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Come to think of it, it would've been awesome if 4E had used Andral instead of Pelor. God knows I'm sick to death of hearing the name "Pelor".
This is something I've heard a few times online, although not something I've ever really experienced - I almost always play in homebrew settings with my own pantheons or adopted historical ones, so only now in my current 4E game am I using Pelor's name in a session for the first time. I assume because of the connection to healing and sun, two useful domains which occupy the traditional Cleric niche (plus the implication that he's one of the biggest churches for the ley-people of D&D worlds) that he's rather over-used in some quarters?
It isn't so much an issue of having it ingame as seeing Pelor's name constantly appearing in 3E supplements. I remember reading a posters description of a recently released WotC book as "now having 400% more Pelor!". Something new would've certainly been nice.
For myself my appreciation for her is multifaceted.
First and foremost it is her connection to actual mythology and actual gods from mythology. The most obvious being that of The Morrigan from Celtic mythology, she shares many similar aspects:
Raven = Crow
Death = Death
Fate = Prophesy
While this doesn't come from anything official being a Death Goddess and such my initial image/personality for her was of Death from Sandman. That well stuck :P
I quite enjoy the way afterlife works in 4e so that certainly benefits my like of the Raven Queen given how involved she is with that. She is also just well involved in stuff in general there is a nice sense of history but also mystery (like her actual name) with her.
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I vote for The Raven Queen, and following her, probably Torog and Asmodeus.
Also, while im at it, I would also like to say that I'd like to see the deities actual stats along with all of that juicy fluff. I know people say that they'd be too strong, blah blah, but let me decide that as a DM (and I dont believe that to be the case at all incidently). After all, just because they are there doesent mean you have to use them, but if they're are not there at all nobody can use them! And, what can I say, im a stat whore; I love reading stat blocks for all levels.
Hmm... Maybe I should have read the blurb a bit better, but I mentally translated Raven Queen as "Wee Jas with a more pronouncible name and a familiar".
Btw by the fluff of the Darklord in the new Dragon article, i'd say the Raven Queen is the Dark Powers of Ravenloft, or at least related to them.
That remains to be seen, leastways until we see a couple more Domains of Dread, and if the Demiplane of Dread exists or not. A couple things, though:
1) Sunderheart getting formed was loud and ostentatious, with Sorrowsworn buzzing all around it. Have any domains in Ravenloft been pulled in like that? Been a while since I've read how the various domains ended up there, but most of the time it's just things get misty, and next thing you know, there you are. Or a domain is created in the image of the land the darklord is from, rather than ripped from the prime material world along with whole populations.
2) The Raven Queen only has power in the Shadowfell of the core world. The same isn't true in the Toril Shadowfell, Oerth Shadowfell, Krynn Shadowfell, Eberron Shadowfell, Athas Shadowfell, etc. That's in contrast to the Dark Powers, whose reach extends all across the cosmos.
We'll have to see how things shape up for Ravenloft in 4E, but being able to imitate some of what they can do doesn't make her one of the Dark Powers, much less all of them.
Ah man, my vote went to Sehanine, and guess who is currently dead last.
Seeing that this deity has a major temple in Fallcrest, I wanted to know more from the start.
As for coming in last, I think much of the reason lies with the name. I bet many people are not exactly sure how to pronounce it, and who wants a deity name you don't know how to pronounce. (Kinda reminds me of Obad-Hai).
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Zehir doesn't seem very mysterious: just add in details about Set, Merrshaulk, Sseth, Yig, and any other gods that obviously inspired the deity.
Sources: Powers & Pantheons, Faiths and Pantheons, Monster Mythology, any book on Egyptian mythology, The Scarlet Brotherhood accessory by Sean K. Reynolds (with two evil snake gods, one of them representing both serpents and night), Robin Laws' yuan-ti article in Dragon Magazine #305, books on the Lovecraft mythos and its Serpent People, books about Conan the Barbarian and his evil Stygian nemeses, books on Aztec mythology, etc.
I agree that Torog needs the most fluff. The Raven Queen is very cool, but I kind of think the less we (the players and DMs) know about her the cooler she is. Mystery is her asset. Making her too specific could ruin her. That said, research on the Morrigan, Persephone, Ereshkigal, and Hel could help in portraying her effectively.
Torog
Divine Gaoler
The Watchful, the Tormentor, the Cruel, the Elder Sign
Aliases: Laduguer, Dalt, Yog-Sothoth, Scahrossar, the Patient One, Elder Elemental Eye.
Torog is the god of imprisonment. He is prayed to by those in gaol in hope of liberation or preferential treatment, and by those outside to keep the imprisoned in. He is a cruel god, fond of torturing those under his care, but it is believed that he will mitigate the punishments of those who offer him sacrifice.
While all gods take advantage of Torog's indespensible services on occasion, Torog is no one's servant. He is a free agent, and he imprisons and frees at his own discretion. If given suitable incentive he may create a prison for another god, or even watch over a prisoner directly. He is also happy to renege on this bargain if given suitable motivation; he does not consider this to be dishonorable, for all imprisonment falls under his domain, and all others are only supplicants who must bow to his authority in this regard.
While there are many imprisoned entities throughout the planes, including Tharizdun and countless primordials, Torog's role is not to keep these beings within his realm. Instead, he imparts some of his divine power to the task of keeping the seals on the divine prisons shut, and dispatches his minions toward punishing those who would work toward their escape. Many myths tell of the unnamed trickster god whose connivings resulted in the death of the creator of the humans; it was Torog's task to bind the trickster with the sinews of his own son, and to supply a serpent to eternally drip venom in his face. When Kord took a human lover, his divine consort transformed her into a cow and gave her for Torog to guard and to torment. It is also said that Corellon petitioned Torog to ensure that Lolth could not escape her banishment.
Many in subterranean lands consider him their patron, and as a result he is sometimes depicted with many of the attributes of subterranean species: tentacles, oozing slime, many eyes, scales, and bat wings. Underdark dwellers, for example lost human races and certain duergar or derro groups, typically believe that Torog has cursed them with their harsh existences because of their past sins, tormenting them until they, as a race, undergo penance for their crimes. Alternatively, they may believe that it is the surface that is the true prison, and pray to Torog to prevent the inmates of the bright lands from escaping into the cool shade of their own domain. A drow house once turned to his worship, revering him in the form of a golden eye and carrying magical rods that writhed with tentacles, in order to challenge the dominant church of Lolth. While the Lolth-worshippers ultimately triumphed, there are still isolated communities of drow in the depths who revere Torog.
Torog is normally portrayed as a member of the worshiper's race (a troglodyte will see him as a troglodyte, while a human will see him as a human) with many eyes or faces. He is often shown with chains and manacles, and depicted in the traditional garb of a torturer. His priests, too, often wear elements in their clothing inspired by gaolers and torturers, and they may practice these professions in addition to their priestly roles. Others may be guides to the subterranean lands, using their knowledge of tunnels and secret ways to shepherd those who can pay the price to and from the bowels of the earth, or abandoning those who cannot pay their fee. More rarely, he is depicted as an attractive female dressed in black leather, carrying a scourge and sharp knives dripping with blood. Torog's dominion over prison doors extends to planar portals, and he is prayed to by those hoping certain ancient gates remain barred shut, or by those hoping to draw back the fabric of existence and let long-banished entities back in. He is both the door and the key to the door.
Last edited by Ripzerai; 10th February 2009 at 09:03 PM..
Considering that this god would just become a glorified boss monster I would vote for "none".
__________________ Everything about RPGs is subjective, so everything I say about them is I my opinion and not hard facts
Having a backstory is good. Using this backstory in game is better. And for that you need background skills.
4E, the game where you play HSMFOS
Heroic
Only good, or at least unaligned adventurers are supported and no monster you can fight is good aligned.
Super-
The PCs become masters in any skill automatically and it is impossible for them to be bad at a mundane task
Mutants
Compared to NPCs of the same strength, PCs poses a ungodly amount of HP and can withstand huge mountains of punishment. That or they can spontaneously regenerate wounds.
From Outer Space
Yet despite no matter how powerful the PCs become, they can never do anything special what the "natives" (=NPCs) can do like animating a skeleton.
Considering that this god would just become a glorified boss monster I would vote for "none".
Actually knowing what you are talking about before voting would probably serve you well; there was no stats in the article, "merely" lots of great fluff and backstory on the deity, including aspects, followers, and (I think) a paragon path or feat.
Am I the only thinking that Raven Queen will be inspired on Neil Gaiman's (Sandman) Death?
While I dunno if they will go that path officially (I think the Morrigan angle is more likely) that is something I latched onto in my personal vision of the Raven Queen. Along with Morrigan and own stuff, quite a mix of things (adds to the mystery too in that how she is viewed can vary so much).
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Considering that this god would just become a glorified boss monster I would vote for "none".
That's funny since Bane's actual stats don't actually appear in the "Deities & Demigods" article.
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Kinda hard to tell from that angle and considering that she is mucked up, but I dig the purple eyes and pale goth look; always how I saw her in my head at least (if a bit more regal).
We should have had Lathander!
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