Lore of the Gods - Final preview today

[devilish]

This is looking like what Deities and Demigods should have been.

Is this a hardcover, softcover, or pdf?

Do you have guidelines for divine ascension, divine ancestry, or other mortal/immortal interactions?

Ben

Ditto to this Q. I have a cleric who's trying to start up a religion in a new plane ...
do you have "100 worshippers give you X points which fuels Y 4th-level clerics..."
type of things inside???

 

[BastionPress_Creech]

Is this a hardcover, softcover, or pdf? Do you have guidelines for divine ascension, divine ancestry, or other mortal/immortal interactions?

It will be a hardcover release and also available in pdf.

I have a cleric who's trying to start up a religion in a new plane ...
do you have "100 worshippers give you X points which fuels Y 4th-level clerics..."
type of things inside???

We talked about including rules such as these but then decided not to. However, I think I am going to go back and add them in. Anything in particular you want to see covered? This is your chance to shape a section of the book to your needs.

By the way, here's the cover art for those who haven't seen it yet.

 

[devilish]

We talked about including rules such as these but then decided not to. However, I think I am going to go back and add them in. Anything in particular you want to see covered? This is your chance to shape a section of the book to your needs.

By the way, here's the cover art for those who haven't seen it yet.

Holy cow! You're kidding, right?

I've always felt that the one thing missing from D&Dg-like books and
Immortals books has been "What makes you a god/dess beside the GM waving
his hand and saying so?"

I've seen some cleric/priest characters who've taken the role seriously (instead
of being the party doctor) and whip whole towns into religious fervor. How does
that affect his/her deity? What does a king/emperor, revered by his subjects either
through love or fear, get as power? How much power did the deity get with this influx
of 200/400/1000 worshippers? What if the cleric converted 10 people
and they went out to preach the word --- if the cleric were imprisoned for
100 years and returned, what would they see? What's the effect of converting
100 people v. the BBEG sacrificing 100 people to his god.[I'm on a tangent here ... but
these have been questions that have happened before ]

That, to me, is what's always been missing from the cleric type all the way since
1E. What makes them different from the wizards --- the fact that they have
a patron deity. Shouldn't their acts have a significant effect on the deity and how
much power they give? This may get into micromanagement but even
glossed-over rules would be better than no rules at all.

[hops off soapbox]

In a nutshell, anything that makes gods more god-ly, instead of just having an uber-prestige
class. Anyone agree? Some power point system (for lack of a better term) that
involved what a god got from its subjects and could give back --- that would
make gods unique!

Thanks for listening --- and the art is AWESOME. You've already won my money (damn
you!)

-D

 

[BastionPress_Creech]

A preview of the Greek Gods chapter

And as promised, here is a little nugget from the chapter on the Olympian deities complete with a piece of art for that deity.

Hecate
Lesser Deity (Chthonic)
Goddess of Witchcraft; The Nameless One
Divine Ranks: 10
Symbol: A burning athame
Alignment: Chaotic Neutral
Portfolio: Age, arcane magic, lycanthropy, night, sex, women
Domains: Magic, Moon, Night
True Form: The moon
Perceived Form: A naked young female with long brown hair, a naked old crone, She is also depicted as a triple-formed person, with three bodies standing back to back.
Avatar Form: A naked young female accompanied by hellhounds
Other Manifestations: A 20HD Annis or 30HD dire wolf
Allies: Artemis, Demeter, Persephone, Zeus
Foes: Chronos
Sacred Items: Athame, arcane lore, the moon
Sacred Animals: Hellhound, wolf
Sacred Plants: Nightshade
Sacred Minerals: Silver
Divine Artifact: Athame of Invocation

Mythology: Hecate is a Titan and assisted Zeus in overthrowing his father, Chronos. She was originally the goddess of the moon and guardian of the pathways, but later became associated with magic and witchcraft. A powerful goddess, Hecate represents the three aspects of the great Goddess, or Triple Goddess: goddess of fertility and plenty, goddess of the moon, and goddess of the night, ghosts and Hades. Possessing infernal powers, she roams the earth at night with her pack of hellhounds and an entourage of dead souls. Only dogs and wolves may see her when she roams and it is said, that when a dog is seen at night, then Hecate walks the lands inflicting nightmares and insanity upon those she visits. She also reigns over the waning and dark moon, when magic is at its peak powers.

However, there is a gentler side of Hecate that brings her to being in the houses of women in childbirth, to serve as a midwife if need be. Women having difficulty during this time often petition Hecate for help and she has a fondness for newly born babies.

Main Tenets of Faith: The majority of Hecate’s followers are women. In her they seek the balance of the old ways, the mystic secrets lost to their contemporaries. They venerate her wildness and her detachment to civilization. They seek primal strength and arcane empowerment to make them independent from male dominated societies.

Location of Faith: Hecate worship is rarely recognized in civilized areas and because she was a titan, few folk acknowledge her as being of importance. She has several well hidden sacred groves throughout the countryside, mostly on the outskirts of small towns.

Sects: Hecate worship is hardly formal, and is largely broken into scores of small sects whose beliefs range from passive altruistic herbalists to violent packs of wild lycanthropes that demand human sacrifice. Others are isolationists bent on returning to ancient ways, solitary hermits, or academicians devoted to unveiling the secrets of arcane lore.

Responsibilities of the Clergy: Due to the variant practices of her sects, Hecate has no formal clergy. Still all sects expect their members to maintain a relative amount of secrecy concerning individual involvement, the locations of sacred site, and details of the sects sacred rituals, practices, and gatherings.

Rights of the Clergy: Due to lack of acknowledgement by civilized culture, Hecate’s worshippers are not afforded any special rights. Treatment of sect members is often biased by preceding contact with her sect, or might also fall to conjecture and speculation based on myth.

Restrictions of the Clergy: Clerics are fobidden to establish residences in cities where large populations reside.

Rituals: Hecate’s rituals are inconsistent are vary widely from sect to sect. They share a few common ties among which are contemptuousness for civilization and lawfulness, a reverence for the full moon, and the nocturnal staging of rituals. Blood sacrifies are common, as are burnt offerings of incense and silver. Her clerics pray for their spells during the hours of darkness.

Vestments: Hecate’s clerics have no standard dress code, though most favor dark colors. Ceremonies and rituals are often performed naked.

Hecate’s Path of the Devout
Devout Alignments: CE, CN, NG, N, NE
Devout Classes: adept, cleric, druid, sorcerer, wizard
Favored Weapons: Quarterstaff
Devout Oath: Hecate’s devout followers must belong to one of her cults are always sworn to secrecy not to reveal their involvement or source of their power. Each full moon, they must perform an hour-long prayer ritual during which they offer her a drop of their own blood as a sacrifice.
Devout Benefits: A devotee of Hecate can decrease the spell slot costs of her metamagic feats by +1.

Avatar of Hecate
10th-Level Druid/10th-Level Sorcerer
Medium Outsider (Chaotic, Chthonic, Extraplanar)
Divine Rank: 5
Hit Dice: 10d8+ 40 plus10d4+ 40 plus 10d8+ 40 (320 hp)
Initiative: +5 (+5 Dex)
Speed: 50 ft. (10 squares)
AC: 37 (+5 Dex, +11 natural, +6 bracers of armor, +5 deflection), flat-footed 33, touch 20
Base Attack/Grapple: +27 / +31
Attack: +5 keen, speed, dancing dagger +38 melee (1d4+9/19-20) or, +5 disruption, speed, thundering quarterstaff +37/+37 melee (1d6+9 plus 1d6 sonic, plus undead Will save DC 14 or destroyed / x2 plus 1d8 sonic Fort save DC14 or permanently deafened).
Full Attack: +5 keen, speed, dancing dagger +38/+33/+28/+32 melee (1d4+9/19-20) or, +5 disruption, speed, thundering quarterstaff +37/+37/+32/+27/+22 melee (1d6+9 plus 1d6 sonic, plus undead Will save DC 14 or destroyed /x2 plus 1d8 sonic Fort save DC14 or permanently deafened).
Space/Reach: 5ft. /5ft.
Special Attacks: Artifact powers, domain powers, spells, spell-like abilities.
Special Qualities: Animal companion, avatar immunities, chthonic, damage reduction 25/-, divine senses (2.5mile-per-rank radius), greater teleport (at will; caster level 20th), immortality, nature sense, outsider traits, planeshift (at will; caster level 20th), resist nature’s lure, resistance to cold 15, speak and read all languages, spell resistance 21, spontaneous casting of domain spells, telepathically communicate with any living creatures (1-mile-radius), summon familiar, trackless step, wild empathy, venom immunity, wild shape 4/day, wild shape(large), woodland stride.
Saves: Fort +25, Ref +18, Will +22
Abilities: Str 19, Dex 20, Con 18, Int 18, Wis 20, Cha 18
Skills & Feats: Concentration +35, Diplomacy +20, Handle Animal +20, Hide +25, Jump +16, Knowledge (Nature) +30, Listen +25, Move Silently +25, Ride +20, Search +30, Spellcraft +32, Spot +30, Survival +25, Swim +25, Use Rope +15; Alertness, Blind-Fight, Brew Potion, Combat Casting, Dodge, Endurance, Enlarge Spell, Natural Spell, Still Spell, Weapon Finesse (Dagger), Weapon Focus (Dagger, Quarterstaff).
Salient Divine Abilities: Call Creatures (Hell Hounds 5 creatures, 5 HD)
Domain Powers: Magic (Use magic devices as a 20th level Sorcerer); Moon (low-light vision); Night (5/day; rebuke or command nocturnal creatures).
Spell-Like Abilities Per Day (5/4/3/2/1; Caster level 15th; save DC 19 + spell level): 1st— magic aura, silverkiss, sleep; 2nd— glitterdust, haunted identify; 3rd— dispel magic, silence; 4th— confusion, scare, spell resistance; 5th— anti magic field, circle of moonlight, dream.
Druid Spells Prepared (6/6/5/4/4/3; save DC 15 + spell level): 0— create water, detect magic, guidance, light, purify food and drink, resistance, virtue; 1st— animal friendship, calm animals, entangle, goodberry, pass without trace, summon nature’s ally I; 2nd— barkskin, chill metal, flaming sphere, lesser restoration, speak with animals; 3rd— call lightning, meld into stone, plant growth, thunderstrike; 4th— cure serious wounds, flame strike, reincarnate, rusting grasp; 5th— ice storm, insect plague, wall of thorns.
Sorcerer Spells Per Day (6/8/7/7/6/4; save DC 14 + spell level): 0— daze, detect magic, detect poison, light, mending, open/close, prestidigitation, ray of frost, read magic; 1st— alarm, detect secret doors, identify, magic missile, shield; 2nd— blur, invisibility, knock, web; 3rd— dispel magic, haste, summon monster III; 4th— invisibility greater, polymorph; 5th— cone of cold.
Artifact Powers: Hecate’s artifacts grant her additional powers.
Athame of Invocation: Exchange material components for blood at the rate of 50gp value per 1 hp.
Possessions: +5 keen, speed, dancing dagger, +5 disruption, speed, thundering quarterstaff, boots of elvenkind, cloak of the bat, crystal ball (true seeing), bracers of armor +6, brazier of commanding fire elementals, incense of meditation, iron flask, robe of blending, ring of spell turning, ring of protection +5, Athame of Invocation.

Tomorrow, one of the Mesopotamian gods...

 

[Greylock]

Anything in particular you want to see covered? This is your chance to shape a section of the book to your needs.

Here's a man who knows how to make a sale. Eagerly looking forward to more nuggets...

 

[Crothian]

It will be a hardcover release and also available in pdf.



We talked about including rules such as these but then decided not to. However, I think I am going to go back and add them in. Anything in particular you want to see covered? This is your chance to shape a section of the book to your needs.

I'd really like to see ways to become a diety, the ways to raise power once being a diety, what the power of the followers gives the god, how many followers are needed to do whatever.

THe art looks really good.

 

[Henry]

Same here - Maybe I'm not widely read enough (Haven't seen Upper Krust's Immortals Book yet ) but my group and I have often debated this. While a thousand worshippers might not be measurable, perhaps ten thousand would be? Or 100,000? If you, as a high-level cleric, converted 50,000 strong to your god, would your god reward you? For that matter, if someone converted 100,000 strong to the worship of THEMSELVES, would it matter? In most D&D worlds, faith is power!

 

[BastionPress_Creech]

So basically, you folks want rules that cover the following:

-Divine Ascension (what events must happen before a character can ascend?)
-Attaining divine power and abilities through followers/worshippers (and their numbers)
-Advancing a deity's status/rank within a pantheon

Anything else I'm missing?

 

[Crothian]

I want a pony!!!

Another that goes with ascending is what happens to a god that falls from godhood?

 

[BastionPress_Creech]

Another that goes with ascending is what happens to a god that falls from godhood?

That was fairly well covered in a certain Malhavoc release. I'm on a bit of a time crunch, so everything and the kitchen sink isn't exactly an option.