Raveler1
2007-04-05, 12:31 PM
Ok, this is lifted from my campaign setting thread - but I need advice on where to take these deities, and on how to describe others. Any suggestions you have would be greatly appreciated.
These deities are Sumerian in archetype, but they borrow a bit from others (especially Greek/Egyptian gods). When all is said and done, I plan to have three pantheons to choose from - one for the Kudurri, one for the Alashkurri, and one for the Aegypti. The Aegypti [AA-GIP-TEE] is a simple lift of the Egyptian gods and practices, while the Alashkurri are going to be similar to the Kudurri gods, except fewer in number and more barbaric (the Alashkurrut are from the Zagros mountains, and are somewhat half-civilized according to the Kudurri). I may throw in Ancient Greek gods as well, depending on what my players do... but I have stats for them already. :-)
The Kudurri Pantheon
This section is not exhaustive. Only the major Kudurri deities are listed as these are the likeliest to be worshipped by the players. There are many additional deities but these are not significant enough to have a cult of their own, though they may be propitiated where appropriate. Gods would always be referred to by placing En- in front of the name, while goddesses are referred to by placing Eni- in front of the name. These syllables simply mean “the god” and “the goddess” in the agglutinative language of Kudur.
Fluff for the gods and goddesses comes from Sumerian mythology, specifically that put together by James W Bell (http://www.jameswbell.com). If you’re interested in the fluff, you should check out his stories.
Anu
Anu (in Sumerian AN=Heaven) was regarded by Sumerian mythology as the father of all the gods who came down to live on the Earth. His wife was Antu. Not much is known about Anu and no identifiable images of him are known to exist.
Anu is the god of the city state Ekur, the only city-state not to be named after its god. Ekur is both Kudurri and Assyrian, and so it has a Kudurri god, but an Assyrian name.
In the stories of James Bell, Anu came down to the Earth after the Flood when the gods on Earth had abandoned the mountainlands, the Land of the Gods, where they had originally settled. The mountainlands soon became home to roving bandit gangs and horned warriors who periodically attacked settlements on the plain of Sumer.
To protect the black-headed people, as the Sumerians called themselves, who were living on the plain, Anu built a citadel in a mountain pass that he named Der. While at Der, the supreme god met young Innin, the self-appointed queen of the nearby city of Aratta. Innin was young and Anu fell under the spell of her charms. It was he who renamed her and first called her Inanna, Queen of Heaven.
With Anu's help, Inanna accumulated wealth and power. She built a great temple named the E.anna in the ancient and holy Eanna quarter of Uruk and invited Anu to come live with her. Anu accepted and moved into the E.anna Temple, turning the citadel of Der over to Ishtaran and abandoning his wife, Antu, who remained in Heaven.
Keywords: The keywords of the cult of Anu are authority, justice and vengeance.
Cult: Devotees of the All-Father respect law and order and those who embody it. They must give due honour to monarchs, emperors, princes, potentates and other members of the governing elite. They are obliged to defend the practice of religion in general, at least where it pertains to the Kudurri pantheon. As Anu is the king of the Gods, so is his cult the head of all cults; his worshippers are thus bound to protect the temples of other allied deities. No follower of Anu may refuse to aid a sincere priest or priestess of another of the Kudurri Gods or turn a blind eye to blasphemy against any one of them.
Injustice is abhorrent to followers of Anu. They are expected to be firm and fair, erring on the side of severity rather than mercy. Anu is more likely to punish disobedience than to reward obedience and his followers take after him. As Anu means Heaven, or The Great Above, the winds and clouds are considered to be omens of his will. All uses of the Interpret Divine Will feat made by followers of Anu during windy or stormy conditions are made at a +2 circumstance bonus.
Virtues: Obedience to due authority, acceptance of fate, reverence to the Gods, firm rulership, fathering children, avenging wrongs. Anu is biased in favor of men and is more likely to give his blessing to a good father with a firm hand than to a wise mother.
Sins: Self-aggrandizement, rebelliousness, contempt of the Gods. Anu especially hates hubris, which is the sin of pride. He approves of prosperity, but likes mortals to remember their place. The moment a mortal thinks that he has become so powerful or wealthy that he can safely ignore the Gods, Anu is liable to cast him down.
Disfavor: Saving throws to avoid damage from environmental hazards, such as falling rocks, heat or cold.
Dedicated Acts: Conversion of unbelievers to the faith; destroying enemies of the gods; punishment of the rebellious; acts of vengeance.
Favored Checks: Ranged attack rolls with thrown weapons, Presence skill checks, Sense Motive skill checks, Search skill checks, Strength ability score checks, Knowledge skill checks, Will saving throws.
Aggasher
Aggasher (also known as Ereshkigal, 'Queen of the Great Below), Inanna's older sister, was Queen of the Netherworld.
In the stories of James Bell, after Gilgamesh and Enkidu killed her first husband, the Bull of Heaven or Gulgananna, Aggasher (there called Ereshkigal) married Nergal. They lived in her palace, the E.galgina, in the city of Irkalla, capital of the Netherworld. There, they had twin thrones of lapis luzuli in the Great Throne Room. Ereshkigal ritually dressed herself in a fashionable robe of red, tufted wool which was liberally fringed in black.
Aggasher was insanely jealous of her younger sister, Inanna, who was born in the mountainlands of the Earth, first called the Land of the Gods and then later called the Hursag, or mountainlands. Inanna had, by her own wit, become the Queen of Heaven. In an attempt to match her sister's accomplishments, Aggasher cut through the floor of the Netherworld to let in the fiery light of the Underworld, allowing the hot fires from the underside of the Earth into what had been the quiet darkness of the Netherworld. This pained Nergal, who always yearned for the darkness and quiet that was the Netherworld as it was when he first arrived.
Keywords: The keywords of the cult of Aggasher are darkness, underground and healing.
Cult: Aggasher’s followers have their place in society, though they are feared and mistrusted. The cult of Aggasher is dedicated primarily to the defense of female interests, the punishment of the guilty and the redressing of wrongs against the cult members themselves. Oddly, through their use of herbs as poisons, the followers of Aggasher have also become accomplished healers. They take it as part of their duty to decide who should be helped and who should be hindered, however. The followers of Aggasher believe secrets to be sacred, and thus protect their healing knowledge vigorously. Darkness, shunned and lonely places, the tombs of the dead and desolate heaths are all places that Aggasher adores and it is for this reason that her devotees meet there.
The cultists of Aggasher look after each other in everyday life. Irrespective of the social class of the devotee, she (or he) will be protected if there is any difficulty. Even slaves who have pledged themselves to the cult have found themselves freed from brutal masters after one undeserved beating too many. This covert punishment of crimes is frowned upon by the likes of the Anu and Bilulu cults, who prefer due procedure and formal trial to the cloak-and-dagger business so beloved of Aggasher own but even they understand that the dark sisters are best left to their work.
Virtues: Endurance, ruthlessness, secrecy, cleverness, adroit manipulation of others, respect for the dead, payment of what is due, self-sufficiency.
Sins: Betrayal, carelessness, sentimentality, falling under the influence of a male.
Disfavor: All saving throws and attack rolls made while the character is in moonlight.
Dedicated Acts: Sacrifice of opponents of the Aggasher cult, consignment of treasures to the earth in tribute, acts of vengeance, acquisition of personal power.
Favored Checks: Healing skill checks, Hide skill checks, Move Silently skill checks, Presence skill checks, Medicine skill checks.
Bilulu
Bilulu, the Sumerian god of rivers, was appointed 'canal inspector' by Enki after he had filled the Tigris and the Euphrates with water. He charged Enbilulu with maintaining the waters of abundance (hegal) and see to it that they were correctly apportioned between the two rivers.
In the stories of James Bell, it was Bilulu who helped Enki evenly distribute abundance throughout the Land.
The following of the God of rivers is made up of those who live beside any body of water, merchants, sailors, farmers (who depend on the life-giving waters for the fertility of the soil) and some warriors.
Keywords: The keywords of the cult of Bilulu are increase, dominion and water.
Cult: Bilulu’s followers embody endurance, persistence and weathering the storms of life. They are rarely drawn into petty conflicts with followers of other Gods and take a ‘strong older brother’ stance. It is unusual for them to care about issues that they deem beneath them; if they concern themselves with conflicts upon earth at all, it is always because they stand to gain by it somehow. They are forever consolidating the gains they have already won and seeking more. They progress not by outright assault (simply conquering without argument or explanation) but by making a claim to a region and hotly debating it with the current owners, finally ending by taking it by force if necessary.
To a devotee of Bilulu, your strength and your holdings are everything. They are steady expansionists, never satisfied with what they have and always seeking to enlarge their borders. They see themselves as the strongest rivals to the dominion of Anu and though they accept his authority at the moment, this has not always been the case.
Virtues: Endurance, righteous anger, strength, persistence, parsimony, hoarding, increasing your holdings.
Sins: Waste, theft, attacking an unarmed opponent, squandering wealth, defiling waters (such as by poisoning them), giving in too easily, allowing another to take your goods, humility, lack of ambition.
Disfavor: Swim skill checks.
Dedicated Acts: Capturing and taming wild beasts (especially horses), swimming long distances, capturing territory, raiding by boat, gaining material assets such as property and great riches, enduring the elements.
Favored Checks: Ride skill checks, Use Rope skill checks, Swim skill checks, Fortitude saving throws, melee or ranged attack rolls when using a trident or net.
Gibil
This lazy, vain, and slothful god is the perfect patron of the arts and new ideas. He has gradually withdrawn himself from the people of his city, content to let the humans rule themselves – as long as they provide him with “New things, strange things, valuable things” for him to admire and adorn himself with. Engibil does watch over his city-state, and prevents other gods from entering his territory; he just allows the day-to-day activities to be coordinated by the Lugal (Mortal King).
Keywords: The keywords of the cult of Gibil are beauty, exotic, artistic, and intellect
Cult: Gibil is a "patron" of the arts, in the most ancient sense of the word. He is fascinated by beauty, strangeness, and rarity - and so, his cult is dedicated to discovering these things. His most followers were most often explorers or traders, but as he has become more and more entranced, his followers have taken more responsibilities. Thus, the Gibli cult has a schism between old-guard (who believe that their god should be worshiped and given objects as part of that worship) and the new-guard (who give gifts as bribes to divert Gibil's attention from their activities)
Virtues: Artistic ability, trading, knowledge, intelligence, change, re-making one's self, exploring new places, telling stories
Sins: Gibil abhors boredom, oppression, blandness, disfigurement, and ugliness
Disfavor: +5 to Bluff and Perform DC
Dedicated Acts: Dedicating strange, beautiful, and rare objects, exploring new places, making a poignient artistic work, crafting a unique object
Favored Checks: Appraise skill checks, Bluff skill checks, Disguise skill checks, Knowledge (Geography) skill checks, Knowledge (Dungeoneering) skill checks, Craft (gold or silver smithing) skill checks, Perform skill checks, Will saving throws
Ki
Ki (“Earth”, also known as Inanna, “Queen of Heaven”, because of her marriage to Anu) was the most popular of all goddesses in ancient Sumer. In the stories of James Bell, Inanna is the youngest of the gods, having been born on the Earth in the Land of the Gods (the original name for the mountainlands - the Zagros Mountains) as Innin. Unlike other gods and goddesses, she was assigned no task to perform of the Earth and therefore held no position in the divine pantheon or in the Assembly of the Gods.
When the gods abandoned the mountainlands and moved down to the plain of Sumer, Innin assumed tutelage of the mountain city of Aratta and declared herself its queen. While serving as its patron deity, she came into contact with Anu who had built the citadel of Der in the foothills to protect the cities of Sumer from attack by mountain men who had grown lawless after the major gods left. Inanna and Anu become infatuated with each other and it is at this point that Anu awarded the young goddess the name, Inanna, Queen of Heaven.
Ki has her greatest following among farmers, mothers and dwellers in the country. She is more likely to be worshipped by the poor than the rich. She represents the cultivated soil, rather than the primordial raw earth.
Keywords: The keywords of the cult of Ki are earth, fertility, motherhood and mystery.
Cult: Ki is set over those who practice husbandry and whose lives depend on the fertility of the earth. As she also governs the earth underfoot in its role as the gateway between the world of men and the underworld, she is also the Goddess associated with the afterlife and the mysteries of initiation.
Virtues: Generosity, industry, productivity, freeing captives, producing children, caring for the needy in the area. Followers of Ki are expected to nurture those around them just as the earth herself nurtures those who dwell upon it.
Sins: Ki abhors defilement of the earth (such as the destruction of fertile land), wasting resources, separating children from their parents, refusing food to the needy, cruel treatment of women or children and wanton destruction.
Disfavor: Survival skill checks when in pastoral regions.
Dedicated Acts: Capturing or clearing farmland; freeing the enslaved; undergoing torment or trial and emerging triumphant; defending the cultivated earth.
Favored Checks: Handle Animal skill checks, Disguise skill checks, Fortitude saving throws, Knowledge (nature) skill checks, Craft (Herbalism) skill checks, Survival skill checks, Ride skill checks, Search skill checks.
Immursag
This vain god believes himself to be superior to all the other gods of Kudurr. Unfortunately, his wars with his neighbors Zuabu and Gibil have resulted in an Immursagi defeat every five out of seven times. He especially hates the Giblut, as they continue to win battle after battle, without Engibil ever bothering to show up on the battlefield.
According to legend, Immursag defeated and enslaved the mushhushshu snake dragon. Later, when Eshnunna was conquered by Babylonia, Marduk, the chief god of Babylonia, took charge of the snake dragon and adopted it as his symbol. Mushhushshu snake dragons were one of the three animal species that later decorated the Ishtar Gate of Babylon, the other two species being lions and aurochs.
Keywords: The keywords of the cult of Immursag are strength, dominance and combat.
Cult: Nobody enters the cult of Immursag without knowing how to fight. Physical fitness, aggression and competence with weapons are valued above all else. Immursag has a bad reputation among the Kudurri gods for being quarrelsome and truculent, and this reputation passes to his followers. They take what they want and have no compunctions about pushing others around. If it were not for the priesthoods of the other Kudurri deities keeping the cult of Immursag in check, it would probably exceed its bounds and grow to dominate the others.
This troublesome cult does have a strong positive side. As Immursag is the God of War, his followers make the best fighters and at times of war, they come to the fore. They see war between nations as an opportunity to gain the favor of their grim God, who respects few dedicated acts other than those that take place on the battlefield. Immursagi cultists are jealous for glory in war, competing with each other to claim prizes and slaughter foes. The battlefields of the ancient world ring with the roars of Immursagi cultists dedicating enemy after enemy to their God, striking down one after another as the red rage howls in their veins and they feel the presence of Immursag within them urging them on. It is standard practice for an Immursag cultist engaged in mass combat to use up his Divine Points hacking his foes to pieces, then go after a major target (such as an enemy champion) as a dedicated act.
Virtues: Heroism, courage, obeying orders faithfully even if it leads to your death, taking pleasure in the good things of life, respect for the strength of others, taking what you want, refusal to tolerate insult.
Sins: Cowardice, attacking an unarmed opponent, dereliction of duty, talking too much, evasiveness, showing weakness, compromise.
Disfavor: Will saving throws to avoid fear effects.
Dedicated Acts: Besting a single powerful opponent in combat, destroying a set number of foes (such as swearing to take ten enemy chariots), capturing an enemy position, capturing a city, avenging a fallen friend, taking prizes for your home nation, acts of conquest generally.
Favored Checks: Melee or ranged attack rolls with any weapon except a bow, presence skill checks, Fortitude saving throws.
Isin
Because Isin is the goddess of Travel and Motion, she is most often worshipped by traders, athletes, foragers, nomads, and slaves who desire their freedom. Her city-state is in a constant state of disrepair as she (and thus her followers) continuously changes her mind about construction and layout. Statues of Isin are not made very often, but when they are constructed, they do not have a static human form - instead, they suggest a human in constant motion, with a blurred face.
Keywords: The keywords of the cult of Isin are motion, travel and chaos.
Cult: The members of the cult of Isin are known for their knowledge of the world around them, and often are found wandering far from their goddess' temple. Some cult members eat leaves that ramp up their bodies - to outsiders, they may seem twitchy, but the leaves grant them heightened awareness, and the ability to stay awake longer when tired.
Virtues: Action, movement, exploration, running, jogging, fighting, swimming, trading, dodging.
Sins: Laziness, sedentary lives, sloth, stagnation, using a shield, hiding from duty or work.
Disfavor: All skill checks when made at home.
Dedicated Checks: Creating new acrobatics techniques, bringing news of foreign places and civilizations.
Favored Checks: Bluff, Climb, Escape Artist, Jump, Ride, Search, Sleight of Hand, Knowledge (Exploration) skill checks.
Nug
As Nug is the great Architect and Master Craftswoman of the Gods, those who live by a craft and by building structures revere her. Nug is said to have given humans the knowledge of building so that they could build structures to shelter themselves and live longer. She is a planner as well as a laborer, depicted as being strong and short, even for a woman.
Keywords: The keywords of the cult of Nug are artifice, building and craft.
Cult: The members of the cult of Nug are also the master builders of Kudur. They are called upon both to design and to assist in the consecration of any major building, whether for civic or religious use. The high priest of Nug, based in the city state of Nugi, is always an artificer of high level and directs the stonemasons personally during the building of important structures. The followers of Nug learn secrets of construction and mathematics that enable them to dominate the construction industry. Without their help and participation, the marvels of architecture that characterize ancient Kudur can never be built.
Fortunately for the other cults, they are always willing to give assistance and see it as a sacred calling to do so. Nug is one of the oldest of the Gods and is seen by some to be the ultimate mother of the whole pantheon, the original being who created all.
Virtues: Ingenuity, dedication, service, invention, craft, ambition, secretiveness.
Sins: Laziness, carelessness, causing damage to a sacred item or structure, allowing construction secrets to be discovered, using substandard materials, failing to destroy a flawed item or construction.
Disfavor: All skill checks when made inside any worked stone building larger than a house.
Dedicated Checks: Crafting precious armor, crafting masterwork items (which may not then be sold, but only given away), creating marvelous items in service to a noble house or to the military, creating designs for temples and other marvelous structures of Large size or larger.
Favored Checks: Appraise, Forgery, Craft, Knowledge (Architecture and Engineering), Sense Motive skill checks.
Zuabu
Many stories exist about how Zuabu became the god of the city that came to bear his name; most of the Kudurrut believe that he had his followers steal the icon of the previous god of the city, and replace it with his own, symbolically “stealing” the city away from that god. It has been long enough now that no one knows if this story is true, or merely a way of explaining the thieving behavior of the Zuabut.
Needs to be filled out - Thief gods don't exist in the material I'm borrowing
These deities are Sumerian in archetype, but they borrow a bit from others (especially Greek/Egyptian gods). When all is said and done, I plan to have three pantheons to choose from - one for the Kudurri, one for the Alashkurri, and one for the Aegypti. The Aegypti [AA-GIP-TEE] is a simple lift of the Egyptian gods and practices, while the Alashkurri are going to be similar to the Kudurri gods, except fewer in number and more barbaric (the Alashkurrut are from the Zagros mountains, and are somewhat half-civilized according to the Kudurri). I may throw in Ancient Greek gods as well, depending on what my players do... but I have stats for them already. :-)
The Kudurri Pantheon
This section is not exhaustive. Only the major Kudurri deities are listed as these are the likeliest to be worshipped by the players. There are many additional deities but these are not significant enough to have a cult of their own, though they may be propitiated where appropriate. Gods would always be referred to by placing En- in front of the name, while goddesses are referred to by placing Eni- in front of the name. These syllables simply mean “the god” and “the goddess” in the agglutinative language of Kudur.
Fluff for the gods and goddesses comes from Sumerian mythology, specifically that put together by James W Bell (http://www.jameswbell.com). If you’re interested in the fluff, you should check out his stories.
Anu
Anu (in Sumerian AN=Heaven) was regarded by Sumerian mythology as the father of all the gods who came down to live on the Earth. His wife was Antu. Not much is known about Anu and no identifiable images of him are known to exist.
Anu is the god of the city state Ekur, the only city-state not to be named after its god. Ekur is both Kudurri and Assyrian, and so it has a Kudurri god, but an Assyrian name.
In the stories of James Bell, Anu came down to the Earth after the Flood when the gods on Earth had abandoned the mountainlands, the Land of the Gods, where they had originally settled. The mountainlands soon became home to roving bandit gangs and horned warriors who periodically attacked settlements on the plain of Sumer.
To protect the black-headed people, as the Sumerians called themselves, who were living on the plain, Anu built a citadel in a mountain pass that he named Der. While at Der, the supreme god met young Innin, the self-appointed queen of the nearby city of Aratta. Innin was young and Anu fell under the spell of her charms. It was he who renamed her and first called her Inanna, Queen of Heaven.
With Anu's help, Inanna accumulated wealth and power. She built a great temple named the E.anna in the ancient and holy Eanna quarter of Uruk and invited Anu to come live with her. Anu accepted and moved into the E.anna Temple, turning the citadel of Der over to Ishtaran and abandoning his wife, Antu, who remained in Heaven.
Keywords: The keywords of the cult of Anu are authority, justice and vengeance.
Cult: Devotees of the All-Father respect law and order and those who embody it. They must give due honour to monarchs, emperors, princes, potentates and other members of the governing elite. They are obliged to defend the practice of religion in general, at least where it pertains to the Kudurri pantheon. As Anu is the king of the Gods, so is his cult the head of all cults; his worshippers are thus bound to protect the temples of other allied deities. No follower of Anu may refuse to aid a sincere priest or priestess of another of the Kudurri Gods or turn a blind eye to blasphemy against any one of them.
Injustice is abhorrent to followers of Anu. They are expected to be firm and fair, erring on the side of severity rather than mercy. Anu is more likely to punish disobedience than to reward obedience and his followers take after him. As Anu means Heaven, or The Great Above, the winds and clouds are considered to be omens of his will. All uses of the Interpret Divine Will feat made by followers of Anu during windy or stormy conditions are made at a +2 circumstance bonus.
Virtues: Obedience to due authority, acceptance of fate, reverence to the Gods, firm rulership, fathering children, avenging wrongs. Anu is biased in favor of men and is more likely to give his blessing to a good father with a firm hand than to a wise mother.
Sins: Self-aggrandizement, rebelliousness, contempt of the Gods. Anu especially hates hubris, which is the sin of pride. He approves of prosperity, but likes mortals to remember their place. The moment a mortal thinks that he has become so powerful or wealthy that he can safely ignore the Gods, Anu is liable to cast him down.
Disfavor: Saving throws to avoid damage from environmental hazards, such as falling rocks, heat or cold.
Dedicated Acts: Conversion of unbelievers to the faith; destroying enemies of the gods; punishment of the rebellious; acts of vengeance.
Favored Checks: Ranged attack rolls with thrown weapons, Presence skill checks, Sense Motive skill checks, Search skill checks, Strength ability score checks, Knowledge skill checks, Will saving throws.
Aggasher
Aggasher (also known as Ereshkigal, 'Queen of the Great Below), Inanna's older sister, was Queen of the Netherworld.
In the stories of James Bell, after Gilgamesh and Enkidu killed her first husband, the Bull of Heaven or Gulgananna, Aggasher (there called Ereshkigal) married Nergal. They lived in her palace, the E.galgina, in the city of Irkalla, capital of the Netherworld. There, they had twin thrones of lapis luzuli in the Great Throne Room. Ereshkigal ritually dressed herself in a fashionable robe of red, tufted wool which was liberally fringed in black.
Aggasher was insanely jealous of her younger sister, Inanna, who was born in the mountainlands of the Earth, first called the Land of the Gods and then later called the Hursag, or mountainlands. Inanna had, by her own wit, become the Queen of Heaven. In an attempt to match her sister's accomplishments, Aggasher cut through the floor of the Netherworld to let in the fiery light of the Underworld, allowing the hot fires from the underside of the Earth into what had been the quiet darkness of the Netherworld. This pained Nergal, who always yearned for the darkness and quiet that was the Netherworld as it was when he first arrived.
Keywords: The keywords of the cult of Aggasher are darkness, underground and healing.
Cult: Aggasher’s followers have their place in society, though they are feared and mistrusted. The cult of Aggasher is dedicated primarily to the defense of female interests, the punishment of the guilty and the redressing of wrongs against the cult members themselves. Oddly, through their use of herbs as poisons, the followers of Aggasher have also become accomplished healers. They take it as part of their duty to decide who should be helped and who should be hindered, however. The followers of Aggasher believe secrets to be sacred, and thus protect their healing knowledge vigorously. Darkness, shunned and lonely places, the tombs of the dead and desolate heaths are all places that Aggasher adores and it is for this reason that her devotees meet there.
The cultists of Aggasher look after each other in everyday life. Irrespective of the social class of the devotee, she (or he) will be protected if there is any difficulty. Even slaves who have pledged themselves to the cult have found themselves freed from brutal masters after one undeserved beating too many. This covert punishment of crimes is frowned upon by the likes of the Anu and Bilulu cults, who prefer due procedure and formal trial to the cloak-and-dagger business so beloved of Aggasher own but even they understand that the dark sisters are best left to their work.
Virtues: Endurance, ruthlessness, secrecy, cleverness, adroit manipulation of others, respect for the dead, payment of what is due, self-sufficiency.
Sins: Betrayal, carelessness, sentimentality, falling under the influence of a male.
Disfavor: All saving throws and attack rolls made while the character is in moonlight.
Dedicated Acts: Sacrifice of opponents of the Aggasher cult, consignment of treasures to the earth in tribute, acts of vengeance, acquisition of personal power.
Favored Checks: Healing skill checks, Hide skill checks, Move Silently skill checks, Presence skill checks, Medicine skill checks.
Bilulu
Bilulu, the Sumerian god of rivers, was appointed 'canal inspector' by Enki after he had filled the Tigris and the Euphrates with water. He charged Enbilulu with maintaining the waters of abundance (hegal) and see to it that they were correctly apportioned between the two rivers.
In the stories of James Bell, it was Bilulu who helped Enki evenly distribute abundance throughout the Land.
The following of the God of rivers is made up of those who live beside any body of water, merchants, sailors, farmers (who depend on the life-giving waters for the fertility of the soil) and some warriors.
Keywords: The keywords of the cult of Bilulu are increase, dominion and water.
Cult: Bilulu’s followers embody endurance, persistence and weathering the storms of life. They are rarely drawn into petty conflicts with followers of other Gods and take a ‘strong older brother’ stance. It is unusual for them to care about issues that they deem beneath them; if they concern themselves with conflicts upon earth at all, it is always because they stand to gain by it somehow. They are forever consolidating the gains they have already won and seeking more. They progress not by outright assault (simply conquering without argument or explanation) but by making a claim to a region and hotly debating it with the current owners, finally ending by taking it by force if necessary.
To a devotee of Bilulu, your strength and your holdings are everything. They are steady expansionists, never satisfied with what they have and always seeking to enlarge their borders. They see themselves as the strongest rivals to the dominion of Anu and though they accept his authority at the moment, this has not always been the case.
Virtues: Endurance, righteous anger, strength, persistence, parsimony, hoarding, increasing your holdings.
Sins: Waste, theft, attacking an unarmed opponent, squandering wealth, defiling waters (such as by poisoning them), giving in too easily, allowing another to take your goods, humility, lack of ambition.
Disfavor: Swim skill checks.
Dedicated Acts: Capturing and taming wild beasts (especially horses), swimming long distances, capturing territory, raiding by boat, gaining material assets such as property and great riches, enduring the elements.
Favored Checks: Ride skill checks, Use Rope skill checks, Swim skill checks, Fortitude saving throws, melee or ranged attack rolls when using a trident or net.
Gibil
This lazy, vain, and slothful god is the perfect patron of the arts and new ideas. He has gradually withdrawn himself from the people of his city, content to let the humans rule themselves – as long as they provide him with “New things, strange things, valuable things” for him to admire and adorn himself with. Engibil does watch over his city-state, and prevents other gods from entering his territory; he just allows the day-to-day activities to be coordinated by the Lugal (Mortal King).
Keywords: The keywords of the cult of Gibil are beauty, exotic, artistic, and intellect
Cult: Gibil is a "patron" of the arts, in the most ancient sense of the word. He is fascinated by beauty, strangeness, and rarity - and so, his cult is dedicated to discovering these things. His most followers were most often explorers or traders, but as he has become more and more entranced, his followers have taken more responsibilities. Thus, the Gibli cult has a schism between old-guard (who believe that their god should be worshiped and given objects as part of that worship) and the new-guard (who give gifts as bribes to divert Gibil's attention from their activities)
Virtues: Artistic ability, trading, knowledge, intelligence, change, re-making one's self, exploring new places, telling stories
Sins: Gibil abhors boredom, oppression, blandness, disfigurement, and ugliness
Disfavor: +5 to Bluff and Perform DC
Dedicated Acts: Dedicating strange, beautiful, and rare objects, exploring new places, making a poignient artistic work, crafting a unique object
Favored Checks: Appraise skill checks, Bluff skill checks, Disguise skill checks, Knowledge (Geography) skill checks, Knowledge (Dungeoneering) skill checks, Craft (gold or silver smithing) skill checks, Perform skill checks, Will saving throws
Ki
Ki (“Earth”, also known as Inanna, “Queen of Heaven”, because of her marriage to Anu) was the most popular of all goddesses in ancient Sumer. In the stories of James Bell, Inanna is the youngest of the gods, having been born on the Earth in the Land of the Gods (the original name for the mountainlands - the Zagros Mountains) as Innin. Unlike other gods and goddesses, she was assigned no task to perform of the Earth and therefore held no position in the divine pantheon or in the Assembly of the Gods.
When the gods abandoned the mountainlands and moved down to the plain of Sumer, Innin assumed tutelage of the mountain city of Aratta and declared herself its queen. While serving as its patron deity, she came into contact with Anu who had built the citadel of Der in the foothills to protect the cities of Sumer from attack by mountain men who had grown lawless after the major gods left. Inanna and Anu become infatuated with each other and it is at this point that Anu awarded the young goddess the name, Inanna, Queen of Heaven.
Ki has her greatest following among farmers, mothers and dwellers in the country. She is more likely to be worshipped by the poor than the rich. She represents the cultivated soil, rather than the primordial raw earth.
Keywords: The keywords of the cult of Ki are earth, fertility, motherhood and mystery.
Cult: Ki is set over those who practice husbandry and whose lives depend on the fertility of the earth. As she also governs the earth underfoot in its role as the gateway between the world of men and the underworld, she is also the Goddess associated with the afterlife and the mysteries of initiation.
Virtues: Generosity, industry, productivity, freeing captives, producing children, caring for the needy in the area. Followers of Ki are expected to nurture those around them just as the earth herself nurtures those who dwell upon it.
Sins: Ki abhors defilement of the earth (such as the destruction of fertile land), wasting resources, separating children from their parents, refusing food to the needy, cruel treatment of women or children and wanton destruction.
Disfavor: Survival skill checks when in pastoral regions.
Dedicated Acts: Capturing or clearing farmland; freeing the enslaved; undergoing torment or trial and emerging triumphant; defending the cultivated earth.
Favored Checks: Handle Animal skill checks, Disguise skill checks, Fortitude saving throws, Knowledge (nature) skill checks, Craft (Herbalism) skill checks, Survival skill checks, Ride skill checks, Search skill checks.
Immursag
This vain god believes himself to be superior to all the other gods of Kudurr. Unfortunately, his wars with his neighbors Zuabu and Gibil have resulted in an Immursagi defeat every five out of seven times. He especially hates the Giblut, as they continue to win battle after battle, without Engibil ever bothering to show up on the battlefield.
According to legend, Immursag defeated and enslaved the mushhushshu snake dragon. Later, when Eshnunna was conquered by Babylonia, Marduk, the chief god of Babylonia, took charge of the snake dragon and adopted it as his symbol. Mushhushshu snake dragons were one of the three animal species that later decorated the Ishtar Gate of Babylon, the other two species being lions and aurochs.
Keywords: The keywords of the cult of Immursag are strength, dominance and combat.
Cult: Nobody enters the cult of Immursag without knowing how to fight. Physical fitness, aggression and competence with weapons are valued above all else. Immursag has a bad reputation among the Kudurri gods for being quarrelsome and truculent, and this reputation passes to his followers. They take what they want and have no compunctions about pushing others around. If it were not for the priesthoods of the other Kudurri deities keeping the cult of Immursag in check, it would probably exceed its bounds and grow to dominate the others.
This troublesome cult does have a strong positive side. As Immursag is the God of War, his followers make the best fighters and at times of war, they come to the fore. They see war between nations as an opportunity to gain the favor of their grim God, who respects few dedicated acts other than those that take place on the battlefield. Immursagi cultists are jealous for glory in war, competing with each other to claim prizes and slaughter foes. The battlefields of the ancient world ring with the roars of Immursagi cultists dedicating enemy after enemy to their God, striking down one after another as the red rage howls in their veins and they feel the presence of Immursag within them urging them on. It is standard practice for an Immursag cultist engaged in mass combat to use up his Divine Points hacking his foes to pieces, then go after a major target (such as an enemy champion) as a dedicated act.
Virtues: Heroism, courage, obeying orders faithfully even if it leads to your death, taking pleasure in the good things of life, respect for the strength of others, taking what you want, refusal to tolerate insult.
Sins: Cowardice, attacking an unarmed opponent, dereliction of duty, talking too much, evasiveness, showing weakness, compromise.
Disfavor: Will saving throws to avoid fear effects.
Dedicated Acts: Besting a single powerful opponent in combat, destroying a set number of foes (such as swearing to take ten enemy chariots), capturing an enemy position, capturing a city, avenging a fallen friend, taking prizes for your home nation, acts of conquest generally.
Favored Checks: Melee or ranged attack rolls with any weapon except a bow, presence skill checks, Fortitude saving throws.
Isin
Because Isin is the goddess of Travel and Motion, she is most often worshipped by traders, athletes, foragers, nomads, and slaves who desire their freedom. Her city-state is in a constant state of disrepair as she (and thus her followers) continuously changes her mind about construction and layout. Statues of Isin are not made very often, but when they are constructed, they do not have a static human form - instead, they suggest a human in constant motion, with a blurred face.
Keywords: The keywords of the cult of Isin are motion, travel and chaos.
Cult: The members of the cult of Isin are known for their knowledge of the world around them, and often are found wandering far from their goddess' temple. Some cult members eat leaves that ramp up their bodies - to outsiders, they may seem twitchy, but the leaves grant them heightened awareness, and the ability to stay awake longer when tired.
Virtues: Action, movement, exploration, running, jogging, fighting, swimming, trading, dodging.
Sins: Laziness, sedentary lives, sloth, stagnation, using a shield, hiding from duty or work.
Disfavor: All skill checks when made at home.
Dedicated Checks: Creating new acrobatics techniques, bringing news of foreign places and civilizations.
Favored Checks: Bluff, Climb, Escape Artist, Jump, Ride, Search, Sleight of Hand, Knowledge (Exploration) skill checks.
Nug
As Nug is the great Architect and Master Craftswoman of the Gods, those who live by a craft and by building structures revere her. Nug is said to have given humans the knowledge of building so that they could build structures to shelter themselves and live longer. She is a planner as well as a laborer, depicted as being strong and short, even for a woman.
Keywords: The keywords of the cult of Nug are artifice, building and craft.
Cult: The members of the cult of Nug are also the master builders of Kudur. They are called upon both to design and to assist in the consecration of any major building, whether for civic or religious use. The high priest of Nug, based in the city state of Nugi, is always an artificer of high level and directs the stonemasons personally during the building of important structures. The followers of Nug learn secrets of construction and mathematics that enable them to dominate the construction industry. Without their help and participation, the marvels of architecture that characterize ancient Kudur can never be built.
Fortunately for the other cults, they are always willing to give assistance and see it as a sacred calling to do so. Nug is one of the oldest of the Gods and is seen by some to be the ultimate mother of the whole pantheon, the original being who created all.
Virtues: Ingenuity, dedication, service, invention, craft, ambition, secretiveness.
Sins: Laziness, carelessness, causing damage to a sacred item or structure, allowing construction secrets to be discovered, using substandard materials, failing to destroy a flawed item or construction.
Disfavor: All skill checks when made inside any worked stone building larger than a house.
Dedicated Checks: Crafting precious armor, crafting masterwork items (which may not then be sold, but only given away), creating marvelous items in service to a noble house or to the military, creating designs for temples and other marvelous structures of Large size or larger.
Favored Checks: Appraise, Forgery, Craft, Knowledge (Architecture and Engineering), Sense Motive skill checks.
Zuabu
Many stories exist about how Zuabu became the god of the city that came to bear his name; most of the Kudurrut believe that he had his followers steal the icon of the previous god of the city, and replace it with his own, symbolically “stealing” the city away from that god. It has been long enough now that no one knows if this story is true, or merely a way of explaining the thieving behavior of the Zuabut.
Needs to be filled out - Thief gods don't exist in the material I'm borrowing