Same deities, different worlds? How does it work out?

[AFGNCAAP]

The thread asking abotu Waukeen's imprisonment by Graz'zt got me thinking:

How are deities or other outsiders that exist in multiple worlds/settings handled? Are there 2 versions of the same deity (like a FR Lolth & a GH Lolth, or a Earth/Norse version of Tyr & a FR version of Tyr for example)? Is there 1 reality which both worlds connect to (i.e., do both GH & FR have/share/use the same Nine Hells or Abyss, and thus the same fiends from those planes)? How does it work? Or, at least, how do you work it out (if the issue ever comes up)? Is there a whole set of Inner & Outer planes for each Prime MateriaL, or do multiple, various Prime Materials link to the same set of Inner & Outer planes?

Just wondering if anyone or anything has addressed this.

 

[randomling]

I don't use a standard cosmology for my games (I'm still working out the exact arrangements) but I would guess that there were lots of Prime Materials for a single set of inner and outer planes, or whatever I decide to have in their place.

But if I was running a GH or FR campaign?

I'd guess that two deities with the same name are probably the same deity. They might be seen differently or have different aspects in different Prime Materials, but they are the same essential "person".

Deities might only have influence on one Prime Material, or they might have influence on several. Eg, on Faerun Mystra set up the Weave and someone else (Shar?) the Shadow-Weave, and that's how magic works there. In GH it's not quite the same. Or something.

Random brainthoughts anyway.

 

[Xavim]

The convention as I know it is thus:
The gods exist as extra-planar beings that can grant divine power over vertually any interdimensional barriar. Thus, it follows that as long as they have followers on any given prime material world, they exist and interact there. I would say that any reference to Corellion, Lolth, Grummish ect. in different campaign worlds ARE in fact the same dieties. Greater gods, as your probably aware can manifest up to 20 Avatar simultaneously thus allow the God to actively defend/interact his faithful in 21 different locations at once (20 avatars 1 true form). And since the Dieties can multitask, having worshipers on different planes/worlds really wouldn't inhibit them. If the diety on a different world has a different holy symbol, that just goes to show the whims of a diety, I'd get pretty board of the same symbol after thousands of years too.

But regardless of what is the 'norm' it is perfectly feasable that ALL of the scenarios that you described are true. If there are multiple realities of the same Prime World, then the gods may be different versions of themselves and so forth.

So just go with whatever works for the flavour of the campaign.

 

[Nifft]

IMC, the gods are tied to specific things: Raelor is the Sun, Selene is the Moon, etc. On a different planet in the same solar system, you can still call directly on Raelor (but not directly on Selene). On a planet in a different solar system, you cannot call directly on Raelor.

On Pluto, Raelor's power would be weakened. On the Moon, Selene's power would be greatly enhanced.

"Directly call upon": Miracle, Commune, etc. -- a Cleric can get her spells back anywhere in the cosmos (so far).

Fiends exist also. Some exist outside of the material world, and those are dangerous because their interests can span not just worlds or galaxies, but entire dimensions of pain, blood and damnation.

IMC, worlds with friendly gods are bright sparks on the surface of a very dark ocean.

-- N

 

[Hand of Evil]

A lot has to do with setting up the cosmos and your view of it. I think you will find there are too many answers here.

I do mine by having my cosmos in a greater cosmos, the planes rotate around the primes (primes basicly being stationaly), as they get closer the power of the gods increase, the greater the distance the weaker. Sometimes the planes has a number of primes in the same area, sometimes some orbit the primes this is done by faith, which acts like an anchor.

It all has to to with my setting.

 

[Wombat]

"How are deities or other outsiders that exist in multiple worlds/settings handled?"

For my games it is simple -- they don't.

I have an aversion to plane-hopping, as do most of my players. There only one planet. Beyond that there may be places elementals come from, but players could not survive there. Gods live in their own realms and players can enter these either by A) being a devout follower and dying or B) very, very, VERY rare invitation by the god in question. Pantheons live more or less together, albeit usually with a separation between Good and Evil gods (but even this might change, dependent on the mythology of the world).

Thus I never have to worry about imported gods -- there aren't any. The only problems come up with the Clash of Cosmologies when two societies on the same planet have differing worldviews, which is pretty damn common.

This is just a personal take on matters. YMMV, usw.

 

[caudor]

I like to use Spelljammer rules in my campaign, which separates 'solar systems' into separate spheres. These 'spheres' float in the prime material plane and can be travelled between...which explains how different worlds may have different interpretations of the same deity while at the same time having like interpretations for another deity.

Anyway, you might think about checking out Spelljammer. I hope this setting is updated to 3e by someone (someday). My toes would curl in excitment over that kind of news

 

[BigFreekinGoblinoid]

Hmm... Why would this be an issue for your Campaign or PC's?

Anything goes really.

My thoughts:

The same deity may have many different names or aspects on different prime worlds ( Or even multiple names/aspects on the SAME prime world ). The canny god will conform to his worshippers expectations, not the other way around ...

Some deities may only appear on a single world, but might be stronger there ( "Greater" God or Higher Divine Rank ) than a god who has worshippers on dozens of prime worlds - beacuse he has more worshippers on THAT world.

Of course the PC not need know any of this, or indeed this may be a carefuly guarded secret. Worshippers of Oghma may debate endlessly with Clerics of Thoth without ever realizing they revere different aspects of the same deity!

Domains would for the most part be similar, but may have slight variations based on regional or prime specific beliefs. Alignments would almost never be more than one step

So "pantheons" could be world/region specific, and most myths about their interactions will be different from prime to prime.

I am favoring this developing theory over a cosmology/planescape with 30 War gods - There can still be multiple however! A god has to start his career somewhere, and there are lots of prime worlds...

Check out Joseph Campbell's classic work: "Hero with a Thousand Faces" for more on similarities between different world mythos

Some prime worlds might have different cosmologies - but do they really? Or is it just that access to certain planes or pocket dimensions is more prevalent there than other worlds? Perhaps scholars on some worlds have not discovered most of the "great wheel" yet! Likely they use different names for the same places.

BFG

 

[Psion]

Just wondering if anyone or anything has addressed this.

Well, things have.

The current canon by WotC is that the GH lolth and the FR lolth are different.

But it's really dependant upon your campaign. According to person x or y's campaign, there may not even be more than one world, or a galaxy full of them.

I personally lean towards the latter. I assume a galaxy full of stars, with many habitable worlds. Further, my main campaign world is linked via a tesseract to 7 other worlds.

I have a theory in the back of my mind that when deities are born (basically, they blossom from powerful spirits linked to a single world), eventually, they can enter other worlds and gain followers there. But a deity's power in a given world can only benefit so much from worshippers in another world; deities are most powerful in worlds where they have many active worshippers.

Another thing I do is aspects and guises. Guises are different names for the same deity in different lands, while aspects are different manifestations of a deity with potentially slightly different focus and portfolio.