D&D General what would a standard human pantheon look like?

[Mind of tempest]

you know how everyone but humans have a basic generic pantheon, what if humans had one?
what would it look like?
what would a setting-neutral pantheon of human gods be?
and more importantly, who would they be shameless rip-offs of?

for this thought experiment it is all possible cleric domains that make sense for humans to have, so no god of orcs or dragons as those guy have their own gods.
but gods of the sea or other such unsupported domains are available.
all alignments are available as humans are too busy being both the best and the worst of everyone.

it can't be monotheism as that is boring, but saints and other such tutelary deities are fine for consideration

 

[Remathilis]

you know how everyone but humans have a basic generic pantheon, what if humans had one?
what would it look like?
what would a setting-neutral pantheon of human gods be?
and more importantly, who would they be shameless rip-offs of?

for this thought experiment it is all possible cleric domains that make sense for humans to have, so no god of orcs or dragons as those guy have their own gods.
but gods of the sea or other such unsupported domains are available.
all alignments are available as humans are too busy being both the best and the worst of everyone.

it can't be monotheism as that is boring, but saints and other such tutelary deities are fine for consideration

I once did a basic pantheon which consisted of nine deities (one per alignment) that filled a generic set of gods that could be used anywhere. I'm sure they could have been used a human pantheon.

I think it was something like this:

LG: civilization and crafts
LN: law and justice
LE: domination and war
NG: Sun and agriculture
N: Magic
NE: Death
CG: arts and travel
CN: battle and storms
CE: destruction and madness

Obviously, you can see how some are pretty close to the 3e Greyhawk pantheon minus racial deities and a little rejiggering.

 

[J.Quondam]

Because real world mythology was invented by actual humans, I might start by looking there. For example, among those listed in 5e, pretty much all the expected (non-monstrous) portfolios seem to be covered. Mix and match to include whatever domains you need, then change the names, symbology, etc, to fit the setting.

For a setting I did many years ago, I started with a bunch of moon goods from various real-world mythologies and merged them into a single pantheon that covered all the bases.

 

[Oofta]

I just used the Norse pantheon and took a few liberties. So Odin's spear and Thor's hammer were forged by Moradin, the Aesir became the elven gods and so on. I did that because there's a bit of familiarity but also a lot of lore that I can reuse. I don't see a need to break anything down by alignment even if I do list a general alignment for the gods. It also gives me evil gods. Loki of course, but also Thrym and Surtr along with some mythical legendary monsters in Jormungand and Fenris (or Fenrir depending on who you ask). The PCs will never face those legendary monsters, but there are still cults running around that revere them.

Another option is to just not create deities and base it on shamanism, animism or ancestor worship.

I don't see a need to reinvent the wheel so to speak for human pantheons, we have plenty to borrow from.

 

[MNblockhead]

There are lots of human polytheistic pantheons to draw from. Read up on historical pantheons beyond the greek, roman, and norse pantheons. It also depends on how wide-ranging the campaign is. If the party will be travelling far and wide, I would have more than one.

I think it would be interesting to use a Chinese-inspired pantheon which some scholars have referred to as polypneumatism rather than polytheism. All gods are manifestations of heaven or tao. Heavan is the lord of hundreds of deities. So mixed in with what we typically envision as goods is also the worship of mountains, rivers, seas, etc. Also dragon worship and then there are the immortals. Many of these beings are associated with elements, forces of nature, and aspects of rulership and psychology.

So it should not be too hard to riff on that idea and come up with a simplified version that ties into D&D classes, alignments, warlock patrons, etc.

It would be interested to take general tropes and structure of Confucian, Taoist, and Chinese folk belief and transplant it to another culture to mix it up into a fantasy belief system that fits into your campaign.

 

[Zardnaar]

Pretty much FR or GH.

Otherwise sun, moon, love war gods and probably a few more eg farming.

 

[Shiroiken]

One of my homebrewed settings was monotheistic*, with one god that didn't directly interact with the world. Instead, people prayed to the pantheon of saints who would intervene on their behalf. I didn't even have to detail out a bunch of them, just making them up as I needed them.

*Technically it was duotheistic, with a Dark One type deity that served as the opposite.

 

[aco175]

Would some of what humans worship depend on the type of land/terrain they live? If there is a viking cold climate people, then the sun would be something different than the sun god in a dessert climate where the god might be viewed as uncaring and not nurturing. An island kingdom needs a sea god while the people that live on the vast plains do not. So, is that god a major power or minor?

Might be harder to come up with a dozen gods then we think.

 

[EzekielRaiden]

Almost every pantheon or pantheon-like structure tends to have the following (note, I am using "god" without gender):

1. At least one sky-god, who may or may not also be the storm-god or the sun-god but not both
2. At least one earth-god, who may or may not also be the fertility-god
3. At least one death-god, who may pull double duty in any other category
4. At least one war-god, ironically more often than not separate from the death-god
5. At least one "wilderness" god, whether embodying, hunting, or guarding nature
6. At least one "civilization" god, which may or may not also be associated with healing and/or skill
7. Usually, but not always, a deity associated with light (who may or may not be a solar deity)
8. Usually, but not always, a deity associated with the dark depths of the earth
9. Usually, but not always, a deity linked to madness, chaos, or otherwise rule-breaking things
10. Usually, but not always, a deity of wealth and (often) the power that comes with it

Probably a few more I'm leaving out, but this is enough for now.

Instead of having a good/neutral/evil split, I think I'm going to have a sky/earth/depths split. The celestial, terrestrial, and abyssal division is a pretty popular cosmological structure in human religion, and serves a useful purpose here.

Lawful Celestial: Civilization-god, either cosmic ruler, civilization-promoter, or healer
Neutral Celestial: Sun-god, either ruler of the cosmos, "observer" of the world(s), or healer (if not taken by previous)
Chaotic Celestial: Storm-god, associated with the untamed wrath of the heavens (and, rarely, ruler of the cosmos)

Lawful Terrestrial: Wealth-god, keeper of accounts, seeker of truth, arbiter of fate
Neutral Terrestrial: Fertility-god, bringer of both bountiful harvests and famine alike
Chaotic Terrestrial: War-god, deity of violence and bloodshed but also valor and tenacity

Lawful Abyssal: Death-god, judge of the dead and keeper of their dwelling-places
Neutral Abyssal: Night-god or trickster-god, who breaks the powerful and exalts the clever
Chaotic Abyssal: Madness-god, breaker of chains, one who reveals secrets and unleashes creativity

This seems like a pretty functional generic pantheon, at least for European and East Asian deity-figures. What little I know of African mythologies also seems to work with this, though I'm not sure how well it would work with mythologies from the Americas, Oceania, or the Middle East.

 

[Micah Sweet]

My homebrew pantheon started as defied versions of characters from Marvel Comics, who defeated the Elder Gods whose battles were destroying the world and ascended to take their place. All were mortal heroes who reached epic levels and overthrew the old divinities at the end of a great campaign. The 18 who survived the final battles divided themselves into factions based on a law-chaos axis.