(Proposal) Let's build the LEW Pantheon!

[garyh]

Okay, folks, it's time to start accepting new gods for the pantheon. Anyone can create a diety for submission, but please be aware of the following points:

1 - Check the established Pantheon thread so you avoid duplicate portfolios.

2 - No gods more powerful than "Intermediate." We don't want too many greater gods running around.

3 - Follow the format attached to this post and shown below.

4 - Keep the number of domains per god reasonable. Probably no more than 5 domains without a good reason.

5 - Comments are appreciated. All gods are subject to revision before official placement in the pantheon.

6 - If you mentioned a deity previously, please post them again in this thread for convenience's sake.

Here's the template:

Hyrag
"he-räzh"
The Lightbringer, Deathslayer

Enworldian Lesser Deity
Symbol: A heavy mace with a sunburst behind the mace's head.
Home Plane: Blessed Fields of Elysium.
Alignment: Neutral Good.
Portfolio: Lifegiving aspect of the sun, destuction of undead.
Worshippers: Healers, Paladins, those with a grudge against the undead.
Cleric Alignments: NG, LG, CG.
Domains: Good, Sun, Healing
Favored Weapon: "Brightstrike" (mace, heavy or light).

Hyrag is the patron of the healing arts and a staunch foe of the undead. These dual roles wins him worshippers both pacifist and martial in nature. Hyrag's clerics can be found both in metropolitan houses of healing and ancient tombs infested with the undead.

[WhatKu]

Ker
"Ker"
The Angry Dwarf

Enworldian Lesser Deity
Symbol: A upright battle axe suronded by flames.
Home Plane: ???.
Alignment: Chaotic Good.
Portfolio: Chaotic Fighters and Berserkers
Worshippers: Chaotic Fighters, Berserkers, Mostly Dwarves
Cleric Alignments: CG,CN,NG.
Domains: Chaos,Good, War, Strength
Favored Weapon: "Warrior's Heart" (Warhammer).

Ker is the god of those who do not follow the normal path of a solider. Ker's whorshipers thin soliders are constraing themselves by following the chain of command. Ker tells his followers to listen to what their heart tells them to, and give into their rages when they can, to relish the feel of battle. Ker's avatars are always dwarves. His cleric often multiclass as Barbarians or fighters.

[Kahuna Burger]

(trasnplanted from the one of the old discussion threads, it was generally well recieved, IIRC)

Janiosen
AKA The two faced God.
Minor enwordian diety

Symbol: depending on the region, a balance scale or a yin-yang like device.
Home Plane:
Alignment: True Neutral.
Portfolio: balance and moderation in all things, 'opposites' as points on a continuum.
Worshippers: philosophers,monks, druids, those who have been harmed by polarized thinking.
Cleric Alignments: true neutral
Domains: Any two domains in opposition or balance
Favored Weapon: Quarterstaff

Clerics of Janiosen are neutral not out of apathy or an inability to decide, but as an intentional balance between extremes they find equally dangerous. Their mythology tells of a battle of the planes which threatened to tear the material world apart in its fervor. In a rare intervention, the greater gods took the two opposing dieties and forced them into a pocket dimension that could only be opened when one being remained. They believed that either the pair would war for eternity without harming any more bystanders, or one would emerge vitorious but too weakened to do any more damage. Instead, after millenia had passed, the dimension was exited by a single being - the two faced god who had melded their seemingly irreconcilable differences into a balance. This new being sought out other polarized opposites to understand and reconcile until it was truely Janiosen.

[there will likely be a PrC for followers of this diety]

It was suggested that there be a set list of possible domain combinations, which I would suggest as:
Air & Earth
Chaos & Law
Death & Healing
Destruction & Protection
Evil & Good
Fire & Water
Strength & Trickery

However, if someone comes up with homebrew or open content light and darkness domains, etc, I wouldn't want to say there's no way to consider them...

I'd also like to suggest that Janosian clercis be able to spontaneously cast either cure or inflict spells, possibly at -1 caster level...

Kahuna burger

[dpdx]

[Just giving this a shot, and thought I'd share - feel free to roundfile

Chennet'
"CHEN-neth"
The Heart of the Forge, Soul of the Ground

Enworldian Lesser Deity
Symbol: White anvil on circular field of crimson
Home Plane: Elemental Plane of Fire
Alignment: Neutral Good.
Portfolio: god of weapons, armor, the forge and craftsmen
Worshippers: Dwarves, Craftsmen
Cleric Alignments: Any Good
Domains: Good, Fire, Earth
Favored Weapon: "Chennet' Anok" ('Will of Chennet') - greataxe.

Chennet' is a god often invoked by armorsmiths and weaponsmiths in passing, when forge fires blaze out of control, or beards get singed (Ko'vetiye Chennet' - ch'pak na gaven? - Thank you, o forge god - may I have another?). A small sect devoted to this deity resides mostly in dwarven communities east of Orussus, and clerics of the faith (of which there are few, due to mishaps) enjoy benefits related to the manufacture of better tools with which to fight evil, and protection of smiths from common workplace accidents.

Chennet' appears alternately as a dwarf, or in forges as a white-hot mass of molten metal. Chennet' generally communicates to mortals telepathically, but is not above speaking when it suits him. In the pantheon, Chennet' generally looks to assist deities of good alignment whenever possible, crafting legendary weapons and armor for their protection.

Clerics of Chennet' do not have to be dwarves, though most are. But to have the requisite knowledge of him, they generally have to have had exposure to a smithing environment.

[If this is at all workable, I stand ready to create a PrC (Brother/Sister of the Forge) and a special domain spell list for Clerics.]

[garyh]

dpdx, I really like Chennet'... my one concern is the cleric requirement. Having to slay an evil creature with your self-forged weapon kinda rules out being a cleric of Chennet' at level one.

[Sparky]

Phyrah
"fey-RAH"
The Searcher

Enworldian Lesser Deity
Symbol: A kite shield bearing a stylized silver falcon or winged flute
Home Plane: Varies
Alignment: Neutral
Portfolio: Travel, exploration, music, storytelling and quests
Worshippers: Messengers, Adventurers, Bards
Cleric Alignments: Any neutral
Domains: Air, Knowledge, Protection, Travel
Favored Weapon: "Swift" a flying shield +3.

A daughter of Verdante, Phyrah is the wind, a seeking goddess, questing endlessly over all the lands. She aids and hinders those who are on journeys, long or short. In her wanderings she has seen and done and learned much and she loves to share the wonders of her travels. She is a tale at the campfire, the wind at your back. She is a great friend of Grendath and the two have shared many adventures together. She often finds herself at odds with Delanor because while many sailors fear the ocean, they love the wind. She treats Chennet' like a favorite uncle and she always brings him a skin of cold, pure water when she returns from her journeys.

Her clerics may be of any neutral alignment and embody the different forms of wind, steady trade winds, unpredictable gusts, spring breezes and storming gales. The goddess loves music, especially flutes, harps and chimes, her temples and shrines are often filled with such music.

The ephemeral, enchanting goddess rarely shows herself to her followers, preferring to whisper on breezes or rage in storms, but when she does she appears as a red-cheeked woman of any race (most commonly halflings and humans) with windblown hair clad in traveler's gear. She is often accompanied by her great, celestial falcon, Kite.

[dpdx]

Originally Posted by garyh

dpdx, I really like Chennet'... my one concern is the cleric requirement. Having to slay an evil creature with your self-forged weapon kinda rules out being a cleric of Chennet' at level one.

Why, thank you, Gary! Why don't we save that requirement for the prestige class, then?

[garyh]

Originally Posted by dpdx

Why, thank you, Gary! Why don't we save that requirement for the prestige class, then?

Good idea!

FYI for everyone... I'll start moving deities over to the official thread after about a week. I want people to have plenty of chance to comment on them before they go "official."

[Uriel]

I'll be adding Info for both Kroggoth (Lesser CE Deity of Wild beasts,Ferals,Savagery etc...)

and Saint Feragon (Minor Deity, ascended Mortal, LG)

[Kahuna Burger]

Originally Posted by Uriel

,Ferals,)

you know this is really gonna screw with any attempt on my part to introduce the Ferals, a homebrew race of mine similar to the Elfquest wolfriders... And while I know its weird to critique a god before its fully posted, from participating in your adventures, it doesn't neccassarily make sense to make him a god of beasts ( = int 2 or less = animal intelligence = normally true neutral). "red in tooth and claw" aside, Kroggy strikes me as more a god of Rabies than any normal part of nature....

[Kahuna Burger]

PS, do I need to bother posting to this thread about the Mortalists? They don't actually have a god, so its more of a social thing, but they may be relevant to relationships between religions...

And are there any comments on janosian, particularly the houserules for their clerics?

Kahuna burger

[dpdx]

[If you used the template for Janosian, KB, it'd make it easier to read.]

Gary, do I need to do anything more for Chennet' to submit him to the Judges? I did some flavor edits, and removed the stipulation for clerics.

[garyh]

Originally Posted by dpdx

Gary, do I need to do anything more for Chennet' to submit him to the Judges? I did some flavor edits, and removed the stipulation for clerics.

Chennet' is ready for review. I'll give the other Judges some time to review him, and when they approve, I'll post him to the official pantheon thread.

I vote YES to approve Chennet'. Now we need 2 of the other 3 Judges to chime in.

[Uriel]

Originally Posted by Kahuna Burger

you know this is really gonna screw with any attempt on my part to introduce the Ferals, a homebrew race of mine similar to the Elfquest wolfriders... And while I know its weird to critique a god before its fully posted, from participating in your adventures, it doesn't neccassarily make sense to make him a god of beasts ( = int 2 or less = animal intelligence = normally true neutral). "red in tooth and claw" aside, Kroggy strikes me as more a god of Rabies than any normal part of nature....

Gods, I hope that your ferals comment was a joke...it seemed a joke.
Kroggoth would run screaming with his tail between his legs at the sight of cutesey furry elves (I'd also put a Judge 'No' vote on them )...

God of Rabies, sheesh.
The beasts comment was a quick fire off, God of Hunters would be more like it. Some non-Evils worship him, though they are very few in number.

[Kahuna Burger]

Originally Posted by Uriel

Gods, I hope that your ferals comment was a joke...it seemed a joke.
Kroggoth would run screaming with his tail between his legs at the sight of cutesey furry elves (I'd also put a Judge 'No' vote on them )...

um, like the wolf riders in that they were in fact part wolf from a long ago encounter between a "druid" gone native and a real wolf, yes, this was a very real, non joking character concept... which worked fairly well.

Since they artists who did elfquest are probably unavailable to illustrate LEW, I'd consider their cuteness level to be pretty irrelevant...

Kahuna burger

[Janos Audron]

Gliran

Enworldian Intermideate Deity
Symbol: Shining Blue Longsword on a Purple Spellbook on a Black Circle
Home Plane: Mechanus
Alignment: Lawful Neutral
Portfolio: Magic, Efficient Magic Use, Spells
Worshippers: Magic Users
Cleric Alignments: Any Lawful
Domains: Magic, Law, Knowledge
Favored Weapon: "Spells' Substitute" - Longsword.

Gliran, the God of Magic, promotes efficient spell use. Good spells, Evil spells, his Clerics preach that spells are to be used as efficient as possible, disregarding both mortal and divine opinions on the subject. Gliran, for example, encourages his followers to use undead efficiently and with reason: if you need to build a house, it is far easier to let undead carry the stones than humans. Because of this, temples of Gliran aren't always easy to find and Gliran isn't loved among the masses.

Among Wizards (and especially Eldritch Knights), Gliran is a popular deity. One of the few Gods who actively promote the use of magic, Wizards turn to him for inspiration, both for the creative use of spells and for the creation of new spells. Eldritch Knights usually worship him because He, like them, knows that sometimes it is better to use a weapon than to use a spell.

The Church of Gliran is the official religion of Ushad.

[Uriel]

Originally Posted by Kahuna Burger

um, like the wolf riders in that they were in fact part wolf from a long ago encounter between a "druid" gone native and a real wolf, yes, this was a very real, non joking character concept... which worked fairly well.

Since they artists who did elfquest are probably unavailable to illustrate LEW, I'd consider their cuteness level to be pretty irrelevant...

Kahuna burger

Um, yeah.
I was an EQ fan (Walter Keene eyes and all), but they had better look out as Kroggoth ,Lord of the Wilders (which is his Title) is gonna eat them up!!!

Maybe they are a force fighting his Minions...Druids do not like Kroggoth, as the Oakheart Lodge expressed.

As far as his Spheres of Influence, Kroggoth is a God of Bestial Nature and reversion. His goal is to revert civilization back to a neolithic period (hunters) where all that mattered was the will of the strong predating on the weak. Thin the herd and all of that. I didn't mean that he was a God of Animals, but he is definately a God of Predators. Lycanthropes think he's nifty,too...the more carnivorous ones,anyways.

[Uriel]

Originally Posted by garyh

Chennet' is ready for review. I'll give the other Judges some time to review him, and when they approve, I'll post him to the official pantheon thread.

I vote YES to approve Chennet'. Now we need 2 of the other 3 Judges to chime in.

I give Chennet,Phyrah and Gliran a Yes.

[GnomeWorks]

Since Gary also mentioned that he wanted the previous deities reposted...

Taka
"ta-ka"
The Falcon

Enworldian Lesser Deity
Symbol: A green falcon's head on dark gray
Home Plane: Gray Waste of Hades
Alignment: Neutral Evil.
Portfolio: Thievery, dishonesty with self.
Worshippers: Rogues, assassins, self-justifiers.
Cleric Alignments: LE, NE, CE.
Domains: Evil, Trickery, Luck
Favored Weapon: "Falcon Claw" (spiked chain).

Taka is the patron deity of those who steal and those whose disillusions lead them to believe they are doing right, even when - in truth - they are doing wrong. Thus, her followers run the gamut from those who steal physical posessions to those who steal the dreams and hopes others by destroying them or their souls. Her priests her always secretive, and generally can be found where con men and thieves lair, though some may hide themselves behind the garb of another priesthood.

-----

By the way, I'm also in the middle of working out a more detailed set of information for Taka. What I gave out was just a rough sketch of her religion... hopefully I'll have some more detailed info for the judges in a week or two.

[garyh]

Originally Posted by Uriel

I give Chennet,Phyrah and Gliran a Yes.

I will give Phyrah and Gliran a Yes as well.

GW - should we wait for your additional Taka info, or can we evaluate her now?