When Celestials Attack... and Small Gods... an idea...

[Dougal DeKree]

Religions of the big gods

Hey there!

How about having 2 "Authorities" that keep each other from interfering directly in affairs and both sides want to bring these small gods onto their side, so they can give them that little extra-help needed to gain a little advantage over the other.
Meaning neithers' followers is against the pc's quest of awakening, but, of course, if one side can't have the small gods support, the other side must not have it. Might add some spice and intrigue...

Just thinking loud...

Dougal DeKree

P.S.: The Avatar-Idea sounds pretty cool to me

 

[Kyrion]

Re: Religions of the big gods

Sort of a Zoroastrian-like way of approaching things, but without a Good-Evil/Black-White approach, perhaps. I like this idea a lot, using the Small Gods as a starting point.

My own world is completely driven by the divine, with the characters able to pass over into the god realm via rituals (well, they'll be able to once I've got it up and running).

-Kyrion

Hey there!

How about having 2 "Authorities" that keep each other from interfering directly in affairs and both sides want to bring these small gods onto their side, so they can give them that little extra-help needed to gain a little advantage over the other.
Meaning neithers' followers is against the pc's quest of awakening, but, of course, if one side can't have the small gods support, the other side must not have it. Might add some spice and intrigue...

Just thinking loud...

Dougal DeKree

P.S.: The Avatar-Idea sounds pretty cool to me

 

[Evil Josef]

It might also be neat to have it so that the PCs aren't just responsible for awakening the gods, but trying to convince them to bond together and cooperate to overcome Authority. Have some gods have directly opposing portfolios and naturally be inclined to destroying each other out of blind instinct (this would work particuarly well, not to mention be particularly fun with the kaiju or titan end of things). Still other gods have dubious distinctions, such as evil aligned deities, but are still important in the combined struggle against Authority and keeping things cosmically balanced. Just a few thoughts.

 

[Breakstone]

Hm... good ideas... keep them coming!

 

[sensate]

As and interesting plot twist one player(or all of them) could be an "avatar" of the one of the small gods and not know it. At a crucial climactic moment the god steps out of his/her body to do battle with the villian.


This worked out really well in a campaign I was in in which our mage turned out to be the hiding place for a sleeping avatar.

 

[Breakstone]

An idea I just had for two of the small gods-

There was a god who did something to make some bad enemies. Those enemies conspired, and, with their godly powers, split the god into two forms- a Kaiju and a Titan. The two forms are banished to an island where they constantly battle each other- the kaiju being evil and the titan being good.

The characters would have to decide whether to help one defeat the other (and thus gaining that guy's aid), or convicing them to both fight on the same side.

 

[wolfpunk]

It would be interesting if the players were not exactly sure whether it was the titan that was good or evil. That way it truly becomes an interesting choice. Choose one and hope you get the right one, or try to convince them both.

 

[Breakstone]

As for the small gods themselves, so far we have:

Apple Tree
Roaming Glacier
Volcano
Kaiju (what kind?)
Titan
White Stag

I was also thinking of maybe some ancestral gods, like Bjorn the great Viking Warrior or something like that...

 

[Valkys]

As far as small gods go, you can have as many as you like. Since small gods aren't responsible for large areas, every barbarian tribe, every forest of moderate size, every river would have their own small gods.

There could be literally thousands, not that you'd want to use them all. But of course it would require all of them to stand up against Authority. In that case, they might band together by types.

The druid must convince all of the small forest gods to join the quest. He probably has to collect an acorn from each of them. In this case, enough forest gods might be enough to stop Authority's power from advancing to the woodlands. Perhaps the druid can't cast spells in a forest until he has spoken with the small god there.

The same would work for clerics. In this event, however, they find themselves at a disadvantage, since other classes don't face these restrictions. They'd need to have wands or some such to compensate.

 

[Breakstone]

The Dragon Magazine Article refers to three types of Small Gods:

Ancestral Gods (Dalcanteae, mother of the Dalcanti clan, Tumblemoon, the mother of the rabbits of Nimblegrove), Heroes and Saints (Saint Jalnir the Gentle, Barkhad the Unmoving), and Gods of the Land (Angwa, the Cave of Whispers, Ydernac, Grandmother Oak).

The Apple Tree and Roaming Glacier would be Gods of the Land, while the White Stag could be an Ancestral God and Bjorn the Beserker a Hero.