Pantheon Suggestions [Archive] - Wizards Community

Pantheon Suggestions [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Return of the Flumph
10-21-07, 01:43 AM Good day, folks. I recently decided that the way my gods and cosmology are structured was stupid, and decided to change it...and change it again...and again...and again. At this point, I really don't know where I want to go with my gods.

Basically, the history of my cosmology is this: The multiverse formed spontaneously out of the Far Realms. Shortly after its creation, the universe generated two overgods, Marduk and Tiamat. Together, these entities created the first mortal and immortal life forms, including primitive sentients. Problem is, the two got into a big argument, and it turned violent. Realizing that their conflict was ruining the universe, they decided to back off and create regents to take care of the universe while they fought. During an armistice, they created the first gods, and designed a planar cosmology somewhat similar to the great wheel to support the Prime Material, and gave the gods their instructions to take care of it. Since then, Marduk and Tiamat have been locked in combat in a hidden, unknown plane. If either of them ever wins, the battle between good and evil will end, with one of the two concepts reigning supreme.

The theme of the campaign setting is high fantasy. The planes include Eden (the good place), Gehenom (the bad place), four linked elemental planes, Oneiros (the dreamworld), Hades (negative energy plane where the souls of the dead await judgement), Vibres (positive energy plane where souls are created, home of the fey), and Stasas (mechanus ripoff). Good/evil is the only alignment axis. There are no law/chaos subtypes, spells, or alignments.

What I'm trying to decide is this: how does the divine heirarchy work? I want there to be lots of gods, with racial pantheons and all that, but that contradicts the history bit about Marduk and Tiamat creating regents to look over the planes as a team (which I want to keep). For a while, I toyed with the idea of each plane having a "super god" that ruled the plane, and then a bunch of "normal" gods come and go as races rise and fall, but there ended up being too much overlap between the lesser and greater gods...not to mention no one would bother worshipping the petty little dieties when only the regent dieties are really immortal.

Any ideas?
goldomark
10-21-07, 04:15 AM First, why not have the original regents resemble Ao? He does not care about worshipers and does not give them spells, he just takes care of the gods. Just have one regent per plane.

Second, why the Ťlesserť gods? Because the regents interpreted the instructions, given by Tiamat and Marduk, differently. Until the disagrement is settle, the Ťlowerť gods are the costodians of the planes... under the watchful eyes of the original regents.

I don't know if Tharizdun is in your cosmology, but he could be a renegate Ťlesserť god who wanted to destroy the planes created by T and M. He knows something the others don't know? Just a thought.

I do have a question. If there is no law or chaos, why have a mechanus ripoff?
Return of the Flumph
10-21-07, 11:26 AM First, why not have the original regents resemble Ao? He does not care about worshipers and does not give them spells, he just takes care of the gods. Just have one regent per plane.

Second, why the Ťlesserť gods? Because the regents interpreted the instructions, given by Tiamat and Marduk, differently. Until the disagrement is settle, the Ťlowerť gods are the costodians of the planes... under the watchful eyes of the original regents.QUOTE]

Okay. That works. If I do this, should the original regents have any active role at all in the setting? Would mortal religions offer prayers to them (even though they don't grant spells and such)?

[QUOTE]I don't know if Tharizdun is in your cosmology, but he could be a renegate Ťlesserť god who wanted to destroy the planes created by T and M. He knows something the others don't know? Just a thought.

I've actually been torn on whether to include The Biggest T in my setting. While Tharizdun is one of the awesomer concepts in DnD, I already have Mak Thuum Ngatha (from LoM) set up as the aspiring cosmic destroyer, and I'm afraid two of them might be redundant.

Why the mechanus ripoff?

Stasas is still the plane of law, even if law does not exist as a tangible force the same way that good and evil do. The universe needs the machinery of Stasas to maintain its physical laws and ensure that the planes stay in their correct places. The modrons and inevitables of Stasas are also the most prominant agents in keeping the Far Realms at bay. Basically, while there are lawful outsiders, they are not lawfully aligned and have no lawful subtype. Law is a strong concept in this world, but not a tangible one.
goldomark
10-21-07, 02:41 PM If the regents are debating the instructions left by Tiamat and Marduk, maybe they have never been involve with the planes. So no one knows they existe, aside from the Ťlowerť gods. The regents debate outside space and time.

You could also have the planes be the regents themselfs. That a new twist and I like it. The planes are omnipotent living beings who elevate gods to take care of the multiverse, while they have more important matters to attend.

People are aware of the legends on how the multiverse came to be. But, people aren't aware of the planes being the regents. They think the regents are everywhere or dead or just a myth. Since the regents don't give spells, the gods are the ones who get the majority, but not all of course, of the attention/worship/thanks/questions.

Only the gods now the secret of the planes being the regents. The regents don't need/care about worshipers, so they don't care that the lesser gods get the attention of mortals.

Of course this is all up to you. If you what your regents to give spells and have worshipers, so be it. Their will be worshipers for lesser gods, don't worry. After all, in the Forgotten Realms, Theirs alot of gods and they all receive their share of worship. Its not just the greater gods who get followers.
Return of the Flumph
10-21-07, 03:08 PM If the regents are debating the instructions left by Tiamat and Marduk, maybe they have never been involve with the planes. So no one knows they existe, aside from the Ťlowerť gods. The regents debate outside space and time.

You could also have the planes be the regents themselfs. That a new twist and I like it. The planes are omnipotent living beings who elevate gods to take care of the multiverse, while they have more important matters to attend.

People are aware of the legends on how the multiverse came to be. But, people aren't aware of the planes being the regents. They think the regents are everywhere or dead or just a myth. Since the regents don't give spells, the gods are the ones who get the majority, but not all of course, of the attention/worship/thanks/questions.

Only the gods now the secret of the planes being the regents. The regents don't need/care about worshipers, so they don't care that the lesser gods get the attention of mortals.

That's...that's...

Perfect.

I am totally doing exactly what you just said. Thanks a bunch, man.
goldomark
10-21-07, 03:35 PM Your welcome!

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Return of the Flumph 10-21-07, 01:43 AM	Good day, folks. I recently decided that the way my gods and cosmology are structured was stupid, and decided to change it...and change it again...and again...and again. At this point, I really don't know where I want to go with my gods. Basically, the history of my cosmology is this: The multiverse formed spontaneously out of the Far Realms. Shortly after its creation, the universe generated two overgods, Marduk and Tiamat. Together, these entities created the first mortal and immortal life forms, including primitive sentients. Problem is, the two got into a big argument, and it turned violent. Realizing that their conflict was ruining the universe, they decided to back off and create regents to take care of the universe while they fought. During an armistice, they created the first gods, and designed a planar cosmology somewhat similar to the great wheel to support the Prime Material, and gave the gods their instructions to take care of it. Since then, Marduk and Tiamat have been locked in combat in a hidden, unknown plane. If either of them ever wins, the battle between good and evil will end, with one of the two concepts reigning supreme. The theme of the campaign setting is high fantasy. The planes include Eden (the good place), Gehenom (the bad place), four linked elemental planes, Oneiros (the dreamworld), Hades (negative energy plane where the souls of the dead await judgement), Vibres (positive energy plane where souls are created, home of the fey), and Stasas (mechanus ripoff). Good/evil is the only alignment axis. There are no law/chaos subtypes, spells, or alignments. What I'm trying to decide is this: how does the divine heirarchy work? I want there to be lots of gods, with racial pantheons and all that, but that contradicts the history bit about Marduk and Tiamat creating regents to look over the planes as a team (which I want to keep). For a while, I toyed with the idea of each plane having a "super god" that ruled the plane, and then a bunch of "normal" gods come and go as races rise and fall, but there ended up being too much overlap between the lesser and greater gods...not to mention no one would bother worshipping the petty little dieties when only the regent dieties are really immortal. Any ideas?
goldomark 10-21-07, 04:15 AM	First, why not have the original regents resemble Ao? He does not care about worshipers and does not give them spells, he just takes care of the gods. Just have one regent per plane. Second, why the Ťlesserť gods? Because the regents interpreted the instructions, given by Tiamat and Marduk, differently. Until the disagrement is settle, the Ťlowerť gods are the costodians of the planes... under the watchful eyes of the original regents. I don't know if Tharizdun is in your cosmology, but he could be a renegate Ťlesserť god who wanted to destroy the planes created by T and M. He knows something the others don't know? Just a thought. I do have a question. If there is no law or chaos, why have a mechanus ripoff?
Return of the Flumph 10-21-07, 11:26 AM	First, why not have the original regents resemble Ao? He does not care about worshipers and does not give them spells, he just takes care of the gods. Just have one regent per plane. Second, why the Ťlesserť gods? Because the regents interpreted the instructions, given by Tiamat and Marduk, differently. Until the disagrement is settle, the Ťlowerť gods are the costodians of the planes... under the watchful eyes of the original regents.QUOTE] Okay. That works. If I do this, should the original regents have any active role at all in the setting? Would mortal religions offer prayers to them (even though they don't grant spells and such)? [QUOTE]I don't know if Tharizdun is in your cosmology, but he could be a renegate Ťlesserť god who wanted to destroy the planes created by T and M. He knows something the others don't know? Just a thought. I've actually been torn on whether to include The Biggest T in my setting. While Tharizdun is one of the awesomer concepts in DnD, I already have Mak Thuum Ngatha (from LoM) set up as the aspiring cosmic destroyer, and I'm afraid two of them might be redundant. Why the mechanus ripoff? Stasas is still the plane of law, even if law does not exist as a tangible force the same way that good and evil do. The universe needs the machinery of Stasas to maintain its physical laws and ensure that the planes stay in their correct places. The modrons and inevitables of Stasas are also the most prominant agents in keeping the Far Realms at bay. Basically, while there are lawful outsiders, they are not lawfully aligned and have no lawful subtype. Law is a strong concept in this world, but not a tangible one.
goldomark 10-21-07, 02:41 PM	If the regents are debating the instructions left by Tiamat and Marduk, maybe they have never been involve with the planes. So no one knows they existe, aside from the Ťlowerť gods. The regents debate outside space and time. You could also have the planes be the regents themselfs. That a new twist and I like it. The planes are omnipotent living beings who elevate gods to take care of the multiverse, while they have more important matters to attend. People are aware of the legends on how the multiverse came to be. But, people aren't aware of the planes being the regents. They think the regents are everywhere or dead or just a myth. Since the regents don't give spells, the gods are the ones who get the majority, but not all of course, of the attention/worship/thanks/questions. Only the gods now the secret of the planes being the regents. The regents don't need/care about worshipers, so they don't care that the lesser gods get the attention of mortals. Of course this is all up to you. If you what your regents to give spells and have worshipers, so be it. Their will be worshipers for lesser gods, don't worry. After all, in the Forgotten Realms, Theirs alot of gods and they all receive their share of worship. Its not just the greater gods who get followers.
Return of the Flumph 10-21-07, 03:08 PM	If the regents are debating the instructions left by Tiamat and Marduk, maybe they have never been involve with the planes. So no one knows they existe, aside from the Ťlowerť gods. The regents debate outside space and time. You could also have the planes be the regents themselfs. That a new twist and I like it. The planes are omnipotent living beings who elevate gods to take care of the multiverse, while they have more important matters to attend. People are aware of the legends on how the multiverse came to be. But, people aren't aware of the planes being the regents. They think the regents are everywhere or dead or just a myth. Since the regents don't give spells, the gods are the ones who get the majority, but not all of course, of the attention/worship/thanks/questions. Only the gods now the secret of the planes being the regents. The regents don't need/care about worshipers, so they don't care that the lesser gods get the attention of mortals. That's...that's... Perfect. I am totally doing exactly what you just said. Thanks a bunch, man.
goldomark 10-21-07, 03:35 PM	Your welcome!