Help me name my pantheon (homebrew gods)

Thurbane · Jan 25, 2007

Hi all,

I am rebooting my campaign, and part of the redesign is an overhaul for the (human) gods. I was previously using 7 gods based on Sumerian/Babylonian myth, but in the new incarnation of my game, it will be a pantheon of 9 gods (one of each alignment). Non-humans will have their own pantheons...

I have come up with their basics (portfolios, domains, weapon), but now I want to name them. Instead of just rehashing gods based on real world mythos, I want to invent 9 all new gods. See what you think (M for male, F for female, obviously):

Code:

God	Alignment	Portfolio(s)	Domains	Worshippers	Chosen weapon
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
M	Lawful Good	Sun, Life	Fire, Good, Healing, Sun	Paladins	Mace
M	Lawful Neutral	Magic, Order	Knowledge, Law, Magic, Protection	Monks, Wizards	Quarterstaff
M	Lawful Evil	Hate, Revenge	Destruction, Fire, Strength, War	Fighters	Greatsword
F	Neutral Good	Love, Family	Animal, Good, Healing, Protection	---	Dagger
F	Neutral (True)	Nature	Animal, Earth, Plant, Travel	Druids, Rangers	Sickle
F	Neutral Evil	Death, Underworld	Death, Destruction, Evil, Knowledge	---	Scythe
F	Chaotic Good	Moon, Dreams	Air, Luck, Trickery, Water	Bards, Rogues, Sorcerers	Flail
M	Chaotic Neutral	War, Havoc	Chaos, Earth, Strength, War	Barbarians, Fighters	Battle Axe
M	Chaotic Evil	Murder, Strife	Death, Evil, Luck, Trickery	Assassins, Rogues	Short Sword

Any suggestions and ideas welcomed - T

dvvega · Jan 25, 2007

When I have named my gods in the past I've chosen a pronounciation style first then formed the names around that ... for example the last set was a bit of a hash of Aztec/Spanish constructions.

Arunqawe being the most obvious here.

So in your case I would suggest starting there ... I note that your gods represent concepts of everyday things pretty strictly - that is they all have some foundation on things people would see around them Sun/Moon/War/Death/etc.

This would make me personally choose natural sounding names ... vocalisations which do not require any background in any language except for English (or whatever real-world language your Human tongue is closest to). In addition I wouldn't use any convulted syllabics either.

So this would lead to names that seem to resound with the concept behind the god ... your CE god should be sibbilant, serpentine like the Engish MISSION, while the CN god should be violent and harsh, a single syllable if possible but pronounced with force like the English SMASH.

Hopefully that gives you some ideas.

Addition: I think your god of Murder and Strife shouldn't have a Luck domain, but more likely a Bad Luck domain focused on caused Strife in people by adjusting their luck, or perhaps some kind of domain that grants the ability to amplify negative emotions.

Arkhandus · Jan 25, 2007

Um, did you intend to still use a Babylonian/Sumerian semblance with the names? Or do you have no preference for the naming style this time around?

As for dvega's suggestion..... I happen to have a Misfortune domain that I made for one of my homebrews before. The granted power is kinda long, but the spells on the list are all core.

Misfortune Domain
Deities: Xerrik, Feranx, Verischna (ignore, these are part of my homebrew's pantheon)
Granted Power: You may perform a Discordant Touch once per day. Treat this as a melee touch attack, provoking no attacks of opportunity as your hand or weapon flickers with putrid yellow light of obvious power, even if you use this as an unarmed strike instead. If successful, the foe stricken by your Discordant Touch makes a Will saving throw (DC = 12 + your Charisma modifier + one-third your cleric level rounded up), suffering one of the following effects of your choice if they fail the Will save: -4 on attack rolls; -4 to armor class; -4 to all saving throws; or -2 on attack rolls, armor class, and all saving throws. These are luck penalties, and the effect lasts a number of rounds equal to your cleric level, plus any positive Charisma modifier you may have. Discordant Touch is a supernatural ability, but activating Discordant Touch takes no action in and of itself, so only the touch attack takes any action.

Code:

Domain Spells
1: Bane				2: Shatter		3: Bestow Curse
4: Enervation			5: Feeblemind		6: Blade Barrier
7: Spell Turning		8: Reverse Gravity	9: Implosion

Jesus_marley · Jan 25, 2007

LG -
LN - Sejenus
LE -
NG
N - Namu-Kore "Lady of the Beasts"
NE - Morannon
CG - Ventet
CN - Gaard
CE - Vraak

Thats all I could come up with so far... hope this helps somewhat

sirwmholder · Jan 26, 2007

The last home brew deities I ran with I asked myself these questions. Is their any relation to the Gods (Brother/Sister, Husband/Wife, Mother/Father)? How did the Gods come to power (always existed, born to it, high level mages that created their own world)? Do the Gods exist in balance or are they at War using the Prime as a battlefield? If they are Waring where are the lines drawn (Good/Evil, Law/Chaos or the 4 extremes/balance)?

I know this seems to be a bit off the point but I found it greatly assisted me with inspiration. In the end I used only four Gods at the extreme alignments and each with a favored element. They were the four Great ArchMages from the last age that saved the world together and decided to look over it. Each had a distinct personality and they had a common bond of respect and friendship. They understood the importance of balance and with that knowledge ushered in an era of peace. Needless to say a millienia later corruption in the church (each side still acting in what they believed was good faith) and open war was on the doorstep. Ah, good times... anyway those initial thoughts sparked not only the names but the setting and campaign I was to run.

Thank you for your time,
William Holder

Tonguez · Jan 26, 2007

From my Akkadian word list

LG - Samsu (Sun)
LN - Eseru (straight, in good order, fair(ness))
LE - Gamaru (to destroy)
NG - Salamu (to care for, to heal)
N - Namu-Kore "Lady of the Beasts" I likethat, or try Errezu (farmer)
NE - Simtu (fate) or Mutu (death)
CG - Nur-sin (moonlight)
CN - Tahazu (battle)
CE - Daku (to kill)

Okay I'd put LG (Sun) as the brother of LE (Hate)

and then have LG (Sun) and NG (Family) as husband and wife (Samsu and Salamu in my set up) with LN (Order) and CN (War) as their sons

NE (Death) I'd marry to CN (War) and their children would be CG (Moon) and CE (Murder)

N remains aloof and thus make her the mother of LG and LE (a primal mother figure)

SO using this to construct a mythology I'd tell this story

Namu-Kore is the primal mother who existed as the womb of eternity and it is she who gave birth to the the brothers Samsu (the Sun) and Gamaru (the night?) and also the female Salamu (Life) which is an aspect of the primal mother. In seeking Life Samasu found and married the female Salamu and by her had Eseru (the first King and symbol of 'how things should be') and also Tahazu (the rebelious one)

Gamaru became jealous of his brother and this lead to hatred and revenge wherein Gamaru attempted to corrupt the wild and rebelious Tahazu. These two attacked and attempted to kill the Sun but were stopped by the efforts of Eseru who seperated Day (Samsu) and Night (Gamaru). He also chastised Tahazu making him realise his folly

In shame Tahazu fled and attempted to hide his face from the Sun. It was here that Tahazu met with Simtu (ie his fate) and accepts 'his fate' as his bride . In the darkness Tahazu and Simtu give birth to Daku (a reminder of his attempt to kill his father) and Nur-sin (the newly risen moon as a symbol of hope). The moon returns to her grandfather the Sun and reconciles the family