Constructed Religions

[Plane Sailing]

My last campaign was monotheistic, but with lots of schisms within the 'church' heirarchy, thus allowing both good and evil members of the same religion, with good and evil agendas and yet still calling on the same god.

I've always liked the pantheon from Empire of the Petal Throne, and I'm tempted to use that for my next D&D campaign (using the original good/evil division, and ignoring the later recasting as stability/change for the gods 'alignments').

(If you are not familiar, basically there are a bunch of good gods and a bunch of evil gods, each of which has a cohort who has a related sub-portfolio).

Gotta love some Ksarul, Vimuhla, Sarku and Dlamelish, no?

 

[Baron Opal]

I've always liked the pantheon from Empire of the Petal Throne, and I'm tempted to use that for my next D&D campaign (using the original good/evil division, and ignoring the later recasting as stability/change for the gods 'alignments').

Gotta love some Ksarul, Vimuhla, Sarku and Dlamelish, no?

Oh, yes.

The group I'm running has worshippers of Ksarul and Hnalla, they've done a favor for a temple of Thumis and one has been visited by an aspect of Durritlamesh. I'm waiting for the party to polarize between light and dark. It should be amusing.

www.tekumel.com is a good resource for the Tekumeli deities and their symbols. They are very different having a non-European source. A neat spin.

 

[haakon1]

I like my church structures to be very broad, able to accomodate a variety of moral codes and gods. Thus although there are temples to specific gods, all religions include a variety of gods as equals. Many temples will include shrines to several gods. This allows for church intrigue similar to that which NealTS mentioned. Opposing churches would be based more on their cultural background than the moral codes of the gods worshipped. So Baklunish Churches oppose Suloise ones in my Greyhawk game.

IMC, some temples and churches are to the different pantheons (Norse/Suloise, Greyhawk/Oeridian, Greek/Baklunish, and Amer Indian + Sumerian/Flannae), while others are to specific gods (Thor, Pelor, Apollo, the Coyote, etc.).

Sometimes there are temples that mix pantheons. Normally, the multi-god temples do represent multiple alignments.

As for different religions opposing each other, I have rivalries and alliances based on alignment (Pelor, Rao, St. Cuthbert, and Heimdall get along well in Bissel), rivalries from the gods themselves (Pelor and Pholtus just don't like each other), and rivalries that are religious and cultural at the same time (on of the legalistic causes of Ket/Bissel war is that monks and clerics of Xan Yae, a Baklunish god, were prevented from reaching ancient shrines in Bissel, because the Bisselits rightly thought them spies).

 

[haakon1]

In my campaign world, I have had a pantheon of nine deities. Originally, they were one for each alignment, but over time, the alignments have been removed (kind of) and they become patrons for portfolios. As such, I started referring to them as the "Great Wheel," in which the aspects of eight lead from one to the next, while the ninth acts as the hub of the wheel. All intelligent animals and beasts in the campaign world worship the nine, but typically with different motivations and aspects--as if they could be different religions altogether.

Cool gods.

Interesting to think about how religions transform with syncretism (mixing related beliefs to form someting a bit different). If your civilization was conquered by the Great Kingdom in my version of Greyhawk, you'd get absorbed thusly:

The All-Mother is the hub of the wheel, representing society, family, and life of the everyday. She keeps the balance, and keeps the wheel spinning. He symbols include the wheel, a tree, or a pregnant woman.
= Beory


The Ever-Seeing Eye is the god of innovation, new ideas, and the mind. His symbol is an eye or the dawn, typically in a triangle or pyramid. He represents dawn, and is the creator before creation.
= Boccob or the Coyote

The Wild Father (sometimes the Grain Father) is the god of life, the wilds, agriculture, and abundance. He represents the morning when everything awakens and grows. His symbol is anything alive, usually a sprig of a wild plant or harvest.
= Obad-Hai, the Old One

The Ever-Vigilant Sentinel is the god of solidity, surety, and protection. His time is noon, when much is revealed, and we are at our most watchful. His symbol is stone, shield, the sun, and occasionally a lock.
= Heimdall

The Beloved is the goddess of love, delight, freedom of emotion, and storms. Her time is the afternoon, as the day winds down, storms advance across the land, and celebration begins. Her symbol is a flower or anything of beauty, or a stormcloud.
= perhaps Freya or Aphrodite

The Nameless One is the god (goddess?) of lies, uncertainty, long shadows, and mystery. The One's time is dusk, when shadows are at their longest. The Nameless One would never be identified with any particular symbol.
= Iuz, the Old One, or Vecna, or Tharizdun

The Temptress is the dark twin of the Beloved. Her portfolio includes desire, certainty, captivity, and emotions that lead to servitude. Her time is the evening, when people give in to temptation. Her symbols include a black sphere, spider webs, and mushrooms.
= Lloth or Wee Jas

The Warmonger is the god of battle, strength, and the stars. His time is midnight, when the stars lead the way for the most belligerent races. His symbols are any weapon, and the stars. Invocation is his domain, and fireballs are normally thought of as stars brought to earth.
= Hextor, Thor, and/or Celestian

Following War, of course, is Death. Its portfolio is the dead, the cold, and the long quiet stretch of time in the early morning before sunrise, when the world is at its quietest and coldest. Ice and anything dead are its symbols.
= Nerull, the Grim Reaper

 

[Clavis]

The main continent of my current campaign is occupied by a single, but loosely held-together, human empire. The Imperial Religion promotes the worship of 12 Gods, one originally drawn from each of the Realms within the Empire. Each god is both the patron of a particular Realm, and the patron of particular aspects of the Universe. For instance, the Goddess Amara is the Patroness of a Realm called Engasea. Inside Engasea, she is the primary Goddess of common people, although they will also pray to the other gods for specific things. Outside Engasea, she is worshiped as a Goddess of the seas, the moon, money, and business (because of the Engaseans' reputation as sailors and merchants). The specific way in which the same Gods are worshiped can vary widely from Realm to Realm. The Empire also recognizes what are called Legacies, or local historical deities that are officially identified with one of the official Gods. Legacies can be of a different gender from the offical form of the deity, and are tolerated as long as those who worship the Legacy pay lip service to their God simply being a version of one of the sanctioned Imperial Pantheon.

Priests and Priestess need to be of the same gender of the deity they are serve (except for the war goddess Shekeveroth, who only accepts male clergy). Monks and Nuns, on the other hand, need to be of the opposite gender of the deity the are dedicated to. There are known and obvious rivalries between the various clerical groups. The warrior nuns of Havilt, Prince of the Winds and God of righteousness, are vocal in their dislike for the priests and monks of Shekeveroth.

The Imperial Religion was very obviously created to promote unity within the Empire, by making people from one Realm worship Gods native to another. The various Temples tend to be corrupt, and few priests or priestesses can perform miracles. Nonetheless, most common people have accepted the religion. Many educated people, however, look to the various Philosophies for guidance. There are adventuring Philosophers, similar to the Cleric class but dedicated to a Philosophy instead of a deity.

As for the demi-humans, the Elves are Pantheists, the Gnomes are easy-going monotheists who look to traditional "Common Wisdom" to guide their lives, Dwarves are bigoted monotheists who measure piety by the amount of gold one possesses, and Halflings follow a evangelical religion that revolves around charismatic preachers proclaiming the gospel of "Jerebus".