Introducing a Fantastic Religion to the Players

[BRC]

Inaccurate. That is not because several gods exist that everyone has a relationship to them, let alone all the time.

The mountain guide is likely to have a relationship with the god(s) of mountain, snow/weather, wilderness and the like, but they likely will only have a relationship with the god(s) of the forge if they are in need for metal-working-related things, little to no relationship with the god(s) of the sea, and no relationship to the god of a specific forest on the other side of the country.

I think we're bumping into a difference between "Worshipping" and "Having a relationship to"

IIRC, in most pantheistic societies, most people worship the pantheon as a whole, dealing with individual deities as needed. If you're a farmer, you mostly offer sacrifice and prayer to whatever deity covers farming and harvest. If your local region has a patron deity, you probably worship them as well. If your child is conscripted and sent off to war, you find your way to the nearest temple to the War God and offer a sacrifice in the hopes that the War God will protect your child and bring them home.

90% of this farmer's religious involvement is centered on the Harvest God, because that's the one most relevant to their life. But they have a relationship with the whole pantheon, offering worship as needed/appropriate. Relationship meaning that they acknowledge that the deity in question is real, is worthy of respect, and has dominion over certain things. Even if you never intend to set foot on a boat in your life, you're probably going to be reluctant to blaspheme against the Ocean God.

Of course, this is a Fantasy Religion, if you want the system to be that everybody worships One Specific Deity in the pantheon to the exclusion of all others, you can do that just fine.


As far as giving people proper context for your deities, it's usually just a matter of giving each one a snappy elevator pitch, just like any other aspect of setting lore.

"Sava is the Goddess of THE SUN and WARFARE.
Her Virtues are Courage, Honesty, and Physical Achievement.
She hates Trickery, The Undead, and Arcane Magic. "

When making your fantasy pantheon, try not to overload the Players with too many gods. Not every aspect of the world or society needs a deity that covers it, and smaller local religions can be introduced as needed. You don't need to re-create anything in the scale of the Greek or Norse pantheons.