Brainstorming a Supers Pantheon

[roguerouge]

Okay. I had a weird idea the other day for a campaign cosmology, but I know I lack the knowledge to make it work the way it should. I want a pantheon composed entirely of comic book super heroes! I think that would be hilarious, and, for once, I wouldn't forget what god had what portfolio.

This isn't campaign specific. It could work in a post-apocalypse super hero game, or a normal one. It could work in a DnD fantasy campaign as a nod to the "earth that was." It could work in a beer and pretzels campaign too.

So. Some questions for brainstorming:

• What superheroes would you want to include in this pantheon?
• What portfolios would they have and why?
• Would this pantheon include DC, Marvel, and indie publisher heroes, or would they be separate and warring pantheons?
• Would only villains be the evil gods, or would supers like Batman or the Punisher be 'misinterpreted' to be evil gods?
• What would the associated religions be like? What role would they play in society?
• What would their clerics be like?
• If Wonder Woman or Thor is included, is there a pantheon above this one, or is that pantheon gone?

Note: Neil Gaiman's stuff on Sandman and American Gods is totally relevant.

 

[arscott]

At one point, I developed a homebrew pantheon that was thinly disguised versions of the Justice League and some of it's adversaries.

The Gods

Kaleb the Warrior--God of the sun and strength, and patron to scribes. Arrived from a land beyond the sun and fought the demons at the beginning of time. With the help of Obsidian, he defeated Lux Lucrum and banished him beneath the earth. Created the golden age of man, which died out because they did not reproduce.

Obsidian, Dragon of Night--God of justice and darkness, and patron to craftsmen. Born when Kaleb first spilled the blood of Lux Lucrum, Obsidian helped the Warrior defeat the Demon King and banish him. Created the silver age of man, which perished in violence due to the teachings of the Laughing Prophet.

Diana, the Huntress--Godess of the moon and truth, and patron to healers. Born from clay shortly after the Demon King was defeated, she created the present age of man.

Boreas the Quick--Messenger of the gods, god of lightning, and patron to alchemists. A beneficial trickster figure.

Jordan the Guardian--God of magic, wielder of the emerald flame, and patron of soldiers. He has no priests, but is served by an order of emerald-flame-wielding mages who are chanrged with maintaining order throughout the cosmos.

The Unnamed Wanderer--God of learning and wisdom, and patron of policemen. A being from beyond the cosmos that lacks true name and shape.

The Windlord and the Windlady--Gods of the sky, patron to kings and scholars. Once a mortal king and queen, they ascended to godhood during the golden age.

Oran, the Sea King--God of the ocean and its storms, patron to the infirm. Does not live at Watchtower mount, but instead has his own abode deep in the depths of the sea.

The Demons
Lux Lucrum--King of Demons, but also honored as a god of wealth
The Laughing Prophet--Lord of Mayhem, Incited the violence that ended the silver age of man.
Mars--Lord of Battle, patron of mercenaries and tyrants.
Ceighlie--Queen of Cats, patron of thieves.
The King in Yellow--Lord of Fear, Madness, and Necromancy.
Snart, the Ice Imp--Lord of Winter and enemy of Boreas
Set--Lord of poison and treachery, once a mortal advisor to the rulers who became the windlord and windlady.
Urm, Master of the Deeps--Brother of Oran, lord of places where no light reaches and the creatures that dwell there.

 

[Asmor]

In kind of a similar vein to that, the current big bad in my campaign is a holdover from my last campaign: a chaotic entity known as Unicron (sort of a Cthulhu-like figure) which is responsible for the creation of warforged.

In that original campaign Unicron came from, he was opposed by the first warforged, Primus, who started a rebellion among warforged against him and was eventually deified.

Anyways, back to the topic at hand...

Good gods

Spiderman - Cunning, invention, responsibility

Captain America - Truth, liberty, justice

Dr. Strange - God of magic and knowledge

Storm - Goddess of weather and nature

Neutral gods

Iron Man - Booze & babes

The Hulk - Passion, strength, prowess in battle

Wolverine - God of hunters and artisans (be the best there is at what you do, bub)

The Punisher - God of vengeance and punishment

Evil gods

Doctor Doom - Sort of a cross between Vecna and Bane

Magneto - God of orcs; commands them to take what is rightfully theirs by force, but to do so honorably and not sink to the levels of their persecutors.

Mystique - Goddess of lies and deception.

Galactus - Cthulhoid entity of hunger

 

[Kobold Avenger]

I remember that Grant Morrison stated that he envisioned the Justice League as being a lot like the Gods of Olympus. Most importantly Superman was Zeus, Wonderwoman was Hera and Batman was Hades, and I guess Aquaman was Poseidon and Flash was Hermes.

 

[roguerouge]

I kind of like the idea of the Joker and Harlequin as being leaders of the Unseelie Court. Sort of an anti-Oberon and anti-Titania.

 

[Drowbane]

At one point, I developed a homebrew pantheon that was thinly disguised versions of the Justice League and some of it's adversaries.

Very cool, Arscott (or should I say, "Tres Geek"). My DC knowledge is rather weak (compared to my Marvel). Some of these are obvious...

The Gods

Kaleb the Warrior--God of the sun and strength, and patron to scribes. Arrived from a land beyond the sun and fought the demons at the beginning of time. With the help of Obsidian, he defeated Lux Lucrum and banished him beneath the earth. Created the golden age of man, which died out because they did not reproduce.

Superman?

Obsidian, Dragon of Night--God of justice and darkness, and patron to craftsmen. Born when Kaleb first spilled the blood of Lux Lucrum, Obsidian helped the Warrior defeat the Demon King and banish him. Created the silver age of man, which perished in violence due to the teachings of the Laughing Prophet.

Smacks of Batman.

Diana, the Huntress--Godess of the moon and truth, and patron to healers. Born from clay shortly after the Demon King was defeated, she created the present age of man.

Clearly Wonderwoman.

Boreas the Quick--Messenger of the gods, god of lightning, and patron to alchemists. A beneficial trickster figure.

The Flash

Jordan the Guardian--God of magic, wielder of the emerald flame, and patron of soldiers. He has no priests, but is served by an order of emerald-flame-wielding mages who are chanrged with maintaining order throughout the cosmos.

Green Lantern (specifically, Hal Jordan)

The Unnamed Wanderer--God of learning and wisdom, and patron of policemen. A being from beyond the cosmos that lacks true name and shape.

Drawing a blank here.

The Windlord and the Windlady--Gods of the sky, patron to kings and scholars. Once a mortal king and queen, they ascended to godhood during the golden age.

??? ???

Oran, the Sea King--God of the ocean and its storms, patron to the infirm. Does not live at Watchtower mount, but instead has his own abode deep in the depths of the sea.

Aquaman?

Lux Lucrum--King of Demons, but also honored as a god of wealth

Lex Luthor

The Laughing Prophet--Lord of Mayhem, Incited the violence that ended the silver age of man.

The Joker, an awesome take on the character

Ceighlie--Queen of Cats, patron of thieves.

Catwoman

Mars--Lord of Battle, patron of mercenaries and tyrants.
The King in Yellow--Lord of Fear, Madness, and Necromancy.
Snart, the Ice Imp--Lord of Winter and enemy of Boreas.
Set--Lord of poison and treachery, once a mortal advisor to the rulers who became the windlord and windlady.
Urm, Master of the Deeps--Brother of Oran, lord of places where no light reaches and the creatures that dwell there.

?????

Who are the ones I didn't get?

 

[arscott]

Unnamed Wanderer = Martian Manhunter
Windlord & Windlady = Hawkman & Hawkgirl

Mars= Mars/Ares, a major Wonder Woman foe
The King in Yellow = Sinestro, Green Lantern's nemesis with a yellow power ring.
Snart=Captain Cold, a flash villian.
Set = Hath-Set, the egyptian priest who murdered hawkman & hawkgirl's original incarnations and was re-incarnated with them throughout history.
Urm=Orm, the ocean master, Aquaman's evil half-brother.

 

[Hawkeye]

Very cool, Arscott (or should

?????

Who are the ones I didn't get?

Mars--Lord of Battle, patron of mercenaries and tyrants. Well, this just could very well be Mars, a sometime advesary for Wonder Woman

The King in Yellow--Lord of Fear, Madness, and Necromancy is Sinestro

Snart, the Ice Imp--Lord of Winter and enemy of Boreas is Captain Cold or Leonard Snart

Set--Lord of poison and treachery, once a mortal advisor to the rulers who became the windlord and windlady. Now this could be Black Adam, but I am guessing it is more than likely The Shadowthief.

Urm, Master of the Deeps--Brother of Oran, lord of places where no light reaches and the creatures that dwell there is Ocean Master, half brother to Aquaman.

I did something similar one time, but I took a similar tract that Birthright did and had the old gods (the JSA) having to die to defeat a great and powerful evil and the new gods were the mortal heroes who took their place (JLA).

Hawkeye

 

[Hawkeye]

Someting that you could do, is how Marvel has approached the classic pantheons. The ancient gods are very powerful beings and each of them had a chosen people: the Norse, Greek/Romans, Indians, Mayans/Incas/Aztecs etc... At times they worked together and other times they worked against each other. So, you could do something similar and have pantheons compsed of Marvel heroes, another for DC, another for Image, Dark Horse etc...

Hawkeye

 

[Mathew_Freeman]

The Authority were also described as a pantheon:

Apollo - "The Sun God"
The Midnighter - "Night's Bringer of War"
The Engineer - "The Maker"
Jack Hawksmoor - "The King of Cities"
Jenny Sparks - "The Spirit of the 20th Century"
The Doctor - "The World Shaman"
Swift - "The Winged Huntress"