Gods: How do you handle them?

[mayapuppies]

Hello all,

 

The Priestly Domains thread has got me thinking and wondering how others handle the deities in their game worlds.

 

In my game world, Kamarathin, I've established 35 gods that exist. There are no other gods, however, many of the cultures worship the deities or even "combinations" of the deities under different names.

 

As it stands (the game world is in the very early stages of developemnt), I don't have a creation myth and am leaning towards a once hi-tech civilization that crumbled and everyone is digging out from the ruins. The gods had been slumbering during the hi-tech age and came back with the re-discovery of magic after the fall.

 

What I have thus far can be found here

 

So, how are the gods setup in your game world?

[Izzy]

Re: Gods: How do you handle them?

 

HiYa mayapuppies,

 

I have 10 Gods and Goddesses in my Gods of Light and Order pantheon and 6 Gods and Goddesses in my Gods of Darkness and Chaos pantheon. I also have who is the blood and lifeforce of my world of Killarim.

 

 

 

I have a very simplistic creation timeline and and semms to be a mix of Egyptiam, Greek/Rome and Norse Mythology.

 

 

I like your idea of slumbering gods, that is so cool.

[Killer Shrike]

Re: Gods: How do you handle them?

 

In my current setting there are no true gods, just powerful entities from others plans of existence who are worshiped by some as gods. They feed on spiritual energy, and seek worshipers to increase their strength, and to act as pawns in their struggles against other similar entities in a vast pandimensional struggle that has existed for an eternity.

 

The basic details are listed here:

 

http://www.killershrike.com/SanDora/SanDoraCosmology.htm

[Dr. Anomaly]

Re: Gods: How do you handle them?

 

In Dolwr, I wanted the gods to have a daily impact on people's lives, but I don't mean the gods should be walking down the street and bumping into people on their way to market. What I mean is that for every aspect of life, fair or foul, minor or major, there should be a diety that is responsible for it. I realized this would mean a proliferation of dieties, but that was fine with me. I'm still adding to the pantheon, though the pace has slowed considerably as I think I've got most of the needed ones covered.

 

For example: though I have explictitly named a diety of leatherworkers, carpenters, and so on, most professions do not yet have a named diety of their craft. Tailors as of yet have no specific diety named for their craft, so for now I'm just considering tailoring as being under the umbrella of one of the more generalized "craft" gods. When I get an inspiration, or when it comes up in game, I'll add one.

 

Temples are common and, depending on the size of the city, may form a sizable chunk of the local "industry". Generally there is a 'temple district' in any decent-sized city, and it will have temples to the dieties that are important enough to the people of that area to be worshipped individually, with the size of the temple depending on how imporant that particular diety is. There will also be a parthenon-type Great Temple, which comtains a few dozen much smaller temples that range from actual small temples (with maybe 1 priest and a couple of acolytes) to wall-niche shrines and offering places ('serviced' by a traveling cleric of that faith once a month or so). It's sort of like a shopping mall of religion and dieties.

 

Smaller towns generally only have one or two temples to the most important of the local gods. Since smaller towns are generally agricultural, typically one temple will be to an agricultural or harvest god, and the other 'major' temple will be to the local patron diety who's regarded as watching over the town.

 

There are also small shrines scattered here and there throughout the land, often in very isolated spots. In most cases no one knows anymore why a shrine to a particular diety was built on a particular spot out in the middle of nowhere. The dieties themselves are said to dwell in a beautiful city at the bottom of a crystal-clear lake of icy water that fills a hollow mountain....think of an old volcanic cone filled with an extremely deep lake...like Crater Lake. Most dieties have homes elsewhere, though, that are their primary dwellings.

 

The land of Dolwr is divided up into what are called The Five Kingdoms, though only one of the five 'countries' is in fact a kingdom. The general climate and mindset of the people have a great deal of influence. Going roughly north to south we have:

 

Merpoia -- the southern half is forested, mainly with evergreens. The northern part of Meropia merges as some undefined point into the Forever Snows, a perpetually frozen wasteland wherein dwells Frestwith, the Queen of Winter. The people of Meropia are rather Scandinavian in general culture, somewhat dour, and not that trusting of outsiders. They regard themselves with much justice as the first line of defense between Frestwith and the rest of the lands to the south. Every year Frestwith marches south with her forces in an attempt to overthrow Morodan, the King of Summer, and the Meropians are the first to bear the brunt of her attacks. Each year as winter is approaching, the Meropians hold what is called the Harrowith...an attempt to root out and destroy the advance agents and spies of Frestwith. There are a number of signs that supposedly show a person or animal's association with Frestwith, but it's anyone's guess as to how many innocents have been killed over the years in this yearly "witch hunt". The Meropians that live on the coast (particularly on the east cost) do often engage in raids against coastal cities further to the south.

 

Kalimshan - the smallest of the Five Kingdoms, it is shaped like a narrow triangle sandwiched between the ocean to the west, Meropia to the north, and Dunuth-Din to the south. Kalimshan is heavily forested, mostly with huge old trees that are centuries old. Kalimshan is a strangely divided realm in attitude. The vast majority of the native Kalimshanners are on the road with a trade caravan at any given time, and may not see 'home' for twenty years or more. Not all trade caravans are Kalimshanner, but such a large percentage of them are it's become somewhat cliche. The rest of the population -- those that stay at home -- live in many small, isolated villages carved out of the deep woods, and they are connected by a sparse network of narrow roads. They are deeply suspicious of outsiders, and while not actively hostile, would really like you best if you just bought a few supplies and moved on. Those that stay at home are very insular in attitude, while those that work the caravans tend to be very outgoing.

 

It is said to be unwise indeed to stray from the roads in Kalimshan, as the great forest is said to be inhabited by and protected by elves. (Dolwri elves are not like D&D elves, but much more like the most arrogant and haughty of the Tolkienesque elves.) Very few people, even Kalimshanners, have ever seen an elf with their own eyes.

 

Dunuth-Din - A mountainous region stretched roughly east-west from coast to coast, Dunuth-Din is home to numerous small towns, most of which are concerned in some fashion with mining, and a fair number with smithcraft or metalworking of various kinds. The works turned out by Dunuth-Din smiths are regarded with much justification as among the best in the world. The mountains are also said to be home to cities of dwarves, and though an uncommon sight, dwarves are occassionally seen in the human cities of Dunuth-Din. They, too, are excellent metalworkers, though generally not in competition with human smiths as very few dwarven items ever make their way into the human economy. An insular though not hostile or suspicious people, the dwarves generally like to keep to themselves. Giants and dragons are also said to dwell in the mountains of Dunuth-Din, though most people regard this as little more than scary stories told to children.

 

Notable among the mountains of this area is Cadre Anam, said to be the mountain whereupon Azuth-Anam created the race of Men.

 

Eclidan - another roughly triangluar nation like Kalimshan but much larger and more rounded, Eclidan is bounded by the ocean on the east, Dunuth-Din on the north and Breccia on the south. Eclidan is the 2nd largest of the Five Kingdoms (after Meropia) but whereas Meropia is sparsely populated, Eclidan has the largest population of all the Five Kingdoms (as well as being the only true kingdom of the lot). It is largely agricultural though in its great cities are to be found the most advanced universities anywhere in Dolwr. Eclidan is the most civilized and advanced of the Five Kingdoms. Some say it is also the most boring. It has some resemblance to the Rennaisance.

 

Breccia - Breccia occupies the southern coast, bounded by Eclidan on the northeast and Dunuth-Din on the northwest and west. Much of Breccia is desert, especially the northwestern part, called the High Desert. Breccia also has a very sharply divided populace -- along the southern coast are great trading and port cities that have a decidedly Arabian Nights flavor. The inhabitants of those cities are very cosmopolitan with a "been there, done that" attitude. It is not unusual to see dwarves or members of other, lesser-known intelligent races on the city streets. Breccia is also one of the most egalitarian cultures, treating you equally well regardless of your race or gender, so long as you don't make trouble and your gold spends. These cities are the gateway for trade with the Isles of the Sun to the south of the main landmass.

 

The other culture of Breccia is that of the desert nomads that occupy the deserts that make up over 80% of Breccia. Little is known about them by outsiders, though they are rumored to be hostile and intolerant. Their language bears no resemblance to any other language in Dolwr, and that is in and of itself a mystery. Some Kalimshanner caravan masters evidently know how to deal with them, though, because they can traverse those areas without being attacked, and often come out with exquisite pottery done in elaborate arabesques and abstract designs in gorgeous colors. Some enameled metalwork (typically copper jewelry) has also come out of the deep desert with these trade caravans.

 

(What almost no one knows and those few caravan masters aren't telling is that these works of art are not coming from the nomads, but from a civilization of minotaurs that dwell in three cities built on the edges of a large, triangluar valley oasis. These minotaurs are among the most scholarly and advanced peoples of Dolwr, though they remain almost unknown to the rest of the civilizations, which is just how they want it. In the ancient past they were slaves to a human culture that lived in those three cities, but the minotaurs eventually managed to overthrow their masters and drive them out into the desert. The minotaurs took possession of the cities and built their own advanced, enlightened civilization, though they will not risk becoming slaves again. The desert nomads are the descendants of the humans who used to hold the minotaurs as slaves, and the 'unrelated' language they speak is actually the native language of the minotaurs -- the once-masters now speak the language of the former slaves.)

 

The Islands of the Sun - To the south of the main landmass lie the Islands of the Sun, so called because it is said that Mikhara, God of the Sun, dwells somewhere in them. The Islands of the Sun are a source of sugar, exotic fruits and nuts, strange animals and expensive spices, and pirates and political intrigue. Coalitions and alliances form and fall apart almost on a daily basis. The politics resemble the worst Italian history ever had to offer, and many of the port cities make Port Royal at its heigh look tame by comparison. Slavery is common (especially on the plantations) and if you're willing to pay the fine, nothing is illegal. You can be sure that you'll get the finest justice your money can buy, and many judges have taken to posting their prices outside their offices to expidite things.

 

 

As you can see, there's quite a varied number of cultures here, and that has a huge influence on the gods worshipped in those areas.

 

Hmmm...I seem to have wandered rather far afield from the subject of "Gods, and the handling thereof. " My apologies.

[Izzy]

Re: Gods: How do you handle them?

 

Dr. Anomaly

Hmmm...I seem to have wandered rather far afield from the subject of "Gods, and the handling thereof. " My apologies.

 

Maybe you did wander from the subject of "gods" but I enjoyed reading it.

[Dr. Anomaly]

Re: Gods: How do you handle them?

 

Maybe you did wander from the subject of "gods" but I enjoyed reading it.

Thanks, Izzy!

[Izzy]

Re: Gods: How do you handle them?

 

To give you and idea how I am handling gods here is the outline of Gods timeline. Is it pretty simple right now.

 

--Timir and Nechara were born from Chaos and Order, she is the mother.

--Feyfal comes into existence, born of Chaos and the Spells of Nechara and Timir.

--Feyfal bonds with Timir and marries him before Chaos and Order, which is the Balance and the Balance is the mother. Nechara is the one and only witness.

-- The universe is spun out of the Balance and given form by the Nechara, Timir, and Feyfal. Using the Chaos as the energy and Order to give the universe form. Imbuing the planets, stars, plants and animals with the energies of Chaos and Order.

--Simlafar the first Child of Timir and Feyfal is born.

-- Justicar the second Child of Timir and Feyfal is born.

--Tiathafal the third child of Timir and Feyfal is born.

--Kashmir forms herself out of Nothingness and is the first god/Goddess to have been self-created since Timir and Nechara. This stuns everyone as no one thought it was possible for this to happen, especially Timir, Nechara and Feyfal. Since the proof is before their eyes they must believe and welcome Kashmir to the Growing Pantheon of Gods and Goddesses.

--Seylar the fourth child of Timir and Feyfal is born.

--Nechara courts Simlafar without her parent’s permission. They finally find out about the liaison and give their permission for the courting to continue.

--Wrathcar the fifth child of Timir and Feyfal is born.

--Raith the sixth child of Timir and Feyfal is born.

--Nechara and Simlafar petition Timir and Feyfal to marry and it is granted. There is a giant party.

--Darkfar the first child of Nechara and Simlafar is born.

--Raffelli the seventh and last child of Timir and Simlafar is born.

--Neratol the second child of Nechara and Simlafar is born.

--Nechara and Simlafar ask to create their own plane to raise their brood of children and permission is granted.

--Feratol the third child of Nechara and Simlafar is born.

--Plagra the fourth and last child of Nechara and Simlafar is born.

 

Here is the first hundred years of world timeline, scheduled to be 15,000 years long I have only written the first 1900 years.

 

Word Count = 7510

 

The First Age Begins

1-The Gods and Goddesses were lonely and created the God Listeners as the first and eldest race, investing the blood of the gods in them when they are created. They are the only race that has this genetic connection to the gods and they consider it as a blessing and a curse. At first it is to serve them and then for them to be one with the gods.

15-Timir and Nechara have a huge argument about freewill of the God Listeners. Nechara says they are to serve and the only will they should have is what their god commands. Timir disagrees with Nechara, he says everyone; Gods, animals and races should have the Free Will to do, as they want. The other gods side with their respective parents.

30-Raith and Darkfar meet and fall into love. A child called Firock is born to them. Simlafar hates him and casts him out to Killarim for being an Abomination. Rescued by his mother she brought him to the Realm of Light. Firock is the only god born after the creation of the Universe.

100-The Gods and Goddesses of the Pantheon create alternate races according to their will, ideas and needs. Every God or Goddess have a view on what their ideal race is. For Firock it is the Dwarves, Tiathafal creates the Elves and for the others it is the short-lived humans.

[mayapuppies]

Re: Gods: How do you handle them?

 

I am constantly amazed at the level of detail that has been portrayed in these works. I've definitely got my work cut out for me if I am to post comparative works.

[Izzy]

Re: Gods: How do you handle them?

 

mayapuppies

I am constantly amazed at the level of detail that has been portrayed in these works. I've definitely got my work cut out for me if I am to post comparative works.

 

Thanks. I have to say yours gave me quite a bit to think about. I love the faith level , diety rank and active point value concept.

[mayapuppies]

Re: Gods: How do you handle them?

 

The Faith Level/Active Point stuff is actually not mine to claim. Fritz done came up wit da idea, I merely performed the greatest form of flattery. I have a link to his site on that page as well.

[Dr. Anomaly]

Re: Gods: How do you handle them?

 

What I have thus far can be found here

 

So, how are the gods setup in your game world?

By the way, mayapuppies, what you have "thus far" is quite impressive! I meant to comment on that earlier, and got distracted until now. I may snitch a few bits here and there to round out a few bits of my mythology.

 

It also makes me wish I had the time to transfer my in-head stuff to writing so I could put it up on a web page to share. (sigh) Well, maybe soon. (Crossing fingers.)

[mayapuppies]

Re: Gods: How do you handle them?

 

Gracias, but if went to the main page, you'd see how little I actually have up.

 

Feel free to snip all you want. I'm always happy to have something of mine contribute to the community.

[tkdguy]

Re: Gods: How do you handle them?

 

I don't like it when those pesky gods start meddling in my world. That's why I don't let them in. In my campaign, the main religion of the continent was the Universal Church, which paid homage to a mysterious entity called The Source. It is loosely based on the Christianity, with some Eastern thought. There is a heaven of sorts, but there's no concept of hell or demons. People are reincarnated until they achieve enlightenment. The heirarchy is similar to the Catholic Church, except that the Pope is called the Paragon in this world. The Church is generally more tolerant than the medieval Church was in our world.

 

The religion has been around for almost 1800 years. There have been a few heresies (very rare), and a few offshoots, such as the different Reformist movements that have sprung up within the last two centuries.

 

The priesthood itself is usually very scholarly, and often athletic. Many are skilled martial artists. They are allowed to fight in self defense or in the defense of others, but they are strictly forbidden to kill. One of the player characters was a defrocked priest. He lost his status because he fought a guardsman who was beating a peasant and accidentally killed him.

 

Keep in mind that magic does not exist in my campaign. There is no absolute proof that The Source exists; it is simply a matter of faith.

[Outsider]

Re: Gods: How do you handle them?

 

In my campaign world, there are two kinds of gods, and two kinds of divine power.

 

The kind the players know about is the one that exists because of, and derives power from the worship of sentient beings. The more worshippers, the longer they've been worshipping, and the greater their fervor, the more powerful the deity is/becomes. The nature of a deity is determined by the conception of it in the minds of its worshippers, past and present. If the worshipper's conception of the god changes, his nature will change also, more or less slowly, depending on how much "conceptual inertia" is involved from previously gained power. If a god's cult dwindles sufficiently in numbers or fervor, the god will begin to fade. The more powerful it is, the longer the fading will take. Depending on their nature, fading gods will or will not accept the fading gracefully. The may make a desperate bid for worshippers -any worshippers- at all to preserve their existence, even theough they know that the wrong kind of worshippers can twist them into something they may not want to become... Others might try to cut a deal with an existing god that has a strong cult, exchanging service for an allowance of the worship power sufficient to stave off the fading. Others to simply accept oblivion. Yet others have been known to go insane, and seek vengance against all sentient beings for abandoning them. (Some of the most powerful demons are thought to have been evil gods of the distant past that are now hungry and desperate for worship and sacrifices.)

 

The other kind I wont talk about here, since one of my players reads these boards

[PhilFleischmann]

Re: Gods: How do you handle them?

 

I keep my gods, religions, and myths fairly vague. Players shouldn't necessarily have complete knowledge of the gods or the story of creation, even about their own specific god. "I was raised to worship Socom, but I don't know anything about her." From ancient history to the modern world, very few people were experts on theology or religion.

 

Yes, I have a fairly complex pantheon of gods, 54 so far. Every once in a while I think of a "portfolio" that ought to have a god that I haven't created yet, so I'll add another one. I haven't done this in a while. The last god I added was Tislocra, goddess of disease and plague. (I'm still a little short on the evil gods, perhaps.) I also allow room for an indefinite number of demigods - children of a god and a mortal, who each become deities of some sub-aspect of their divine parent's portfolio. This is especially true for the "material" gods - the gods of nature and other physical phenomena. Nool, for example, is the goddess of the moon. She may have several demigod children who are gods of the crescent moon, the gibbous moon, the full moon, eclipses, the red harvest moon, etc. Likewise Cardile, god of nature may have several offspring who are demigods of various individual species of animals or plants.

 

I do not stat out all my gods, or even define all the aspects of their religions. Well-defined gods and fully-codified religions seem to me like oxymorons. If a player has a need to know some detail about a god, I usually make it up on the spot, if I don't know it already, or I let the player himself choose how he wishes to practice his religion.

 

I post more details later.

[mayapuppies]

Re: Gods: How do you handle them?

 

Here is the extent of how I generally write-up the gods. This is from one of the first incarnations of Kamarathin before it was scrapped.

 

The last section is written from the perspective of a priest within this church.

[Izzy]

Re: Gods: How do you handle them?

 

Wow mayapuppies, that is cool.

 

I have never taken my gods to that level of detail. Something I nedd to think about .

[mayapuppies]

Re: Gods: How do you handle them?

 

Wow. Thanks.

[Trencher]

Re: Gods: How do you handle them?

 

In my (nameless) campaign I have only two gods that are both so alien and distant to humanity that they could more accurately be described as vague principles rather than deities. However they do grant spells and therefore they have worshipers although not all worshipers of any given god agree on how their god is best served. Off course there are also avatars worshipers so powerful (superhero level) that they are saint like figures. Most avatars do not get along however.

I wish to keep the gods, avatars and religion in general in the background, not only because I my self is not very interested in religion but also because I want the gods to mysterious and the best way to keep them so is by not involving them.

[Dr. Anomaly]

Re: Gods: How do you handle them?

 

Here is the extent of how I generally write-up the gods. This is from one of the first incarnations of Kamarathin before it was scrapped.

Very nicely done! Very nice indeed!

[mayapuppies]

Re: Gods: How do you handle them?

 

Gracias

[Dr. Anomaly]

Re: Gods: How do you handle them?

 

de nada.

[johnflang]

Re: Gods: How do you handle them?

 

In my campaigns I do one of 2 things use existing gods from mytholgy (Greek, Egyptian etc..) or gods from other campaigns (Forgotten Realms, Greyhawk). I have played in a couple of campaigns where gods were created by Gm or based on previous PC in the campaign. Basically it comes down too how much work you want to do in building that part of your campaign.

[Brilliant Helm]

Re: Gods: How do you handle them?

 

Hello all,

 

The Priestly Domains thread has got me thinking and wondering how others handle the deities in their game worlds.

 

In my game world, Kamarathin, I've established 35 gods that exist. There are no other gods, however, many of the cultures worship the deities or even "combinations" of the deities under different names.

 

As it stands (the game world is in the very early stages of developemnt), I don't have a creation myth and am leaning towards a once hi-tech civilization that crumbled and everyone is digging out from the ruins. The gods had been slumbering during the hi-tech age and came back with the re-discovery of magic after the fall.

 

What I have thus far can be found here

 

So, how are the gods setup in your game world?

 

I have one true deity, and a bunch of saint and anti-saints. The saints and anti-saints are simply extremely powerful beings - like angels and demons. The saints and anti-saints are in constant battle for dominance.

 

Each saint and anti-saint has reverants, or faithful who revere the saint - and pay homage to him or her. The saints reverants, only revere the saints; but the anti-saints reverants actually (falsely) worship the anti-saint.

 

The one true deity (Ya) has saints who worship him, the anti-saints serve an extremely powerful anti-Saint (Sur) who rules them all. Saints have religious orders which are composed of reverants who devote themselves to the partuclar spirituality of their saint founder. The anti-saints also have cabals which worship them.

 

Otherwise, the setup is similar to any roleplaying pantheon, with the higher powers vying to spread their particular brand of faith over the world - but one side (the saints) have got it right. The anti-saints only satisfy their own egos.