My Homebrew Pantheon - Please Critique

[Archade]

I would appreciate some input on my 80% finished pantheon for my homebrew campaign.

Religion of the Marchlands

Aanyar – god of storms, lightning, and the sea, and all manner of poor weather and disasters that come from weather, such as forest fires, floods, famine, drought, earthquakes, and other calamities. He is worshipped, or his name is invoked to avoid his wrath, by farmers, sailors, foresters. He is depicted either as a giant kraken or a windswept old man with one eye.
Alignment: CN
Domains: Chaos, Destruction, Water, Weather
Favored Wearpon: Falchion

Aarden is the son of Aarishem. He was the archivist of all the records of the celestial realms, and was scribe to the heavenly hosts, recording all deeds and actions. He is worshipped in open-air monasteries by gray-robed priests who raise their voices in chants and songs to his name.
Alignment: LG
Domains: Air, Good, Law, Knowledge
Favored Weapon: Quarterstaff

Aarishem (the Allfather) was the sole deity of the Malacisti, with a host of angels under his dominion. However, he died 100 years ago, and now his angels are worshipped as gods or devils, and the worship of the Malacisti is hopelessly fractured. Many still worship his son, Aarden

Amarel is the goddess of love, good fortune, formerly an angel of Aarishem. She is called on by many who do not worship her formally for luck.
Alignment: NG
Domains: Luck, Good, Fate, Charm
Favored Weapon:

Asmodai – originally an angel of Aarishem, Asmodai is the god of vengeance, retribution, and contracts. He is often represented as a devil who tricks people into signing contracts to steal mortal souls, and is the favored patron of lawyers, judges, and those who have been wronged.
Alignment: LN
Domains: Law, Domination, Pact, Planning
Favored Weapon: Light Mace

Astaroth – the ruler of the Nine Hells, he is depicted as a winged handsome man with a snake wrapped around his one hand, and his ornate robes smolder with the burning sulfur of Baator. He commands the secret of hellfire, and is the patron of many a warlock.
Alignment: LE
Domains: Evil, Fire, Destruction, Magic
Favored Weapon: Spiked Chain

Chaldan is the goddess of hearth & home, protection, fertility, prosperity, and community. Her priests speak of peace and well-being, but will stand to protect the helpless. Chaldan also represents farming, agriculture, and things built from stone and clay. Her religious ceremonies often involve the sharing of water from a jug.
Alignment: NG
Domains: Community, Protection, Good, Earth
Favored Weapon: Sickle
Symbol: A doorway, door or lintel.

Darut is the god of sleep and dreams. He is often depicted with a small harp that lulls people to sleep. He is a former angel of Aarishem. His worshippers often pursue purity of the mind.
Alignment: N
Domains: Dream, Celerity, Mind, Oracle
Favored Weapon:

Dispater is a former angel of Aarishem, and is depicted as a devil with cloven hooves who serves as an Archduke of Hell. He is the patron of those who wish to rule by force, or bind creatures to do their bidding.
Alignment: LE
Domains: Nobility, Tyranny, War, Evil, Summoner
Favored Weapon: Heavy Mace

Gillandine is the god of trade, merchants, cities, gold, and fair dealing. He is most often worshipped in large communities, and his church is heavily involved in merchanting, moneylending, and trade. It is said that his priests can pluck knowledge from the minds of passers-by, so their church is not well trusted.
Alignment: LN
Domains: Law, Travel, Planning, Mind
Favored Weapon: Light Crossbow

Hirax – The Lion of Battle, he is depicted as a glowing man in golden armor wielding a flaming sword. He is frequently invoked by those seeking his protection. His worshippers reflect a great guilt for the death of Aarishem. He is a former angel of Aarishem.
Alignment: LG
Domains: War, Protection, Good, Law
Favored Weapon: Longsword


Khaastratha is symbolized as a woman wielding a vicious greatsword and surrounded by ravens. She represents fury and destruction of the barbarian culture, and she is worshipped by those who wish to conquer, overthrow, or rule another. She is frequently worshipped by the gith.
Alignment: CN
Domains: Animal, Destruction, War, Strength
Favored Weapon: Greatsword

Madrael: The god of death, unclaimed or restless souls, he and his servants in his likeness harvest souls to be sped to their final resting place. He dwells within the ethereal plane and is also the god of fear, nightmares, and things unseen. He was formerly an angel of Arishem’s host, and is often depicted having black feathered wings.
Alignment: N
Domains: Death, Destruction, Fate, Darkness
Favored Weapon: Scythe

Malacai – originally the Herald of Aarishem, he is now the god of secrets whispered in shadows, and messengers. He is known as a silver-tongued angel who never lies but bends the truth to his own needs.
Alignment: N
Domains: Knowledge, Travel, Darkness, Celerity
Favored Weapon: Dagger

Prothus (the Iron God) this god is worshipped by all those who make things, from simple blacksmiths to powerful wizards. All things made by the hands and minds of men are the domain of Prothus. It is said this deity handed down the secrets of fire, runes, and numbers to mankind. His priests often wear red robes and iron masks.
Alignment: N
Domains: Artifice, Magic, Fire, Rune
Favored Weapon: Warhammer

Solistay (the Dawnsinger) is the goddess of morning, renewal, healing and light.. Her symbol is either a sun or a thrush. Solistay brings warmth and radiance to all worshippers who allow her into their souls. Those with compassionate hearts and kind intentions turn to Solistay as both the source and protector of all things good.
Alignment: NG
Domains: Good, Healing, Sun, Purification
Favored Weapon: Morningstar

Verri is the goddess of wine, song, and merriment. As well, she represents inspiration of art, poetry, and artistic creativity. Her priesthood are known for their revels, and their sumptuous feasts and potent wines, but are also known for their ability to divine the future. Worshippers of Verri also express their faith through contests of strength, races, and wrestling.
Alignment: CG
Domains: Chaos, Oracle, Good, Strength
Favored Weapon: Gauntlet


The Elven Court

Amon (the Red Archer) is the fey spirit that embodies war. He wears burnished gold armor and bears a burning longbow into battle. His spirit is mercurial and hot-tempered.
Alignment: CG
Domains: Celerity, Fire, Sun, War
Favored Weapon: Longbow

Churcainn (the Green Rider) leads the wild hunt, wearing leaf armor and a helmet adorned with great horns of a stag. He often attempts to make bargains with mortals, that never end to their benefit.
Alignment: CN
Domains: Water, Chaos, Animal, Travel, Trickery
Favored Weapon: Longsword

Maglaura (the Raven Witch) lives deep in the forests, calling all sorts of dark spirits and unnatural creatures to do her bidding. It is even said that she can raise the corpses of the dead and bend them to her will.
Alignment: CE
Domains: Earth, Plant, Darkness, Corruption, Death

Maelbine (the White King) is the father of the giants, and holds the secrets of the mountains. His followers cannot be moved by snow or weather, and they command the strength of the giants.
Alignment: CN
Domains: Air, Strength, Cold, Strength, Weather
Favored Weapon: Any spear

Laerith (the Silver Queen) dwells in a silver-spired city called at the center of the Empyrean Wood, and the moon itself is named after her realm. She rules over the Elven Court.
Alignment: CG
Domains: Magic, Healing, (Moon?), (Light?)

 

[Evilhalfling]

well I see theat you demoted Asmodus (and made him a LN devil), and more or less promoted Mephisto to the lord of hell. I am personally biased against the spike chain, and would'nt promote it as anyones favorate weapon.
Some of the themes and imagery are a little too christian for my comfort, but your players may differ.
You have 2 CN barbarian gods - do they get along, are they rivals or enemies?
your god of luck is not chaotic? that seems odd.
The god of alchol and sports? very apt.

Its a good pantheon overall, but you were looking for critisism right?

 

[Bardsandsages]

I would say the first question is "Why?" As a student of religion and mythology, this particular pantheon seems a hodge-podge of unrelated beings corresponding to things you think you might need, as opposed to an organic faith.

I'd also say you are bringing a modern-era sensibility to your interpretation of the gods. For example, many polytheistic cultures honored their god of storms not as a force of destruction, but as a lifebringer. Generally, the only cultures with a god of storms are those that have a rainy season, and the coming of that season was seen as a good thing. I don't have a problem with the CN alignment, but I think you are focusing on the negative aspects without thinking through WHY this god would be needed.

Is Hirax a paladin? Why is the god of battle LG? Is he really a god of battle, or of protection? I don't think this is clearly understood.

Also, don't take this the wrong way, but slightly changing the spelling of an existing deity does not make it original. If Prothus is suppose to be Prometheus, then just call him Prometheus. There's nothing wrong with revisiting existing myths and making them your own, but actually make it your own by giving it an original presentation and not just altering the spelling.

I guess the main problem I have is that this doesn't feel like a pantheon, but a mash-up of names of mythological beings pulled off the internet and shoehorned to fit a campaign setting. Without actually understanding your campaign world, I honestly can't give any advice on how to fix it.

 

[Archade]

I appreciate the ideas guys, thanks!

I'm not aiming for a christian mythology, but I am aiming for gothic (or at least Victorian) overtones. In my campaign world, rather than have the devils be fallen angels, the devils are former servants of a monotheistic deity that have been reinterpreted by their worshippers (no longer bound by a unifying church). So some celestial beings have become LN and LE, and even a couple have become NG and N, but many have stayed LG. This my Malacisti culture pantheon.

Mixed in with that I have more of a germanic or standard fantasy pantheon to flesh out the needs of D&D to cover alignments, roles, and Domains. This is my Marchlander culture pantheon, that has been incorporated.

I am trying to avoid the multiple-pantheon problem, so there isn't a dwarven pantheon, halfling pantheon, etc.

I agree with some of the comments, and I'll revise my pantheon accordingly, and re-post it.

Keep 'em coming ...

 

[Archade]

I'd also say you are bringing a modern-era sensibility to your interpretation of the gods. For example, many polytheistic cultures honored their god of storms not as a force of destruction, but as a lifebringer. Generally, the only cultures with a god of storms are those that have a rainy season, and the coming of that season was seen as a good thing. I don't have a problem with the CN alignment, but I think you are focusing on the negative aspects without thinking through WHY this god would be needed.

Excellent point - I am trying to round out gods to be more inclusive of society (like my death god also covering nightmares, rather than being another undead lich guy). I'll rework my weather god.

Is Hirax a paladin? Why is the god of battle LG? Is he really a god of battle, or of protection? I don't think this is clearly understood.

Yes, I'm looking to make Hirax a stalwart defending paladin kind of god, as well as make him a god of strength and courage. I'll expand on his description

Also, don't take this the wrong way, but slightly changing the spelling of an existing deity does not make it original. If Prothus is suppose to be Prometheus, then just call him Prometheus. There's nothing wrong with revisiting existing myths and making them your own, but actually make it your own by giving it an original presentation and not just altering the spelling.

Well, I was trying to make Prothus a combination of the bestower of fire, the usual D&D smith deity, and a neutral magic god, so a maker of things. And fire, writing, and magic pretty much cover all of making things. I may have subconsciously named him after Promethius. Any suggestions for an alternate name?

I guess the main problem I have is that this doesn't feel like a pantheon, but a mash-up of names of mythological beings pulled off the internet and shoehorned to fit a campaign setting. Without actually understanding your campaign world, I honestly can't give any advice on how to fix it.

I'm trying for a late medieval gothic feel. I want saints and angels venerated as deities, while pagan religions (the fey court) and fiends are worshipped in secret. The cultures I'm drawing on for my campaign world are decidedly continental europe, rather than england/ireland/etc, if I can help it. Overall flavour would be Brothers Grimm, stories and fables that came after the Black Death, etc. That being said, I'm trying to stay away from anything historically accurate or analagous, but I am going for the flavour or atmosphere...

 

[GlassEye]

This turned into more of a free association of (unrelated?) ideas than a critique, sorry.

When I craft a pantheon I try to have some sort of unifying theme: elemental, or celestial bodies, etc. Looking over yours the theme seems to be oriented around human pursuits and then a kind of wild/elemental counterpoint. Even if it requires a bit of shuffling I would try to work with this divide. I also like to use politics and familial bonds to make links between the gods. Maybe eliminate some of the duplication in the portfolios of the gods.

A dead god and a broken church? I'm seeing huge derelict cathedrals and a multitude of squabbling cults vying for control and a resurgence of old, supposedly forgotten, godlike beings.

So you have Aarishem, the prime god (now dead. How? And what happened after? I'll say a bit more about this later.) and his Court of Pursuits. However, Aarishem dies and the Court of Pursuits is broken.

The opposition would be old gods/spirits of natural forces which would include the Fey Court.

[sblock=The Broken Court: Light]
1) Aarden, the Recorder. I think the idea of a divine archivist and recorder of deeds is neat. I just don't get a firm sense of LG from it. I think he would be great as the primary god of neutrality with his priests dispassionately recording the deeds of men and Aarden recording the deeds of the gods.

2) Hirax, the Right Hand of Aarishem. Good stuff you got for this guy. But if he is protector/defender, what happens to him when Aarishem dies? Supposition: Consumed with guilt over his failure to protect Aarishem he becomes obsessed with vengeance and falls from favor as the god of paladins. Now LN. Keep War, add Fire.

3) Chaldan, the Sainted. Like this stuff, too. Not so sure about the water imagery unless you play her off as the opposite of Aanyar; make her the life-giver. Ascended mortal, wife to Aarishem, and portfolio as you've detailed, but has the role of arming the warriors as they go to battle. Now, however, with Hirax flipping out, takes on more active role of defender and becomes patron of paladins. Obviously, LG but the primary god of good.

4) Maelbine/Prothus, the White Smith, the Binder and Forger. Like this guy, too. But what if he was the only fey god to give his allegience to Aarishem? What if his wife were Laerith? What if you merged him with Prothus? It would be a good fit: secrets of the mountain, ancient magics, and crafting. Father of giants, yet joining Aarishem's court might cause a split amongst giant-kind so, good and bad giants. Would also be a good god for dwarves.

[/sblock]

[sblock=The Broken Court: Dark]
1) Asmodai. Not sure what to think of this guy. Seems kind of redundant with Astaroth, Dispater, and Churcainn all having a similar piece of the action. Initial thought: former Chancellor to Aarishem, now the god of treachery as he opened the gates for Astaroth, so to speak. Hmm, maybe deceit, trickery, and secrets. Absorb Malacai?

2) Astaroth. Ah, the true darling of this entire pantheon (imo, of course). Give him Asmodai's fluff on contracts and lawyers; it fits with his role as patron of warlocks. You never said how Aarishem died but it struck me that Astaroth would be just the sort of guy to plot it with Asmodai and Maglaura and then be present when Aarishem dies to steal the divine spark and taint it so that it manifests as hellfire. A snake wrapped around one arm/hand is an interesting image and makes me wonder what it represents. Token of a pact between him and Maglaura? As mentioned by a previous poster: I'm not too keen on spiked chain as a favored weapon. Perhaps the snake is a serpent rod and, therefore, favored weapon of quarterstaff.

[/sblock]

[sblock=The Wild Court]
1) Aanyar, Lord of Misfortune and master of just about any sort of calamity. I really like the one-eyed old man (very Odin-ish, but hey, it's a classic). What happened to his eye? Who knows, but I like the idea of hexing people with the Eye of Aanyar. Seems perfect for the primary god of chaos. Could also work as a primal fey deity of the waters; Laerith's brother?

2) Laerith/Amarel, the Silver Queen. Seems like these could be easily combined into one goddess and doing so would make a nice whole. And the idea of worshippers of a (formerly) monolithic church unwittingly calling upon a fey goddess for luck just appeals to me. Would also include Air in her portfolio.

3) Maglaura/Khaastratha. A big overlap here that could be combined. I kinda like the idea that she was some cthonic goddess of a less 'civilized' group of people now (mostly?) destroyed and that she uses their angry spirits. So, previously CN, now CE. Plots with Astaroth for the fall of Aarishem, etc. Add Cult of Khaastratha, a more active vengeance/destruction cult.

[/sblock]

Would've written a few more ideas out but my brain got tired.

 

[Arkhandus]

Others have given advice on the major stuff, so I'll just touch on a few minor quibbles for a second.
Like, one, you really should rename stuff more drastically to remove its similarity to existing D&D entities or mythological figures, or just change their names back to be identical to their original sources. Others have already mentioned this of course.

You should assign a favored weapon to Amarel, Darut, Magluara, and Laerith. Even if they don't fight or anything, they should at least have Unarmed Strike listed as a favored weapon.

Dispater's favored weapon should be changed to a martial weapon, since he has the War domain. It sucks bad to have the War domain with a simple weapon, and not even a good one. Warhammers or light flails or something else maybe, I dunno.

Laerith needs two more domains apparently.....ones you might consider include Charm, Community, Madness, Nobility, Plant, or Trickery. Maybe Charm and Nobility, or Community and Nobility? These are in Deities & Demigods, at least.

 

[Archade]

A dead god and a broken church? I'm seeing huge derelict cathedrals and a multitude of squabbling cults vying for control and a resurgence of old, supposedly forgotten, godlike beings.

You got it exactly! That's what I'm aiming for. Except, without the unifying deity, people have fallen to worshipping saints, angels, devils and cult deities and the like. I'm also playing strongly with the concept that worshippers can shape the deity - Asmodai was an angel, and is now a neutral deity due to the shift of focus of his worshippers. However, I really like that he was the Chancellor of Celestia (or whatever I call my shining white realm).

So you have Aarishem, the prime god (now dead. How? And what happened after? I'll say a bit more about this later.) and his Court of Pursuits. However, Aarishem dies and the Court of Pursuits is broken.

I hadn't decided how Aarishem died as yet. I'm thinking of keeping it a campaign secret that isn't immediately available to players. I like the name Court of Pursuits! Where did you come up with it?

Aarden, the Recorder. I think the idea of a divine archivist and recorder of deeds is neat. I just don't get a firm sense of LG from it. I think he would be great as the primary god of neutrality with his priests dispassionately recording the deeds of men and Aarden recording the deeds of the gods.

I wanted a LG deity that represented some sort of monastic church, with robes and singing, and less of the swinging of swords and courage and bravery. I should probably emphasize pureness of the soul, or the like.

Hirax, the Right Hand of Aarishem. Good stuff you got for this guy. But if he is protector/defender, what happens to him when Aarishem dies? Supposition: Consumed with guilt over his failure to protect Aarishem he becomes obsessed with vengeance and falls from favor as the god of paladins. Now LN. Keep War, add Fire.

I want to keep Asmodai with the vengeance, but I can have a lot of fun with a guilt-driven religion. Lots of noble suffering and the ability to play a paladin of Hirax. As an aside, I set up Asmodai as a LN deity for those who want to play a slightly darker paladin, more focused on vengeance and oaths, and less about fluffy goodness and light.

Chaldan, the Sainted. Like this stuff, too. Not so sure about the water imagery unless you play her off as the opposite of Aanyar; make her the life-giver. Ascended mortal, wife to Aarishem, and portfolio as you've detailed, but has the role of arming the warriors as they go to battle. Now, however, with Hirax flipping out, takes on more active role of defender and becomes patron of paladins. Obviously, LG but the primary god of good.

From the comments in this thread, I've changed Aanyar a bit to be a weather god that is a provider of water and its healing, nourishing properties, and Aanyar and Chaldan are husband and wife.

I'm keeping the fey pantheon separate from the rest, as fey are important in my campaign. This gives druids another non-mainstream pantheon to follow. The big thing is the fey gods aren't really gods, they're more like Oberon or Titania, powerful fey but that's it -- but because they are worshipped by human cults and descended races of the fey like the gnomes and halflings, they grant divine powers.

Prothus is indeed my deity intended for dwarven worship (but the dwarves can worship anyone in the pantheon), but I'd like to change his name -- any ideas?

Astaroth is a very old AD&D devil I always used in my campaign, and I have the old "Politics of Hell" issues of Dragon that talk about him. Of course, he's modeled on a real-world devil mythology (with the snake wrapped around his arm, etc). To me, he represents an ancient evil far better than Asmodeus. And spiked chain is close to a snake -- is it a bit over the top? Sure, but it's for bad guys, not players.

Thanks for the ideas! They are helping.

 

[Bardsandsages]

I hadn't decided how Aarishem died as yet. I'm thinking of keeping it a campaign secret that isn't immediately available to players. I like the name Court of Pursuits! Where did you come up with it?

I think this needs to be sorted out before you continue. Even if you are going to hide it from the players, you need to understand it in order to really flesh out the relationships between the gods.

I wanted a LG deity that represented some sort of monastic church, with robes and singing, and less of the swinging of swords and courage and bravery. I should probably emphasize pureness of the soul, or the like.

That doesn't mean he has to be LG. You can be nuetral and still have a sense of internal discipline. LN would probably be a better choice.

Prothus is indeed my deity intended for dwarven worship (but the dwarves can worship anyone in the pantheon), but I'd like to change his name -- any ideas?

I think you are still trying to do too much with this one. As the Iron God, I don't see him being overly concerned with wizards and their toys, if you know what I mean. Nor do I see him playing around with math. Generally speaking, the state of mind required for crafting weapons and armor is much different than crafting wands and potions. Someone with a moniker like the Iron God would in fact consider spellcasters "weak" because they are dependent on magic.

Would you consider perhaps "twin gods" of creation? I think you might be better splitting him in two. Maybe your god of blacksmiths and fire, and a separate god of alchemists (remember, in medieval times alchemists were also strongly associated with numerology and engineering!). They could have a rivalry of sorts, with one brother depending on his own raw strength while the other depends on his wits.

Hexator: the Iron God, Lord of smiths fire
Xanathan: The Alchemist, Lord of magical craftspersons, alchemy, and numbers

 

[Tonguez]

Who are the Malacisti and Marchlanders? How do they relate to each other and how are the panteon divided between them?

MAJOR GODS
Aarden – Records, Scribbling and Song (son of Aarishem)
The implication that comes to mind is of his Clergy reciting epic hymns as oral records of Aardens and his fathers history. The whole of creation, the deeds of the angelic host, and the fall of Aarishem are all sung in the Hymnals – I like that and sounds very disciplined and structure (ie Lawful Good) to me

Aanyar – Sea god CN
Chaldan – River Goddess NG
Two Pagan-ish water gods Chaldan representing the gentle healing waters which flow to feed the crops, whereas Aanyar has both the destructive aspects of storm and sea as well as the more gentle aspects of rain and fairwinds

Madrael: -Death, Fate and Unseen
personally I take out the Destruction domain and add Mind (or something to do with the Unseen). A Fear/Nightmare domain would work too

Hirax – The Lion of Battle (angel).
Personally I’m not to keen on the ‘guilt’ theme and would be more impresed by a ‘heroic’ theme. Hirax was formerly the lead of the Heaven Forces but although they fought valiantly to protect the Allfather eventually Aarisham fell. It was only by Hirax’ bravery and calmness of spirit in the force of calamity that the heavenly host was able to rally and win the day and thus Hirax is celebrated and has risen from angel to the ranks of the major gods.

Astaroth –Evil
I like the spiked chain.

MINOR GODS (former Angels)
Amarel - love, good fortune (Angel)
Asmodai –contracts. (Angel)
Darut – Dreams and Oracles (angel) .
Dispater - Tyranny (angel)
Gillandine – trade
Khaastratha - fury and destruction
Malacai – secrets and messengers.(angel)
Prothos - forge
Solistay - morning,
Verri - merriment.

Strangely enough the image that came to mind whilst reading this thread was of the Jade Emperor and the Heavenly Court (Chinese Mythology) as depicted in the old 'Monkey Magic' TV show.
The Heavenly Court was home of gods, spirits and ascended immortals which allowed practically anything to be present. That means that more can be added to the list of minor gods as you desire
In your case however that Court has become fractured after the fall of Aarishem and a whole lot of politics and rivalry should be reflected

The Elven Court
I like this write up and the idea of Fey spirits being invoked as dieties. Is this list comprehensive or are you going to allow minor genius loci type 'small gods' eg the Druid can invoke an individual river spirit or perhaps a dryad from a particular grove

also

Why is Churcainn associated with Water?

Can you tell us more about Amon?