Of course, it could be that (either) Vondar (or the Sky God) is a laughing god who wields a spear and rides across the sky on the back of a blue dragon, singing songs, and his priests worship him in mountain caves where he brews storms with his laughter and singing. In other words, Vondar might not be like Zeus.
There's a sort of table that comes down to an axis in one direction - called 'nature' perhaps, or maybe 'powers' - with 'derived from sources' and 'made up' on it, and another - called 'name' - with 'derived from sources', 'made up' and 'title' on it. The example of Vondar above would get a 'made up' in both boxes, as both the name and theology of Vondar are different from Zeus. 'The Sky God' (who gets a check for 'Title' on the 'name' axis) could refer to a god like Zeus, or a god like Vondar. It would be perverse I feel to have a mythology of a dragon-riding god who brews storms by singing in mountain caves, and call him 'Zeus' though, unless I was planning on running a specifically Ancient Greek campaign, and wanted to show lots of different local theologies and legends for my gods (basically, each city or region having their own version of the gods).
Having looked at this excellent post on Beyond the Black Gate, in which Al simply puts down some features of the deities and cults in his campaign, I've been inspired to try to do the same with the gods of my campaign. Two of the gods of this area, Kos and Issek, come from the Nehwon mythos and I won't describe them here. One notable feature I suppose is that on reaching Second Level and actually gaining Clerical magic, in this campaign Clerics must take a weapon appropriate to their deity if there is one. This is, essentially, because it makes no sense to me that Clerics don't use their deity's 'sacred weapon'. So I've detailed the sacred weapons of the deities below and indicated when a Cleric needs to adopt one.
Isi (life & magic) – also known as The Great Mother and the Queen of the
Stars. She usually appears as a queenly woman of middle years with a sceptre in
one hand. She presides over many aspects of fertility of plants, animals and
people, and is also connected with stars and the sky. Any may join her clergy, who
wear scarlet kilts. There is a temple of the Great Mother in most settlements,
and often some of the other gods have only shrines inside her temples, particularly
Rosh, Nefu and Resek (see below).
Rosh (oaths,
vengeance) – also know as The Avenger. Rosh is the son of Isi, and oversees
the giving of oaths, which are often sworn before his altars. He appears in his
depictions as a powerfully-built bare-chested young man who wields a sword in
one hand and a wand in the other. He wears a kilt of bright blue; his clerics,
who can be male or female but are always human, wear similar kilts, but clad
themselves in leather armour and wear helms in the shape of hawks, Rosh’s
sacred animal. Clerics of Rosh at Second Level and above must only use normal
swords as weapons.
Nefu (water and
weather) – also known as the Lady of the Waters. Nefu is the consort of
Rosh, and the sister or cousin of Resek. She presides over rivers and streams, springs,
rain and all falling or flowing water; when angered, she summons thunderstorms.
Both the fish and the lioness are sacred to her. Her clerics wear rusty-red
leather armour and helms that resemble fish-scales. In cities, they are
particularly concerned with the provision of fountains of clear water, which
they call ‘the blessings of Nefu’.
Resek (light) – also
known as the Lord of Light. Resek is regarded as being a close kinsman of Nefu;
as such he, Nefu, Rosh (Nefu’s consort) and Isi (Rosh’s mother) are regarded as
being closely-linked. In smaller settlements, their cults will often all be found in the same temples,
generally a temple to Isi with several shrines of the other gods. Resek seeks
out evil everywhere and turns his searching light on it. His clerics wear white
tunics, and helms with hawk-feathers attached to them. He wields a halberd and
a mace in battle, and his clerics must pick one of these weapons to use on
reaching Second Level.
Tas (cats, the
household) – also known as the Lady of Cats. She protects the household
from the evil powers of the underworld, particularly represented by snakes and
rats, and is also regarded as being a goddess of luck and plenty due to
protecting the grain harvest. She appears as a beautiful bare-breasted young
woman wearing a cat-mask or helm with cat-ears. Her clergy (who may be of any
race or sex) wear similar helms and grey kilts, and encourage the killing of
snakes whenever they can. In smaller settlements she may have a shrine in the temple of Isi rather than a temple of her own.
Huran (war) –
also known as the Lord of War. Huran is the personification of the male warrior-ideal;
he always appears as a very tall man, and wields a spear which flames with the
light of the sun. He usually appears in his depictions armoured for war, and
his clerics – who are always human males – wear leather armour and war-helms
when they go forth from the temples, whether or not they are going to battle.
From Second Level, clerics of Huran must use spears as weapons.
Ets (evil, the
underworld, snakes) – also known as the Lord of Night. His cult is very
secretive and will never share its temples with other gods of the pantheon. He
is the implacable enemy of Rosh. Representations of the god show him with the
scaly skin of a snake, which is a sacred animal to him. He uses a great black
spear in combat. His clerics, who may be male or female and of any race, wear black
helms and leather armour; his sign, a coiled serpent, is usually bright green
and is prominent in his depictions and on the gear of his priests – when they
are not hiding their true natures. Clerics of Second Level and above must use a
spear as a weapon.
Alol (sun, archers,
music) – also known as the Shining One. He is a complex deity with responsibility
for the sun, music, archery and bears. He appears on all his depictions as a beautiful
young man with a bow or carrying a harp. Sometimes he wears a bearskin around
his shoulders, and in the stories of his cult can assume the form of a bear. His
male priests wear gold or yellow tunics and leaf-crowns. They must use the bow
as a weapon upon reaching Second Level. Alol is a fickle and jealous god; his
clergy will not have friendly contact with any other cult. His temples usually
stand in naturally-beautiful places such as by waterfalls or in groves.
Ras (war) – also known
as the God of Battle and the Wolf-God. Ras is depicted as a powerfully-built
older warrior, always wearing a helm, breastplate and crimson tunic. He is the
lord of battle-lust, delighting in slaying. He carries both a sword and a
spear; his clerics must pick one upon reaching Second Level and may from then
only use that weapon. Non-humans may not join his clergy though they can make
offerings to him before battle. Wolves are sacred to Ras and sometimes are
trained to guard his temples. Like Alol, he is a jealous god and will not share
his temples with others.
And now, with Orem-Thep added (I forgot about him as I was only looking at the temples in the PCs' town, and he doesn't have any temples)...
And now, with Orem-Thep added (I forgot about him as I was only looking at the temples in the PCs' town, and he doesn't have any temples)...
Orem-Thep (creation,
benevolence) – also known as the Good Lord. Orem-Thep is, if the tellers of
his tales be believed, the creator of the human race and the inventor of all civilised arts. He has no temples as
such, but there are preachers who take to themselves an amber-coloured tunic and an iron ring as badges
of his faith and preach his benevolence and wisdom, leading prayer-meetings in public places or at worshippers' houses. They also use a torch as a
symbol of their devotion, signifying the illumination that Orem-Thep brings to
the world through his benevolent wisdom. The cult of Orem-Thep hunts griffons
whenever it can, as they hold them to be uniquely evil.
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