There are lots of gods that never get the spotlight....one good example is Selune. She never appears in anything while her sister Shar is in EVERYTHING.
So I think Selune would be a great candidate for the first article in the series.
I'd love to see a 2 page column in each issue. 1 page on the god and the usual features of their church and another page giving a Paragon Path like the ones presented in FRPG for Selune, Sune and Kelemvor. (Perhaps even adding a power for the Chosen Epic Destiny for the PHB gods as well).
Obviously a longer article/column would be good as well.
As far as game rules, the articles were "fluffy" rather than "crunchy" but gave an in-depth look at a god and the church. Often, this included topics such as Basics, Holy Texts, Aphorisms, A Cleric's Role, Relations With Other Religions, Three Myths, Holidays, Relics of the Faith, and even Planar Allies.
All were written by Sean K Reynolds: #338 Boccob, #342 Olidammara, #346 Pelor, #348 Vecna, #350 Wee Jas, #354 Heironeous, #356 Hextor, #358 Cuthbert. Back issues should still be available from paizo.com, normally for cover price (around $8.00).
The original series focused on the deities of Greyhawk, the default setting for D&D 3rd edition (hence, the "Core" designation). A new series could shift focus easily enough to include other gods though. As AskaniPsion notes, there are lots of gods that never get the spotlight ;).
A relaunch of the series would be fun and very welcome.
All were written by Sean K Reynolds: #338 Boccob, #342 Olidammara, #346 Pelor, #348 Vecna, #350 Wee Jas, #354 Heironeous, #356 Hextor, #358 Cuthbert. Back issues should still be available from paizo.com, normally for cover price (around $8.00).
All but one were written by Sean K. Reynolds.
One was written by Sean K. Reynolds and Samuel D. Weiss - Vecna in issue #348.
All but one were written by Sean K. Reynolds.
One was written by Sean K. Reynolds and Samuel D. Weiss - Vecna in issue #348.
I stand corrected ;). I've looked at that article at least a dozen times and never noticed the other name.
Stupid question but is that you? Samwise being your moniker and all ;).
I stand corrected ;). I've looked at that article at least a dozen times and never noticed the other name.
Stupid question but is that you? Samwise being your moniker and all ;).
:angelhide
Yep.
You can learn the story behind it here:
http://www.greyhawkonline.com/wogcomic/title/wogstrip83a.htm
:P
:angelhide
Yep.
You can learn the story behind it here:
http://www.greyhawkonline.com/wogcomic/title/wogstrip83a.htm
:P
Thanks for the scoop. Now I gotta read 'em all :D.
Thanks for the scoop. Now I gotta read 'em all :D.
Exxxxcellent.
I will have to harangue Mortellan for my reference kickback!
Since we won't be getting a GH campaign book, what I would really like to see is a 4e conversion article for Greyhawk clerics with new divinity feats and a brief synopsis of suggested feats, rituals, and paragon paths to retain the flavour from previous editions.
A stat block for a typical npc acolyte, priest(ess) and high priest(ess) of a particular god would also be hugely useful, possibly even singling out famous individuals as specific examples eg. Riggby, Eritai, or Hazen. It would give us a clue as to how we should stat out npcs who will only impact lightly on the pcs lives (typically by charging them a fortune and making them carry out a quest in exchange for that raise dead ritual).
Some villainous npcs could also be fun e.g. Stalman Klim, Eclavdra, or Halga. In fact, a rogues' gallery article for the Realms, Greyhawk, and Eberron would be fun in general.
Since we won't be getting a GH campaign book, what I would really like to see is a 4e conversion article for Greyhawk clerics with new divinity feats and a brief synopsis of suggested feats, rituals, and paragon paths to retain the flavour from previous editions.
.
Just curious why you think we are not getting 2 books and a module on Greyhawk in 2010 or 2011? They have said we are getting a new 4E campaign each year, I would expect that Greyhawk will be sometime soon after Eberron (2009), though maybe not the next year.
-Tig
Due to ownership of the Intellectual Property rights to Greyhawk, I don't think that, legally, WotC *can* release a GH campaign setting.
What exactly do you think has changed in the ownership of Greyhawks IP in the last 12 months?
-Tig
That cryptic response has me curious :D. If WotC can't release Greyhawk (one of D&D classic settings), who can exactly?
[speculation]Greyhawk has things in it that remain the property of the Gygax estate and/or Arneson(sp??), and WotC may not be able to get the permission to use them.[/speculation]
I am just repeating what I have heard elsewhere on the boards. I apologize for not making it clearer in my prior post.
[speculation]Greyhawk has things in it that remain the property of the Gygax estate and/or Arneson(sp??), and WotC may not be able to get the permission to use them.[/speculation]
And just like the last time I saw this in a thread, this is simply not true.
In fact, it is actually less true than the last time.
Dave Arneson had nothing to do with Greyhawk. His campaign setting was Blackmoor.
As for Greyhawk, like all of D&D, when Gygax left TSR, all ownership of it stayed with TSR with one very limited exception. That exception was Gord the Rogue. Gary retained rights to the character, as well as the right to use all Greyhawk proper nouns that had already appeared in the books, as well as the right to use paraphrases of other locations and similar maps.
And never mind the past 12 months. Proper nouns related to the Greyhawk setting continue to appear in 4E products. So the question would what has changed in the last 12 days or so since the most recent 4E book was released.
Where are you hearing this? Someone should go and make it clear to the people there that it is not true.
When they first announced the plan for bringing back a setting after FR and then Eberron, the reason that I gave above were the reasons that other people (who appeared to know what they were talking about) threw around for why GH would not be chosen. At the time, no-one disputed their reasoning.
I have disputed that every time I have seen it, including back then, though I am sure I could have missed a random thread it was mentioned on.
This rumor keeps popping up every few months or so. It is enough to make me wonder if someone from WotC is deliberately spreading it in order to diminish expectations of a GH setting book being made so they can say release some other setting.
So yet again:
Those reasons are nonsense.
After Gygax left TSR multiple Greyhawk products were released. These included a boxed set for the city, another boxed set update of the setting with adventures and supplements, a restart of the setting with smaller campaign update books and more adventures and supplements, yet another setting book for 3E, the Living Greyhawk campaign with numerous web articles, and most recently the adventure Expedition to the Ruins of Greyhawk.
That would be rather hard to do if someone else owned the IP, and rather ludicrous to do as well, especially when they have so much setting IP they do own.
Even more, it begs the question of why no one else ever released any Greyhawk material over the decades if someone else did own it.
For that reason, I'd be happier to see Greyhawk stuff in Dragon articles. At least we'd have something to keep us interested in the meantime. I'm not holding my breath until 2011!
That's 31 potential articles for a "Core Beliefs" series. If that's not enough, there's also the Forgotten Realms and Eberron deities and churches to consider.
If Dragon did that along with these types of articles that would be cool.
I was just looking at the number of gods that appear in 4e core. 11 good, lawful good and unaligned deities in the PH; plus the 20 "malign" gods described in the DMG.
That's 31 potential articles for a "Core Beliefs" series. If that's not enough, there's also the Forgotten Realms and Eberron deities and churches to consider.
Actually there is only 20 gods in 4E code, the list of 11 from the PH is duplicated in the list of 20 in the DMG, however I'd like to see a series of articles on the gods of the core campaign.
-Tig
Actually there is only 20 gods in 4E code, the list of 11 from the PH is duplicated in the list of 20 in the DMG, however I'd like to see a series of articles on the gods of the core campaign.
-Tig
Oops! I just glanced at the DMG list and didn't catch the duplicate names ;). Thanks for catching that, Tig.
So, there's 11 in the PH and 9 in the DMG, 20 total deities. Still, a good run of articles for a potential series.
+ + +
We've already seen mention of Selune and Raven Queen. That's a good start. Anyone else have any ideas for which gods they'd really like to see. I say Ioun (a 4e newcomer); she seems to be the antithesis of Vecna (a D&D classic).
So I think Selune would be a great candidate for the first article in the series.
Considering how popular the Raven Queen is I think she would make a better first choice.
http://www.enworld.org/forum/d-d-4th-edition-rules/240803-your-pc-cleric-what-deity-do-you-revere.html
This poll had 35% of the respondents say they would play a Cleric of the Raven Queen over all the others in the PHB. Next most popular was Kord with 11%.
Considering how popular the Raven Queen is I think she would make a better first choice.
http://www.enworld.org/forum/d-d-4th-edition-rules/240803-your-pc-cleric-what-deity-do-you-revere.html
This poll had 35% of the respondents say they would play a Cleric of the Raven Queen over all the others in the PHB. Next most popular was Kord with 11%.
Not everyone votes or even reads EN World postings, so that poll is just a percentage of the gamers.
Personally I would rather see Forgotten Realms gods in the articles over the Core Gods but I think both should be explored eventually.
Maybe each month they can do a Core AND a FR god.That way everyone is happy. :D
Not everyone votes or even reads EN World postings, so that poll is just a percentage of the gamers.
Personally I would rather see Forgotten Realms gods in the articles over the Core Gods but I think both should be explored eventually.
Maybe each month they can do a Core AND a FR god.That way everyone is happy. :D
Only if they start doing Eberron gods next year too. ^_^
Only if they start doing Eberron gods next year too. ^_^
If this was to be a regular feature then considering how few gods there are now (even if they include those of Exarch rank) then won't they have to start to write about Eberronese gods before too long?
I'd better get my submission pitch cooked up before they start creating stuff that deviates from anything I've made up at home.
Not everyone votes or even reads EN World postings, so that poll is just a percentage of the gamers.
True, but then any poll is just a sample of any population, they still have meaning.
Personally I would rather see Forgotten Realms gods in the articles over the Core Gods but I think both should be explored eventually.
And Forgotten Realms players are just a percentage of D&D players, plus the Forgotten Realms gods have more space in books to be covered. Core gods are squeezed in among the rules.
Maybe each month they can do a Core AND a FR god.That way everyone is happy. :D
Except the Eberron players.... I think one God a month is enough.
True, but then any poll is just a sample of any population, they still have meaning.
The problem with a web poll, however, is that the only people who respond are people that are, at least partially, vested in the outcome.
To be a statistically significant sample, you want a random polling of people. (Or so I understand it - I'm not a statistician, but a quick (like 60-second) perusal of the Wikipedia article on Opinion Polls indicates this may be part of "Coverage Bias".)
The "Core Beliefs" articles are mostly fluff but crunch also has it's place. Any ideas for Relics of the Faith, Prayers, Paragon Paths?
Thought you guys and gals might enjoy the bare-bones anyway ;).
Ioun is a goddess of knowledge, of prophecy, not only of the future but also of the past, of which there is no memory; even prophecies of the present, hidden things that cannot be known by natural light of reason. She is perceptive, even for a deity; nothing transpires, past, present, or future, without her knowing. Accumulating, preserving and sharing knowledge in all its forms is what drives Ioun and her worshippers. She is intolerant of those who would keep secrets; the followers of Vecna are constant adversaries and always watched carefully.
The earliest histories mention that Ioun was once a mortal being. According to the most obscure legends, she was illumian, a human-like race literally constructed from it's own magical language. In a rare ritual, using words able to express a divine state, she ascended to godhood.
THE BASICS
Ioun is an unaligned deity and clerics in her service typically follow suite, although good or lawful good clerics are not unheard of; evil or chaotic evil clerics are especially rare however. Her most recognizable holy symbols are an open book or a feminine eye. A rainbow once served as symbol of the church but is no longer in common use. Ioun is sometimes referred to as She Who Sees All..
The church has no official colors, instead recognizing all equally; clerics wear any color of clothing, although whites and blacks are discouraged. Ioun has an affinity for, and is often associated with, flying things, such as colorful motes of light, even butterflies or small birds. Her worshippers were among the first to utilize carrier pigeons to carry messages back and forth among themselves and others.
HOLY TEXTS
There are innumerable texts that the church considers essential reading; after all, Ioun is the goddess of knowledge. There are a couple of books that are considered to be in accordance with Ioun's teachings and worth specific mention.
APHORISMS
The everyday sayings and adages of the faithful tell a great deal about their beliefs and morals. The samples here represent the many saying common to clerics of Ioun.
A CLERIC'S ROLE
Like their deity, clerics of Ioun seek to acquire, preserve, and ultimately share knowledge. Some clerics wander for much of their lives, taking the opportunity to see and learn of the greater world. Some actively seek out lost and ancient lore. Such men and women are no strangers to the adventuring life. They are ever watchful of any who would control or hide knowledge, such as the worshippers of Vecna.
All clerics must be able to both read and write. They study regularly, continually educating themselves and others; most are natural teachers. Many a school and library has been built with the blessings of Ioun.
RELATIONS WITH OTHER RELIGIONS
An adversarial relationship exists between Ioun and Vecna. Worshippers of both deities actively oppose each other. There are a few heretical texts that go so far as to imply that she and Vecna were lovers as mortals. Other black rumors mention a teacher/student relationship between the two.
The church is on good terms with the worshippers of Erathis. A straight-forward deity she is, an inventor, a builder, seeking out new ideas, new inventions, essentially a seeker of knowledge.
HOLIDAYS
Church holidays are always public affairs, open to all.
Worshippers of Ioun come from many different races, backrounds and cultures. Storytelling has naturally developed as a means for believers to share thoughts and ideas among themselves.
THREE MYTHS
Myths and parables play a strong role in the sermons of Ioun's flock. The following three are just an example:
In the articles, we'll actually dive deep into the religion, including information on sects, worshipers, and some new crunch to supplement it all. I'm also leaning toward including a map with each article--either a shrine, temple, or dungeon focused on the deity in question. We'll also cover evil deities in the series, and talk about how to be a non-evil follower of such a deity. AND we'll be covering deities from our campaign settings.
Chris Youngs
? Or, maybe this is more appropriate: :bounce:. I get overwhelmed by smilies at times like these.Thanks, Chris. Definitely somethig for for fans of Core Beliefs to look forward to.
Thanks for the input! I love hearing what you'd like to see. In this case, it's especially great because we're planning a new article series on deities and their faiths in 2009. In fact, I just received the first installment this week. Once we have a firm issue for the article, we'll be able to share more. But this will become a recurring feature in the future. Hopefully some of you will pitch some of the articles to contribute to it!
In the articles, we'll actually dive deep into the religion, including information on sects, worshipers, and some new crunch to supplement it all. I'm also leaning toward including a map with each article--either a shrine, temple, or dungeon focused on the deity in question. We'll also cover evil deities in the series, and talk about how to be a non-evil follower of such a deity. AND we'll be covering deities from our campaign settings.
Chris Youngs
FANTASTIC!!! You must made my day!! :D
Top 3 gods i want to see articles on are:
1) Sehanine (Core)
2) Selune
3) Raven Queen (since she is so unknown)