The gods of this pantheon...all seem rather narrow and one dimensional
>>96934089Who cares?
>>96934154*waves*Howdy doodee, nice to meet you, I'm Anonymous.
>>96934089The main Faerunian pantheon is for normalfagsAlso fuck Mystra, justice for my nigga Sammaster
>>96934089When the basis of the Divine power source comes in the form of domains it creates a major creative shackle
>>96934089Every god has several sects that interpret their god's dogma differently, often with people one alignment step away from the god.There's even things like Kossuth (a neutral god) having both good and evil sects that war against each other in order to determine who has the correct interpretation of their god's teachings.
>>96935412I like Percy Jackson's ideas to a degree. Specifically the way the underground cyclops in his arena in the maze still had powers and claimed to be Posidoen's favorite. Just because a god gives you his might, doesn't mean that you're really their favorite.
>>96934089Bane?
>>96934089Wait until you learn about Roman gods. In addition to analogues of the Greek pantheon (Jupiter = Zeus), they also featured deities like Cloacina (goddess of sewers), Agenoria (goddess of early childhood development), and Priapus (a minor fertility god but best known as the god of the phallus)
>>96934089When making a pantheon. I put suggest at least 3 aspects and domains on each god. So for example rather than just a nature, fire, and water god. The Nature god is the god of hunting, and the arts. Where the fire god is also god of cooking and crafting, and the water god is god of weather, and music. That way more than just one niche would worship said god/goddess as well as break bigger things in smaller groups so you can have mini pantheons people might worship due to their trade, location, and lifestyle. So if you have a god of music, god of arts, and god of craftsmanship. Artists might worship these more than a god of war, god of life and god of death.
>>96934089Yep. Autists turn pantheons into Pokemon.
>>96934089Tell me about Bane, why does he wear half black power logo?
>>96934089Nigger you better not talk shit about our lord and savior Ilmater or you're catching hands
>>96939083Pray to the faggot a little more so you can endure some more abuse by MY hands.
>>96934089I prefer more fleshed out pantheons
>>96935412I wanted to say that this is stupid, as in the universe when the gods can talk directly to their followers, dogma should be pretty clear due to direct communication...Then I remembered what happens according to irl religions when God comes to it's followers to clear up things.Yeah... I too would be sending them postcards through planar mail instead.
>>96941658Faerun gods have semi-direct communication. They speak through clerics, who have to cast relatively powerful spells to communicate with even a servant of the god like a celestial or fiend. Clerics are mortals though, and often interpret messages differently from each other, either just naturally or even deliberately to further their own personal agendas. Some gods are even just complete fuckwads like Lloth and give different clerics different information in order to make them fight against each other.
>>96939783Its on fag you better pray to whatever cunt you pray to cuz your ass is in for a smiting
>>96934089Forget the big main gods.Just grab the Finnish interloper goddess Mielikki, tattoo leaves and vines all over your body, and play druid. Or ranger, if you are a masochist.
>>96941658Yeah, a god could literally disavow the worshipers who misinterpret his teachings, telling them they're theologically illiterate, or some shit
>>96938368They also had personal gods, family gods, gods of particular shrines, etc.
>>96939077He's the god of tranny
>>96935412Work on your art.
>>96942373That image has been floating round /tg/ for years.
>>96938736Actually we turn any form of category into an elemental system. I only stopped imagining categories this way when I read the quote "categories are clusters in thing space".
>>96937196>>96939077He's a big god. For you.
>>96942312Happens in FR sometimes. Helm did it to a bunch of his followers who turned full retard when playing Conquistadors. Other gods probably do too but Helm's the only one I know about.
>>96945411So has the shitpost response to it, sadly.
>>96934089>Faerunian pantheonwhy did the put asmodeus as a diety, he is just a powerful fiend. Absolute bullshit as always.
>>96934089>The gods of this pantheon...all seem rather narrow and one dimensionalI've never actually seen a game or setting with a "good" thought out pantheon. Modern writers weirdly, uniquely, seem really bad at writing fantasy pantheons, as if they don't understand the assignment. It's always just this odd combination of sorting hat harry potter shit where religion is only important to actual members of an organized religion, and a lot of people are alarmingly secular. I see one Anon, rightly so, mentions: >>96938368 how Pagan religions have tons of smaller personal gods, but the example I always see people mention Rome or Greece and never Hinduism. Which I think is the better example, specifically because I think it provides an observable example of the sheer chaos, anxiety-ridden, weird, dirty, insanity, that comes with tons of people desperate for the attention of tons of gods.
>>96946499The line between a god and a demon lord/archdevil is vague at best, considering the latter can also grant their worshipers cleric spells. And in case of Asmodeus, the Pact Primeval basically recognizes him as a peer to the gods and de-facto god of the Hells.
>>96946648>, and a lot of people are alarmingly secular.Why the fuck are you alarmed by the religious beliefs of made-up people in a game of make believe?
>>96947039Because unlike in real life, most fantasy games with gods have overwhelming evidence for them and specifically evidence that benefits believers. I'd like to see fantasy fiction where magic is real but Atheism is correct (and not in a Golden Compass "God exists but he's evil and a mirror image of the devil" way, that's just Gnosticism/Misotheism). This is also the sort of setting where local cults around magical creatures and objects would pop up, especially if the abilities of such magical sources are unknown by most of the human population and mainly rumored, and worshippingsacrificing to them does not immediately confer obvious mechanical benefits that make it an obvious choice.
>>96934089Goodness every day would be a total collaboration >deliberately sell a faulty bomb to some asshole you hate but pretend to be friendly with>invoke Gond, Hoar, Ilmater, Leira, Oghma, The Red Knight, Savras, Tymora, and Waukeen >Spending time with the lady>invoke Ilmater, Loviatar, Torm
>>96946648>I've never actually seen a game or setting with a "good" thought out pantheonI'm trying.Pantheon of gods with overlapping domains, stories to show how their interrelations work, woven into human history so humans understand them and a reason to believe in them, how they should all "work" together environmentally, etc.I personally don't like convoluted and I'm sure other people don't too, but I think it seems more natural, as that twisting of roles is what creates various interpretations and sects, and most importantly the fighting, by the populations later.
>>96946648The weirdest part to me of a lot of fantasy religions is how they expect you to only worship one of the gods. Yeah, people might have specific patron deity, but you'd still observe all the major rites and festivals of all of them.
>>96947696Most D&D settings don't do that. People may have a main/patron deity, but even a cleric of a different god may still offer up a prayer to the God of Traveling before setting out on a journey, or ask for the Goddess of Luck's favor when gambling. A lot of it is just local customs and not strongly held belief, but with most people accepting the existence of all the gods, it wouldn't make sense for them to act monotheistically, so they don't. It's really not wise to petition the God of the Dead instead of the Goddess of Love before going on a date, even if the former has been your family's patron deity for generations.
>>96947800>It's really not wise to petition the God of the Dead instead of the Goddess of Love before going on a dateYeah but he's probably got laid once or twice too so he might have a few pointers
>>96937082Why would he give you his might then?
>>96947800What if it's a hot goth chick who is really into all that spooky skull stuff?
>>96934089>real world pantheons>Poseidon is the God of the Sea, but also horses and earthquakes. But not thunder or lightning, that's Zeus. He also fathered Cyclops and beefed with a Greek general.>fantasy pantheons>This is Ocean, God of the Sea. He is God of the Ocean and uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
>>96934089How many spheres of influence is too many for a god? I agree that having gods with more than one makes sense, especially if the pantheon has fewer gods in total, but how can you tell when you’ve gone too far? And how thematically connected should these spheres of influence be in your opinion? I know Apollo has like a dozen, for instance.
>>96950359Are they related? Are those aspects shared between multiple gods? Are they big spheres or minor? Who cares as long as it makes sense?
>>96948226Cause in real Greek mythology the gods are inconsistent and bullshit. He might have done it for the fucking shits if he felt like it.>>96949234I think there is a lot to learn from real life examples, but in a fantasy setting where magic is fucking real, gods can do whatever we tell them to.But you have a point, they should be much more unique and fleshed out than they normally are.
>>96934089I'm actually working on a setting where there are either four gods, one for each of the four seasons, or four pantheons of gods, with the seasonal deities on the top. Either way, I'm looking for ideas on domains that would work well for each season. Spring would work well with Renewal, Summer Fire and the Sun, etc., but what else would you suggest? Someone else suggested that I give each season an emotion(s) like Changeling does, I'd love to hear your thoughts on that.
>>96934089What are some settings/pantheons that do a better job of handling their gods then?
>>96934089Well do you want a fantasy game or a disguised anthropology lecture?I know which one my friends pick, but that's probably not representative.
>>96957262>>96957286>>96957342>>96957386>>96957419kill yourself bumpfag
>>96953849Not sure about emotion, because you can feel any type of way in any season and you probably don't want a whole season tied to grief/sadness for example. You might give each season an animal (with inter-seasonal animals? winter into spring being different than winter or spring). Like you said, spring, renewal, a lot of cultures represent renewal with snakes shedding their skin. Alternatively you could, depending on your deities, give each a flavorful seasonal festival that more accurately represents what they stand for rather than making that particular emotion a seasonal aspect.>>96959098how mad r u lol
>>96959683Like I said, someone else suggested the emotion thing, in a nod to Changeling, but I see your point. The animal idea is interesting (maybe deer for Fall, etc.), thanks! Same for the seasonal festival one! If you have any other domain suggestions for each season, please let me know! Also, forgot to ask, but does Winter getting Death seem to obvious?
>>96959807>Also, forgot to ask, but does Winter getting Death seem to obvious?I think yes, but not without reason because on a surface level, things are cold and dead.However what you many ignore is that the opposite is true. You see the will to survive.Due to scarcity in food sources, you see animals hibernate. Cultures that do have winter have also (hopefully) prepared, stockpiling resources as well. You could spin it from death to preservation (survival instead of death), through planning/foresight and endurance. Hibernation is actually the animal conserving energy, so with that in mind, you see humans do the same type of planning in terms of rationing supplies, sticking together, etc. Kind of perseverance in spite of the cold clutches of death.I don't want to throw too much out because I'm working on my own business but I don't think that mirrors mine so ya know, something to think about.
>>96959863Wow, almost missed this, lol. Thanks for the suggestion, I'll take what I can get! Someone else suggested Time for Winter, which ties into your suggestion, but I was thinking that Time would be outside of the domains of any one season, or maybe it cycles between them.
>>96960604I'd try and take inspiration from critters (outside of the "representative" creature you tie to the deity) and what they 'do' in each season to suggest what the season is about. Fauna and flora, I guess. Even if you make up reasons like instead of the Sun providing nourishment for plants, say plants reach towards the Sun.
>>96934089That's because this pantheon solely exists to give bonuses or something for you to have sex with.
>>96934089What are some spheres of divine influence not on here that you like to use, like Chaos for me? And what are your thoughts on finding connections for gods with multiple spheres that make sense together, like the Seas, Sailors, and Trade?
>>96946648Glorantha. Each god has a role and mythology explaining that role. Major gods tend to have really wide domains, while there are dozens of godlings with very specific roles or only local cults.
>>96962569>like to use, like Chaos for me?I don't particularly like Chaos in that I'm not the type to want chaos, unless praying to the Chaos god makes him not mess with or ignore me, preventing discord. I'd prefer to see chaos be when you fall out of favor with the god of Law/Order, or chaos emerging when the Law god is weak or on vacation or something. But in a lot of cosmologies where chaos is an element, it would make sense that a god is manifested out of it.>spheres that make sense together, like the Seas, Sailors, and Trade?Well yeah they make sense. I think a few things should be shared, though. Just like there are sea trade routes, there are land trade routes and your vehicle is a stinky camel or you know you've got a cart to haul your shit. So you'd probably see another god focused more on merchants and travel in that regards, where you'd entwine sailors with sea, wind, trade (or instead of trade, pillaging shit).
>>96934089I had the idea for a pantheon based around the 22 major arcana in a tarot deck. I feel like it's kinda cliché but I also dig it. Don't really know how to flesh it out though. Like I want the 22 to be the big capital G Gods, but have absolutely no idea what to do beyond that. Like what does a The Tower or The Hanged Man God look like? Should the cards be spheres? I dunno.
>>96967591Don't all the major arcana already have consistent interpretations of their meaning?
>>96967615They do. Both normal and reversed cards have a meaning. Which only further complicates things. Maybe I should just go back to my original idea of the tarots being represented as thrones of divinity and the interpretation of that throne depends on the individual that ascends the throne.
>>96967640I should take this to the world building thread. I really need some human feedback on this. I simply can't stand the robot sycophant in my pocket that tells me all my ideas are Gods gift to mankind.>22 arcana pantheon>each card a throne of divinity >representation of card based on individual>individual must have a spark of divinity to ascend, can be found or born with itLike conceptually it seems fine but I don't know.
>>96967640>They do. Both normal and reversed cards have a meaning. Which only further complicates thingsSo what's the problem? The manifestation of the card as a god is what they have providence over and the reverse is when you fall out of favor with the,Or if you don't want to make 22 deities and have exhaustively cover all encompassing domains, maybe take the human figures (Fool, Magician, Hermit, Empress, etc) and combine/connect them to each of the other cards, each sharing 2-3 of the other pieces of arcana (Tower, Death, Chariot).
>>96967640>Maybe I should just go back to my original idea of the tarots being represented as thrones of divinity and the interpretation of that throne depends on the individual that ascends the throne.That's an idea. Oh, maybe the reversed forms of the cards take the form of archdevils or something? As for the more non-physical cards like the Tower, maybe they simply use it as a symbol rather than actually taking on the form of it?
>>96935412Sure. And this works, as long as the sect's behavior is not so far-removed from said deities that they wouldn't play ball anymore. When you pray for your spells and they don't come, the game is over. This is why being a member of a deity's faith typically requires you to stay within one step of their alignment; anything further would probably not be enough like their ideals.
>>96934154>Helm>symbol is a gauntlet
>>96968766Huh. Didn’t catch that.
