Here's the pantheon I use for my Savage Tide game. Starting the game was something of a spontaneous thing, so I cribbed various godly bits and pieces shamelessly from all over the place...
Deities and Religion
I’m only going to cover the options for PC patron deities here. Generally, most people will worship one of these gods – the more overtly evil beings don’t really gather much of a following, other than cultists and power-hungry madmen.
The Seven:
The most commonly-followed religion in the world is the faith of the Seven. This is a very old religion, with roots way back in the heartlands across the sea far to the east. The Seven are a united pantheon, and churches are consecrated to all of them collectively. A Church of the Seven is an eight-sided building, with a shrine on each internal wall devoted to one particular god, with the final wall being where the entrance is located. Followers of the Seven usually have a god they pray to more commonly than others, but will pay all the gods respect and offer them prayers at the appropriate time – a soldier will pray to the Warrior before going into battle, but to the Mother in the hope she will aid the recovery of his wounded comrades, etc. Priests devote themselves to one god of the Seven, and while tensions between priesthoods are not unknown, things never devolve into actual violence. All priests of the Seven turn rather than rebuke undead, and can spontaneously cast healing spells.
- The Father (Patrum)
Alignment: LG
Domains: Good, Endurance, Herald, Knowledge, Protection
Favoured Weapon: quarterstaff
Clergy: Clerics, Favoured Souls, Divine Bards, Cloistered Clerics, Paladins
The Father is the leader of the Seven, if it can be said that there is such a thing. He is stern yet gentle - a teacher, a protector, and a wise counsellor, the keeper of virtue, tradition, and respect, and he expects his priests to follow his example.
- The Maiden (La Bella)
Alignment: CG
Domains: Charm, Good, Life, Renewal
Favoured Weapon: dagger
Clergy: Divine Bards, Cloistered Clerics, Favoured Souls
The Maiden represents innocence, youth, childhood, joy, spring, beauty, and romance. She is playful, gentle, and impulsive – the patron of lovers, would-be lovers, and those who wish to give thanks for the good things in life.
- The Smith (Ferox)
Alignment: LG
Domains: Artifice, Knowledge, Metal, Rune
Favoured Weapon: warhammer
Clergy: Clerics, Cloistered Clerics, Favoured Souls, Paladins
The Smith represents creation, industriousness, craft, and human ingenuity. He is prayed to by those who wish for success in trade or business, or those who seek to have the lot of humanity bettered through knowledge, education, or technology. He is also seen as a sage, who knows all manner of mystic secrets in the eldritch realms of craft, smithing, and magic. As well as craftsmen, traders and businessmen, he is widely worshipped among wizards.
- The Mother (Perenna)
Alignment: NG
Domains: Community, Family, Feast, Good, Healing
Favoured Weapon: quarterstaff
Clergy: Cloistered Clerics, Favoured Souls, Paladins
The Mother is the goddess of fertility and the protector of the hearth. She represents harvest, home, compassion, togetherness and mercy. Worshippers pray to her for health, prosperity, harmony, and for fecundity and the well-being of their children. Her priests often double as healers, midwives, teachers and cooks. She does have a rarely-expressed vengeful side, when children are harmed or threatened.
- The Warrior (Martius)
Alignment: LN
Domains: Courage, Law, Protection, Strength, War
Favoured Weapon: longsword
Clergy: Clerics, Favoured Souls, Paladins
The Warrior is pictured as an armoured knight. He is the patron of battle, of duty, of courage, of sacrifice, and of the welfare of soldiers. Worshippers pray to him not only for protection and for success on the battlefield, but to watch over their sons who have gone to war. He promotes military ideals of strength, honour and loyalty, and the virtues of preparation and discipline, but does not glorify war itself.
- The Witch (Lachrymora)
Alignment: CN
Domains: Chaos, Fey, Hatred, Knowledge, Magic, Moon
Favoured Weapon: sickle
Clergy: Cloistered Clerics, Favoured Souls, Divine Bards
The Witch is feared almost as much as worshipped. She personifies winter, mystery, magic, secrets, bitterness and revenge. But she is wise (if cruel) and powerful (if capricious), and her name can be called for protection from the deadly monsters and magic that haunt the world and against which an average farmer or merchant has no defence. It is said that her aid sometimes carries a heavy price, however.
- The Stranger (the Nameless, the Black Hound, the Carrion Crow) Alignment: N
Domains: Fate, Luck, Madness, Repose, Suffering, Travel
Favoured Weapon: greataxe
Clergy: Clerics, Favoured Souls, Cloistered Clerics, Divine Bards
The Stranger is the god for those who have nothing else - beggars, the diseased, the dying, the mad, the homeless, the outcast and the poor. He is a wanderer, an undertaker, and an executioner. He is the harbinger of suffering and misfortune, but is also the final mercy, and it is he who ushers the dead away from the world of pain and to their final reward. He is always pictured as faceless and hooded.
Others
- Ralorian
Alignment: LN
Domains: Fire, Inquisition, Retribution, Strength, Sun
Favoured Weapon: maul
Clergy: Clerics, Cloistered Clerics, Paladins
Ralorian’s faith is relatively young, but since its birth in the far-off wastes of the Painted Desert it has spread very quickly in the heartlands to the east, mostly at the expense of the Church of the Seven. There have been religious wars, persecution, and all manner of other tensions between the Seven and Ralorian in the West, but in Sasserine the two faiths coexist uneasily, since the Dawn Council knows full well that the city must have access to the markets of both the Ralorian and Seven-dominated regions of the heartland if the city to survive. The leaders of both faiths have been informed in no uncertain terms that no infighting will be tolerated, but they are still far from friendly.
Ralorian’s church teaches that Ralorian is the supreme god and that all other non-evil faiths are merely misguidedly worshipping his servants or aspects. Ralorian emphasises continual testing and purification (usually through fire or heat), unity and integrity within the faith, the duty of all to contribute whatever they can to the betterment of the whole, and strict adherence to the Precepts of Ralorian. The Church is tireless in its efforts to spread the word, uphold the Precepts, avenge the wronged, stamp out the corrupt, and protect its own. In this way it attracts many devotees who have been alienated from the Seven by the way in which that faith is often corrupted or misrepresented at local level by greedy bishops or illiterate, incompetent village priests. Ralorian’s burning faith can be harsh and narrow-minded, but it is undeniably honest and straightforward, and almost entirely free from the corruption and small-minded parochialism that can plague the Church of the Seven.
Ralorian’s priests turn rather than rebuke undead, and spontaneously cast healing spells.
- The Bitch Queen
Alignment: N
Domains: Cold, Fate, Luck, Ocean, Storm, Suffering, Water
Favoured Weapon: spear
Clergy: Clerics, Favoured Souls, Cloistered Clerics, Divine bards
The worship of the Bitch Queen is as old as the sea. Every ship passing beyond the bounds of the harbour tosses an offering over the side in the hope of staying her wrath. She is not loved, and most wish not for her favour but for her indifference. Few worship her as such, but even the most fervent follower of the Seven or Ralorian will pay her toll when setting out on the open ocean. She is merciless, pitiless, vengeful and prone to titanic rages, and those few who are strange or dedicated enough to call themselves her priests are generally believed to be madmen or criminals seeking to extort money from honest ship captains in exchange for safe passage.
The clergy of the Bitch Queen can either turn undead and spontaneously heal, or they can rebuke undead and spontaneously inflict wounds (chosen at character creation).
- The Divinity of Man
Alignment: N
Domains: Balance, Knowledge, Magic, Mentalism, Mind
Favoured Weapon: unarmed strike
Clergy: Cloistered Clerics
This is a rather obscure faith that denies it is a faith at all. Devotees of the Divinity of Man claim that nothing about gods inherently deserve worship, and that only through man reaching his full potential can the world be made happy and peaceful. Followers of this somewhat esoteric and abstract faith are fairly rare, and are largely academics, wizards or philosophers. Divinity of Man doctrine emphasises meditation, mental exercises, the reading and contemplation of complex philosophical and theological works, and generally the improvement of the mind and the quest for transcendence. Spellcasting ability is highly looked-upon and respected, as a sign of one who has succeeded in taking the first step beyond the limitations of mere mortal flesh. Some of other faiths, however, believe (with little firm evidence) that some nameless, hidden demon lord grants the priests of Divinity of Man their power by as a part of some long-running, sinister plot.
As its name might suggest, the Divinity of Man is an overwhelmingly human-dominated organisation. Non-humans can be treated with disregard or even contempt, especially those seen as somehow ‘lesser’.
Followers of the Divinity of Mankind priests turn rather than rebuke undead, and spontaneously cast healing spells.
- The Saint of Lions (Gwynaryf)
Alignment: NG
Domains: Animal, Celerity, Good, War, Wrath
Favoured Weapon: falchion
Clergy: Clerics, Favoured Souls, Divine Bards, Paladins, Paladins of Freedom
Some believe that the Saint of Lions began as a historical Saint of the Church of the Seven, but now she is undeniably a deity in her own right. Hers is not a large faith in terms of sheer numbers, but makes up for that with pure visibility. The Saint’s followers are crusaders – outgoing, passionate, idealistic, and brave. Overwhelmingly they are young and idealistic. They believe in spontaneity, action, and ferocity in the cause of good – in crushing the manifestations of evil when it rears its head, and in revelling in freedom, nature and the pleasures of life at all other times. The most holy sacrament of the Saint of Lions is to seek out and destroy a demon, an undead creature, an evil dragon, a demon cult, or a similar threat to the innocent.
The Saint takes great joy in the fury unleashed by her followers, and it is said that whenever one of her disciples is slain in battle against an evil foe, that disciple returns as a white lion, to guard and protect her temple, and to accompany her followers on subsequent hunts. Certainly white lions roaming loose are a common sight around the temples of the Saint – a matter that does make some of the Temple’s neighbours nervous.
Clergy of the Saint of Lions turn rather than rebuke undead, and spontaneously cast healing spells.
- First and Eldest
Alignment: LG
Domains: Cavern, Dream, Dwarf, Metal, Oracle, Time
Favoured Weapon: dwarven waraxe
Clergy: Clerics, Cloistered Clerics, Paladins, Favoured Souls, Divine Bards
First and Eldest is the god of dwarves, or more accurately, he is the personification and summation of the history of the dwarven race, and the progenitor of all dwarves. Seen as both a god in his own right and a culmination and measure of immortality for all those dwarves who have died and who have returned to their ancestors, his essence pervades all dwarves in a very profound way.
First and Eldest teaches respect, history, and tradition. He reminds all dwarves that they are of the same stock, and that all spring from him and all shall return. He teaches dwarves that they are all part of the one greater whole, and so they should stick together. He promises that after death all dwarves shall return to their ancestors, so during life they should strive to do their forbears honour, and when the end is come that they should remain steadfast and know no fear.
Clergy of First and Eldest turn rather than rebuke undead, and can either cast inflict or cure spells spontaneously (chosen at character creation)
- Baron Samedi (Old Man Bones)
Alignment: CN
Domains: Oracle, Repose, Trickery
Favoured Weapon: Scythe
Clergy: Cloistered Clerics, Divine Bards, Favoured Souls
Baron Samedi is the god of the dead, a very old spirit or superstition that has survived despite competition from the likes of the Stranger and the demon-lord Orcus. He has few priests, demands little in the way of behaviour from those who seek his favour, and offers those who do him honour the chance to see or speak with their departed loved ones once again. He teaches that death is just one last punchline in the long joke of life, and that it should not be feared. His services and ceremonies are parties, parades, masquerade balls and carnivals, in which worshippers (and anyone else who likes a rum and a samba) dance and drink until dawn to show that life is for the living and that the knowledge of eventual death should not detract from the now. Understandably, he is popular, although he is generally seen as frivolous and has few ‘serious’ worshippers, but despite occasional efforts on the part of the Seven and the Ralorians his faith has proved too elusive and resilient to eradicate.
Priests of Baron Samedi rebuke rather than turn undead, and can either cast cure spells or inflict spells spontaneously (chosen at character creation)
- Jako (Jako the Fist, Black Jako, Jako the Rat, Smiling Jako)
Alignment: N (but has clergy of all alignments)
Domains: Courage, Darkness, Endurance, Greed, Luck, Strength, Trickery
Favoured Weapon: Morningstar
Clergy: Clerics, Divine Bards, Favoured Souls
Jako teaches that the world is a hard, uncaring place, and so merely surviving and making your way in life is praiseworthy and commendable in itself. He personifies toughness, survival, endurance, ambition and self-interest, believing that anyone who passes through a trial emerges stronger and better, and therefore deserves what good things they can get their hands on in the process. His complete lack of altruism or compassion alienates many, but his rough, callous, pragmatic faith has found worshippers among the thieves, streetrats, slavers, pirates, mercenaries, and others whose ideals have either been burnt out of them through harsh experience, or never existed in the first place. He demands little in the way of behaviour, service, or sacrifice from his faithful, leading to the clergy of more principled gods referring to him derisively as ‘the God of What I Was Going To Do Anyway’. Even his priests and followers are not forbidden from backstabbing or fighting among each other in order to get ahead – Jako draws no distinction between those who succeed by betrayal, deception or stealth, and those who succeed through strength, cooperation, and grit..
Rats and dire rats, the great survivors, are holy to Jako, and it is said that he can see through the eyes of any of them. When beginning a great undertaking, his priests and worshippers will often seek out the largest, most vicious dire rat they can find, and before it make a vow to see their purpose through, in the hope that Jako will hear them and look with favour on their skill and toughness if they succeed. He is completely indifferent if his rats are killed, however, and holds no grudges to anyone who does so. As far as he’s concerned, there’s always more where those came from.
Priests of Jako rebuke rather than turn undead, and cast healing spells spontaneously.
- Ilthiar (Rainsinger, Springdancer)
Alignment: CG
Domains: Charm, Elf, Fey, Good, Moon, Plant, Sun
Favoured Weapon: longbow (incl composite longbows)
Clergy: Clerics, Cloistered Clerics, Divine Bards, Favoured Souls, Paladins of Freedom
Druidism – the worship of nature as a vital force - is by far the most significant presence in elven spiritual and religious life, but veneration of the hero-demigod Ilthiar is interwoven though elven worship and myth. Ilthiar was supposed to have been one of the original elves, born from spring blossoms when Nature was lonely and desired companionship. There are dozens of songs and poems of great length and beauty telling of Ilthiar’s deeds – of how his love brought forth the sun in the first spring, and his heartbreak heralded the snow at the beginning of the first winter; how the intricate rhythms of his harp can even now be heard echoed in the heartbeats of every creature that walks on the earth, and how he lulled with song the great fire dragon that lairs deep at the centre of the world, and then stole its hoard and set all the gems in the sky as stars, so that all may now look on the glittering bounty of the earth. His skill with sword, bow and harp were unparalleled, his tongue silver, his voice honey, his step light, his rage terrible, his laughter swift, his lightheartedness and joy at life eternal.
Ilthiar represents a paragon of elvenkind, and his clergy seek more to emulate him and follow his example rather than worship him. Many believe he still lives and walks the earth, and will until he has finally seen the last beautiful thing in the world, after which he will after so long return to the embrace of nature that bore him eons ago.
Followers of Ilthiar turn rather than rebuke undead, and cast healing spells spontaneously.
- Druidism
Druidism is worship of nature as a whole, without the intervention of any deity. While the druidic tradition is still dominant among the elves and the jungle tribes, Sasserine’s pragmatic, urban and unsentimental population have never had much time for it as a whole. Those druids that do exist are either descended from a long line of nature-worshippers going all the way back to the pre-Seven heartlands, or have come to the faith of their own accord through revelation or conversion in the wilderness. Few people know much about druidism, although more than one ship captain has found it handy to have a weather-witch and animal-tamer on board his vessel. Rangers, while accessing druidic magic on instinct, are free to worship any god.
- Shugenja and the Elements
In the southern Empire of Mikata, worship of gods is unknown. Instead, the local divine spellcasters (shugenjas) draw on a sophisticated philosophy of interactions between the elemental spirits of water, fire, earth, and air with the assistance of the shugenja’s attendant ancestral spirits. This belief system has made absolutely no headway among the natives of Sasserine, but Mikatese exiles and expatriates still adhere to it despite the incomprehension of the locals. The faith requires the most stringent respect for tradition and ones ancestors, or the shugenja risks having his ancestral spirits desert him, leaving him without access to the elemental spirits from whom he draws his magic.
- Demon Cults
Asmodeus, Baalzebul, Orcus, Adimarchus, Dagon, Koschkei, Pazuzu, Demogorgon, Malcanthet, Yeenoghu, Juiblex, Emma-o, Wendonai, Mammon, Graz’zt, Shudde’m’ell, and dozens of other demon lords have evil cultists and crazed, secretive worhippers all over the place. You can’t play one of them, so nyah. Generally only sages, other priests, wizards, inquisitors, demonfighters and the like will know much in the way of details about them, other than the fact that they’re irredeemably evil and to be either destroyed or avoided at all costs. One minor exception is Emma-O, the demon lord of unnecessary war and meaningless death. He has found a minor following among the exiled Mikatese samurai class. Since many of the samurai in Sasserine are ronin or the vassals of disgraced lords, these samurai are often very aware that their service, however meritorious, earns them no honour, and that their prized skills and ancestral blades are often turned to unworthy ends by the command of honourless masters. As such, they feel a sort of grim, fatalistic fellowship with Emma-O, and so worship of the Lord of the Unanswered Scream is beginning to border on respectable among the Mikatese warrior caste.
