D&D 5E What's your favourite pantheon?

[teitan]

I suspect the line is that the "fantasy versions" of the pantheons count as discussing "mythology," whereas most discussions of Abrahamic religions count as "religion" because of their ubiquity in modern culture. The religion is sufficiently intertwined with the "gods" that you can't fully separate the two. But discussing the way they handle angels on Supernatural doesn't cross the line.

And yes, there are Pagans and neo-Pagans, but most people know Thor more as a comic book or legendary figure than as a god they actually worship. So discussing those gods in the context of the mythology that's been written about them is fine.

kind of a weak argument considering, for example, Iceland is now a largely Pagan nation dedicated to the Aesir.

 

[cbwjm]

I just had an idea: a pantheon consisting of all your players' previous characters! Maybe change the names slightly. Then see how long it takes for the players to catch on.

That could be fun to do.

 

[Coroc]

kind of a weak argument considering, for example, Iceland is now a largely Pagan nation dedicated to the Aesir.

Really? I did not know that, have you got any sources for that?

 

[cbwjm]

kind of a weak argument considering, for example, Iceland is now a largely Pagan nation dedicated to the Aesir.

Even a cursory search determines that to be false. While there are undoubtedly some pagan worshippers, the majority of Iceland is not so it hardly counts as a pagan nation.

 

[WayOfTheFourElements]

Even a cursory search determines that to be false. While there are undoubtedly some pagan worshippers, the majority of Iceland is not so it hardly counts as a pagan nation.

Well, there's this. Still only 17,000 members, though.

Pagans Are The Largest Non-Christian Faith In Iceland

According to the latest data from the National Registry, members of the Ásatrú Society comprise the largest non-Christian religion in...

grapevine.is

 

[cbwjm]

Well, there's this. Still only 17,000 members, though.

Pagans Are The Largest Non-Christian Faith In Iceland

According to the latest data from the National Registry, members of the Ásatrú Society comprise the largest non-Christian religion in...

grapevine.is

Exactly, only 5000 members. Small as Iceland is, 5000 is still a very small percentage.

 

[Aldarc]

The “line” for the forum may have to do more with how the Christian theology was presented as a pantheon with the intent of making players uncomfortable.

But this topic about moderation and appropriate religious discussion is probably better reserved for the Meta sub-forum.

 

[Delazar]

I like small-ish pantheons, and I prefer when all races venerate the same pantheon, maybe by a different name.

So I guess I'm going with the Dragonlance pantheon as my favourite, followed by Birthright.

 

[Hexmage-EN]

A neat detail about the Dawn War pantheon is that there was an emphasis on the gods as their own kind of being that can take on many forms, even ones heavily associated with certain mortal races.

If I remember correctly, the adventure Madness at Gardmore Abbey has a crypt dedicated to minotaur worshipers of Bahamut due to the close proximity of the ruins of Saruun Khel, a minotaur civilization that eventually fell into ruin after the rise of the cult of Baphomet. In that chamber Bahamut is depicted as a minotaur wearing platinum armor.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

Homebrew, then Dawn War pantheon, then Eberron's.

Yeah this. Dawn War isn't perfect, but it has a lot of stuff often missing in pantheons, and it it's interesting, unlikely virtually any D&D pantheons. Eberron is excellent in a different way, in that it actually seems somewhat naturalistic and believable, and I vastly prefer the "who knows if the gods exist, but they seem to!" approach to "Yo so I was just on WhatsApp with Mystra and she said Cyric had been talking smack about Tempus..." approach that the Forgotten Realms and many other settings have.