I got Races of the Wild, you got the questions

[Kae'Yoss]

It keeps being referred to as the Forgotten Realms pantheon, but as I remember it it predates FR, from articles in Dragon by Roger E Moore ...? Therefore I'd assume these are the default GH pantheons also. I'm aware the pantheons were not detailed in Deities and Demigods, and are in Faiths and Pantheons ... is that the only reason everyone refers to them as FR, or am I missing something?

In 3e, they were only detailed in the FRCS, so many of the newer players assume that they are FR deities. In previous editions, they were the general pantheons of those races, the demihuman deities of the whole multiverse (while the "human" deities were specific to one world).

In 3e, even those that are mentioned in more than one world (like Lolth) are considered different deities with the same name (they are very similar to one another, of course, but there are details in their powers and such that are different, as are their past exploits and history)

 

[Psion]

Any idea why the designers have decided to drop pre-existing minor deities for the non-human races in favor of the new ones we're seeing? Not sure I like it.

I know I don't. Perhaps they feel a need to be creative instead of recycling old material. But this happens to be old material I like and used.

 

[Kae'Yoss]

I know I don't. Perhaps they feel a need to be creative instead of recycling old material. But this happens to be old material I like and used.

The thing here, as I said, is that they're not really "recycling". They don't use *again*, they use *still*. It's continuity. If they now went and edited Torm out of the FR and instead put another god in, they wouldn't be creative, they'd have messed up the setting.

There's a problem here, though. The races books aren't setting specific. D&D 3 doesn't really use Greyhawk, it merely implies it. It uses GH as inspiration. And since 3e has introduced different cosmologies for different worlds (FR's own cosmology instead of the great wheel), even racial pantheons become setting-specific, not general. Brandobaris isn't the halfling god of pranksters any more, he's the FR halfling god of pranksters (though they still use a lot of the racial deities). So if they don't use minor god X any more, it isn't editing someone out of the universal pantheon, but just not using him in the general stuff. If they did a Greyhawk book, those minor deities should be in, or it would not be consistant with the older versions (just as if they had put that new elven war deity - the daughter of Corellon - into the FR and left Eilistraee and Vhaeraun out).


The best solution, of course, is to keep the old deities (nothing wrong about them) and then add some new stuff. That should satisfy most fans.

 

[shady]

In 3e, even those that are mentioned in more than one world (like Lolth) are considered different deities with the same name (they are very similar to one another, of course, but there are details in their powers and such that are different, as are their past exploits and history)

Thanks. Actually I did know this, was wondering if I had missed anything though.

 

[DevoutlyApathetic]

So anybody know what this "Magic of the Land" does?

 

[Remathilis]

Well...

1.) The D&D Gazetteer discusses one elven deity (who also appears in RoW) Sehanie Moonbow because of her connection to the Lendinor Isles.

2.) The Living Greyhawk Gazetteer has all the typical racial deities (excluding some FR only ones).

3.) Manual of the Planes discussses some of these as servants of the chief gods (specifically, check out Bytopia and Arborea for gnomes/elves). It also discusses Mt. Clandeggin. (sp?)

4.) I can only assume the change was made to "represent" the new racial outlooks these races aquired in 3.X. Who knows....

5.) I don't concern myself too much though... I don't usually have PCs choose racial pantheons beyond the head deity anyway.

 

[Cyberhawk]

Tabaxi!

The book discusses Cat People as a race? Wooohooo..the return of Tabaxi (aside from the Fiend Folio/Tome of Horrors of course...)

 

[ivocaliban]

The best solution, of course, is to keep the old deities (nothing wrong about them) and then add some new stuff. That should satisfy most fans.

For the most part this is what I've been doing with my campaigns. Some of these new deities are really inspiring. Zarus (from Races of Destiny) is one of my favourites. Although to be fair, I would probably only use him as a guise for some other deity (Iuz perhaps) in order to manipulate the human race, but I still like the concept.

I suppose another solution is to have a "Time of Troubles" style campaign where certain deities are destroyed and others take their place and assume their portfolios, but it's not something I'd personally be willing to undertake.

 

[snb1131]

Could you please post some info on the archery substitution levels? Are they only for elves? Also, what are the pre-reqs for the archery tactical feat?

Thanks!

 

[qstor]

2.) The Living Greyhawk Gazetteer has all the typical racial deities (excluding some FR only ones).

This is a bit off topic for this thread. But actually apart from Sehiene Moonbow the other gods are human sub racial and generic Greyhawk gods, like Pholtus and Mayaheine. As other posters mentioned the demi-human gods are included in the FRCS. The LG approved demi-human gods are listed in the LG Deities .pdf download avaiable on the WOTC LG site.

I can start another thread on this topic if someone wants to continue talking about the demi-human gods.

Mike