Unusual pantheon ideas, I need some help.

[AFGNCAAP]

Here's another possible way to look at the issue of the divine powers:

I went through I lot of time & effort trying to devise a pantheon. Honestly, it was torturous, because I had a hard time trying to define the deities (for example, I could see why certain portfolios may belong to good or evil deities, but other ones [like the elements] were harder to pinpoint). Plus, the way divine magic has been divided up class-wise also threw a monkeywrench in my plans.

Until I decided not to define gods at all.

The big premise in my default D&D setting is that divine spellcasters select a path of belief, rather than the patronage of a specific deity. The deities themselves aren't restricted to just 1 path (for example Thor as a protector would belong to the Path of Good/Light, though Thor as a storm god would belong the the Path of Nature).

Basically, divine spellcasters follow 1 of 4 paths of belief. These paths are:

• The Path of Light/Good: Followers of the benevolent, these priests seek and praise the benevolence of the divine powers. Consists of non-Evil priests who use positive energies, and similar folk (LG & CG paladins).
• The Path of Darkness/Evil: Practitioners of the malevolent, who ally with dark forces in order to gain personal benefit. Consists of non-Good priests who use negative energies, and similar folk (LE & CE paladins).
• The Path of Nature: These priests focus on & revere the natural world in all of its' splendor & power. Druids and rangers are the main followers of this Path, but some clerics follow its tenets as well.
• The Path of Magic: These priests focus on the mystical/spiritual/magical view of the world, seeking meaning in various forms, and trying to understand/unlock the secrets of magic. All Mystic Theurges are priests who follow this Path.

All paths share access to certain domains (like Protection & Knowledge), but they also have domains that are exclusive to them (i.e., Magic domain for the Path of Magic, elemental domains for the Path of Nature, etc.). Also, each path has its own multiclassing restrictions: only clerics of the Path of Light can multiclass as paladins; only clerics of the Path of Darkness can multiclass as blackguards; only clerics of the Path of Nature can multiclass as druids or rangers; only clerics of the Path of Magic can multiclass as sorcerers or wizards (and vice-versa).

And there is a fifth, non-magical path of spiritual belief: a path based on self-improvment, education, and discipline. This path is the one followed by monks.

Though I do provide some names of deities & whatnot, what ultimately matters is the path of belief the character adheres to. All religious edifices & whatnot focus on the paths rather than on individual deities. Makes things a whole heck of a lot easier for me IMC.

Just an idea I'd thoguht I'd share.

 

[Ferret]

Nice ideas, they'll help. I'm going to go over the classes and change most to 'casters' that get there abilities from the ascended. So there is only one template class, that stems to the others.

 

[Belen]

Isn't this how the "Immortals" worked for Mystara?

In any event, all my gods were formed by an ancient race in my last world. Most people worshipped them in a buddist way. They believed in one "ancestor" or "great one" and tried to emulate them. They believed that they too could ascent, if not as an equal, then as a servant to them.

Thus, they were not Gods, but examples of the best or worst a soul could achieve.

 

[Angcuru]

One thing I would definitely NOT do would be to create a whole Pantheon of completely 'unrelated' and 'convenient' gods. A good example of what to avoid is the FR pantheon jamboree. There should just be 'the gods'. No seperate pantheons for each race, no god of Cough Syrup or Bridgebuilding. A good real-life example of a sensible pantheon would be that of Greek Mythology. You have a god for each of the REALLY important things that can be percieved, like war, the sun, the harvest, the sea, the dead, etc(Zeus, Mars, Poseidon, et al.). And then you have minor, lesser gods, for those greater beings who aren't in control of some awesome cosmic force, but instead play mediation between the other gods, as well as being patrons to certain groups or concepts(Athena, Hermes, etc.). I HATE seeing 'God of Tyranny'. Tyranny is a FORM OF GOVERNMENT. If you want a god to have a focus on tyranny, then you could have the god of war who has a special preference for tyrannical societies, but doesn't make them the focus of his/her divinity. But one biggie to avoid is to have gods that reproduce with one another. Maybe they could impregnate mortals to make heroic mortals, but the possibility of additional gods down the line suggests that the gods can be destroyed. Gods should be stiff, rigid, perpetual, immune to change. If something can be born, it can be killed, and gods should not fit into that category.

 

[Ferret]

I want them to be rigid, and all what you said with no superfluous gods (I like the dway discworld is run). They won't (or at least I don't want them to) be able to die, even though they were born.