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<blockquote data-quote="Glyfair" data-source="post: 3652755" data-attributes="member: 53">This is one of my pet peeves, so excuse me if I seem like I'm ranting.&nbsp; I don't really mean it that way <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile&nbsp; &nbsp; :)"&nbsp; data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />Part of the reason to use shortcuts, like pantheons from another world (Earth being common), is so that players have an idea of what's going on quickly.&nbsp; If you name a god &quot;Thor&quot; they know he has a hammer, magic goats, and hangs around with Iron Man (OK, maybe not so much the last).&nbsp; When you deviate from that norm you break that advantage.For example, say a player is trying to impress some worshipers of Thor.&nbsp; When the village is attacked by hobgoblins he tries to defeat them with a hammer (not the weapon he spent feats on) in order to gain some brownie points.&nbsp; After the battle you point out that in your world &quot;Thor&quot; is known for his magic axe and hates hammers.&nbsp; Why use Thor then?In a campaign I played in for a long time the DM decided to mess with the players by playing with expectations.&nbsp; We found out that something we needed was in the forest of the elves and that we'd have to deal with the elves.&nbsp; When we got there we found out that our stereotyped ideas of elves were completely incorrect, elves were actually Kzinti.Was that fair and reasonable?&nbsp; No.&nbsp; The only reason apply a name used commonly is to engender an identification with the common traits.*&nbsp; If a DM says that we have to talk to the elves I shouldn't expect that in his world elves are really a race of fiendish Storm Giants.&nbsp; Call them Glug Glugs or something.Now, I don't know much about Shar.&nbsp; Still, if you are going to use her in the world, keep things pretty much the same and let anyone know the changes when they should know it.&nbsp; IF a player finds out the commonly worshiped goddess has temples that he won't be able to fine is something he should know when he chooses the deity.*&nbsp; Note that it would be different if the Kzinti's were specifically trying to spread the word that they were the traditional elves hiding in the forest.&nbsp; He wasn't though.&nbsp; He was specifically teasing the player's expectations.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Glyfair, post: 3652755, member: 53"] This is one of my pet peeves, so excuse me if I seem like I'm ranting. I don't really mean it that way :) Part of the reason to use shortcuts, like pantheons from another world (Earth being common), is so that players have an idea of what's going on quickly. If you name a god "Thor" they know he has a hammer, magic goats, and hangs around with Iron Man (OK, maybe not so much the last). When you deviate from that norm you break that advantage. For example, say a player is trying to impress some worshipers of Thor. When the village is attacked by hobgoblins he tries to defeat them with a hammer (not the weapon he spent feats on) in order to gain some brownie points. After the battle you point out that in your world "Thor" is known for his magic axe and hates hammers. Why use Thor then? In a campaign I played in for a long time the DM decided to mess with the players by playing with expectations. We found out that something we needed was in the forest of the elves and that we'd have to deal with the elves. When we got there we found out that our stereotyped ideas of elves were completely incorrect, elves were actually Kzinti. Was that fair and reasonable? No. The only reason apply a name used commonly is to engender an identification with the common traits.* If a DM says that we have to talk to the elves I shouldn't expect that in his world elves are really a race of fiendish Storm Giants. Call them Glug Glugs or something. Now, I don't know much about Shar. Still, if you are going to use her in the world, keep things pretty much the same and let anyone know the changes when they should know it. IF a player finds out the commonly worshiped goddess has temples that he won't be able to fine is something he should know when he chooses the deity. * Note that it would be different if the Kzinti's were specifically trying to spread the word that they were the traditional elves hiding in the forest. He wasn't though. He was specifically teasing the [I]player's[/I] expectations. [/QUOTE]

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