into words, which makes it al the more difficult since the party cleric worships him.

Leperflesh
2005-09-23, 08:27 PM
I can grok the chaotic part. It's the 'good' part that throws me. If he's good, what two opposing forces is he trying to balance? Or, is it the case that by achieving balance between good and evil, he is actually achieving some higher-order 'good'?

Or does he create balance, like, between eating your veggies and having desert, between indulging in fun/pleasure and being responsible, that sort of thing?

-Lep

The_Losar
2005-09-23, 08:49 PM
The balance is that Thought originally made the 18 Truths because he thought that they were all important to the world. Even when the truths got corrupted, though, they still served the same purpose, in the end. They're no less neccesary in Thoughts eyes now than they were before. Tyranny's goal is still to Protect, for instance.

So yeah, it's not so much a balance of good and evil, though it usually ends up as such since it's the evil ones who intentionaly upset the balance.

Also, when Kiryn causes destruction, it's usually things that are destroyed, not people. That's another reason he has to be subtle, and another reason he's so complicated.

Raskannu
2005-09-23, 11:20 PM
*clears throat*
sorry in advance.
* lifts megaphone*
I already made a thread that is exactly the same thing. It's called Deity Pantheons.

DMgrinder
2006-07-28, 01:46 AM
The correct response is: "Die Thread Tansmuter! Die!"

My favorite god that I created is the scarecrow god Severis (this name sound familiar, do any of you know if I have unknowingly plagerized someone?) He is the god of luck, and the lost cause. My second is Maelstrom, the goddess of the sea.

Lord Iames Osari
2006-07-28, 02:14 AM
The Losar: the pantheon is really cool, I like the idea of the evil gods being corrupted good gods!

DM Grinder: can you say Severus snape( from Harry Potter)?

BelkarsDagger
2006-07-28, 02:40 AM
I had a deity named Tree of the World or the World Tree (copied sooo badly from WoW... *hangs head in shame*), God of Nature and the Elves. It basically took the form of the biggest tree in the world. No elf thought they were worthy enough to touch it, until the humans came up from the south and invaded their forests. The bravest elven druid came forth and merged with the tree. The god considered it both an abomination and an honor that a mortal would dare merge herself with a God. The druid gave the tree Sentience while the God gave the tree Spirit. Together they were able to use it as an Ent like thing to destroy the human invaders. Afterwards, they stormed Nerriphord, the human capital, but the tree almost died. They hurried it back to the middle of the forest, and now there is an elf shaped branch near the base of the tree.

EDIT: I really am going to bed now... but I HAD to post this before I went up. :P

Lord Iames Osari
2006-07-28, 03:14 AM
Common Name: Bialeystock
Where's Bloom? ;D

And now, ladies and germs, part 1 of the Pantheon of Tyrath!

Vala/Bella
Intermediate Goddess (Lawful Good)
Called Bella by the dwarves and Vala by all others, She is the patron goddess of the righteous, the zealous, the pure, and the just. Typical worshippers of Vala are paladins, judges, and other crusaders. Her titles include the Lady of the Ardent Heart, Mother of Dwarves, Wielder of the Soulfire Blade, Righteous One, Defender of Valor, and Keeper of All Honor. Vala is the first of the Three Goddesses, and Her symbol is a heart surrounded by silver flame. Her personal weapon, Soulfire, is a +6 axiomatic commanding flaming burst holy ghost touch silver longsword. The longsword is Her favored weapon, and weapon of the deity spells cast by Her clerics result in a +1 flaming longsword. She usually appears as a tall, beautiful human, half-elf, or dwarf woman with straight black hair and silver eyes.
Portfolio: Courage, dwarves, fire, honor, justice, purity, righteousness, valor, war, zeal.
Domains: Courage (C,W), Destruction, Dwarf (C), Exorcism (E), Fire, Good, Glory (C,D,W), Law, Mysticism (C,D), Nobility (C,S,W), Purification (C,D), War, Wrath (C).
Cleric Training: Many, if not all, of Vala's followers pursue some sort of martial prowess in addition to their deity's tenets. Those who show true faith are urged to go to one of Vala's temples, were he can be officially inducted into the ranks of Vala's clergy and rewarded for his faith with spells to do Vala's bidding.
Quests: Any quest that upholds righteousness is attractive to a follower of Vala. Waging a war against a nation ruled by an oppressive tyrant, hunting down vile criminals, and exposing corruption are all quests that advance Vala's goals. Also, She tends to look favorably on those who help Her children, the dwarves.
Prayers: Prayers to Vala are most often recited in the form of a request: "Vala, grant me [quality], that I might [action]." For example, "Vala, grant me purity, that I might uproot corruption," or "Righteous One, lend me glory, that I might smite Thy foes." She is also invoked during the Swearing of Oaths along with the other deities of law (Rectarren, Maleth, and Merx). When sworn, such an Oath produces an effect similar to the mark of justice spell, with the following differences: 1) the effect cannot be removed by magic except by a wish or miracle spell; 2) the Oath-Swearer can specify circumstances under which the Oath will cease to apply during the Swearing of the Oath, and 3) the deities invoked are not limited to putting the equivalent of a bestow curse spell on someone who breaks an Oath.
Temples: Temples dedicated exclusively to Vala are uncommon; She is usually honored alongside Her sisters Maia and Karan or with Her husband, Rectarren, this latter pairing most common to dwarf lands. Where Vala's temples do appear, they combine the strength of a fortress with beauty and majesty to provide a safe haven for all righteous beings.
Rites: Vala's ceremonies usually center around preparing for and/or celebrating the removal of some corruption, the righting of an injustice, or some great act of honor and valor.
Herald and Allies: Vala's favorite herald is a LG celestial phoenix (MMII) If you don't have the MMII, use a solar instead. Allies are hound archons, trumpet archons, and hound archon heroes.
Maia
Intermediate Goddess (Neutral Good)
Second of the Three Goddesses, Maia is the kindly provider of health and protection; She is goddess of fertility, childbirth, and motherhood. Farmers are numerous among Her worshippers, for She is especially revered in farming communities. Some of Her titles are Gentle Mother, Lady of the Healing Hands, Patroness of the Fields, and Guardian of Home and Hearth. Her symbol is an overflowing cornucopia. She carries a +5 holy keen merciful undead-bane vorpal silver sickle named Wheatcutter. The sickle is Her favored weapon, and weapon of the deity spells cast by Her clerics produce +1 merciful sickles. She usually appears as a young elf maiden or a middle-aged human mother, but She is always dressed in white robes and always has brown hair and kindly bronze eyes.
Portfolio: Childbirth, family, farming, fertility, health, mercy, motherhood, protection, spring, water.
Domains: Community (C,D,E), Family (C), Feast (E), Fertility (T), Good, Healing, Mysticism (D), Renewal (C), Plant, Protection, Water.
Cleric Training: Clerics of Maia often begin as midwives and farmers of exceptional faith who are then brought to Maia's attention by the community's cleric. Once the Goddess has recognized the faith and piety of the individual in question, She becomes a new cleric.
Quests: Bringing food to a famine-stricken area, finding a cure for a deadly plague, helping farmers overcome a drought or blight, and assisting in a difficult birth are all undertakings attractive to clerics of Maia. In general, Maia's followers seek to do good whenever and wherever they can. While they have little enthusiasm for violent struggles against evil, they are not pacifists and will fight when it becomes necessary.
Prayers: Like prayers to Her sister Vala, prayers to Maia most often take the form of an entreaty: "Maia, grant me health," "Gentle Mother, protect me," "Lady of the Healing Hands, let these people be fed," etc. However, there is no set form.
Temples: Maia's temples tend to unassuming structures, simple but sturdy. Sanctuary is granted to any and all who seek it, but those who would abuse the hospitality of Maia's priests soon discover that even a Goddess of mercy can be roused to terrible wrath.
Rites: Maia has exclusive authority over marriages and nigh-exclusive authority over birthing ceremonies, and some authority over rites of fertility. No one gets married except by a cleric of Maia.
Herald and Allies: Maia's herald is a solar. Her allies are celestial nymphs (NG), leonal guardinals, and planetars.
Karan
Intermediate Goddess (Chaotic Good)
The third of the Three Goddesses, Karan is Goddess of strength. Barbarians, boxers, duelists, drunken masters, and combatants of all kinds find Karan's favor to be very welcome and are frequently found amongst Her followers. She is the patron of dancers. She is known as the Liberator, the Dancing Blade, and the Deadly Dancer; her symbol is a lightning bolt. She carries two weapons, Keenwind, a +5 anarchic dancing holy keen shocking adamantine greatsword, and Stormblade, a +5 anarchic holy shocking burst speed thundering adamantine greatsword. The greatsword is Karan's favored weapon, and weapon of the deity spells cast by Her clerics produce +1 shocking greatswords. She usually appears to be a muscular and beautiful young female elf or half-elf female. She has been known to take the shape of a human, but only very rarely.
Portfolio: Athletics, dancing, freedom, lightning, strength, wind.
Domains: Air, Chaos, Competition (C,D), Good, Liberation (C,D), Luck, Mysticism (C,D), Strength, Windstorm (C), Wrath (C).
Cleric Training: Most often, Karan's clerics are pious athletes who invoke Her often and give Her proper, public thanks when they succeed. Then they wake up one morning and find that Karan has decided to grant them divine spells.
Quests: Performing feats of strength, fighting against tyranny, freeing slaves, random acts of kindness, composing and choreographing a rowdy drinking song glorifying Karan, etc.
Prayers: Like prayers to Her sisters, Karan's prayers are often requests: "Karan, grant me strength," "O Liberator, free me," "Dancing Blade, lend me your grace in battle," etc.
Temples: Karan has very few offical permanent temples outside the portions devoted to Her in temples honoring all of the Three Goddesses. Those that do exist are often near to some athletic venue, or even in it.
Rites: Karan's ceremonies are generally spur-of-the moment affairs celebrating an athletic victory or somesuch.
Herald and Allies: Karan's herald is a solar. Allies are bralani eladrins, ghaele eladrins, and planetars.
Solaan
Greater God (Chaotic Good)
God of the sun and the skies, progenitor of the Three, patron of travelers, sailors, and other wanderers, and chief deity of the elves: Solaan is all of these. He is also a patron of performers in general. His worshippers call him Ruler of the Skies, Guardian of Pilgrims, Father of Elvenkind, and Lord of Day. His symbol is the disc of the sun. He carries Sunflash, a +5 anarchic distance flaming holy radiant returning shocking adamantine spear which produces a daylight effect as a 20th-level caster on command. The spear is His favored weapon, and weapon of the deity spells cast by His clerics produce +1 distance spears.
Portfolio: Elves, freedom, music, sky, summer, sun, travel, trade, weather.
Domains: Air, Celerity (C,D), Chaos, Elf (C), Fire, Good, Glory (C,D), Mysticism (C,D), Nobility (S,W), Portal (C), Storm (C), Summer (S), Sun, Trade (C), Travel, Weather (D,E).
Cleric Training: Many clerics of Solaan wander far and wide; when they meet a likely pupil, they invite him to join them on their travels. Should the prospective pupil accept, the cleric begins to teach his new student Solaan's tenets. This informal apprenticeship arrangement ends when the mentor deems his student prepared to venture the lands alone. While the core lessons taught are usually the same, this highly individualistc method has the potential to lead to disastrous disagreements. That it has not done so already is a testament to the obsessive attention to detail that is so much a part of the elven psyche, elves making up by far the greatest portion of Solaan's priesthood.
Quests: Protecting a trade ship from pirates or a party of travelers from bandits, destroying a major infestation of undead, bringing hope to lands of despair, and other such quests are ones that Solaan's clerics fell drawn to.
Prayers: Prayers to Solaan vary depending on who is praying. An elf or half-elf will address the deity as "Father of Elves," as in, "Father of Elves, look kindly upon Thy child and light my path to glory." Overland travelers often pray, "Guardian of Pilgrims, grant me safe passage along the roads which are Thy domain," while sailors and traders might invoke Him this way: "Ruler of the Skies, bless this day's wind that our sails might be filled and our voyage speedy."
Temples: Solaan's temples tend to be located at crossroads or in port towns. They vary wildly in appearance depending on what building materials are available. Many offer room and board to travelers free of charge.
Rites: Rites of Solaan tend to involve blessings of crossroads, of ships, and of newborn babes of elven blood, ensuring that Solaan will accept them as His children.
Herald and Allies: Solaan uses a solar as his herald, or occasionally Mariko (see below). Allies are half-celestial nymphs, astral devas, and planetars.
Mariko
Quasi-goddess (Chaotic Good)
Mariko, the First Elf, Mother of Elves, was raised to demigodhood by her husband Solaan. Mariko has no portfolio, no domains, no true worshippers, and cannot grant spells, but She is revered by nearly all who have elven blood running in their veins. Even the orcs revere Her, for it was She who intervened on their behalf when Scitayr and Naturan were laying the Great Curse upon Moraan's followers. Scitayr and Naturan intended to reduce the orcs to the level of animals, of vermin, for their crimes, but at Mariko's insistence, They relented, allowing the orcs to retain their sentience that they might repent for their terrible wrongdoings. Of all the offshoots of the elven race, only the dark elves have turned their backs to Her, for She did not intervene to save them from the illithids as She intervened to save the orcs. Her husband sometimes sends Her to the Material Plane as His herald. She has access to all domains associated with Solaan, and She appears as an incredibly beautiful elf woman with the normal green eyes and brown hair, though Her eyes seem lit with an inner light. She carries a +5 anarchic holy keen silver scimitar named Cutting Wind, and, when acting as Solaan’s herald, a replica of Sunflash.
Rites: Mariko is invoked during the blessing of a newborn elf by clerics of Solaan.
Rectarren
Greater God (Lawful Neutral)
The stern god of retribution, industry, and perseverance, Rectarren exacts just punishment from those who break laws, oaths, and vows. His titles are Father of Dwarves, Implacable One, the Stern Hammer, the Smith, and Enforcer of Laws; his symbol, a hammer. His weapon, Hammer of Retribution, is a +5 acidic burst axiomatic distance ghost touch returning throwing thundering cold iron warhammer. His favored weapon is the warhammer, and weapon of the deity spells cast by His clerics result in a +1 thundering warhammer. He appears to be a dwarf with ice-blue eyes and pewter-gray hair, though not old.
Portfolio: Dwarves, earth, gemcutting, industry, metalworking, mining, perseverance, protection, retribution, strength, winter.
Domains: Artifice (E), Cavern (C), Craft (C), Cold (C,D,F), Destruction, Dwarf (C), Earth, Inquisition (C,D), Law, Metal (C), Protection, Retribution (C), Strength, Winter (F).
Cleric Training: Most of Rectarren's priests in dwarven communities are trained from birth in His teachings; Rectarren's temples welcome orphans to their care for this very reason. Clerics in other lands follow this method as well, but sometimes those who possess discipline, faith, and persistence prove themselves through defense of Rectarren's interests are granted divine spells.
Quests: Defending communities of dwarves from invasion, helping communities through a difficult winter, hunting down lawbreakers, assisting in the creation of a powerful magic item, etc.
Prayers: "The Law of Rectarren states: ..."
Temples: The temples of Rectarren are fortresses like those of Vala, but with none of their beauty. They possess an imposing grandeur, but that is all. They are very logical in layout and, when large enough, have large maps posted at regular intervals for visitors.
Rites: Blessings at the establishment of new mines, the founding of a new dwarven community, the birth of a dwarf.
Herald and Allies: Rectarren's herald is a marut inevitable. Allies are formian taskmasters, zelekhut inevitables, and kolyarut inevitables.

Lord Iames Osari
2006-07-29, 03:37 PM
The Pantheon of Tyrath, pt. II

Scitayr
Greater God (Neutral)
Scitayr is the god of the dead, of prophecy and fate, of magic, of knowledge, and patron of inventors and scribes. His titles include Keeper of Souls, Setter of Fates, All-Knowing One, Lord of Arcana, and Lord of Artisans. Scitayr's symbol is four overlapping circles inside a six-pointed star inside an eleven-pointed star inside a circle. His personal weapon, Balance-bringer, is a +6 disruption ghost touch icy burst undead bane/+6 disruption ghost touch icy burst undead bane quarterstaff which is also a combined staff of power and staff of necromancy. The quarterstaff is His personal weapon, and weapon of the deity spells cast by His clerics produce +1 undead bane/+1 ghost touch quarterstaves. He appears either as a male elf or gnome; in either form, He is somewhat gaunt, grim, and mostly silent, with alabaster skin, prominent cheekbones, deep-set black eyes, and silver hair.
Portfolio: Artisans, balance, death, dreams, fate, gnomes, invention, knowledge, magic, prophecy, rest, time, winter, writing.
Domains: Artifice (E), Balance (C), Craft (C), Creation (C,D), Death, Deathless (E)*, Decay (E), Dream (C,D), Fate (C,W), Force (C,D), Gnome (C), Knowledge, Magic, Meditation (E), Mind (C,D), Oracle (C,D), Planning (C,W) Repose (S), Rune (C,S), Spell (C), Time (C), Winter (F).
*The Deathless domain is forbidden to clerics of Scitayr who are not from the Isle of the Craven during the Golden Age.
Cleric Training: Clerics of Scitayr are often those who would have likely become wizards if they had not thought to gain an even greater understanding of magic by serving Scitayr. Often, they blend mastery of arcane and divine magic; the first mystic theurges were clerics of Scitayr. They are taught to maintain the balance of the cosmos.
Quests: Rescuing rare knowledge from censorship in a tyrannical realm, keeping knowledge from falling into the wrong hands, preserving the balance of the cosmos from disruption by a powerful being, hunting down undead creatures and returning their souls to Scitayr's rightful keeping, etc.
Prayers: Prayers to Scitayr often begin with the phrase, "Teach me, All-Knowing One, ..."
Temples: Temples dedicated to Scitayr are mostly found in wings of wizardly universities.
Rites: The creation of magic items, the uncovering of ancient lore, the realization of prophecies, and other such things are celebrated by Scitayr's priests. Scitayr has exclusive authority over funerals.
Herald and Allies: Scitayr's herald is an elder elemental (any type). Allies are ravids, invisible stalkers, and huge elementals (any).
Naturan
Greater Goddess (Neutral)
Goddess of the natural world, Naturan is dedicated to preserving the natural order of things; thus, she despises undead. Naturan's titles are Huntress and Hunted, Wild Mother, and the Wild One. Her symbol is a cross inside a circle. Naturan wields Anecca, a +4 all-bane ghost touch scimitar. It has the bane trait against all creature types, and for the purposes of overcoming damage reduction, it is treated as being made of the appropriate material. The scimitar is Naturan's favored weapon, and weapon of the deity spells cast by Her clerics produce +1 scimitars with one bane trait. She looks like an aged elf woman with green eyes and dark green hair; her skin has a very faint green tinge to it. Her clothes are made of woven vines.
Portfolio: Animals, hunting, life cycle, nature, plants.
Domains: Air, Animal, Balance (C), Earth, Fire, Life (E), Plant, Water.
Cleric Training: Naturan's clerics must spend a week meditating on the majesty of nature, after which they must hunt down some animal and sacrifice it to Naturan, then sacrifice some of their own blood to a dryad-inhabited tree.
Quests: Looking after nature and seeing to it that nature generally is not interfered with.
Prayers: Prayers to Naturan often consist of similes or metaphors relating to nature; for example, "As the blood and bodies of the beasts nourish and strengthen the trees, so the fruit of the trees nourish and strengthen the beasts. So am I strengthened by Thee, O Huntress and Hunter; my life is Thine, to strengthen and be strengthened by, in life and in death."
Temples: Temples to Naturan are almost always in naturally-occuring locations, like a cave, a sheltered grove, etc.
Rites: Life cycle milestones.
Herald and Allies: Naturan's herald is a spirit of the land (MMII) or an elder elemental (any type). Allies are Medium, Large, and Huge elementals (any type).
Fortuna
Greater Goddess (Chaotic Neutral)
The Lady Luck is the most praised and cursed goddess in all Tyrath. She is associated with the moon and the sea. Her titles are the Lady, the Fickle One, That Damned Bitch/Whore, and Most Blessed Lady. Many among Her clerics are also prostitutes of some sort. Naturan cursed her with an inability to concentrate on any one thing for any length of time after She seduced Her brother Rectarren. Fortuna's symbol is a six-sided die with a crescent moon. She carries a +6 anarchic dancing ghost touch keen adamantine rapier called Ngamin. The rapier is Her favored weapon, and weapon of the deity spells cast by her clerics create +1 keen rapiers. Fortuna's appearance is never the same except that She is always female.
Portfolio: Chance, change, fashion, fertility, freedom, luck, lust, madness, moon, oceans, passion, prostitution, vanity.
Domains: Chaos, Charm (C,E), Envy (C), Fertility (T), Luck, Lust (C), Madness (C,D), Moon (C), Ocean (C), Passion (E), Pride (C), Trickery, Water.
Cleric Training: Clerics of Fortuna are not trained; people become clerics of Fortuna when Fortuna decides to randomly grant them spells. This gift can, of course, be refused, which means that only those faithful to Fortuna usually accept and keep their powers.
Quests: Pretty much anything goes. Seduction of important beings for no apparent reason, random orgies, starting a new fashion trend.
Prayers: Again, pretty much anything goes.
Temples: Temples dedicated to Fortuna are often brothels or fashionable clothes shops.
Rites: Whatever.
Herald and Allies: Fortuna's herald is a 24-VD chaos beast. Allies are celestial nymphs (CN), grey slaadi, and death slaadi.
Maleth
Intermediate God (Lawful Evil)
The God of tyrants, despots, and conquerors, Maleth is the sworn enemy of Vala. He is a bastard son of the incestuous relationship between Rectarren and Fortuna. He is called Lord of Oppression, King of Tyrants, the Vicious Flail, Smoldering One, and the Iron Fist. His symbol is a clenched fist. Whenever He goes into battle, He wields a +6 flaming burst axiomatic unholy vicious cold iron heavy flail named Darkfire. The flail (any) is His favored weapon, and weapon of the deity spells cast by his clerics produce +1 vicious heavy flails. He appears as a human male of towering height with jet black hair and eyes of onyx, or as a yuan-ti abomination.
Portfolio: Anger, conquest, discipline, flame, hatred, pride, reptiles, snakes, tyranny.
Domains: Destruction, Domination (C,D), Evil, Fire, Hatred (C), Law, Mysticism (C,D), Pride (C), Scalykind (C), Tyranny (C,W), War, Wrath (C).
Cleric Training: Maleth's clerics are very often raised in their deity's service from birth. They are instructed in military tactics and brutally disciplined for small infractions. By the time they reach young adulthood, they are strong, tough, hateful, hardened, and cruel.
Quests: Destroying a temple of Vala.
Prayers: "O King of Tyrants, I am Thy thrall. I am weak compared to Thee, yet weak to Thee is strong to others. Glory to Thee, King of Tyrants; Thy Law and Will shall be obeyed."
Temples: Like the temples of Vala and Rectarren, Maleth's temples tend to be fortresses; however, the resemblance ends there. While Vala's temples are majestic and Rectarren's imposing, Maleth's are downright oppressive in appearance. They are most common in yuan-ti lands, where Maleth is worshiped along with his brother Merx.
Rites: Sacrificing a worshipper of Vala (not necessarily a cleric of Vala) to Maleth as a final test to demonstrate your faith to Maleth.
Herald and Allies: Maleth's herald is an erinyes devil Ftr 11. His allies are bearded devils, barbed devils, and pit fiend devils.
Merx
Intermediate God (Lawful Evil)
The sly and cunning god of crooked lawyers, embezzling accountants, and greedy merchants, Merx encourages deviousness among his worshippers and obedience of the letter of the law, if not the spirit. His is called the Devious One, and his symbol is a full purse. His personal weapon is a +4 acidic burst axiomatic keen unholy wounding cold iron dagger, which he calls Bleeder. The dagger is his favored weapon, and weapon of the deity spells cast by his clerics produce +1 corrosive daggers. He appears to be a corpulent, richly dressed human or yuan-ti pureblood male with sallow skin, yellow eyes, and greasy black hair.
Portfolio: Avarice, bureaucracy, commerce, corruption, deviousness, extortion, famine, greed, lawyers, laziness, slime, thirst, wealth.
Domains: Commerce (E), Domination (C,D), Earth, Evil, Gluttony (C), Greed (C), Hunger (C), Law, Madness (C,D,E), Mentalism (C), Pact (C,D), Slime (C), Sloth (C), Thirst (S), Wealth (C).
Cleric Training: Be as greedy as possible in all aspects of life without actually breaking any rules, and praise Merx for all you're worth.
Quests: Acquire wealth, cheat on a contract (as long as you left yourself a loophole), sell insurance to a thousand people, etc. Merx is not a very epic God.
Prayers: Merx is invoked during the Swearing of Oaths (see Vala's Prayer section).
Temples: Banks, law firms, etc.
Rites: The signing of contracts.
Herald and Allies: Merx's herald is a mature adult blue dragon. His allies are barghests, greater barghests, and horned devils.
Xarakh Nam
Lesser God (Neutral Evil)
Once a powerful sorcerer and warlord in whose veins was joined the blood of the succubus Hulnathia and the mighty orc warlord Hrak Nam, this half-fiend rose to deityhood shortly before being magically imprisoned for two millennia. He is patron of ambitious people who seek nothing but power for themselves. He is known as His Dark Eminence, the Lord of Ambition, the Seeker of Power, Emperor of Evil, the Epitome of Malice, the Malevolent One, and Amalgamator of All Darkness. His symbol is a circle. At all times, He carries Mathimezha, a +6 defending ghost touch thundering unholy adamantine/+6 defending ghost touch thundering unholy cold iron deep crystal quarterstaff which also functions as a staff of the magi. The quarterstaff is His favored weapon, and weapon of the deity spells cast by His clerics create +1 defending/+1 ghost touch quarterstaves. Xarakh Nam appears as a vampiric half-fiend half-orc, tall and slim but powerfully muscled, dressed in loose trousers and an open robe suitable for desert environs. His eyes are red, and His head shaved and covered in tattoos. Xarakh Nam is unavailable as a patron deity until very late in the Golden Age. Prior to His ascension, his worshippers were arcane spellcasters and ur-priests (Complete Divine).
Portfolio: Conquest, deception, deserts, domination, hatred, knowledge, magic, necromancy, nightmares, orcs, psionics, secrecy, secrets, tyranny, undeath.
Domains: Deathbound (C), Domination (C,D), Evil, Force (C,D), Hatred (C), Illusion (C), Knowledge, Law, Magic, Mind (C,D), Mysticism (C,D), Orc (C), Planning (C,W), Sand (S), Suffering (C), Trickery, Tyranny (C,W), War.
Cleric Training: People usually join the clergy of Xarakh Nam because they are highly ambitious and need a patron.
Quests: Conquer the known multiverse for the glory and power of Xarakh Nam. Seek power.
Prayers: Xarakh Nam doesn't really care about the words his worshippers use to pray to him, just they are praying to (and worshipping) him.
Temples: They are secret, except for the one located in Kharmathi Bholiz Tower.
Rites: These are likewise secret.
Herald and Allies: Xarakh Nam's herald is a nightwalker (nightshade). His allies are succubus demons, Nessian warhounds (hellhounds), and Cauchemar nightmares (nightmares).
Moraan
Greater God (Chaotic Evil)
God of slaughter and undeath, Moraan kills indiscriminately and urges his followers to do the same, transforming those killed in his name into undead creatures. His titles include Delighter-in-Massacres, Lord of Perversion, the Ravager, Creator of Undeath, Lord of Slaughter, and the Laughing Reaper. His symbol is a skull. He cuts down his victims with Shadowscythe, a +6 brilliant energy keen vorpal scythe. The scythe is His favored weapon, and weapon of the deity spells cast by His clerics produce +1 keen scythes. He appears as a skeletally thin male half-fiend elf with white skin, white hair, and black eyes. He wears a hooded black cloak.
Portfolio: Darkness, death, drow, mayhem, orcs, slaughter, speed, spiders, undeath.
Domains: Celerity (C,D), Darkness (C), Deathbound (C), Decay (E), Evil, Mysticism (C,D), Necromancy (E), Pestilence (C,D), Shadow (E), Spider (C), Travel, Undeath (C), Wrath (C).
Cleric Training: Sacrifice someone to Moraan.
Quests: Mass-murder, serial killings, etc.
Prayers: Anything as long as it involves the praise of Moraan.
Temples: Hidden, secret shrines
Rites: Killing people, making their corpses into undead creatures.
Herald and Allies: Moraan's herald is a balor demon. His allies are succubus demons, bebilith demons, and marilith demons.

(C): can be found in Spell Compendium;
(D): can be found in Complete Divine;
(E): can be found in the Eberron Campaign Setting;
(F): can be found in Frostburn;
(S): can be found in Sandstorm;
(T): can be found later in this chapter.
(W): can be found in Complete Warrior;
Domains not marked can be found in the Player's Handbook.

Krimm_Blackleaf
2006-07-30, 12:38 AM
Here are my dieties

Levakross, King of Fiends
Levakross is the little known of lord of all evil outsiders, most dominantly those of the abyss and the nine hells. He appears as a tall thin man in black robes and light metal armor with long luxurious brown hair tied back with sinister cold eyes of the same color. His face is handsome and pale but never shows emotion, even in the most dire or stupendous accasions. He is never without his unholy longsword in his belt or on his back. He also sports a small goatee, a thin pointed tail and small curved horns on the top of his head curving backwards. His diabolic nature is also very subtle, it is said that he's had a hand at every major event in the nine hells and abyss for millenia, the rise of Asmodeus, the fall of the erinyes and indirectly, the blood war. But for many centuries he was in exile, cast out of the realms by the other gods for slaying his beloved Naphia. For these many centuries he stewed in guilt and loathing at all those who betrayed him. Until recently he rose back to power and back to his throne in the hidden fortress of Ghaa'rhuul in his doman of Levenkradd. Levakross' holy symbol is a curved dark brown horn on a blood-red background.
His temples are always hidden fortresses of sinster beauty, most often hidden in dark forests or in the middle of a forboding desert and his clerics wear dark red robes and incrruicuit and beautiful armor looking to be of hellish craft.
Clerics of Levakross often lack noticable emotion and sport long hair and short clean facial hair(if male) and always carry a wicked looking longsword in their belts or on their backs. Levakross is nuetral evil and clerics of levakross have acess to the Evil, War, Diabolic* and Demonic* Domains. His favored weapon is the longsword.His Heralds are erinyes and many other fiends, aswell as many fiendish orcs and his prize herald is a half angel/half demon 20th level fighter named Nigh.

*Diabolic and Demonic domans from the Book of Vile Darkness


Naphia, the fox-mother
Naphia is a beautiful goddess of goodness and grace and the creator of an ancient fox-like race known as naphians, named after their creator goddess. Naphians are spry and quick to laugh, slow to anger but aggressive if provoked. Naphia appears as an incredably beautiful woman of smooth, fine features. Her long hair is white and slightly silvered and her eyes piercingly green. She always wears fine silken cloth robes and little jewelry, all of which is embedded with an emerald. She also sports a pair of white fox ears and a white fox tail;her naphian creations also have these features. Naphia is also the lover of Levakross, and has been for as long as they both have been dieties-or longer. But there has been a time where they were not on good terms. On a fateful day and because of an act of betrayal and trickery, Levakross slew Naphia by piercing her heart with his sword. Where she died the desert landscape grew trees and grass as roots quickly sprung from the sand to hold her up, not letting her body fall and there she stood, motionless, with her lovers sword stabbed strait through her heart for hundreds of years until recently it was removed and Naphia was brought back to the world of the living and into the open arms of her forgiven killer, Levakross. Naphis is Chaotic Good and her holy symbol is a green flame on a silver basin. Her temples are places of beauty and light and music, all harmoniously together. Her temples are also very open, looking to be only support beams around the edge of a glass cieling where one might walk in or out as they please from any wall and are always located in a serene forest near the sea. Clerics of naphia usually wear light armor, not to reduce their dextarity and robes of white and silver, favored emerald-bejeweled jewelry. Her domains include Chaos, Good, Magic and Protection. Naphia is also the secret keeper of a type of magical fighting known as Green Flames, but little know how to harness it. Although Naphia is a pacifist and carries no weapons, her favored weapon is the longbow. Her heralds include only a few naphians, all well trained with rapiers and longbows, and all are 15th level clerics of Naphia. But her favored herald is her and Levakross' daughter lovingly named Angel. She is a 20th level rogue.

Spartan_Samuel
2006-08-14, 03:44 PM
Currently, I don't have a Pantheon of my own, nor several Pantheons. Although, the character I'm currently playing in a friends game is worshiping a god that goes by the name of Stickedamus. He is the almighty result of all things that relate to 1. In binary, he translates to... 1. He is for the power of the person. In otherwords, do what YOU feel is right in said situation. Follow your own morale, but if you don't keep a constantly obvious consistency, THEN THOU SHALT BE SMITHED FORTHWITH! With Force Lightning. It goes bzzt.



Bzzt.

Myiven
2006-08-14, 03:53 PM
My campaign is a monotheistic setting, with one god and one devil. Neither directly interferes in the affairs of mortals, and has angels or demons that act as their agents on the world instead.

I currently have an angel and a demon assigned to each race, government, class, etc. I think I need to redesign the way they're set up though.

martyboy74
2006-08-14, 04:14 PM
Lord Iames, shouldn't Balance-bringer be axiomatic power anarchic power holy power unholy power weapon?

Lord Iames Osari
2006-08-14, 04:31 PM
Leaving aside the fact that I don't know why you kept putting in "power" in there, I understand what you're getting at. However, I felt that would be silly and paradoxical. I you feel differently and want to use Scitayr in you campaign, go ahead and change it.

martyboy74
2006-08-14, 04:52 PM
Leaving aside the fact that I don't know why you kept putting in "power" in there, I understand what you're getting at. However, I felt that would be silly and paradoxical. I you feel differently and want to use Scitayr in you campaign, go ahead and change it.
Actually, the anarchic/axiomatic/holy/unholy power weapons are the epic versions.

knightsaline
2006-08-15, 04:42 AM
here are my gods for a homebrew world

arteima, god of change Arteima is the god of change. he/she is possibly chaotic good. her domain is change (everyday, his/her clerics choose a domain that they think will serve them well. they do not gain an addional power). her holy symbol is a vial of mercury. her favored weapon changes every day

kraknos, god of thunder kraknos is the archetypical god of thunder. the dwarfs worship him because he looks most like a dwarf. his domains are destruction, strength, lightning and (for his dwarf clerics) the rune domain.his alignment is chaotic neutral. his symbol is a lightning bolt. his favored weapon is the warhammer

shadow, god of darkness in most worlds, the god of darkness would be seen as evil. not on hylennia. in hylennia, shadow is the second highest god, next to the unnamed one. shadow is true chaotic. his domains are darkness, trickery and chaos. it is the most worshipped of the elves, including drow. its symbol is a black hedgehog with red spines. its favored weapon is the composite longbow with 50 darkness arrows

now, for the evil god

solunus, god of light on hylennia, the light is seen as evil, as it hurts and burns living things. when someone wants to blame someone, they swear in solunuses name. his domains are sun, evil and fire. his alignment is lawful evil
He manifests as a 40 year old fighter. his favored weapon is a sling with stones that cast light on impact

last is the neutral gods

twili, god of the twilight. twili is one of the younger gods. she mediates between shadow and solunus when one decides to fight the other. it was she who wrote the pact that made it so that shadows and solunuses fights would not take place in the prime plane. her alignment is true neutral. she does not have clerics, as their calls would sway the balance. her symbol (if she has one) is a set of scales. if She mainfests, she looks like a 19 year old female sorcereress. her favored weapon is a double bladed sword

the unnamed one the unnamed one is possibly the most powerful god in all of hylennia. he, does not have any mortal followers, much like Ao of the forgotten realms. if He manifests on the prime plane, he looks like a 19 year old male fighter who goes by the name salin. his favored weapon is the bastard sword. his symbol is nothingness.

the final one the final one is the god of death. he manifests as whatever the dying person wishes to see. his domains are death and repose. his favored weapon is the scythe. His symbol is a kitten. the final one loves kittens and cats. he is the one responsible for carts running over dogs. (he hates them)

knightsaline
2006-08-22, 10:43 PM
come on! nobody wants to help me with my pantheon? (bump) I need some signiture weaponms for my gods and some other things

Druid_lord
2006-08-22, 11:25 PM
I had a deity named Tree of the World or the World Tree (copied sooo badly from WoW... *hangs head in shame*), God of Nature and the Elves. It basically took the form of the biggest tree in the world. No elf thought they were worthy enough to touch it, until the humans came up from the south and invaded their forests. The bravest elven druid came forth and merged with the tree. The god considered it both an abomination and an honor that a mortal would dare merge herself with a God. The druid gave the tree Sentience while the God gave the tree Spirit. Together they were able to use it as an Ent like thing to destroy the human invaders. Afterwards, they stormed Nerriphord, the human capital, but the tree almost died. They hurried it back to the middle of the forest, and now there is an elf shaped branch near the base of the tree.

EDIT: I really am going to bed now... but I HAD to post this before I went up. :PTechnically you're not stealing from WoW, you stelaing from norse mythology

Shyftir
2006-08-23, 02:41 AM
Which makes it completely okay, because: "After all, Tolkien did it. Why shouldn't I?"

Peregrine
2006-08-23, 07:18 AM
Losar: I love it. I don't care if some of the names aren't a perfect fit, the half-truth/untruth thing just does it for me. :D

If I were to shamelessly yoink it into a setting of my own, I would have it so that there are worshippers of the original truths that are now corrupted -- perhaps cults hoping to bring them back to truth, or something. After all, it makes sense that people would still worship Love or Protection in a positive way. Or might those 'portfolios' (not meaning to tie it too closely to customary D&D deties) be taken up by others, like Happiness taking love?


My campaign is a monotheistic setting, with one god and one devil.
Not meaning to be pedantic (well, okay, maybe I am :-[), but that sounds like dualism, not monotheism. In monotheism, God and the devil are not equal in power.

Fhaolan
2006-08-23, 06:16 PM
The pantheon of my campaign work slightly... differently than most. I have exceedingly long write-ups for most of these gods, so I won't bother trying to post it all here.

Names: The gods have many, many names. Names are exceedingly local. Priests tend to be aware of this and will use titles instead of names for the gods. Non-priests will tend to use the names they are most familiar with. Because of this, all these entries are done by title rather than name.

Cults of the Gods: Gods only nominally have alignments. Alignments are mortal constructs and do not bind the gods. Because of this there might be evil cults that worship nominally good gods and visa-versa. The gods themselves don't seem to care. This leads to certain cults of Mother Corn requiring human sacrifice to get the crops to grow, and cults of the Tempest as a rain goddess.

The 'Good' Gods:
Mother Corn (Greater Diety of Agriculture, Marriage, and Childbirth)
Domains: Protection, Plant, Animal, Healing, Good, Community

The Wanderer (Intermediate Deity of Horses, Travel, Trickery, Dawn and Dusk)
Domains: Travel, Trickery, Luck, Protection

The Crying God (Lesser Deity of Compassion, Suffering, Healing)
Domains: Healing, Water, Good

Good God (Lesser Deity of Childhood, Innocence, and Light)
Domains: Good, Sun, Protection

The Evil Gods
The Tempest (Greater Deity of Oceans, Storms, Destruction)
Domains: Weather, Water, Evil, Air, Destruction

The Lich Lord (Intermediate Deity of Insanity, Undeath, Resurrection)
Domains: Madness, Chaos, Magic, Trickery, Death

The Rat God (Lesser Deity of Terror, Pestilence, Decay)
Domains: Pestilence, Evil, Destruction

The Tyrant (Lesser Deity of Domination, Exploitation)
Domains: War, Law, Strength, Evil

The Neutral Gods
The Watcher (Greater Deity of Death, Guardians and the Moon)
Domains: Death, Repose, Protection, Knowledge, Sun, Healing

The Beast Lord (Intermediate Deity of Nature, Beasts, Hunting)
Domains: Animal, Charm, Plant, Strength

Lady of the Mists (Intermediate Deity of Night, Magic, Shadows)
Domains: Magic, Darkness, Trickery, Knowledge

Father Smith (Intermediate Deity of Craft, Writing, Bards)
Domains: Strength, Artifice, Fire, Earth

Mistress Sun (Intermediate Deity of Sun, Merchants, Fire)
Domains: Sun, Nobility, Law, Fire

The Forest Queen (Lesser Deity of Seasons, Forests)
Domains: Plant, Animal, Weather

The Cat God (Lesser Deity of Passion, Luck, Fire)
Domains: Luck, Fire, Chaos

The Warlord (Lesser Deity of War, Duty, Justice)
Domains: Law, War, Destruction

Lord of the Revels (Lesser Deity of Winds, Dance, Music and Art)
Domains: Air, Chaos, Travel

Master Mountain (Lesser Deity of Mountains, Mines and Wisdom)
Domains: Earth, Strength, Knowledge

The Oracle (Lesser Deity of Divination and Fate)
Domains: Knowledge, Healing, Magic

The Nonresponsive Gods
Grandfather Dirt (Prime Diety)
Domains: N/A (This god is not responding to requests from priests to grant spells, due to the death of Grandmother Sky.)

Grandmother Sky (Greater Diety of the Sky)
Domains: N/A (This goddess is dead, and is not responding to requests from priests to grant spells. All of Grandmother Sky's original aspects are now being covered by her children.)

The Voracious God (Lesser Deity of Consumption and Greed)
Domains: Unknown (No priest seems to have made a divine connection with this god. No one knows why.)

History of the Gods (As understood by the priesthood of the current campaign. The actual order of events is somewhat different.)
In the beginning there was All. All was lonely, and created Sky to look upon. All fell in love with Sky, and became Earth to lie beneath her. Earth and Sky had many children, and Earth gave up a piece of himself to each of them. These were the Gods, and they learned to create from their father. From the Gods came the plants and animals and people. They became tired of dealing with the mortal world all the time, and created their own world, the Faerie realm. They did not have all the power of Earth though, so the Faerie realm was not as complete as Earth.

In time, Sky grew old, and died. For Earth had made a mistake. When he created Sky, he had not given up a piece of himself to her like he did for the Gods, and so she had been made mortal. And so Sky passed through to the realm of the dead, the Moon, watched over by her eldest son.

None could persuade the Watcher to let her go, as he proclaimed that once the dead had passed over his threshold, they could never return until the end of days. In truth he had no control over whether any could return, he was simply a gatekeeper letting only those who were dead pass, knowing that any that passed within the Moon could never leave. The Lich Lord tried to rescue Sky, and bring her back to Earth, but he failed and went mad with that failure.

Earth has never forgiven himself for his mistake, and had abdicated almost all his power to his children. Now known as Grandfather Dirt, he wanders the world, from tavern to tavern, trying to forget.

The Gods then created the Shadowlands, and gave it to the Lady of the Mists to rule, and put it between everything and the Moon. This way, if something else dies it does not immediately enter the realm of the Watcher, but must pass through the Shadowlands, giving the soul time to be rescued or recovered.

Why Deities Don’t Interfere More
Grandfather Dirt is the source of most, if not all, of the Gods’ power. He is the only true Immortal, as he is the original being. He cannot age, he cannot die, but he has complete control over everyone else’s existence, as technically they are all just parts of him.

The other Gods don’t know where he is, unless they physically see him. He could be anywhere, and they don’t want to tick him off, as he can take all their power away at a whim. So, they try to keep away from the world and work through their worshipers and priests instead. Except for Good God, who seems to think she can get away with more direct action. Mind you, she always interferes on a fairly small scale so it may be that she as well is being cautious, just following a different set of rules.

Why Deities Care About Their Worshipers
Although their Godly power comes from Grandfather Dirt, how much power each God has is proportional to how many worshipers that god has praying to them. If a god loses worshipers to another god, his power is decreased. This was done deliberately by Grandfather Dirt in order to keep his children from pestering him all the time for more power.

Demi-Gods and Quasi-Gods
The Gods can also give up parts of their power to Demi-Gods in the same way that Grandfather Dirt gave them power. This is usually done to extend a Deity’s reach, or for two Deities to combine their power. For example, the Forest Queen and the Lord of the Revels used small pieces of themselves to create the four Winds who also represent the four Seasons (North Wind [Winter], South Wind [Summer], East Wind [Spring], West Wind [Fall]). Those Demi-Gods have built their own followings which increase their parents’ power.
Local Gods, such as the volcanic mountain gods of tropical islands or river gods, are also Demi-Gods who are beholden to some greater Deity such as Master Mountain or the Tempest. They may be extremely powerful, but tend to keep to small territories. Demi-Gods do have clerics, but they are extremely limited in power. Once a cleric of a Demi-God reaches fourth level, they are not able to progress until they include the Demi-Gods’ more powerful patron in their prayers (effectively becoming priests of the patron god.)
Quasi-Gods are creatures that are very powerful, and are near-immortal, but have no real Deific power. The eldest dragons could be considered Quasi-Gods, for example. Although many people worship these Quasi-Gods, they can not grant clerical powers at all.

Druid_lord
2006-08-23, 07:37 PM
Here i one i was planning to use when i starteed but i have to wait 4 years till i'm 18 becuase of my freakishly paranoid parents.

Murphey, God of Chaos.
HIs alignment is Cahotic Good and Chatoic Netural
He grants his followers two spells; Murpheys law. When cast, reduces targets luck to 0.
Rouletee of chaos. Has a a randomly determined affect upon target.
Murphey is a mischevoius god. He never TRYS tto cause mischeif it is just stalking him. His looks are un known as they are always shifting.

Dark
2006-08-23, 08:41 PM
I've always been a fan of "systems that don't fit". I like it if a pantheon has an intricate, sensible pattern. I like it even more if this turns out to be a pattern that humans invented to make sense of their gods, and the underlying reality doesn't quite match. I find that to be much more believable than well-ordered gods. Especially if some of them are gods of chaos.

So my advice is... don't try to iron out the last few wrinkles in your system of truths. Instead, leave them in, perhaps even undo some of the compromises you've made to fit everything into the system, and let the game-world priests argue about the result :)

Altair_the_Vexed
2006-08-24, 07:17 AM
I'm not going to post up all my gods here, cause I want to properly publish some day... but I have a house rule concept to run by y'all.

Unaligned gods.
Gods need not be bound by the morality of mortals. The evil and good that their worshippers do, and the order and chaos that they bring - all is part of their great cosmic plan.
Clerics of unaligned gods are always considered to be one step away from their god's alignment. The Cleric's alignment dictates their Turn / Rebuke and Cure / Inflict choices.

[Behind the Curtain: Why have unaligned deities?
Unaligned deities work best in games where the gods do not interfere, are banished, dead, never have truly existed, etc. They're ueful for monotheistic nations, where worship of one "true" god is the expected norm. This allows a flavour of ambiguity amongst clerics and worshippers - true to many real-world historical periods.]

ghost_warlock
2006-08-24, 05:44 PM
These are the gods for my (now somewhat defunct) homebrew world:

Original Pantheon (http://www.geocities.com/wrarx/3EGods.html)
Current Pantheon (http://www.geocities.com/wrarx/3EGodsOld.html)

Somewhat paradoxically, the pantheon listed as "old" on the website is actually the more recent one in the campaign timeline (some 800 years more recent). I shifted the timeline back to the original setting (and pantheon) for the most recent campaign I ran in that world and, when I updated the website for my players, the more recent campaign information became their "old" campaign.

For the next revision, I plan on incorporating Vereor (http://www.giantitp.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl?board=homebrew;action=display;num=11556952 44).

Fax Celestis
2006-08-24, 06:01 PM
Marranarch has four deities known as the Muses: Creation, Organization, Alteration, and Destruction. All other "gods" are merely intermediaries between the Muses and the Mortals.

Some (but not all) of the Intermediaries include:

Agni, God of Fire (Aspect of Alteration)
Horjin, Tiger-god of the Hunt (Aspect of Destruction)
Leviatan, God of the Sea (Aspect of Organization)
Nelig, Wolf-goddess of Beasts (Aspect of Creation)
Raghnialt, Queen of Air and Darkness (Aspect of Alteration)
Lord Winter, God of Cold Night (Aspect of Alteration)

The Hunters of the Stag (followers of Horjin), who reside on the Isle of Fenris, have a few additions to their pantheon:

Earth-Mother, Goddess of the Earth (Aspect of Organization)
Moon-Sister, Goddess of Night (Aspect of Alteration)
Sky-Father, God of Light and the Sun (Aspect of Alteration)