Favorite Homebrew Deity?

[FuzzyDM]

What are your favorite homebrew deities you've created/encountered in someone's game?

[Absol197]

For one game I ran, I created the entire world, including rewriting the Monster Manual to represent the different types of creatures that lived there. Included in all of that, I came up with a Pantheon. Most of the deities were meh, but the players really liked a couple:

Yus Aria and Yus Orion were twin deities. The former is the goddess of the East Wind and the beginnings of a journey, who is chaotic neutral. The latter is the god of the West Wind and the end of journeys, who is lawful neutral. Basically, on the roads leading into/out of every major city had a temple to Yus Aria on the east side of the road, where people setting out would pray, and a temple to Yus Orion on the West side of the road, where those who had safely arrived would give thanks. There was a cleric of Yus Aria in our party, and she was a whole lot of fun.

However, the deity from that campaign that everyone loved was Omut. HE was the Lawful Evil god of the apocolypse, and his entire goal is to destroy the universe entirely. I was forced to come up with a bunch of doctrine of Omut off the top of my head, and I did such a good job that, even though I was trying to pass him off as an Evil god that everyone should hate, most of the players admitted that, really, the doctrines made a lot of sense. If I can remember any of it, I'll come back and edit this post with it...

[Sir_Chivalry]

This would be the one I made a few years back


Cava-Noes-Cava
Greater Diety
Symbol: A piece of parchment displaying holy sutras
Home Plane: The Twilight Above
Alignment: Neutral Good
Portfolio: Magic, genesis, secrets
Worshipers: Everyone, but especially spellcasters
Cleric Alignment: LG, NG, CG
Domains: Artifice, Creation, Good, Knowledge, Magic
Favoured Weapon: Quarterstaff

The High Father, Cava-Noes-Cava, created Balmont long ago in the mists of time. He is brother to Jagra and father to the other gods, as well as keeper of the wellspring of magic.

Aratheous
Intermediate Diety
Symbol: A cresent moon over a whale fluke
Home Plane: The Heavens
Alignment: Chaotic Good
Portfolio: War, wood-working, scrinshaw, whaling
Worshipers: Ishjuanics, whalers
Cleric Alignment: NG, CG, CN
Domains: Air, Chaos, Good
Favoured Weapon: Spear

Creator of the warrior race of the Ishjuanics, Aratheous takes the form of a massive cachalot whale. When Ishjuanic whalers encounter a cachalot whale, they believe that it is an avatar of Aratheous, and follow it until the next morning, believing it will lead them to a revelation. If it dives, the Ishjuanics instead return as fast as possible to land, knowing that evil is fortold. Orcas are considered angelic servants to Aratheous, while seals of any kind are considered servants of Jagra, to be avoided or killed, depending on the omens.

The Beast
Intermediate Diety
Symbol: A clawed hand with a single orange eye in the palm
Home Plane: The Outer Wastes
Alignment: True Neutral
Portfolio: Stewardship, overcoming hardship, perseverance
Worshipers: Menzobas, guards, travelers
Cleric Alignment: N, NG, LN, CN, NE
Domains: Earth, Protection, Strength, Travel
Favoured Weapon: Heavy Pick

The Beast is a great monsterous creature, massive even on the scale of the largest of beasts. He formed the hardy Menzobas, and ages later led the nomadic warriors first into contact with the Kweg, and then to the harsh land of Menzobas. The art of poison-making and animal husbandry are sacred to all priests of The Beast, and poison is considered a holy substance, consumption of it considered the most sacred of rites at adulthood, marriage and anointment for death. It is one of the most important tools for hunting and war, and it is an honour for a follower of The Beast to poison you.

Emnet
Intermediate Diety
Symbol: A miniature skull
Home Plane: The Outer Wastes
Alignment: Lawful Neutral
Portfolio: Family, knowledge, tradition
Worshipers: Kweg
Cleric Alignment: LN, LG, LE
Domains: Community, Fire, Law, Knowledge
Favoured Weapon: Scimitar

The mother of predators, Emnet's earthly form is a massive humanoid skeleton contained within the sacred volcanic fissure of Emnet'Iascov, where the Kweg throw their mummified dead every decade during a sacred pilgrimage to view their divine mother. It is written that Kweg'el was her son, fashioned from the sacred materials of starmetal, obsidian and pumice, giving him his jet black complexion. He brought these materials to the Kweg, along with Emnet's mighty wisdom, chronicled in the book of Emnet'Kweg'Zwer. Kweg wear three important items all the time, an earring made of obsidian, an earring made of pumice, and a small amulet made from starmetal.

Shaaka
Intermediate Diety
Symbol: A coiled black snake molting out of a white skin
Home Plane: The Outer Wastes
Alignment: Chaotic Neutral
Portfolio: Sailing, fishing, gambling
Worshipers: Cravosians, Makalics, gamblers, sailors
Cleric Alignment: CN, CG, CE
Domains: Chaos, Luck, Trickery, Water
Favoured Weapon: Whip

The great serpent Shaaka is said to have a mighty coral palace in the cold waters of the Bay of Cravos, though he often wanders the seas of Balmont. Shaaka grants divine power based on chance and whimsy, believing in the power of luck and chance. Those who have power should not become attached to it, but those without power must also be smart about gaining it.

Methias
Intermediate Diety
Symbol: A horse head, surrounded by rays of light
Home Plane: The Heavens
Alignment: Lawful Good
Portfolio: Honour, battle, animals
Worshipers: Makalics, Paladins, Farmers
Cleric Alignment: LG, NG, LN
Domains: Animal, Glory, Good, Law, Sun, War
Favoured Weapon: Longsword

The great horse Methias gallops across the sky each day as the sun, driving back the darkness of night and the minions of Jagra with his rays. When the human races were created by Shaaka the Great Serpent, Methias chose a Makalic man to be his mortal body for a time, and he taught the Makalics how to bring forth the power of light and the sun in battle against evil, creating the tradition of paladin-warriors, whose teachings are known across Balmont.

Aansen
Intermediate Diety
Symbol: The eight main phases of the moon in a circle
Home Plane: The Heavens
Alignment: Neutral Good
Portfolio: Reflection, fertility, penance, plants
Worshipers: Cravosians, thieves, farmers, jailers
Cleric Alignment: LG, NG, CG
Domains: Darkness, Good, Plant, Weather
Favoured Weapon: Shortsword

The lover of Methias, Aansen is a beatiful mare, shining white in the sky. She is the queen of night, and she moves gracefully across the sky as the moon. Her court dances across the skies, twinkling stars and roving planets wheeling in an intricate waltz. She dances a lonely dance in the sky, first growing dark and sad as she grows to miss her lover Methias, and then on the holiest day of each month, the new moon, she spends one night with her shining consort, and then she grows in brightness once more, until she begins to miss Methias once more. It was she who taught the secrets of bardic knowledge to the Cravosians at the dawn of the human races, and their wanderings have brought these secrets to the rest of Balmont.

Solch
Intermediate Diety
Symbol: A golden lily
Home Plane: The Heavens
Alignment: Lawful Good
Portfolio: Healing, childbirth, forgiveness
Worshipers: Doctors, healers, midwives
Cleric Alignment: LG, NG, LN
Domains: Good, Healing, Law, Repose
Favoured Weapon: Heavy Mace

Solch is the maiden who weeps for all of Balmont. She lived a mortal life once among the people of Balmont, and gave her life to defeat the great dragon Meyon, her death banishing him and his ilk from Balmont and binding them in the Hells with their mother Jagra. Her tears, little green and black swirled gems, are rumoured to give immense power to those who hold them, but none have been seen for many ages. Her priests run hospitals for the sick and wounded, and all, no matter how vile or repulsive, are allowed care and healing by the temple of Solch.

Gharsh
Intermediate Diety
Symbol: A purple hawk, wings outstretched
Home Plane: The Outer Wastes
Alignment: Neutral Evil
Portfolio: Death, renewal, punishment
Worshipers: Murderers, Makalics, Urest
Cleric Alignment: NE, LE, CE
Domains: Death, Destruction, Evil, Magic
Favoured Weapon: Glaive

Besides the legend of the Wings of Gharsh, and that the diety oversees the ferrying of souls to their proper place, nothing is really known about Gharsh. What is known is that the diety is not evil, only some of his followers. Non-Makalic, non-Urest followers of Gharsh are universally evil, and the others aren't known for kindness either. Makal has recently fallen under the control of the Supreme General Malchior, who is a fierce defender of the faith of Gharsh, and has made it the state religion. The Urest have always worshiped Gharsh, and sacrifice those they capture to their dark god. Legend says that a single feather fell from Gharsh when he created the Wings of Gharsh, and this feather, made of godly magic, travels from person to person, empowering them with dark arcane abilities. Malchior searchs for this feather, using the Makalic theocracy's witch-hunters to sniff it out.

Jagra
Greater Diety
Symbol: A large eye, circled by claws, tongues and scales
Home Plane: The Hells
Alignment: Lawful Evil
Portfolio: Demons, dragons, unmaking
Worshipers: Dragons, madmen
Cleric Alignment: LE, LN, NE
Domains: Evil, Law, Madness, War
Favoured Weapon: Claw (or heavy flail)

Unmaker and destroyer, Jagra is mother of fiends, creator of dragons. She seeks to destroy all that Cava-Noes-Cava has made. Were it not for the eight children of Cava-Noes-Cava, she would succeed. She seeks a powerful emissary to bring her wrath upon the world, but so far, as Gharsh strips all dead souls of their power and reincarnates them, she has no soul which she can reincarnate, yet . . .

[ORione]

I haven't come across any homebrewed deities in a game I'v played, but I like this one:
http://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/Barack_Obama_(3.5e_Deity)

Who would've guessed that the god of change was Lawful?

[Kobold-Bard]

Stephen Fry
Lesser Deity: DvR 6
Symbol: A magnifying glass with the handle at the bottom right, and a lower case i at it's centre.
Home Plane: Prime Material
Alignment: L/N
Portfolio: Esoteric lore, mocking the ignorant, quizzes.
Worshipers: Any who seek knowledge or the truth behind oft-spoken myths, as well as students who pray for assistance in remembering their revision. Usually Int focussed spellcasters or Rogues, but also the occassional Monk.
Cleric Alignment: L/G, L/N, L/E
Domains: Knowledge, Law, Trickery
Favoured Weapon: None, Stephen Fry prefers discussion over violence.

Two girls in my first ever group both wanted their character to be Stephen Fry's daughter, but one was an Elf and the other a Halfling. So I made him a God and said before he took his place as quizmaster of the heavens he used his new divine power to go around sampling the delights of each race, resulting in a very large extended family. They met 14 other siblings in that game.

[Galileo]

Stephen Fry
Lesser Deity: DvR 6
Symbol: A magnifying glass with the handle at the bottom right, and a lower case i at it's centre.
Home Plane: Prime Material
Alignment: L/N
Portfolio: Esoteric lore, mocking the ignorant, quizzes.
Worshipers: Any who seek knowledge or the truth behind oft-spoken myths, as well as students who pray for assistance in remembering their revision. Usually Int focussed spellcasters or Rogues, but also the occassional Monk.
Cleric Alignment: L/G, L/N, L/E
Domains: Knowledge, Law, Trickery
Favoured Weapon: None, Stephen Fry prefers discussion over violence.

Two girls in my first ever group both wanted their character to be Stephen Fry's daughter, but one was an Elf and the other a Halfling. So I made him a God and said before he took his place as quizmaster of the heavens he used his new divine power to go around sampling the delights of each race, resulting in a very large extended family. They met 14 other siblings in that game.

Congratulations, sir. 5 posts in and we already have a winner.

Our group only ever made one homebrew diety, and it was by accident.
Aargh-Sploosh originated from a one-shot I ran to get some DMing practice and give our regular DM a break. He rolled up a standard heavily armoured cleric. The party had to cross a bridge over a deep chasm, at the bottom of which was a river. The cleric had something like -4 to Balance. All the rest of the party heard as he fell was "Aaaaarrgh... sploosh."

It's become a huge meme amongst ourselves now, to the point where nearly every body of water we come across has a cleric floating face down in it. Including large puddles, on occasion. But I'm not sure how Aargh-Sploosh became his god, rather than the only thing he ever got to say.

[Titanium Fox]

The +5 Vorpal Fork
Symbol: A fork with a purple aura.
Alignment: C/N
Portfolio: Battle, Utensil, Animated
Worshipers: Those who have whitnessed it's awesome power and glory, and those who wish to learn the ways of the fork.
Domains: War, Chaos, Vorpal, Utensil
Favoured Weapon: Fork

This was the result of a one shot that my friend ran. Most of the information is BSed... But he inserted a +5 Animated Vorpal Fork that attacked my character when I insulted it... and rolled a 20 right off the bat. This was directly after I soloed a 5(6?) headed pyrohydra as a Rogue/Avenging Executioner ECL 10, so the party already knew I wasn't something to be messed with. The other five immediately began worshiping the fork.

[TARDIS]

The Traveller
Symbol: The Harvest Moon
Alignment: NG
Portfolio: Syth, travelers, adventuring, trickery, lore, fall
Worshipers: Syth, good rogues and bards, adventurers and travellers, farmers, merchants and traders
Domains: Good, Travel, Luck, Trickery, Knowledge
Favoured Weapon: Quarterstaff

Looks like your fairly basic intermediate-level adventurer deity, right? Well... wrong. The Traveller was the overgod of a modern-tech race known as the syth whose planet went and got blowded up in an alien invasion and their gods all ended up dying in their attempts to save them - which only ended up scattering the survivors around the multiverse, and due to the betrayal of his son, Irivan, the god of magic and the only other sythen god to survive the Fall, his power level kinda fell really far. So he ended up incorporating himself into the pantheons of multiple worlds, and became basically a boozer god, alternating between states of living life to the fullest and trying to make the multiverse a better place for his surviving followers, and a manic-depressive who'd spend a few decades brooding and messing with the lives of people that annoyed him.

Also, he somehow ended up hatching a deal with the Dark Powers and locking Irivan away in Ravenloft.

He assumed kind of a badass mythos about him in my games - not the least of which because the syth had become a race of rather successful wandering merchants and the economic drivers of trade and commerce in the campaign region. And their favoured class was bard - divine bard, to be precise. So, the syth character would continually boast of his exploits as a god of adventure - felling hordes of of orcs because they had the audacity of ruining a favoured vineyard in their marauding, or entering into a drinking contest with an elder red dragon just 'cause he was bored one day and had nothing better to do. Compared to the chief god of the setting - the Lawful Good and conservative Living Emperor, well... the bard had a fun time tweeking the Imperial's noses with stories - "only mostly true" - of how his drunk wandering god was so much more badass than their Emperor "Your god may have conquered a continent and forged a divine empire, but mine ended up getting his way into the beds of both Maeve and the Queen of Air and Darkness - in the same week. True fact. Of course, by getting his way into their beds, I mean he ended up breaking into their rooms after a night of hard drinking and collapsing onto them, maybe vomiting a bit. I don't know, the stories aren't quite clear on that point. Still, like to see your god beat that!" :smallwink:

[HalfTangible]

Hodari, the god of shadows, from my first godhood game on the boards.

Now, he wasn't played very well (best played goes to Raz_Fox, with Nova) but i absolutely loved the concept: a shadow god half-elf, half-panther with a ridiculously chaotic attitude, born from a sun, who vanishes in bright light. attitude.

Now, the the fact he was a shadow god was mostly used as an excuse for trickery, but since he was the only creature like that, I would've found it interesting to play with the god's psychology a bit: he made a shadow world so he could have a home, and looked on the other gods as untrustworthy, but he never really gave a reason. I figure, why not make him find them as unpredictable as he was supposed to be?

In addition, he was a god of Vigilantism and the Jungle, but he never directly brought it up.

Also, he made raccoon-men O.O i wanted to make raccoon-men... *sniffle*

[Zeta Kai]

http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s228/zetakai/Johoum3.jpg

Johoum, the Iron Sun
Johoum, the Lord Above
Johoum, the Punisher

JOHOUM

[Shadowknight12]

I genuinely like all the gods in the homebrewed setting I made recently, but the one I like the most is, unsurprisingly, the one that brought the almost-Apocalypse that reshaped the entirety of the setting. Her name is Vivex Darastrix.

Let me tell you a story. There was an Overgod. Then there was a prismatic dragon. The prismatic dragon was (probably) the greatest arcanist in her current era. So she said "You know what? I should be a god. Us dragons don't have proper gods! It's high time we had one!" and so she set forth to gather the necessary knowledge to become one.

The problem? She had to either trick a god and steal their divinity, or she had to kill one and take it. Being a woman... I mean, dragon, of brute (arcane) force rather than guile and subtlety, this lovely lady decided to slay a god and take its place, to usher forth a new era of prosperity for all. But especially for dragons.

So she went out and performed the necessary rite (killing an innocent being as old as the world in the process), and for her insta-kill spell, she chose the Overgod. Yeah, she aimed big. Bye bye, Overgod, it was nice knowing you! And it would have all worked out, if it wasn't for the meddling Goddess of Knowledge, who realised what was going on at the last second, and intervened to prevent our lovely draconian lady from rising to Overgodhood. She merely ascended to Greater Deity.

The problem? There was another world, and annihilating the Overgod tore open the veil that separated that world from Vivex Darastrix's. And from that world came the aberrations, who poured forth to consume and unmake all. They had god-kings, walking deities of madness and destruction, who slew most of the gods. Vivex Darastrix had a short reign. She enjoyed divinity but for a few seconds.

There's still a chance that she might recover. Death, for a god, is a temporary affair. Annihilation, on the other hand? Now that's permanent. Poor Overgod.

[DracoDei]

I believe that Vorpal Tribble's "Porcelain" has been mentioned?

In any case here is one of mine (OK so I only have made two... whatever), that I think is a rather interesting twist...

Allurehn
Neutral Good goddess
Portfolio: Heritage, Lineage, Romance, Sex, Contentment in Singleness, Fertility, Home, Community
Domains of Allurehn: Healing, Romance/Spouse Selection, Gestation, Sexual Pleasure
Major teachings of Allurehn:

Successful marriage is a treasure that most should actively seek after, unless a clear reason exists to the contrary. The search may be harder for some than others, and while there is more than one "perfect match" for almost all individuals, one should never compromise by settling for less than what can honestly be expected to produce mutual happiness with only a very large effort (for even the best matches need constant effort to keep the fires of dedication from dying down, but anything less than that requires even more). The concept of a follower of Allurehn taking a vow of celibacy would be ridiculous in the extreme although they are known to actively forgo marriage (at least for a time) if they have a long-term mission that would not be compatible with that.
Support of ones spouse and children, second only to a unique need for the greater good that one may be uniquely placed to fill. This includes seeing love between spouses as a commitment, in addition to the meaning of that word as an emotion. Emotions ebb and flow; dedication should not. This means seeking to build a relationship regardless of what it is returning at that time.
Sexual faithfulness to one's spouse in both body and mind. This includes both chastity before marriage, and the seeking of fulfillment for both of you as a high goal after marriage. In case it isn't obvious, clerics of Allurehn are experts on sex (including foreplay), and their senior members can generally outdo succubae and incubi on knowledge of the subject.
Protection of Good races/nations/peoples and their settlements and territories.
Destruction of Evil races that they might not dominate numerically or territorially over the Neutral and Good.
An understanding of the goals of your fore-bearers and, if reasonable in one's specific case, following through on those goals unless you find them to be clearly misguided. This includes caring for your parents, and grandparents in their old age, both so they may continue to apply their knowledge, wisdom, and experience to the things they hold dear, and so that none may have to be TOO cautious for fear of becoming impoverished if old age weakens them more quickly than might be expected, some harm befalls them in them in their vigor for pursuing their goals, or if they are gifted with a great number of years beyond the norm.
The counterpart to the above is to consider the good of those who come after you, including all sapient races but with an especial focus on ones own bloodline.
(This next one is likely to be the source of conflict and ire for any who do not understand it (and even a few who do) in many campaigns/settings.)
Improvement of the bloodlines of all races, both in preserving diversity, and in encouraging the weeding out of traits that are unarguably strongly negative and promotion of those that are unarguably strongly positive. NOTE HOWEVER IT IS NOT PERMISSIBLE to kill, or otherwise hinder from marriage or reproduction any sapient being against their will to prevent them from spreading less than ideal traits (and her clerics generally support such crimes to be punished in accordance with the principle "An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth"). The exceptions to this are races that are racially (NOT CULTURALLY) Evil (the extremely rare non-evil members of such races are exempt from that, and in-fact are often considered highly valuable members of the breeding population), and individuals who are EXTREMELY deficient, compared to the rest of their race, in fundamental capacity to understand the concepts involved in this (her clerics frequently serve communities by providing magical tattoos or peircings that permanently prevent reproduction, but not sexual enjoyment for those who are profoundly retarded or insane due to heritable birth defects).

She encourages an honest self-assessment guided by knowledge from experts (such as many of her clerics) of ones own heritable traits. Those who honestly find themselves to be of strongly below average heritable traits (even if they have risen above those limitations by means of dedication, determination, or sheer luck) are encouraged to use contraceptive methods when they marry (a treasure they should still seek, even if it might be harder to find someone who is willing to not have any children of their own). If such a couple is capable of supporting them, they are especially welcomed to adopt orphans or unwanted children. On the other end of the spectrum, Allurehn encourages her more naturally gifted followers not to be selfish towards future generations by avoiding marriage or children even for the sake of their talents. This includes even those whose gifts are confounded by the situation they were born into, injury, disease, or other misfortune.

For this reason she also encourages the voluntary acquisition/spread of the Good-Aligned strains of lycanthropy, to individuals who are either of already of the same alignment as the theranthrope strain they are acquiring or who are looking to make a definitive change in their path (such as neutral individuals who wish they had the moral fiber to consistently be more selfless or evildoers seeking redemption.). Similarly, Allurehn also encourages young dragons to take a "training spouse" from among the shorter-lived races while they are carefully selecting a draconic mate, since a good dating/courtship sequence (of multiple possible matches) for a dragon can last longer than a human lifetime. Having a "Monogamous Fling" in the mean time is good both for the dragon to get practical experience in being a good spouse without getting locked into anything for an especially long time by draconic standards, and for the bloodlines of the other local sapients. (See my Wing Dragon entry for more details on this practice).

Clerics of Allurehn are always watchful for those would use bad means to good ends when it comes to trying to improve intellegent races. Mepholk clerics are especially so among their own kind, considering their ability to over-right human bloodlines to be a gift from Allurehn and knowing the importance of keeping it from being misinterprited by either Mepholk or humans.

Typical Followers: Any race, but especially Mepholk. While she has followers of almost every class, rangers serving her are of especial interest since they often make it a goal to thin the numbers of or even locally exterminate a racially evil race.