[Urbis] Building a Pantheon

[Jürgen Hubert]

Just curious if you do publish Urbis, can't you just use what Necromancer Game uses? Im I mean that's pretty open, as per Tome of Horrors. Unless you want something different for your game. That's fine.

I'm not familiar with their products, and in any case want to keep third-party material in Urbis to a minimum.

 

[Jürgen Hubert]

A really lame D&Dish definition of deities with nothing mysterious or mystical about them.

-- Player: "What do I know about the gods?"
-- DM: "Oh... they give spells to clerics."

Well, it's basically the same as saying "Stars are very hot objects". Sure, it is true, but it doesn't explain much, least of all what is going on below the surface.

The Scientific Method is starting to gain some adherents on Urbis, and the above definition is both a starting point and something on which most scholars on the subject agree upon. But how to gods grant spells to their followers? What is the precise difference between Lesser and Greater Gods? How many gods actually exist? How do gods come into being, and is it possible for them to die?

Yes, it's a very D&Dish definition - but since Urbis is explicitly intended to built upon the D&D rules, I had to use that as the Lowest Common Denominator. But the things that build on this are new.

 

[Nightfall]

I'm not familiar with their products, and in any case want to keep third-party material in Urbis to a minimum.

Well they did a conversion of Orcus in Tome of Horrors and I believe that all the source material used was open sourced. That way you could still use D&D references without harm. At least I believe so...

You might want to email Clark Peterson about it.

 

[Turanil]

The Scientific Method is starting to gain some adherents on Urbis, and the above definition is both a starting point and something on which most scholars on the subject agree upon. But how to gods grant spells to their followers? What is the precise difference between Lesser and Greater Gods? How many gods actually exist? How do gods come into being, and is it possible for them to die?

I think I see your point. Now, if indeed I really see your point, let me make a suggestion: as in our world, put an opposition between religion and science. Adherents of the "Scientific Method" may claim that despite "gods" (whatever they may be) give spells to their agents (the priests) doesn't mean that following them (adhering to their tenets) is useful. They could claim that worshippers are deceived into superstition an blind useless obedience to mighty beings that really bring nothing to their worshipers, but impress them in giving spells to the select few (clerics) that indoctinate them. At least, there is nothing in D&D that states it is of any benefit to worship a deity if you are not a divine spellcaster...