D&D General Death of a god
- Thread starter Seanpotts
- Start date
MonkeezOnFire
Adventurer
I would have it take away whatever that god was in charge of. So if Pelor the god of the sun ceased to be the sun would go out. If it was Ioun the goddess of knowledge then the drive to discover new things would be gone from mortals.
Salthorae
Imperial Mountain Dew Taster
Besides all of their worshipers no longer getting new spells or answers to their Communes?
I think that is probably pretty setting and deity specific.
The Spellplague was because Mystra was killed (in the transition from 3.x to 4th edition) and it wreaked all kinds of havoc on the lands.
But other god's deaths didn't have an impact of which I'm aware.
Raistlin killed all the gods of Krynn and left the world a desolation, but that was from his rule, not their deaths.
What do you imagine it COULD do or how do you want to affect your game world?
Seanpotts
Villager
I mostly want my players to realise that Primordials are killing off lesser gods and working their way up the pantheon. I get telling them through the clerics or palidans would be enough but I want them to see that the world would be devistated if they don't help.
Salthorae
Imperial Mountain Dew Taster
I'd do something tied to their portfolio, stampedes or waters turning to blood, or earthquakes, whatever might be tied to them, but for lesser gods, lesser things.
Though...do the greater/intermediate/lesser gods not know what's happening? I'd think they'd be sending out all sorts of warning dreams of apocalypse and such to their worshipers after the first couple died.
That might be fun too...also build tension and dread a bit, especially if you have divine characters:
All these gods blasting their worshipers with dreams and visions of death and ruin and apocalypse. Then some tremors or crazy stampedes or a copse of trees instantly wasting away to barren husks and rotten trunks or whatever. And when that happens the priests of those gods are relieved. They are no longer having the dreams/visions, only to realize with horror that they also don't get new spells the next day.
And each time that happens, more and more panic will ensue in the NPC world/population as knowledge spreads that so long as you have the dreams, your god lives. When they die, your dreams end... so to speak
Quartz
Hero
What do you want to happen? You're the DM! In some milieus other gods will take on the mantle and portfolio. In others new gods will take up the task. In yet others an outstanding mortal worshipper might have the mantle thrust upon them. Or the most powerful deity could select a god at random. Or the mantle could pass to someone completely at random. Or the primordials might absorb and hijack the portfolio.
There is no one answer. There may or may not even be any immediate effect.
For example, the mythology in my campaign is based on Norse mythology. As part of that theology, Odin's son Baldur was killed when Loki tricked Hod. The immediate effect may not have been much but in my campaign it changed the very essence of Odin and has had major reverberations in Midgard (the prime material plane).
Loki was imprisoned and has a snake dripping venom on his head. His wife catches the venom in a bowl but occasionally has to empty the bowl, causing the venom to hit Loki. When that happens he screams in pain and there are earthquakes and volcanoes.
At the same time, Odin is now obsessed with a coming war between the forces of Asgard and Loki's allies and shifted alignment from LG to true Neutral. He went from a god of wisdom and magic to a god of war as he stirs up conflict so that he can recruit more warriors for his hall, Valhalla.
The odd thing is that some clerics still worship Baldur and still get spells.
So that's my abbreviated version of what happened the last time a god died in my campaign. Think of the effect it's going to have on the rest of the pantheon. The death of the god may or may not have an immediate impact, but how are the other gods going to respond?
For example, the mythology in my campaign is based on Norse mythology. As part of that theology, Odin's son Baldur was killed when Loki tricked Hod. The immediate effect may not have been much but in my campaign it changed the very essence of Odin and has had major reverberations in Midgard (the prime material plane).
Loki was imprisoned and has a snake dripping venom on his head. His wife catches the venom in a bowl but occasionally has to empty the bowl, causing the venom to hit Loki. When that happens he screams in pain and there are earthquakes and volcanoes.
At the same time, Odin is now obsessed with a coming war between the forces of Asgard and Loki's allies and shifted alignment from LG to true Neutral. He went from a god of wisdom and magic to a god of war as he stirs up conflict so that he can recruit more warriors for his hall, Valhalla.
The odd thing is that some clerics still worship Baldur and still get spells.
So that's my abbreviated version of what happened the last time a god died in my campaign. Think of the effect it's going to have on the rest of the pantheon. The death of the god may or may not have an immediate impact, but how are the other gods going to respond?
Lanefan
Victoria Rules
Another voice here saying "situationally dependent".
If it's some minor deity with few followers and fewer (or no) Clerics, chances are nobody in the mortal realm is really going to care very much. But if it's a major deity and-or one with lots of followers and Clerics then you're going to have a social upheaval in that culture for a while.
More interesting would be the ramifications at the divine level: if one deity dies, the rest are sure going to look to their defenses!
If it's some minor deity with few followers and fewer (or no) Clerics, chances are nobody in the mortal realm is really going to care very much. But if it's a major deity and-or one with lots of followers and Clerics then you're going to have a social upheaval in that culture for a while.
More interesting would be the ramifications at the divine level: if one deity dies, the rest are sure going to look to their defenses!
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