D&D General The Generic Deities of D&D

[MechaTarrasque]

4E's Dawn War pantheon was ironically on of the pantheons most similar to a real world pantheons. The gods are tied to a domain and/or aspect of the world then made patrons of race. All the individual racial pantheons are reduced to exarchs, either as aspects of the main god or ascended demigod and scions. So they feel more like the modern way people see pantheons.

It would be cool if WOTC were to one day make a new setting with a new pantheon and not wuss out on which one created humans though. It would be cool if the human creator god was the god of thunder or the sea or beasts or laser beams.

But then humans would have to be good at something (unless the god is completely incompetent) and that would totally screw up race in D&D. Hmmm, on second thought would be a good thing; bring on the God of Laser Beams.

 

[Parmandur]

I always saw it as changing leadership. Basically the leader is whoever isn't currently distracted fighting their "sworn enemy"

Corellon has 2 enemies so he's constantly distracted. But he leads when he's free. Same with Bahumat and Moradin. Pelor is usually in charge he doesn't get distracted because the Burning Hate is always upset.

But it's not like a Classical European pantheon. They are a team and pick a leader at a given time based on who shows up as long as they aren't Evil. I think that's how they win the Dawn War. One time they all showed up and wrecked the bickering Primordials when the demons are busy CEing themselves.

Like the Avengers!

 

[DammitVictor]

What would be the goal of designing the deity and there religion separately?

Avoiding the assumption in your question. Not all religions have a deity, or deities, in the first place. In most polytheistic cultures in real-life, gods didn't have their own individual temples, or priests, or cults. In real life magical traditions... almost all magic is divine, in that it comes from divine sources, but it very rarely takes the form of supplication to divine beings.

I'm not saying do it historically or even do it differently from D&D. All I'm saying is think about what you're doing, and then do it on purpose.

 

[Eltab]

But then humans would have to be good at something (unless the god is completely incompetent) and that would totally screw up race in D&D. Hmmm, on second thought would be a good thing; bring on the God of Laser Beams.

A very old Thor comic had two Human children orphaned by the Bad Guy but adopted by Asgardians to grow up as their children. I always thought they should have become demigods.
Knowledge expressed as the Internet: search all day, sleep on it overnight, wake up in the morning with an answer or a plan for a directed research project.
Industry in the sense of many people working together towards a common goal, creating some physical product.
I lost interest in comics a few years later so I do not know if anything was ever done with that plot thread.

 

[Don Durito]

I always liked Scarred Lands take on it, which 4E was clearly heavily inspired by.

Titans vs Gods. Druids worship Titans not gods.
8 major gods - one for each alignment - and probably the best attempt at making alignment actually feel like a meaningful part of the game world. The final alignment Neutral was represented by the one Titan that sided with the gods which explained why druids were traditionally neutral.

 

[Minigiant]

Like the Avengers!

More like X-men with 3-5 Wolverines and no Prof X or Cyclops.
Everything I read about the Dawn War reads like a bunch of loners who team up only for survival who attack or ignore each other once the Primordials are taken down and Big Asmo does what he does.

But then humans would have to be good at something (unless the god is completely incompetent) and that would totally screw up race in D&D. Hmmm, on second thought would be a good thing; bring on the God of Laser Beams.

That's not the problem. Humans are good at stuff.

The problem is the way D&D treats deities is that that their creation race follows the lead of their patron. And neither TSR nor WOTC want to lock humans out into a single culture or racial war. So the Human god would have to do nothing.

 

[MonsterEnvy]

Dwarf Fighter, Elf Wizard, Halfling Rogue, Human Cleric/Paladin

Uhh you sure.

The Stereotype to me was always Human Fighter, Elf Wizard, Halfling Rogue, Dwarf Cleric.

 

[Lanefan]

When I'm world building I model it that instead of each god having its own temples and churches, the pantheon is worshiped as a whole. Each temple will have shrines to each of the gods within. I tend to make the major racial gods part of the main pantheon. Moradin may be the god of the dwarves, but he's also the god of the forge (and war ).

I have these whole-pantheon temples in places where a culture, while present, isn't big enough to support a temple to each deity.

For example, in some Human trading city there might be a temple or grove generic to the whole Elvish pantheon where visiting Elves can drop by and pay their respects; while in a typical Elf settlement each of those deities would have its own temple(s) or grove(s).

 

[Lanefan]

Avoiding the assumption in your question. Not all religions have a deity, or deities, in the first place. In most polytheistic cultures in real-life, gods didn't have their own individual temples, or priests, or cults. In real life magical traditions... almost all magic is divine, in that it comes from divine sources, but it very rarely takes the form of supplication to divine beings.

All quite true.

However, we're talking about D&D here, where (in most settings) the deities are much more real and often much more directly interfering in mortal affairs. Or having affairs with mortals. Whatever.

Add to that the idea, which I've always subscribed to, that a deity's power comes from its worshippers - meaning it's in deity's best interests to promote itself to like-minded mortals in order to gain more followers - and designing the pantheon, the deities and the religion supporting each of those deities all at once suddenly makes a lot more sense as each is going to directly affect the others.

 

[Lanefan]

The Stereotype to me was always Human Fighter, Elf Wizard, Halfling Rogue, Dwarf Cleric.

In 1e by RAW can Dwarves even be Clerics?

Yeah, didn't think so...

Hobbit Thief, Elf MU or Fighter/MU, Dwarf Fighter, Part-Orc Fighter, Human Ranger, Human Cleric, and the Gnome on the end of a leash. Now we're talking a stereotyped party!