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

[teitan]

The Dawn War and associated lore from 4e was the best part of 4e. I tend to prefer more real world pantheons or the loose cosmology of Moorcock. I did like the Eberron pantheons though for 3.5, I am not sure how they port over in later editions though because I haven't bought an Eberron book since 2007. I liked the approach to religion. Any pantheon can be great depending on the approach but when I used to run 1e I just let them pick a god and ran with it. We were very off the cuff with our games. But in general I have always been partial to the Olympians.

 

[Aldarc]

I disagree. The game does the heavy lifting by including the cleric class and providing well-balanced domains. The game provides all the mechanics, and allows the DM free to do the fun part.

Come now. Paying lip-service to religion through a class that is virtually a white wizard with a religious ribbon or two is hardly heavy-lifting. “I bought you a blank canvas and a six-pack of crayons to draw what you want” is definitely not heavy-lifting.

Why would you want the tastes of the WotC designers dictating realities of your personal world?

I’m more concerned with their worlds that they designed that evidence how they envision, imagine, and support the role of clerics and gods for their games. Is there a good reason for me to believe that this is not an expression of the typical mode of religious play for the game? You say that they have provided a canvas to draw anything but what have they drawn with it? What have most homebrew games drawn with it? Where then are these worlds with deep religions? What has been the best “art” drawn with these supplies that 5e has provided?

 

[WayOfTheFourElements]

Come now. Paying lip-service to religion through a class that is virtually a white wizard with a religious ribbon or two is hardly heavy-lifting. “I bought you a blank canvas and a six-pack of crayons to draw what you want” is definitely not heavy-lifting.

Um...yes it is. Imagine having to make the crayons and paper from scratch by harvesting wax and cutting down trees.

I’m more concerned with their worlds that they designed that evidence how they envision, imagine, and support the role of clerics and gods for their games. Is there a good reason for me to believe that this is not an expression of the typical mode of religious play for the game? You say that they have provided a canvas to draw anything but what have they drawn with it? What have most homebrew games drawn with it? Where then are these worlds with deep religions? What has been the best “art” drawn with these supplies that 5e has provided?

If very few games make beautiful art with those supplies, maybe it's because most DMs find it superfluous - which is fine.

But to provide an example, I used to play in a game with a woman who goes by the name Timeshadow online. Here is a link to her blog, The Grand Tapestry. She uses her own rule-system now, but originally we were playing D&D.

Edit: She had several religions in her game, both incredibly flushed our with holidays, rituals, etc. Each was unique to a different continent. One of monotheistic, another pantheistic, and another a combination of animism and hero worship. Each had requirements clerics had to meet or their gods refused to grant them spells. It was fun. Some players didn't like the requirements; they didn't play clerics. No problem there.

What Urutsk: The World of Mystery is all about

URUTSK: The World of Mystery is a setting, which in its simplest terms, is a world with its history, starting in a period where star-farin...

thegrandtapestry.blogspot.com

 

[Li Shenron]

So, I know we have a mix of older and newer players on the board. What's your favourite pantheon? Or what part of what pantheon do you incorporate in your games, and why?

The Greek/Roman pantheon, because it is at least somewhat familiar to everyone before playing D&D, and because deities have many aspects not too closely related to each other (e.g. Apollo: Sun + Health + Oracles + Music; Athena: War + Wisdom + Justice + Crafts) so that each religion can have very different branches.

As for more D&D-specific pantheons, I would say the whole Faerun pantheon. It is very large, irregular/asymmetric, and often contradictory.

Both are rich enough pantheons that are helpful for worldbuilding and provide endless adventures seeds.

 

[WayOfTheFourElements]

Where then are these worlds with deep religions? What has been the best “art” drawn with these supplies that 5e has provided?

Chris is another DM I've played with. Here is a few links to his religions:

Religion and the Hill Cantons Part One: Sun-Lord Sects

I continue to plug away at Live Weird or Die , the obsessive compilation of house rules, variant classes, and Hill Cantons setting whoha. ...

hillcantons.blogspot.com

Religion and the Hill Cantons Part Two: the Outlier Deities

Following up from the last post on religion and the HC campaign , the remaining two “outcast” deities of Solarism and the pagan old gods ...

hillcantons.blogspot.com

Religion and the Hill Cantons Part Three: Godlings, Atrophied Gods and Also-Ran Deities

Continuing this series on the religion in the campaign. Parts one and two here and here . Godlings Gaxx the Jerk-King sets forth...

hillcantons.blogspot.com

Religion and the Hill Cantons Part Four: The Hero-Cult of Adalfuns

Hero-cults of the Sun Lord play an important role in the confusing panorama of religious life of the Solarity-holding people of Zem (see ...

hillcantons.blogspot.com

 

[Minigiant]

Dawn War or Renamed Simplified Greek. I like the ease and purpose. I prefer when the major domains and portfolios are filled and given logical forms.

 

[WayOfTheFourElements]

Another question:

Do any of you keep stats for your deities?

 

[cbwjm]

Another question:

Do any of you keep stats for your deities?

View attachment 125119

I don't keep stats, but I have been tempted to note down the classes of their avatars. I'm thinking that in my world, the most powerful an avatar can be is that of a 20th level PC. Anything beyond that and the other powers of the setting start to take notice.

 

[Aldarc]

Um...yes it is. Imagine having to make the crayons and paper from scratch by harvesting wax and cutting down trees.

Then you would have successfully argued that the physical book manufacturers have done more heavy-lifting for 5e than the rules designers. So why are you trying to give rules designers credit for the heavy lifting done by the material manufacturers?

If very few games make beautiful art with those supplies, maybe it's because most DMs find it superfluous - which is fine.

Or maybe it’s because they can’t make beautiful with crappy art supplies they have been given by the “heavy lifters.”

I will look at your other links when I have more time and an actual keyboard.

 

[WayOfTheFourElements]

Then you would have successfully argued that the physical book manufacturers have done more heavy-lifting for 5e than the rules designers. So why are you trying to give rules designers credit for the heavy lifting done by the material manufacturers?

Or maybe it’s because they can’t make beautiful with crappy art supplies they have been given by the “heavy lifters.”

It's more like giving the designers credit for not getting in my way (Thank Odin). I'd much prefer they did the same thing with the Monster Manual, too. Just stats, no to little fluff. I prefer to make up my own.