New Design and Development: Pantheon

[Nifft]

Someone with a brain the size of a moon, metaphysically speaking, can surely find a way to give an answer that doesn't give followers a literal guide to life, since free will is presumably worth something to many gods, especially the non-lawful ones.

I'm reminded of my favorite augury result:

DM: "Does the god of war, strength and bloody battle think it's a good idea to go through that door? By all the hells, yes! Weal! WEAL!"

Cheers, -- N

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I'm reminded of my favorite augury result:

DM: "Does the god of war, strength and bloody battle think it's a good idea to go through that door? By all the hells, yes! Weal! WEAL!"

Ha! You gotta like it when the players occasionally lob a slow one right over home plate for you.

 

[GVDammerung]

. . . Bane? That's not a god, that's a word. It's like having a god called "Help."

EXACTLY! "Bane" is lazy, unimaginative fantasy naming.

Or meet the new pantheon:

Lawful Good Deity = Weal
Chaotic Good Deity = Capricious
Neutral Good Deity = Help
Lawful Evil Deity = Bane
Chaotic Evil Deity = Psycho
Neutral Evil Deity = Woe
Lawful Neutral Deity = Obedient
Chaotic Neutral Deity = Random
True Neutral = Balance

Or Concept deities:

Deity of Agriculture = Cornucopia
Deity of War = Strife
Deity of the Sun = Sol
Deity of the Moon = Luna
Deity of Storms = Tempest
Deity of Lovers = Amore
Deity of Dogs = Canine
Deity of Cats = Feline

You get the idea. So simple even a "professional" game designer can do it!

One more nick in 4e's "coolness." A grab bag core pantheon.

. . . That an Elf will call Bahamut "Bahamut" and a human will call him "Bahamut" doesn't ring my credibility bell.

Precisely, it is incredible, counter intuitive and against anything resembling verisimiltude that there is one pantheon for everybody. It is simpler, yes, in a dumbed down kind of simplicity but it rings of zero coolness.

YMMV But then . . .

 

[Green Knight]

Nine pages in this thread, and I haven't read them all, so forgive me if I'm repeating something someone already mentioned.

Anyway, so Bahamut is supposed to be Bane's archnemesis in the generic D&D setting. Wouldn't that be something of a lopsided pairing, though? After all, Bane is a Greater God, while Bahamut is a Lesser God. Either Bane is gonna need to be downgraded bigtime, or Bahamut is gonna need to be buffed up.

This, incidentally, is the same issue I have with Torm/Bane in the Forgotten Realms. I like that the Realms view Torm/Bane as archnemesis. What I don't like, however, is that Torm is still sucking wind as a Lesser God. Ah, what I wouldn't give for Torm to lay claim to both Tyr and Helm's portfolios in the 4th edition Realms and getting boosted to Greater God status. It'd be so nice to finally be rid of that interloping schmuck Tyr. Go back to Valhalla, Asgard, or wherever the hell it is you came from, jerk.

One other thing on the subject of Bahamut and Bane. Isn't Tiamat Bahamut's nemesis? Wouldn't it make better sense to pair her up against Bahamut, rather than Bane? Or to get some other god and pair them up against Bane? The way I see it, Bahamut/Tiamat are as tied together as Heironeous/Hextor, but then again, maybe that's just me.

 

[Baduin]

I think myself real gods are simply much more interesting - their myths are deeper, their symbolic less one-sided etc.

God of Paladins: Mitra:

The great god from the East, Invincible Mithra, is the god of light and law. He is the Judge of Souls, destroyer of darkness, hunter of evil spirits, protector and saviour of good, defender of truth and enemy of error. His weapons are the bow, knife and sword.

The cult of Mithra admits only men as its members. All prospective initiates must first undergo severe trials, which test their endurace and courage. The tests take place in the underground cave-like Mithraeum, the temple of Mithra. After the trials the initiates swear a terrible oath, promising to keep hidden the mysteries of the cult and to conduct themselves as becoming the soldiers ot the god. They are marked with the sign of Mithras and taught how to recognize other initiates, to whom they are obligated to offer assistance if necessary. There are seven grades of initiates.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mithras
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mithra

For a god of tyranny and conquest, I would suggest Ashur:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashur_(god)
http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/MESO/ASSYRIA.HTM

 

[Brennin Magalus]

I'm not an FR person, so bear with me, but what's so cool about Bane?

Nothing. He is a cheap knockoff with a lousy name (like most FR gods).

 

[FireLance]

Lawful Good Deity = Weal
Chaotic Good Deity = Capricious
Neutral Good Deity = Help
Lawful Evil Deity = Bane
Chaotic Evil Deity = Psycho
Neutral Evil Deity = Woe
Lawful Neutral Deity = Obedient
Chaotic Neutral Deity = Random
True Neutral = Balance
Deity of Agriculture = Cornucopia
Deity of War = Strife
Deity of the Sun = Sol
Deity of the Moon = Luna
Deity of Storms = Tempest
Deity of Lovers = Amore
Deity of Dogs = Canine
Deity of Cats = Feline

Cool! Let me add to your list:
Deity of Death = Death
Deity of Delirium = Delirium
Deity of Desire = Desire
Deity of Despair = Despair
Deity of Destiny = Destiny
Deity of Destruction = Destruction
Deity of Dream = Dream

 

[Aust Diamondew]

Precisely, it is incredible, counter intuitive and against anything resembling verisimiltude that there is one pantheon for everybody. It is simpler, yes, in a dumbed down kind of simplicity but it rings of zero coolness.

YMMV But then . . .

Some of the ancient greeks, assuming I understand Herodotus correctly, were of the opinion that all people worshipped variations of the same deities, so the Greek's might call the chief god Zeus and the Egyptian's Ra.
So in world where there is a 'common' tongue it should hardly come as a surprise that all races would call them by the same names, if nothing else for convenience (both in and out of game).

That said I prefer better names than...bane.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Anyway, so Bahamut is supposed to be Bane's archnemesis in the generic D&D setting. Wouldn't that be something of a lopsided pairing, though? After all, Bane is a Greater God, while Bahamut is a Lesser God. Either Bane is gonna need to be downgraded bigtime, or Bahamut is gonna need to be buffed up.

You're assuming that gods will function like they do now. Given how many other changes we've seen with 4E, I think that's a risky assumption to make.

 

[hong]

Actually, I don't have a huge problem with Bahamut being a lesser god and Bane being a greater god (assuming such categories even make sense in 4E). Nothing says everything has to be nicely symmetric on an alignment basis. It's called "points of light", after all, not "balanced pools of light and darkness".