Storyteller Hero
Adventurer
EDIT: (March 12, 2023) I figured out a potentially decent solution after learning more about the core teachings of Hinduism. There needs to be some revision of the deities in the pantheon, but the concept of "Brahman" enables a foundation of descriptive text to pay respects to the original real life lore while creating a layer of separation from the real life lore for open interpretation according to the different perspectives of different sects of practitioners who might also be fans of DnD.
I'm currently updating a series of deity lore pamphlets that I've been writing for the Forgotten Realms setting on DMsGuild, which means [research, research, research]; I've been referencing the old editions and writing gap bridger lore, as well as interpreting the possible relationships between gods of different pantheons that have set up footholds in Realmspace. I've noticed how the TSR writers during 2e were a tad shallow in their research when it came to setting up pantheons for the Kara-Tur region.
In particular the Vedic (Hindu lore) pantheon has been criticized for using deities still actively worshipped in modern times. I'm brainstorming to make an update in my notes (as well as the brief references sprinkled throughout the pamphlet series) that fixes the problem of cultural baggage in a way that can hopefully mesh with the previous editions' lore enough to make a smooth transition.
Since there has been a relative lack of lore for the Kara-Tur pantheons between the 2e era and 5e era, there's a lot of room to work with creatively.
I'm thinking of setting up a "Great Revelation" event connected to the Second Sundering in "historical hindsight", whereby the living worshippers of the Vedic pantheon learn during the events of the Second Suffering that the gods of the Vedic Pantheon worshipped in Realmspace are actually adopters of the names of the gods worshipped by ancient peoples spirited away from another world (Earth), taking on the faiths (and making their own adjustments) to prevent a collapse of their pantheon after the destruction of the world on which the adopters were originally worshipped (to prevent fading from lack of active worship and many of their dead faithful leaving for other afterlives in response to the gods' failure to protect their world) . This comes from a mass crisis of faith when the teachings of the Vedic pantheon on Toril are met with conflict as Chosen fight each other and the gods in Kara-Tur are revealed to have a mysterious superior in the form of a higher being not mentioned in the religious texts who has restricted their involvement in the mortal realms.
This means the current Vedic pantheon will be formerly known as the names of the Hindu gods and now known by their "original" names from the world they originally watched over.
This potentially removes the need to fully retcon the Vedic gods themselves while giving them an origin that sets them apart from the real life religions, as well as set up possible adventure hooks for planeswalkers and spelljamming crews to seek out the destroyed remains of the Vedic pantheon's original world/solar system.
The current problem now facing that pantheon will be damage control for the new era of enlightenment being established and people being split between traditions and abandoning the deceitful pretenders.
I wonder if this sounds like a reasonable solution in updating the lore.
NOTE: My goal for the deity lore pamphlets is to consolidate the lore of all editions for consistency, despite WotC's official stance being that each edition is its own canon.
I'm currently updating a series of deity lore pamphlets that I've been writing for the Forgotten Realms setting on DMsGuild, which means [research, research, research]; I've been referencing the old editions and writing gap bridger lore, as well as interpreting the possible relationships between gods of different pantheons that have set up footholds in Realmspace. I've noticed how the TSR writers during 2e were a tad shallow in their research when it came to setting up pantheons for the Kara-Tur region.
In particular the Vedic (Hindu lore) pantheon has been criticized for using deities still actively worshipped in modern times. I'm brainstorming to make an update in my notes (as well as the brief references sprinkled throughout the pamphlet series) that fixes the problem of cultural baggage in a way that can hopefully mesh with the previous editions' lore enough to make a smooth transition.
Since there has been a relative lack of lore for the Kara-Tur pantheons between the 2e era and 5e era, there's a lot of room to work with creatively.
I'm thinking of setting up a "Great Revelation" event connected to the Second Sundering in "historical hindsight", whereby the living worshippers of the Vedic pantheon learn during the events of the Second Suffering that the gods of the Vedic Pantheon worshipped in Realmspace are actually adopters of the names of the gods worshipped by ancient peoples spirited away from another world (Earth), taking on the faiths (and making their own adjustments) to prevent a collapse of their pantheon after the destruction of the world on which the adopters were originally worshipped (to prevent fading from lack of active worship and many of their dead faithful leaving for other afterlives in response to the gods' failure to protect their world) . This comes from a mass crisis of faith when the teachings of the Vedic pantheon on Toril are met with conflict as Chosen fight each other and the gods in Kara-Tur are revealed to have a mysterious superior in the form of a higher being not mentioned in the religious texts who has restricted their involvement in the mortal realms.
This means the current Vedic pantheon will be formerly known as the names of the Hindu gods and now known by their "original" names from the world they originally watched over.
This potentially removes the need to fully retcon the Vedic gods themselves while giving them an origin that sets them apart from the real life religions, as well as set up possible adventure hooks for planeswalkers and spelljamming crews to seek out the destroyed remains of the Vedic pantheon's original world/solar system.
The current problem now facing that pantheon will be damage control for the new era of enlightenment being established and people being split between traditions and abandoning the deceitful pretenders.
I wonder if this sounds like a reasonable solution in updating the lore.
NOTE: My goal for the deity lore pamphlets is to consolidate the lore of all editions for consistency, despite WotC's official stance being that each edition is its own canon.
Last edited:
