What are the other south gods?

[Perch]

For a long time I thought that the twelve chinese zodiac gods were all the gods form the south pantheon but we can see at #999 there are other clerics. I wonder if they are all clerics of the twelve or there are more southern gods.

[Peelee]

For a long time I thoughtthat the twelve chinese zodiac gods were all the gods form the south pantheon but we can see at #999 there are other clerics. I wonder if they are all clerics of the twelve or there are more southern gods.

There are twelve clerics for the Southern Gods in that strip. Presumably, one high priest for each specific god.

[Perch]

I assume only the Azure looking fellow was the cleric from the twelve and the other clerics represented different southern gods.

I mean the whole twelve gods kind of act as one entity more often then separate gods.

[NerdyKris]

No, they're all representing the individual 12 gods. There's 12 of them, we haven't heard of or seen any other gods, and the individual gods would have the same problem all meeting in person to debate the question that is up for vote that the other two pantheons have.

We've only seen them act in unison once, which coincidentally is the same number of times we've seen them act separately. (Tiger interacts with Thor alone)

Until there is evidence of extra gods, the simplest explanation is that they nominated individual priests to act as their proxies at the godsmoot who may be separate from the High Priest of the Twelve Gods that we saw earlier.

[factotum]

It's entirely possible that the 12 Gods are worshipped as a single entity only in Azure City--other places in the South might worship one or other of the twelve individually. Since we never really saw anywhere in the South *other* than Azure City we can't say for sure how that all works. It's likely to be the case that the 12 clerics in the southern Godsmoot were 12 high priests of each of the 12 gods, though--why have exactly 12 clerics there otherwise?

[Keltest]

No, they're all representing the individual 12 gods. There's 12 of them, we haven't heard of or seen any other gods, and the individual gods would have the same problem all meeting in person to debate the question that is up for vote that the other two pantheons have.

We've only seen them act in unison once, which coincidentally is the same number of times we've seen them act separately. (Tiger interacts with Thor alone)

Until there is evidence of extra gods, the simplest explanation is that they nominated individual priests to act as their proxies at the godsmoot who may be separate from the High Priest of the Twelve Gods that we saw earlier.

Rat also interacts with the Dark One by himself.

[NerdyKris]

So even better, we've seen them act separately more times than we've seen them act in unison.

[Rinion]

#273 (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0273.html) states that there are only twelve gods in the Southern Pantheon.

[Perch]

Now I wonder who each high priest is the representative of...

I imagine the one in purple is the high priest of dragon since he seems to be the head of that pantheon... And it is safe to asume the rat person is the high priest of the rat god... Now about the others... Any guesses?

[martianmister]

Now I wonder who each high priest is the representative of...

I imagine the one in purple is the high priest of dragon since he seems to be the head of that pantheon... And it is safe to asume the rat person is the high priest of the rat god... Now about the others... Any guesses?

Same as this:

http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0407.html

[zimmerwald1915]

I imagine the one in purple is the high priest of dragon since he seems to be the head of that pantheon... And it is safe to asume the rat person is the high priest of the rat god... Now about the others... Any guesses?
The whole point of having a round table is that there is no obvious head of the pantheon. Purple robe guy only seems that way because he's facing the viewer head-on.

[nleseul]

The whole point of having a round table is that there is no obvious head of the pantheon. Purple robe guy only seems that way because he's facing the viewer head-on.

In #274 (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0274.html), we are told (by Shojo) that the "chief deities met in secret, hatching a plan." The illustration shows Odin, Marduk, and Dragon shaking hands. This seems to indicate that Dragon is the "chief deity" of the Southern Pantheon, whatever that means.

[zimmerwald1915]

In #274 (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0274.html), we are told (by Shojo) that the "chief deities met in secret, hatching a plan." The illustration shows Odin, Marduk, and Dragon shaking hands. This seems to indicate that Dragon is the "chief deity" of the Southern Pantheon, whatever that means.
Oh yes, I forgot Shojo was both a cleric and a reliable narrator.

[Jasdoif]

Oh yes, I forgot Shojo was both a cleric and a reliable narrator.For all we know, they take turns being a sort of executive officer for the week.

[zimmerwald1915]

For all we know, they take turns being a sort of executive officer for the week.
But all the decisions of that officer have to be ratified at a special bi-weekly meeting by a simple majority in the case of purely internal affairs, or by a two-thirds majority in the case of -

[Jasdoif]

But all the decisions of that officer have to be ratified at a special bi-weekly meeting by a simple majority in the case of purely internal affairs, or by a two-thirds majority in the case of -The really confusing part, though...is that the Eastern pantheon was sacked, and the Snarl responsible for the sacking the Eastern pantheon, was also sacked. Which obviously means that the directors of the pantheons responsible for continuing the world after the Snarl and Eastern pantheon were sacked, will wish it to be known when they get sacked.

Except we just determined the Southern pantheon has no specific director.

[Grey Watcher]

Same as this:

http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0407.html

Assuming you are correct, I find there's a weird irony in that the High Priest of Horse's outfit is based on a culture that, in our world, didn't actually have horses. My understanding is that horse-like creatures in the Americas went extinct thousands of years ago, and the horses associated with, say, the peoples of the North American plains, were actually the descendants of horses Europeans brought with them starting in the early 1500's.


The whole point of having a round table is that there is no obvious head of the pantheon. Purple robe guy only seems that way because he's facing the viewer head-on.

On the other hand, Odin is pretty explicitly identified as the head of the Northern pantheon, and Hel's whole scheme is to supplant him as such, but they stood in a circle for voting, so I don't know what the seating arrangements in the Southern Godsmoot actually tells us. (Beyond that the priests are nice enough to each other to let each other sit down.)

[Peelee]

Assuming you are correct, I find there's a weird irony in that the High Priest of Horse's outfit is based on a culture that, in our world, didn't actually have horses.

Less weird than that same base culture, again in our world, not actually having the eastern zodiac? Imean, in for a penny, in for a pound, why not.

[Grey Watcher]

Less weird than that same base culture, again in our world, not actually having the eastern zodiac? Imean, in for a penny, in for a pound, why not.

...

Touche, sir or madam. Touche.

[Lacuna Caster]

...

Touche, sir or madam. Touche.

Where's that pic of the high-priest of Horse? And how do we know the azurites don't have the zodiac?

[goodpeople25]

Oh yes, I forgot Shojo was both a cleric and a reliable narrator.
Not that I don't love the string of Monty Python that resulted for this. But while I won't deny the possibility of unreliable narrators, you need to be a cleric to recognize a chief deity of the pantheon of your own city? And if it was that egregious wouldn't the clerics and paladin say something? Anyway the post is pretty covered already by saying whatever that means by chief Deity.

[Rogar Demonblud]

Where's that pic of the high-priest of Horse? And how do we know the azurites don't have the zodiac?

http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0999.html

Assuming that the ratperson all the way to the left represents Rat, you can count around the table until you come to the Aztec-like headdress, which should be Horse (provided everyone is seated in order).

And we know the Azurites do follow the Eastern Southern zodiac, since we saw them lay the smackdown on Miko.

[Lacuna Caster]

http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0999.html

Assuming that the ratperson all the way to the left represents Rat, you can count around the table until you come to the Aztec-like headdress, which should be Horse (provided everyone is seated in order).

And we know the Azurites do follow the Eastern Southern zodiac, since we saw them lay the smackdown on Miko.
Yeah, I get that, but I was referring to Peelee's remark that the 'same base culture' didn't have the eastern zodiac. (Which I have just realised refers to the aztecs/maya/inca/something-or-something, rather than the azurites.)

I was actually wondering if the azurites themselves assigned birth-signs to people based on astrological stations for each God, or something. Thanks for the ref, anyway.

[Ruck]

http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0999.html

Assuming that the ratperson all the way to the left represents Rat, you can count around the table until you come to the Aztec-like headdress, which should be Horse (provided everyone is seated in order).

And we know the Azurites do follow the Eastern Southern zodiac, since we saw them lay the smackdown on Miko.

Huh, I just noticed the apparent High Priest of Pig is green. An orc or half-orc? Something else?

[InvisibleBison]

Assuming that the ratperson all the way to the left represents Rat

Why should we assume that? None of the other priests have any sort of species-based association with their deity.

[Lacuna Caster]

I am making far too much use of the word 'something'.

[Peelee]

Why should we assume that? None of the other priests have any sort of species-based association with their deity.

No, but if we imagine their arrangement in the Azure City sky matches the table arrangement, it lines up coincidentally. It's not an unreasonable theory.

[SirKazum]

Then again, the priest on the 4 o'clock position (which would correspond to Monkey on strip #407) wears the same clothing as the guy in the 3rd nation visited here (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0501.html) (2nd page, 3rd panel), which in SS&DT we learn corresponds to the Realm of the Dragon. Makes sense that that should be the high priest of Dragon, or is representing that deity anyway. (Because even if the Southern Pantheon may not have priests of individual gods, there would still need to be one priest standing for each deity in the Godsmoot.)

[Kish]

Why should we assume that? None of the other priests have any sort of species-based association with their deity.
I take it you mean just the Twelve Gods' priests, because the priest of Fenrir, God of Monsters (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0999.html) looks pretty monstrous to me, and the Priest of Thor is seemingly always a dwarf.

[Rogar Demonblud]

And the priests (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots1012.html) of Surtur and Thrym are giants.

[Rinion]

Oh yes, I forgot Shojo was both a cleric and a reliable narrator.

I realize I'm late to the party, but on p. 36 of Start of Darkness, Redcloak (who fits at least one of those criteria) describes Dragon as "the leader of the Southern Gods".