Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Romulus LoneWolf 01-29-07, 09:42 PM	Here's an interesting idea I had for a replacement to the standard cosmology of D&D.. Dividing the Deities and their servant entities into three distinct camp: -The Celestial deities, who dwell in the Heavens, who govern everything above the Earth: birds, weather, sunlight, and even the stars. And since the stars govern mortal destiny, the celestial gods also have substantial influence on mortalkind. They manifest as beings of light and angelic creatures. -The Terrestrial deities, who dwell on the Earth's surface, and who govern the lives of animals and plants, and the fertility of the land. They manifest with animalistic or plant-like traits. The Fae are also connected to the Terrestrial deities. -The Infernal deities, who dwell in the Underworld and rule mainly over the darkness and the dead. As they are also harsh and vengeful, Mortals rarely pray to them unless it's out of a desire for vengance, or more often to beg them not to do something or give thanks for their mercy. They manifest as dark, brooding beings, often demonic-looking. Now, here's the kicker.. Not every Celestial is good, and not every Infernal is evil. As before the rise of monotheism, the gods are basically neutral for the most part, divided into their own distinct camps, interfering in mortal lives for their own agenda. Now, this major change would seriously affect the system, making alignment-related abilities and spells irrelevent. So I'd replace them with Celestial/Terrestrial/Infernal allegiances, and fit the various classes into it.. Paladins would become servants of the Celestial gods, and they could detect and smite Infernal beings. Rangers and Druids would obviously become servants of the Terrestrial gods, and Warlocks (and perhaps Sorcerors) would serve the Infernal gods. Spells that effect Good/Evil or Holy/Unholy would essentially become Celestial/Infernal..
Darth Syntax 01-29-07, 10:41 PM	I like the idea of this system. However i think it might suffer from the 'problem of unfortunate nomenclature'. In many peoples' minds (and in the D&D tradition) the terms Celestial and Infernal carry with them a strong connotation of good and evil, respectively. What you call the 'Infernal' might be renamed as 'chthonic' (from a Greek term for 'earth' with connotations of 'beneath the earth') the celestial 'problem' is a bit more vexing, and I am having some slight difficulty in coming up with a possible alternative. Ethereal and Ephemeral just don't seem to fit. Numinous (meaning "of a differing, 'divine' or 'other' nature" might serve, but it is, of course, up to you. However, if you used chthonic (or some other more 'neutral' term of your choosing) this might help to remove the overt connotations of good from the word celestial. Another thought about the Chthonic deities: While it makes sense to have them be somewhat mysterious and occult in nature, I wouldn't think they would be wholly without worshipers or only invoked in times of great distress. Perhaps scholars and sages favor these gods, being (as they are) keepers of secrets. The Chthonic gods may be more enigmatic and unknowable than the Terrestrial gods, but having them as marginalized figures in the religious life of the world might make them seem 'evil'. Similarly, the Numinous gods might be quite distant and uncaring gods, the masters of fate and of strange powers; rather like the Chaldean Astral (another possible term for them) gods. Like the Chthonic gods, the Numinous Ones are mysterious, powerful, and altogether 'other'.