Best RL Pantheon?

[Ryujin]

Iceland is barely on the radar of most Americans. Bjork and Reykjavik if you’re lucky.

It's on the radar of a whole lot more role playing gamers, after the premier episode of "Destination Fantastic."

DESTINATION FANTASTIC

The first-ever fantasy-oriented travel show. In development now, starring famed fantasy gamers Stefan Pokorny and Satine Phoenix. Directed by Josh Bishop.

www.destinationfantastic.com

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Never heard of it.

 

[SehanineMoonbow]

I'm interested in Japanese myths, but those pantheons aren't extinct.

It's hard to pick though. I probably know the most about Greek, and some Viking, but I love mythology in general.

 

[Orius]

Are we talking about for use in a D&D game, or just in general?

In general, I wouldn't really say I have a favorite, though I'm most familiar with Classical and Norse mythologies. I look at various mythologies for inspiration for world building.

For a D&D game itself, Norse Mythology is usually a good choice, but real world religious beliefs and traditions most certainly did not develop with a concern for tabletop gaming needs. So I generally use my own fictional pantheon with the traditional non-human gods mixed in rather than shoehorning in stuff from the real world. Besides, D&D hasn't done a great job with many of the real world pantheons anyway, Greek and Norse usually get handled okay, but beyond that things are often badly mangled.

 

[Davies]

Fate/grand Order has given me something of a recent love for the Babylonian gods, especially Ereskigal. The mythic version of her is a bit less of an adorable goofball, but still interesting.

 

[Li Shenron]

Greek/Roman all the way for me.

I also like the Egyptian pantheon for sure.

The Norse pantheon is something I allow as well, but it always felt a bit confusing and underwhelming for me, with few exceptions.

 

[delericho]

If you haven't seen them, Neil Gaiman did a decent book on "Norse Mythology", and Stephen Fry has done two on the Greeks. (Where 'decent' means they're easy to read and reasonably light - I'm not qualified to comment on accuracy.)

For gaming, I tend to agree with @Orius - homebrew is probably the best approach. But I'd be happy to use either Greek or Norse if I felt the need.

 

[Istbor]

I really like Egyptian. Loved Stargate when I saw it in the theaters, basically saw it by happenstance, mostly because the movie I had wanted to watch had already started.

However, Norse is probably my go to. If I were to use a real world Pantheon, that is the one I would choose.

 

[Tonguez]

For the purposes of DnD I enjoy using a mix of the Slavic and Celtic pantheons as they support the Fairytale vibe I like.

I think the Viking dieties are too involved - Thor fighting Giants and Trolls is cool, but then what are the PCs suppose to do if Thor is actively around in the world? The Greek/Roman Pantheon is good as quest givers but their politics and drama is too much work for me as GM to keep up with.

I've used the Nigerian Orisha (Yoruba religion) in particular Olokun the King of the Sea, King Shango the Thunder Axe and the River Otin: goddess of the hunt.

Also has anyone seen the anime Onyx Equinox - I like their portrayal of the MesoAmerican Pantheons

 

[Lanefan]

Greek and Norse here, with occasional reference to Roman, Celtic, Egyptian, Sumerian, and one or two others. (who says they can't all exist at the same time?)