How do the gods affect your world? [Archive] - Wizards Community

How do the gods affect your world? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Radijs
07-03-07, 06:21 AM I ask this mainly out of curiosity.

In the world, or rather worlds that I've created the gods tend to have a very direct influence on the world.
At the onset of a great battle The Morrigan will almost certainly walk the earth as an old crone to make sure that the battle will take place.

The gods are essentiall human. Sure they have a lot of power and probably several senses more then humans but when you look at their personalities they can be explained (easily) by humans. In this sense the gods are even simpler then some humans that the agenda of a single god is in general very clear.
[i]There are even a few advanced thinkers that have said (shortly before being hit by a bolt of lightning or a flaming rock from the sky) that the gods didn't create the mortal races but that its the other way around. And the diffrent races created the gods.

But as the gods have such an active presence they have a big impact on the general way the humies think. And this has stopped science dead in its tracks. People don't wonder what causes thunderstorms, earthquakes or anything else for that matter.
Thunder is probably Moradin working his divine forge or Flatulus god of winds having another quarrel with some other god.

How do the gods on your world influence things?
GoriceXII
07-03-07, 06:45 AM In my game the gods seem to have dwindling power or interest. Some have become quite obscure. Certainly legends say that the gods once lived very much on the earth but now do not, though they may walk it in disguise from time to time.

However very personal or local gods sometimes have a great impact upon worshippers. For instance in one of the cities in my homebrew campaign the goddess Ishtar has been known to appear in her temple (usually by inhabiting one of her statues) or to appear in disguised form only to reveal herself to pass judgement or speak about a matter of great importance.
Seldriss
07-03-07, 09:21 AM Gods affect my world, but only if i let them do so ;)

More seriously...
They sometimes interfer with the world and mortals by manifesting themselves, directly (avatars) or indirectly (proxies, signs, omens).

Some kingdoms of the world are actually under their control and protection, and have some specific properties, like some elemental or magic singularities, in a way similar to some outer planes.
In some case, a god might the only one able to grant access to some spells (like raise dead and resurrection) in a region, due to his portfolio.

I use the rule that when a character is raised and brought back to life by a cleric, he is automatically converted to the cult, he belongs to the god.

But gods have their limits too. I restrict them the fact that their power is relative to their influence, which is coming from the number of their followers. The more followers, the more powerful the god. A god can raise in power if his cult is increasing, or lose some influence if it is decreasing, to the point that some gods lost some ranks, and some disappeared. Some pantheons even vanished completely with time.

It gives a purpose and a motivation to clerics, whose job is to promote and propagate the influence of their deity, to convert, in a pacific way or by conquest, which is most of the time, as it is rare for an inhabited area not to have its own religion already when the missionaries arrive.
Of course, when a cleric converts an individual, he gets XP for that.
RealSorceror
07-03-07, 10:26 AM In our world, the gods are more or less the Super Friends, except with cooler costumes.

Our dieities are the "New Gods" and have replaced the Greyhawk pantheon, which was all but destroyed in a Ragnorak-like event. The new deities are mostly ascended player characters and are extremely involved in world events. They rarely hide in their divine realms, and instead walk the streets of major metropolisis and cities, often speaking directly to their clergy and the common folk. Most worshipers have actually met their god in person, making for a very interesting diety/worshiper reltionship.
This has occassionaly lead to Clerics not using Augury and similar spells, simply because a god is at a bar down the street.
The exception to this is the evil deities, who are just now gaining power and plotting their return.
Kursk
07-03-07, 02:35 PM How do the gods affect your world?

ALL divine spell casters must have a deity and follow its precepts and work to forward its goals and thwart the goals of the opposing deities when possible. Those that don't loose any spell casting, etc. This of course has far reaching effects on the game world.
Seldriss
07-03-07, 04:54 PM ALL divine spell casters must have a deity and follow its precepts and work to forward its goals and thwart the goals of the opposing deities when possible. Those that don't loose any spell casting, etc.
Personally, i have always considered these points as a base requirement.
Even if they are not supposed to be.
Kursk
07-03-07, 05:33 PM Personally, i have always considered these points as a base requirement.
Even if they are not supposed to be.

Same here but in 3.x it got greatly watered down and as a result the divine casters became almost non-divine except in name only.
TurnCloak_Kobold
07-03-07, 07:20 PM In our world, the gods are more or less the Super Friends, except with cooler costumes.

Our dieities are the "New Gods" and have replaced the Greyhawk pantheon, which was all but destroyed in a Ragnorak-like event. The new deities are mostly ascended player characters and are extremely involved in world events. They rarely hide in their divine realms, and instead walk the streets of major metropolisis and cities, often speaking directly to their clergy and the common folk. Most worshipers have actually met their god in person, making for a very interesting diety/worshiper reltionship.
This has occassionaly lead to Clerics not using Augury and similar spells, simply because a god is at a bar down the street.
The exception to this is the evil deities, who are just now gaining power and plotting their return.

yeah...sometimes i wish they where not so active, but then we have a game or two where the gods are doing something else and we really feel the loss of that cleric, i mean the wanna be paladin grey guard knight can only do so much.
Rogue Elendae
07-04-07, 01:56 AM Personally, I have a strange mix of involvement and disinterest, which entirely depends upon the deity in question. Most of the gods in my setting are fairly casual in their level of interest with mortals, or have one or two pet projects that usually have to do with their worshipers or those of another deity they oppose. However, some of them are particularly involved in humanity, to the point that they often walk among them.

For example, the God of Wizards (though he himself is effectively a Sorcerer...go figure), Septimus, spent quite some time in a mortal guise during what was known as the Godswar, as an attempt to protect him by his (several generations great-grand)-mother, the Goddess of Magic. Therefore, he's developed the odd propensity to appear in that mortal guise as Zarenious the Wizard, chatting with scholars and spellcasters who catch his interest. He's recognized largely for his tendency to pull items out of the voluminous sleeves of his robes, including tea and scones, if he's in the mood for a long chat.

Lunai, Goddess of the Moon, is a snarky trickster with a fondness for having a bit of fun with people, often tempting them to draw a card from the Deck of Infinite Fates (sort of like a Deck of Many Things, but belonging strictly to Lunai, and largely beneficial), or aiding lost travelers if they catch her interest. If one's not careful, however, she might temporarily pocket a bit of their cash, until they find it when they least expect it/need it the most.

Maless, the Goddess of Magic, likes to wander about various planes, including the Mortal Plane, in the guise of an adventurer. However, she has to be careful not to go too far afield from her domain, lest the loss of her presence cause the entirety of arcane magical ability to collapse, and even begins to weaken divine magic.

Kelegmagol, God of Combat, takes mortal form and fights in the armies of whichever side he's chosen to support; he's pretty thoroughly unknown save among soldiers, who'll spill a bit of beer or wine on a fellow soldier's grave and offer his soul up to Kelegmagol, therefore he respects them enough to stand at their sides.

The rest of the deities in my setting are just as likely to get involved, but only if something strikes their interest, or they have a specific reason for journeying to the Mortal Plane. Otherwise, they limit their involvement with humans directly, and instead act through various other mediums.

I find that it can make for interesting happenings; I once threw Septimus' human guise in among the people in a tavern, just as another body amid the crowd, and one of the PCs took a liking to him, and ended up having an interesting conversation with him regarding the meaning of life...

I told him after the session precisely who he was talking to...strangely, it didn't seem to startle him...

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Radijs 07-03-07, 06:21 AM	I ask this mainly out of curiosity. In the world, or rather worlds that I've created the gods tend to have a very direct influence on the world. At the onset of a great battle The Morrigan will almost certainly walk the earth as an old crone to make sure that the battle will take place. The gods are essentiall human. Sure they have a lot of power and probably several senses more then humans but when you look at their personalities they can be explained (easily) by humans. In this sense the gods are even simpler then some humans that the agenda of a single god is in general very clear. [i]There are even a few advanced thinkers that have said (shortly before being hit by a bolt of lightning or a flaming rock from the sky) that the gods didn't create the mortal races but that its the other way around. And the diffrent races created the gods. But as the gods have such an active presence they have a big impact on the general way the humies think. And this has stopped science dead in its tracks. People don't wonder what causes thunderstorms, earthquakes or anything else for that matter. Thunder is probably Moradin working his divine forge or Flatulus god of winds having another quarrel with some other god. How do the gods on your world influence things?
GoriceXII 07-03-07, 06:45 AM	In my game the gods seem to have dwindling power or interest. Some have become quite obscure. Certainly legends say that the gods once lived very much on the earth but now do not, though they may walk it in disguise from time to time. However very personal or local gods sometimes have a great impact upon worshippers. For instance in one of the cities in my homebrew campaign the goddess Ishtar has been known to appear in her temple (usually by inhabiting one of her statues) or to appear in disguised form only to reveal herself to pass judgement or speak about a matter of great importance.
Seldriss 07-03-07, 09:21 AM	Gods affect my world, but only if i let them do so ;) More seriously... They sometimes interfer with the world and mortals by manifesting themselves, directly (avatars) or indirectly (proxies, signs, omens). Some kingdoms of the world are actually under their control and protection, and have some specific properties, like some elemental or magic singularities, in a way similar to some outer planes. In some case, a god might the only one able to grant access to some spells (like raise dead and resurrection) in a region, due to his portfolio. I use the rule that when a character is raised and brought back to life by a cleric, he is automatically converted to the cult, he belongs to the god. But gods have their limits too. I restrict them the fact that their power is relative to their influence, which is coming from the number of their followers. The more followers, the more powerful the god. A god can raise in power if his cult is increasing, or lose some influence if it is decreasing, to the point that some gods lost some ranks, and some disappeared. Some pantheons even vanished completely with time. It gives a purpose and a motivation to clerics, whose job is to promote and propagate the influence of their deity, to convert, in a pacific way or by conquest, which is most of the time, as it is rare for an inhabited area not to have its own religion already when the missionaries arrive. Of course, when a cleric converts an individual, he gets XP for that.
RealSorceror 07-03-07, 10:26 AM	In our world, the gods are more or less the Super Friends, except with cooler costumes. Our dieities are the "New Gods" and have replaced the Greyhawk pantheon, which was all but destroyed in a Ragnorak-like event. The new deities are mostly ascended player characters and are extremely involved in world events. They rarely hide in their divine realms, and instead walk the streets of major metropolisis and cities, often speaking directly to their clergy and the common folk. Most worshipers have actually met their god in person, making for a very interesting diety/worshiper reltionship. This has occassionaly lead to Clerics not using Augury and similar spells, simply because a god is at a bar down the street. The exception to this is the evil deities, who are just now gaining power and plotting their return.
Kursk 07-03-07, 02:35 PM	How do the gods affect your world? ALL divine spell casters must have a deity and follow its precepts and work to forward its goals and thwart the goals of the opposing deities when possible. Those that don't loose any spell casting, etc. This of course has far reaching effects on the game world.
Seldriss 07-03-07, 04:54 PM	ALL divine spell casters must have a deity and follow its precepts and work to forward its goals and thwart the goals of the opposing deities when possible. Those that don't loose any spell casting, etc. Personally, i have always considered these points as a base requirement. Even if they are not supposed to be.
Kursk 07-03-07, 05:33 PM	Personally, i have always considered these points as a base requirement. Even if they are not supposed to be. Same here but in 3.x it got greatly watered down and as a result the divine casters became almost non-divine except in name only.
TurnCloak_Kobold 07-03-07, 07:20 PM	In our world, the gods are more or less the Super Friends, except with cooler costumes. Our dieities are the "New Gods" and have replaced the Greyhawk pantheon, which was all but destroyed in a Ragnorak-like event. The new deities are mostly ascended player characters and are extremely involved in world events. They rarely hide in their divine realms, and instead walk the streets of major metropolisis and cities, often speaking directly to their clergy and the common folk. Most worshipers have actually met their god in person, making for a very interesting diety/worshiper reltionship. This has occassionaly lead to Clerics not using Augury and similar spells, simply because a god is at a bar down the street. The exception to this is the evil deities, who are just now gaining power and plotting their return. yeah...sometimes i wish they where not so active, but then we have a game or two where the gods are doing something else and we really feel the loss of that cleric, i mean the wanna be paladin grey guard knight can only do so much.
Rogue Elendae 07-04-07, 01:56 AM	Personally, I have a strange mix of involvement and disinterest, which entirely depends upon the deity in question. Most of the gods in my setting are fairly casual in their level of interest with mortals, or have one or two pet projects that usually have to do with their worshipers or those of another deity they oppose. However, some of them are particularly involved in humanity, to the point that they often walk among them. For example, the God of Wizards (though he himself is effectively a Sorcerer...go figure), Septimus, spent quite some time in a mortal guise during what was known as the Godswar, as an attempt to protect him by his (several generations great-grand)-mother, the Goddess of Magic. Therefore, he's developed the odd propensity to appear in that mortal guise as Zarenious the Wizard, chatting with scholars and spellcasters who catch his interest. He's recognized largely for his tendency to pull items out of the voluminous sleeves of his robes, including tea and scones, if he's in the mood for a long chat. Lunai, Goddess of the Moon, is a snarky trickster with a fondness for having a bit of fun with people, often tempting them to draw a card from the Deck of Infinite Fates (sort of like a Deck of Many Things, but belonging strictly to Lunai, and largely beneficial), or aiding lost travelers if they catch her interest. If one's not careful, however, she might temporarily pocket a bit of their cash, until they find it when they least expect it/need it the most. Maless, the Goddess of Magic, likes to wander about various planes, including the Mortal Plane, in the guise of an adventurer. However, she has to be careful not to go too far afield from her domain, lest the loss of her presence cause the entirety of arcane magical ability to collapse, and even begins to weaken divine magic. Kelegmagol, God of Combat, takes mortal form and fights in the armies of whichever side he's chosen to support; he's pretty thoroughly unknown save among soldiers, who'll spill a bit of beer or wine on a fellow soldier's grave and offer his soul up to Kelegmagol, therefore he respects them enough to stand at their sides. The rest of the deities in my setting are just as likely to get involved, but only if something strikes their interest, or they have a specific reason for journeying to the Mortal Plane. Otherwise, they limit their involvement with humans directly, and instead act through various other mediums. I find that it can make for interesting happenings; I once threw Septimus' human guise in among the people in a tavern, just as another body amid the crowd, and one of the PCs took a liking to him, and ended up having an interesting conversation with him regarding the meaning of life... I told him after the session precisely who he was talking to...strangely, it didn't seem to startle him...