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Message: <blockquote data-quote="gamerprinter" data-source="post: 6426690" data-attributes="member: 50895">My published setting Kaidan has no pantheon at all.When I developed the religions of the <a href="http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/browse.php?cPath=4448_6626" target="_blank">Kaidan setting of Japanese horror (PFRPG)</a>, the closest thing to gods are kami spirits which may or may not be able to grant spells since they vary in power. Kami are localized spirits in that they are fixed to a specific physical location (waterfall, lake, river, mountain, section of forest, swamp, etc.) Perhaps they truly exist on another plane, but have a portal connected to their specific physical locale. Yokinto, Kaidan's version of Shinto involves the worship of kami spirits, which also include ancestral spirits. Most kami are too weak to grant divine spells. Those kami spirits that are able to grant spells, being localized can only provide spell power to worshippers/priests close to the same physical locale. If a priest ventures miles away from the shrine or local source spells are no longer granted. Some priests are able to commune with different local spirits found as they travel across the nation. When they find a new kami locale, they commune with the spirit and gain that spirits portfolio of spell powers, and are required to do this in order to continue access to divine spells whereever they go.The other major religion of Kaidan is Zaoism, which is a loosely constructed combination of Tao and Zen, essentially Buddhism as practiced in Kaidan. Unlike the Indian/Chinese version of Buddhism there are no gods associated. Zaoism is essentially a philosophy introduced to Kaidan via several charismatic priests introducing several versions of Buddhism. Zaoism is tied to the social caste system as well as the reincarnation wheel and has more to do with the afterlife, than the granting of spells, though spells are granted through the Great Wheel construct of Zaoism.One of the two other religions of Kaidan Shugendo, a syncretic combination of Zaoism, Tao and Yokinto connected through nature and mountains, and worshipped by yamabushi priests and shugenja followers. The other religion involves the ascension of powerful ghosts or yurei spririts of nobleman called Goryo Shinko, which in Kaidan essentially is the worship of local undead daimyo rulers, whose priests serve the living/unliving local Daimyo.Thus Kaidan features Buddhism (Zaoism), Shinto (Yokinto), Shugendo and Goryo Shinko, which are all non-traditional religions of ancient Japan, none of which truly include deities at all. Essentially in Kaidan, there are no deities, thus no pantheons. Divine spells are granted through other means of the local religions.</blockquote>

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