Representatives of Pantheons

[rjcurrie]

I was toying with an idea that I might use somewhere but I don't know yet.

 

The basic idea is this, various pantheons of mythological gods send a group of representatives (or at least that's their story and they're sticking to it) to Earth for some reason. What pantheons would you include and which god would you use to represent that pantheon? Considerations should include the mix of personalities and powers and the fact these characters are likely to come into conflict with superheroes. So, in some ways, it's basically a "villain" team consisting of gods (probably no more than one per pantheon) but remember that they are likely presenting a diplomatic face at first.

 

Thoughts?

[Hermit]

Re: Representatives of Pantheons

 

Well, I think the most famous pantheons might be best for player recognition, so Greek, Norse, and Egyptian should be up there. As for which representatives, if they are diplomatic (at least at first) you might try ones that are known for people skills. For the Greeks, I'd recommend Aphrodite. With her beauty and charms, she could be very dangerous indeed when it comes to garnering influence.

["V"]

Re: Representatives of Pantheons

 

Norse definitely needs to be in there - it's accessible to most players as being a nice series of recognisable fantasy tales rather than some of the more abstract, trippy and surreal pantheons of some other cultures (mentioning no names you Mabinogion type scamps). Odin or Loki would be the best diplomats, but don't make the mistake of making Loki a pantomime villain. Part of his threat was that he was incredibly compelling, persuasive and able to charm almost anyone. You can't do that while you're twirling a moustache and cackling. On the other hand, Odin was far more devious, underhanded and nasty than Marvel paints him - he was a warrior god yes, but he was a consummate disguise artist and trickster.

 

Other fun pantheons include the Egyptian ("Don't mind Sebek, he just has a thing for raw meat, but he likes you. He must like you, he's smiling"), the Romano-Greek Classical deities (for added fun, treat them as separate and have Mercury AND Hermes turn up and glare at each other bitchily for wearing the same outfit), and the Judaeo-Christian pantheon, though you only really have three to choose from. Or one, or something. It's a bit tricky ("You served me seafood! I will smite you and your offspring! Actually, no I won't, I'll forgive you instead. Actually not only will I forgive you, I'll make you babble incomprehensibly."). And there are some interesting voudoun deities you can use too - Legba is a great diplomat, though about as trustworthy as any deity.

 

Interesting idea, I hope you'll let us know what you go with.

[GoldenAge]

Re: Representatives of Pantheons

 

Mesopotamian Mythology:

 

Marduk

Son of Ea and Damkina, the wisest of the gods and eventually their ruler. Counterpart of the Sumerian Anu and Enlil.

 

Chinese Mythology:

 

GUAN-YU

A DAOist God of War and Martial Arts. Also well thought of by Buddhists.

 

As told in Romance Of The Three Kingdoms, he started life as a mortal vendor of soya bean curd. But after a heroic incident involving the rescue of a harrassed lady and the killing of a tax inspector, he got the taste for battle and embarked on a famous military career with LIU-BEI and ZHANG-FEI, becoming one of the Three Brothers of the Peach Orchard.

 

Unusually for a God of War, he uses his skill to avoid confrontations if at all possible. A peace-loving deity, he tries to minimize every battle he's in. But his bravery is legendary.

[Shadowsoul]

Re: Representatives of Pantheons

 

The Egyptian's would be in there. Isis the enchantress might make a good diplomat as would Thoth God of the moon, drawing, writing, geometry, wisdom, medicine, music, astronomy and magic.

 

Imhotep, a god of magic, wisdom and healing might also be pretty good. Particularly if the more important Gods weren't prepared to get their hands dirty.

 

I'm not sure if he counts as a God but Anansi would be a very tricksy representative of certain African tribal deities.

 

The Celtic Gods would probably send Lugh an ancient king and hero. Also apparently a smith, a champion, a swordsman, a harpist, a hero, a poet historian, a sorcerer, and a craftsman. Have fun statting that up.

 

And don't forget the old Sumerian deities. Enlil was the one who actually tends to get things done apparently. A god of wind and air and the power behind the celestial throne apparently. Although Inanna the flagrant Goddess of lust, fertility and war would be quite an amusing character.

 

(I knew some of that already but I'll admit that I had to refresh my memory with Wikipedia).

 

Personally I'd probably go for Anansi or Imhotep.

[Alverant]

Re: Representatives of Pantheons

 

I have a book by Michael Jordon called Encyclopedia of Gods and opened it to the J's.

 

Jabru: Sky god. Elamite [iran]. Local deity largely eclipsed by An.

Jagaubis: Fire god. Pre-Christian Lithuanian. Local deity largely eclipsed by Gabija.

 

I would imagine these two have inferiority complexes from being eclipsed. I also like

 

Jakomba: God of morality. Bangala [Zaire, central Africa]. Also known as the god of hearts, he controls human though. Also Nzakomba. (not listed in this book)

 

What's cool about the book is that they index both by civilization and by subject so if you need a god of calenders, you're covered (Mama-Kilya, also a moon goddess).

 

I'd first determine what the god's agenda is and pick representatives that will sort-of fit what they want (they can't be too obvious, gods work in mysterious ways). For example if their agenda included veterans, they would send Na Ngutu, African god of the dead and guardian deity of warriors slain in battle. (I'm still flipping around in the book.)

 

Also I'd through in an invisible or shape-shifter god who's humble enough to be treated as a "pet" of the other gods.

 

Overall I would include a mix of known and obscure gods for recognition and give the scholars on the team a chance to justify all those points spent in skills meant to flesh out the character.

[OddHat]

Re: Representatives of Pantheons

 

My Young Titans group contains one representative each from eight pantheons. I think they'd make a pretty good villain team, powered up appropriately for the campaign.

 

If you read the framing story, and the spoilered extra info on Junior Miss Olympia, you'll see that there's a built in villain option.

 

As to who else I'd use, I might go Proto-Indo European, as I did with the Five. There's a good argument to be made that many of the same myths and stories turned up as gods in multiple cultures across Europe and Asia (Hercules shows up everyplace from Greece to Japan; almost everyone thought he sounded like a good idea). It could be fun to trace each myth back as far as you can and then introduce the character as the "real" being that inspired the myths.

[Enforcer84]

Re: Representatives of Pantheons

 

My Young Titans group contains one representative each from nine pantheons. I think they'd make a pretty good villain team, powered up appropriately for the campaign.

 

If you read the framing story, and the spoilered extra info on Junior Miss Olympia, you'll see that there's a built in villain option.

 

As to who else I'd use, I might go Proto-Indo European, as I did with the Five. There's a good argument to be made that many of the same myths and stories turned up as gods in multiple cultures across Europe and Asia (Hercules shows up everyplace from Greece to Japan; almost everyone thought he sounded like a good idea). It could be fun to trace each myth back as far as you can and then introduce the character as the "real" being that inspired the myths.

He's right you know. Thems some nice characters.

[gojira]

Re: Representatives of Pantheons

 

Then there's Nama/Viperia....