Deities and Demigods: Bane

[Klaus]

I could care less about the stats. The fluff is the real gold here!

I want the Raven Queen next!

 

[D.Shaffer]

I do not understand why they changed FR Banes Symbol either and stayed with the clenched fist myself... but... I love this article.

For what it's worth, they DO mention 'A gauntleted fist' as one of his alternate symbols.

I rather liked the article. Gives a very Ares/Spartans feel.

 

[Upper_Krust]

Tiamat and Vecna are not greater gods. Bane would probably be a level 38 solo soldier whose defenses would be pretty unreachable.

Was almost ready to subscribe until I read there were no stats.

I would estimate Greater Gods (as solo opponents) would be between Levels 37-41.

...and yes the art does look awesome.

 

[Jack99]

Was almost ready to subscribe until I read there were no stats.

I would estimate Greater Gods (as solo opponents) would be between Levels 37-41.

...and yes the art does look awesome.

They mentioned in a podcast/article a long time ago, that a greater god like Moradin would be around level 38 solo.

 

[Shroomy]

Was almost ready to subscribe until I read there were no stats.

I would estimate Greater Gods (as solo opponents) would be between Levels 37-41.

...and yes the art does look awesome.

They do include a pair of aspects (one an elite Level 26 and the other an elite level 29).

 

[Sammael]

It mixes the Roman centurion look with George Pérez Ares, from the Wonder Woman comics:

But it's a very nice picture, nonetheless, and more in line with how a deity would be portrayed by artists in the D&D world, as opposed to the pictures we got in the 3e Deities & Demigods.

I won't argue with that, since the 3e deity images were horrendous. However, that illustration looks more like a high-level BBEG to me than a god.

Conceptually speaking, the best illustration of a divine being I've seen in all D&D books is Tempus on Veiros and Deiros, from 2e Faiths & Avatars:

It's a bit weak from a technical standpoint, but it captures the divine spirit perfectly, IMO. Compared to it, WAR's 3e Tempus is... beyond horrible.

 

[hexgrid]

Problem is that that's the name of an already existing god. What's the point of using the name, and creating a god that's just like him, if they're not the same guy? What's next? Introduce a wizard who exists in the core world named Elminster, who looks and acts just like the Realms version of Elminster, but is a wholly separate guy?

Even worse, they altered the holy symbol of the Realms Bane to match that of Core Bane! Why do that if they're not the same guy? I like the article just fine, but if they were going to have a guy in core who calls himself Bane, and acts just like the Bane in the Realms, then he should be the same guy. If not, then he shouldn't have been called Bane to begin with.

Didn't the Forgotten Realms steal Lolth from Greyhawk, and do almost exactly what you've described here?

 

[Nahat Anoj]

I heard them address this in one of the podcasts (I think). They knew they wanted a Bane-type god for 4th Ed, but none of the names they came up with stuck. They decided to just go ahead and call him Bane. Personally, I like it. It's such an easy, catchy, powerful name. It really fits a god, particularly this sort of god, and it makes a good warcry for NPCs.

I would have called him "Baal" for 4e (ball jokes and Stargate SG-1 references notwithstanding ), but I like how they explain the "Bane" moniker, and "Achra" can always be used by close friends and confidants.

 

[Nahat Anoj]

Didn't the Forgotten Realms steal Lolth from Greyhawk, and do almost exactly what you've described here?

Yes, and we all know how that went ...

 

[Kobold Avenger]

Still sounds a lot like Hextor, as I know they once mentioned they were going to use Hextor before they replaced him with Bane. I'll admit the Hextor does sound too sorcerous to have anything to do with a God that should be a War God.

And it still annoys me about the 4e alignments, when this Bane is quite clearly Lawful Evil.