Tiamat and Bahamut--Why Use Real World Mythology?

[pawsplay]

I've never worried too much about deities being different than their mythological counterparts. It did disturb me in AD&D having Bahamut (the dragon), Baphomet (the god), Baphomet (archdevil, impersonates the god), and behemoth (a monster). But then, we also have drow, duergar, and derro.

 

[Kobu]

Eh, Tiamat and Bahumet are their own things now in D&D. It's kind of like riding Howard for stealing all his placenames from actual places, but then re-working them to his own designs. Greenwood did it for the Realms as well.

Howard?

Anyway, it's a lazy/fanfic-ish practice. Tyr being in FR never made a bit of sense and they should dump him altogether. There may be others there but I don't recall.

It's like making a new scifi series about the hardships of life on a far-flung human colony and for no explainable reason, Geordi La Forge is there, except now he has a blue afro and can't stop talking about surfing.

I'm no fan of what WOTC is doing to D&D with 4th edition. However, both Tiamat and Bahumut have been iconic parts of D&D since the 1st edition Monster Manual. Of course, IMHO opinion that's were they belong, not on the list of default deities for humans.

Seeing what WOTC's imagination looks like, I think I want as little of it in D&D as possible.

There's a lot of stupid fluff from 1st ed. I don't think that's a good reason to continue it to a new edition. If Tiamat and Bahamut quietly disappeared or were replaced by original gods, I don't think anyone would have cared.

What are your thoughts on the inclusion of Thor?

If you want to run a Norse mythology themed D&D game, It's great, but there's no reason to include our mythology in a generic game setting.

How about Takhisis and Paladine?

They're fine. They may have come about by a strange route, but they exist on their own with no ties to Earth. Even a simple renaming would work in 4E since as I pointed out, the D&D versions of Tiamat and Bahamut have little to do with the actual mythological versions.

I have to say that I really dig how the 4e pantheon is shaping up. Bahamut and Tiamat are iconic to D&D, and they're dragon deities (giving a much-needed focus on dragons). I like that Thor is included, just because I love the Marvel Comics version. Lolth makes sense being iconic to D&D. And so on and so forth.

Nothing against the Greyhawk deities. They're cool. I would rather see them in a Greyhawk supplement, then have the new D&D pantheon serve as the general set of deities.

Just as Greyhawk deities belong in Greyhawk, so to do the other gods belong in their respective realms. If Wizards feels they need to have dragon gods, pulling from Dragonlance is a better choice though than continuing to mangle real world mythology.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Howard?

Robert E. He was a big nut for appropriating mythological and ancient historical sources and dropping them into his homebrew world without worrying about historical accuracy. He did OK with it.

 

[Kobu]

Robert E. He was a big nut for appropriating mythological and ancient historical sources and dropping them into his homebrew world without worrying about historical accuracy. He did OK with it.

If you are referencing Conan et al., those stories were set on Earth. I guess that's why I didn't make the connection about appropriating names since he didn't as far as I know.

 

[Nightchilde-2]

Perhaps the answer to your question is another question...

"Why not?"

 

[WhatGravitas]

If you are referencing Conan et al., those stories were set on Earth. I guess that's why I didn't make the connection about appropriating names since he didn't as far as I know.

Conan on Earth? The Hyborian Age was a pseudo-pre-history Earth, i.e. a kitbash of a lot of real world allusions.

Cheers, LT.

 

[Vigilance]

If you are referencing Conan et al., those stories were set on Earth. I guess that's why I didn't make the connection about appropriating names since he didn't as far as I know.

Uh, no.

Conan is most decidedly not set on Earth.

Anyway, to paraphrase Joel and the bots, repeat to yourself "it's just a game, I should really just relax".

 

[Lorthanoth]

The Conan stories are explicitly stated by Howard himself to be set on Earth in an imaginary pre-history.

 

[Kobu]

Uh, no.

Conan is most decidedly not set on Earth.

I think you and the others need to actually read the stories. They were set on Earth. There's no point saying "No,they weren't," it's a simple fact.

 

[Hussar]

I think you and the others need to actually read the stories. They were set on Earth. There's no point saying "No,they weren't," it's a simple fact.

It's a completely fabricated Earth where Atlantis is real, magic works, the map is redone and it draws from a host of anachronistic elements.

But, yeah, it's Earth...