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Message: <blockquote data-quote="delericho" data-source="post: 3154672" data-attributes="member: 22424">You are virtually certain to never need the stats of a deity. If your PCs reach Epic level, they might be worth having, but otherwise don't bother. Even if your PCs do reach Epic level, only stat up a deity if you're actually going to use it.That said, stats for the Aspects and Avatars of some deities might be a good thing to have... but again, only stat them if you think you're going to use them.From a mechanics perspective, all you need is a name, alignment, list of domains and, if one of the domains is War, a note of the favoured weapon. (Heck, if you use the Eberron rule that Clerics don't need to be close to their deity's alignment, you don't even need that!)But, just a list of the 'nuts and bolts' of the deities is boring.What you really want to do is to give some thought to the place of religion in your campaign. Do all the races follow the same gods, are there racial gods for the various races, or do they have wholly distinct pantheons? Do the gods of one race accept followers of another race? What about Clerics? Are the Paladins tied to one particular god, to any LG god, or to any god at all (you really need non-LG paladins <spit> for that), or indeed, do they not get their powers from the gods at all?Is there a unified religion in the campaign, where the gods mostly co-exist peacefully, with each having its own place in the pantheon, or do the various gods deny one another's existence, or do they each fight to show the "one true way", or what?What are the portfolios of the gods? Who worships them? (I don't mean races or classes here, I mean soldiers, farmers, blacksmiths... Commoners, Experts and Aristocrats).How do the gods view mortals? Are they a source of power? Are they a status symbol? Are they a parasitic nuisance, stealing the power of the gods?What about adventurers? Do the gods care? Do they vie to be the patrons of the great heroes of the age? Do they challenge the heroes, the better to see their greatness shine?What are the great legends surrounding the gods? Did one hang himself from a tree, and give up half the light of the world, in order to gain wisdom? Did one spring fully formed from the head of her 'father'? Were there elder gods whom your gods drove away, and if so, what happened to them?Where do the gods live? Can heroes make their way to the courts of the god and demand answers?How do the gods feel about magic? Was it a gift to mortals? Was it a curse? Did one god try to use it to enslave her chosen people, and then was forced to open it to all? Was it stolen by your Prometheus, given to wily mortals, and thus is ever distrusted by the clergy?Are there religious holidays? Regular services? Secret places?How do priests dress? Are they well respected, or must they hide their alliegance?Don't be afraid to have lots of different answers for different cultures. Don't even be afraid to have mutually-exclusive and contradictory answers... from the point of view of the people in the campaign world (you should probably have a consistent answer, though).Adding religion to a campaign is a lot like detailing any part of the campaign - you get out what you put in. But don't do too much, or you'll burn out.</blockquote>

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