I was wondering if there is a sourcebook (perhaps from an earlier edition) that details monstrous deities? Mostly I'm looking for the fluffy stuff like holy symbols, important holy days, rituals, places of worship, etc. I know I could just make it up, but if someone has already gone to the trouble, I'd prefer to just add another book or two to my collection. Humanoid deities (orcs, goblins, kobolds, etc) are most useful, followed by giant, fey, beholder, mind flayer, dragon, other. I know at least a few dragon deities were in Draconomicon, but I haven't picked that up yet. Any recommendations will be appreciated. Thanks.
Monstrous deities - symbols, holy days, etc.
- Thread starter Darren
- Start date
Kax Tuglebend
First Post
oh what an easy question to answer, you want 2nd editions Monster Mythology
http://svgames.com/tsr2128esd.html
http://svgames.com/tsr2128esd.html
Personally, I much prefer how Kingdoms of Kalamar has handled it.
There are certain number of gods, and that's it. The Orcs worship the same evil gods as do the evil humans/dwarves/etc. They may have different names, and even arrange them in a different hierarchy, but they are quite similar otherwise. Seems to provide a more cohesive feel to the world.
There are certain number of gods, and that's it. The Orcs worship the same evil gods as do the evil humans/dwarves/etc. They may have different names, and even arrange them in a different hierarchy, but they are quite similar otherwise. Seems to provide a more cohesive feel to the world.
not that hard to convert either, if you're using Complete Divine.
shady
Explorer
The best source of fluff on these guys is indeed Monster Mythology. Being a 2E resource it doesn't have domains - these are listed (for the more obscure deities) in Complete Divine (and previously in Defenders of the Faith, and Faiths and Pantheons).
3E information on some of the humanoid deities (Gruumsh, Kurtulmak,etc) is more common and can be found in Deities and Demigods. Faiths and Pantheons has the advantage of detailing the various racial pantheons, including the Orc one (which Deities and Demigods doesn't have - F&P is a significantly better book).
The more recent formula series - eg Races of Stone, Destiny, etc; Draconomicon/Libris Mortis - are quietly introducing new gods to the core/Greyhawk setting. I wouldn't be surprised to see the forthcoming (April 05) Aberrations book include more of this stuff for the creatures you list.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/t...102-3211062-4826542?v=glance&s=books&n=507846
3E information on some of the humanoid deities (Gruumsh, Kurtulmak,etc) is more common and can be found in Deities and Demigods. Faiths and Pantheons has the advantage of detailing the various racial pantheons, including the Orc one (which Deities and Demigods doesn't have - F&P is a significantly better book).
The more recent formula series - eg Races of Stone, Destiny, etc; Draconomicon/Libris Mortis - are quietly introducing new gods to the core/Greyhawk setting. I wouldn't be surprised to see the forthcoming (April 05) Aberrations book include more of this stuff for the creatures you list.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/t...102-3211062-4826542?v=glance&s=books&n=507846
shady
Explorer
I'd hope it was a Mind Flayer pantheon (same for beholders etc), rather than a retread of the existing material on the core deity. Strange how 3E monsters are all monotheistic for space reasons ... Monster Mythology, for example, additionally lists Maanzecorian for the Illithid (ah .... but Maanzecorian was subsequently slain by Orcus/Tenebrous - Dead Gods).BOZ said:
There is, by the way, a 3E write up on Ilsensine near the back of the Expanded Psionics Handbook. And there's an alternative mind flayer pantheon in Paradigm's Unveiled Masters (in fact it's alternative to that book also - the core assumption is that mind flayers are godless, the pantheon is supplied in case you disagree).
By the way, the Ilithiad is a fantastic additional purchase at SVGgames, if only for the cosmology and creation myths surrounding the abberation races, which it claims were "regular races" warped by planar proximity to a bunch of Lovecraft style "outer gods", including Ilsensine, Great Mother, etc.
I picked up a Monster Mythology pdf from RPGnow. It's (almost) just what I was looking for. Unfortunately the scan leaves a bit to be desired... page 119 was placed after page 123, and about 10 pages were scanned so that there is no left margin and the first letter in each line was cut off. For $5 I'm not going to complain too loudly though... it's an RPG book after all... I've learned to lower my expectations for editing, no matter the form. :\ Expansions of stuff like this for 3E would be great, and I'd like to see a few more truly weird aberrations-related gods. Too bad Wizards hasn't released much, and what they have is scattered in other sourcebooks. I suppose I'm in the minority though.
I probably should have mentioned that the group wants to play in the Realms, and one of the players has Faiths and Pantheons, so I did have a little info to start with. However, I generally dislike using human deities for monsters and other non-human(oid) creatures, so I'll be adding a few deities into the campaign. With one paladin and two clerics in a group of six, thwarting various sorts of evil religious machinations just seems like something the group will naturally get into eventually, and I want some very evil servants of some very strange and alien Powers to toss at them when the stars are right.
I have no Complete books or selections from the Races series yet though. I'm with a group of 3.0 resisters, so I don't have any great incentive for a lot of new 3.5 crunchies except for creating NPCs, and so far I have made my Will saves against the allure of any more new Wizards hardbacks since getting the 3.5 core books. (The recent $5 sales from certain publishers though...
) I don't think conversion should be any real problem... they won't be encountering any deities or avatars, only worshippers. I'll probably allow the most powerful demon lords and devil princes a few demigod-like powers in order to grant spells to a handful of fanatical worshippers, then just use SRD and Realms domains appropriate for the various deities' interests. Toss in a few things from the Book of Vile Darkness to increase the Evil factor a bit, and I should be good to go.
I probably should have mentioned that the group wants to play in the Realms, and one of the players has Faiths and Pantheons, so I did have a little info to start with. However, I generally dislike using human deities for monsters and other non-human(oid) creatures, so I'll be adding a few deities into the campaign. With one paladin and two clerics in a group of six, thwarting various sorts of evil religious machinations just seems like something the group will naturally get into eventually, and I want some very evil servants of some very strange and alien Powers to toss at them when the stars are right.
I have no Complete books or selections from the Races series yet though. I'm with a group of 3.0 resisters, so I don't have any great incentive for a lot of new 3.5 crunchies except for creating NPCs, and so far I have made my Will saves against the allure of any more new Wizards hardbacks since getting the 3.5 core books. (The recent $5 sales from certain publishers though...
) I don't think conversion should be any real problem... they won't be encountering any deities or avatars, only worshippers. I'll probably allow the most powerful demon lords and devil princes a few demigod-like powers in order to grant spells to a handful of fanatical worshippers, then just use SRD and Realms domains appropriate for the various deities' interests. Toss in a few things from the Book of Vile Darkness to increase the Evil factor a bit, and I should be good to go.
