New Design and Development: Pantheon

[Scholar & Brutalman]

I think it's fine for the "default" game, as it is indeed better than a bunch of placeholder names, but for a developed campaign world, it really doesn't make sense. In real life, human beings had a hard enough time agreeing on religions and reducing pantheons, so having honest-to-goodness different races have different pantheons makes much more sense to me. Even Dragonlance in its later source material came up with different names and aspects for different peoples to worship the same set of gods, because one pantheon known to all peoples and races by the same names, over thousands of years, really stretches a sense of suspension of disbelief too far for me.

To me it depends on whether the gods have an existence independent of their worshippers.

If there is only one pantheon of real gods that answers prayers then it makes sense that most people would call them the same names.

Cleric: "Mighty Zeus heed my pra..."
God: "That's Dyeus Pitar, heretic! ZAP!"

After all, in D&D-land the most powerful priests can go and meet their gods.

 

[pawsplay]

To me it depends on whether the gods have an existence independent of their worshippers.

If there is only one pantheon of real gods that answers prayers then it makes sense that most people would call them the same names.

Cleric: "Mighty Zeus heed my pra..."
God: "That's Dyeus Pitar, heretic! ZAP!"

After all, in D&D-land the most powerful priests can go and meet their gods.

Oh, any priest can go do that. It's the return trip that's the bitch.

 

[Charwoman Gene]

I seem to remember some story about Conan defeating Seth Green.

It was a full moon.

 

[DandD]

Usually because whenever I hear the name "Seth", I think a guy who's got tattoos and wants to crash on my couch, or someone who makes really funny tv shows.

Of course. Many ancient names that were once meant for gods and such from before are now used as normal names today, because we don't feel that much religiously rooted to it anymore.
After all, mexican people do use the name Jesus as their first names too, as do some people in Spain.

However, for the pulp fiction D&D-implied setting, the dark gods of snake taken out from Conan, Set, is absolutely viable, compared to the evil god of the desert, strenght and earthquakes, Seth.

 

[Kez Darksun]

This reveal is the one I've liked the least. To me, Bahamut will always be a draconic deity, and not one worshipped by mortals. As far as Bane goes, I'm not especially opposed to the idea, I just hate having to sacrifice Hextor & Heironeous to see them replaced by Bane & Bahamut. I never really read into the Greyhawk lore to know a ton about the brothers H, but my experiences in a campaign with my character coming to follow Heironius in remembrance of fellow soldiers who sacrificed themselves to save him dying when the keep they were occupying was overrun, made me rather partial to Heironius. Sure, I can adapt to the changes, but it just wont feel the same to me.

As far as the racial gods being less concentrated on the races, and their influence broadened a bit more, I'm not entirely thrilled with that, but hopefully there still will eventually be pantheons released for the various races. One thing I enjoyed about the previous editions was that each race eventually had their own deities, and and weren't just having to worship the human deities.

 

[Rechan]

compared to the evil god of the dessert, strenght and earthquakes, Seth.

I knew desserts were fattening, but EVIL?

Aw man.

 

[Gloombunny]

QFT.

Set is an excellent snake god because people tend to think he is a snake god. Historical accuracy can kiss my Druid's Wildshape.

I'm just saying, it's amusing to see someone asking for more historical gods instead of fictional ones, and then mentioning snake-Set as an example of the former. ^_^

 

[Henry]

To me it depends on whether the gods have an existence independent of their worshippers.

If there is only one pantheon of real gods that answers prayers then it makes sense that most people would call them the same names.

Cleric: "Mighty Zeus heed my pra..."
God: "That's Dyeus Pitar, heretic! ZAP!"

After all, in D&D-land the most powerful priests can go and meet their gods.

Are a campaign's gods really going to go around zapping people who are so much as mispronouncing their names? I haven't seen one yet that does, and hopefully not. If they care that much, there probably won't be any imbalance of good or evil for mortals to take care of, either -- the gods will take care of the whole thing.

 

[Rechan]

Are a campaign's gods really going to go around zapping people who are so much as mispronouncing their names?

Well, I think Zeus would want people to pronounce their baby daddy's name correctly. You take the time to appear as a golden shower to someone, the least they can do is get it right when they cry your name out.

I just hope all the Gods are interesting. I open my 3e PHB and it's just "Yawn". No more Jeff, God of Biscuits or Simon god of hair-dos.

 

[pawsplay]

After all, mexican people do use the name Jesus as their first names too, as do some people in Spain.

And the USA. Joshua is another form (Jesus is the Greek version).