Gods in WotBS

Revinor · 11th July 2009, 12:40 AM

Maybe I'm blind, but are names of 8 gods from Gate Pass mentioned somewhere? I would prefer to not come up with my own to only learn later that there is a word riddle dependent on their names in module 13 and half.

Another question - 4 animals from the myth.
Are they primordials?
Is there any organized cult of them, or are they more in the area of superheroes of old rather than providers of divine juice for priests ?

merchantsteve · 11th July 2009, 05:49 AM

I looked at module 13.5 and the word riddle is not dependent on the gods' names, so you are safe!

Seriously, there are no names because the campaign has the ability to be dropped into an existing world. Rather than mention names in the text, we opted for general descriptions of the gods' spheres and domains.

Have no fear, the religious aspects are not tied to the campaign, except those that are specifically revealed over time. You can safely slot your pantheon into the saga or provide names for the ones that are described.

Revinor · 11th July 2009, 12:02 PM

I have to come up with some names and as I'm starting completely new campaign in no-name world, Greek Pantheon it will be

Knowledge - Athena
Healing - Asklepios
Strength - Heracles
Revelry - Dionysus
Dwarf God of Ancestors - Hephaestus?? Hades??
Battle - Ares
Sorcery - Hermes
Hearth and Home - Hestia

Asklepios, Heracles, Ares, Dionysus and Hestia are direct hits and no-brainers.

Knowledge was only one of many aspects of Athena and she is bit too much related to war for my taste... could that mean that those innocent looking librarians are actually skilled martial artists/warriors willing to defend the books with their own lives? (not infringing on the Monastery of Winds of course, no beans in their diet).

Hephaestus smells dwarvish, but not really related to ancestors... Hades is ancestor related and it is tied to under-ground/world, but it could change dwarf perception a bit into darker, more fatalistic breed... It might be a nice flavor.

Hermes - it is not fitting Sorcerers god at all, but all other possibilities are even worse. It brings way too much specifics related to trade and journey. On the other hand, God of Sorcerers and Warlocks is bit underspecified... Maybe related trade to pacts... I would prefer to find something else Greek-related, can be even ascended hero (like in case of Heracles).

Catulle · 11th July 2009, 01:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Revinor

Hermes - it is not fitting Sorcerers god at all, but all other possibilities are even worse. It brings way too much specifics related to trade and journey. On the other hand, God of Sorcerers and Warlocks is bit underspecified... Maybe related trade to pacts... I would prefer to find something else Greek-related, can be even ascended hero (like in case of Heracles).

For all the thematic associations with modern paganism, you could do a lot worse than Hecate, IMO - certainly lots of Warlocky flavour to be mined there. On the ascended "hero" front, Circe is pretty much the archetype of the sorceress in classical myth (or, going further down the family tree, Medea).

Personally, I always had a soft spot for the gods of Titan and was going to retrofit from that (rather old) source...

Regards,

Barry

Edit: Yes, the irony of referring to a source as "rather old" in a thread about pre-Christian mythology was lost on me on the first pass.

Talysian · 11th July 2009, 02:39 PM

Do the actual temples play a major role later in the game? Reason I'm asking is they don't fit in with the 4E default deities at all and I was thinking of redoing them but trying to make sure I don't cross any wires down the paths.

merchantsteve · 11th July 2009, 05:21 PM

The religions are flavor. The Order of the Aquiline cross is the only one that has a serious game presence. The Mercineum in Gate Pass may have a role to play in Adventure 9 and there may be the return of a long-forgotten god or the birth of a new one.
I'll keep that vague for now.

Talysian · 11th July 2009, 08:04 PM

Thanks Steve you guy's have top notch customer service as always!!!

I, Claudius · 6th August 2009, 08:00 AM

I've been giving this a bit of thought myself. I was thinking of going Roman (their list of deities is quite large!), but love the Norse deities...

Knowledge - Vor
Healing - Eir
Strength - Thor
Revelry - Loki
Dwarf God of Ancestors - Hel
Battle - Odin
Sorcery - Freyja
Hearth and Home - Frigg

Not all are a perfect fit, but close enough for rock 'n' roll...

Asha'man · 6th August 2009, 12:52 PM

Hermes Trismegistos, a syncretism of the greek god Hermes and the egyptian Toth, was actually a god of magic and patron of "wizards" and alchemists. Hence the term "Hermetic magic"

amethal · 12th August 2009, 02:13 PM

I used the Eberron's Sovereign Host and Dark Six in my 3.5 campaign, without any problems.

It was a bit weird that the humble fisherfolk in Seaquen were apparently worshipping the Devourer, however

(in the absence of any other sea god).

catsclaw227 · 17th August 2009, 07:50 PM

I am going to use the base 4e pantheon. I noticed that Torrent has the Melora's Tide Channel Divinity power, so I assume that this will work just fine.