I noticed in some of Samwise's latest writings he suggests that the demihuman deities are actually demihuman names for human gods e.g. Clanggedin is what dwarves call Heironeous.
What I can't find anywhere is a list of which demihuman gods map onto which human ones; I also wondered if anyone else had created such a list, or experimented with folding the demihuman pantheons onto the human ones.
I do not have a separate list of just which powers I made racial names of others. You would have to scroll through the list of powers and see which ones have secondary names listed. You can also check the Powers and Planes and find them in the individual entries.
My method of assigning such was based on portfolio, alignment, preferences, and needs for what I was trying to put together. The entire concept comes from real world syncretization done by the Greeks and Romans.
The idea behind this was to collapse all the various racial pantheons into a single set of gods known by different names and varying aspects in different cultures. I think, honestly, that it makes them more interesting to incorporate the myths and relationships associated with the nonhuman pantheons into more multifaceted gods of Oerth.
This is a work in progress.
One major division between the various faiths known to the world of Oerth is the question of which creator god, Boccob or Lendor, has primacy. For without time, surely no actions can take place, including the act of creation. But others, like the dragons, credit Boccob (or Io, as they call him) with the initial demiurgic spark that allowed the potential for time to exist. Most myth cycles that recognize both deities consider the two gods to be siblings, one completing the other. If a third sibling, a dark force of madness and entropy that some call Tharizdun, exists, most myths do not speak of him, or even actively erase him from their holy texts, though the Book of Incarum speaks of Tharizdun being banished by Rao.
Boccob
Epithets: The Uncaring, the Prime Power, the Great Creator, the Creator of Worlds, the Creator-by-Thought, the Speaker, the Architect, the Ninefold Dragon, the Swallower of Shades
God of magic, arcane knowledge, balance, and creation.
Alternate names: Boccob (Common), Al-Zarad (Baklunish), Annam (giants), Io (dragons), Corellon Larethian (elves), Mos'slyk (Flan), Thautam (dwarves), Merrshaulk (yuan-ti), Ramenos (bullywugs)
According to the dragons, whose myths are more complex than most, Boccob (or Io, as they call him) was born within the First Void, and willingly shed blood to create the potential for time and being.
According to the more mystical myths of the giants, who call Boccob by the name of Annam, his dreams formed the substance of reality and enabled time and creation by lesser deities to take place. He became the Uncaring after withdrawing from creation, either in despair at witnessing the schism of his many children or, comically, to escape the wrath and nagging of his many wives and concubines.
The elves know Boccob as Corellon Larethian, and see them as more active than most other races, overthrowing the Elder Elemental God through magic and force of arms. But even Corellon has retreated from creation since the ancient schism between the surface elves and drow and the hubris of the Raven Queen, distraught at the strife that has befallen their people.
The dwarves know Boccob as Thautam, the blind god of magic and darkness, who mutters advice to his nephew Moradin and to whom magical weapons and armor are dedicated.
Some of the more ancient, nonhuman races, such as the yuan-ti and the bullywugs, worship aspects of Boccob that have declined along with their peoples, going from merely Uncaring or dreaming to somnolent or intoxicated, hibernating and slowly becoming separate from Boccob's core creative principle.
Lendor
Epithets: All-Giver, All-Taker, Prince of Time, Master of Tedium, He of the Blinding Light, the Sunweaver, the Mediator, the Calm God, the Time Dragon
God of time, the sun, the moons, reason, peace, and cosmic order
Alternate names: Lendor (Suel), Chronepsis (dragons), Rao (Western Flan), Pholtus (Oeridians), Labelas Enoreth (elves), Pelor (Old Faith), Shendon (dwarves), Katay (Touv)
Some dragons see Lendor, who they know as Chronepsis, as a re-enfolding that mirrors Boccob's perfectly balanced extension of being into the worlds. Sometimes they are seen as brothers and represented together in a very complex symbol which has at its center the image of a nine-headed dragon with a ninefold-forked tail, each head swallowing a tail.
The Suel, who call him Lendor, view this god as supreme over all others, both the father and the mother of the other gods, and give Boccob no role in their myths, instead attributing the regulation of magic to their goddess Wee Jas. Suel myths say that Lendor began the flow of time with a blow from his flaming sword Afterglow.
The dwarves speak of Shendon All-Giver, as they call him, being born in emptiness and, with the creation of time, allowing the first elements to form. Yet Shendon saw the need for a more talented craftsman to realize the details of the world, and so created his son Moradin to complete the work of creation. The dwarves thus think little of Shendon, who they view as having stepped back from creation to allow Moradin a more active role, and give more praise to Shendon's brother Thautam, who regulates the magic that dwarves forge into their most prized works.
To the Flan who once wandered with their herds through the Vale of Luna and the Sheldomar Valley, Lendor is Rao, who bound dark Tharizdun and set the sun and moons in the sky as a promise that he would guard against eternal night. To the Oeridians he is Pholtus, whose view on order is harsher and more unforgiving than his Rao aspect. His most merciful aspect is Pelor, the bright god of sun, strength, and healing.
Tharizdun
God of eternal darkness, entropy, malign knowledge, and insanity
Epithets: He of Eternal Darkness, the Dark God, the Chained God, the Patient One
Alternate names: Tharizdun (unknown origin), Tharzduu’un (unknown origin)
Tharizdun is the Missing Sibling of the primal triad of Boccob, Lendor, and Tharizdun. As Boccob dreams possibility into being and Lendor begins the progress of time, it is Tharizdun who seeks to turn all things to darkness and void. Most myths seek to erase him, or associate him with more comprehensible beings like the Elder Elemental God. He is bound in an otherworldly prison and, stirring fitfully in his sleep, seeks ever to escape and bring about eternal darkness over all. Periodically, as the stars and planes align, an avatar of his manages to enter the mortal world.
Trithereon
God of individuality, liberty, retribution, and self-defense
Epithets: The Summoner
Alternate names: Trithereon (Common), Shevarash (elves), Tripashu (Tayyib Empire), Antarre (Djaynai, Janya), Krovis (Flan)
A near-universal god of freedom, many cultures tell of a mortal hero or godling who overthrows some monstrous tyrant or tyrannical presence, aided by three animal spirits who agree to help him (and in some myths, raise him when they discover him abandoned as an infant). To the elves, Shevarash triumphed over an invasion of duergar and drow. To the Tayyib, he overthrew the king of the rakshasas. In Djaynai they speak of finding purpose, anger, and change through the god Antarre after the Passage of Vultures. The Suel speak of his exploits during the Time of Darkness. The Oeridians call him Trithereon and have their own tales of his crusades against tyranny. The Flan call him Krovis and say he helped aid in the defeat of Lum the Mad.
Heironeous
Epithets: The Invincible, the Valorous Knight, the Arch-paladin, the Brawler
God of chivalry, justice, honor, war, daring, athletics, strength, courage, and valor
Alternate names: Heironeous (Oeridian), Kord (Suel), Bahamut (dragons), Clangeddin Silverbeard (dwarves), Gaerdal Ironhand (gnomes), Arvoreen (halflings), Kundo (Touv)
Many cultures acknowledge the ever-warring sibling gods, Heironeous and Hextor. To the dragons they are Bahamut and Tiamat, born from the multifaceted being of their parent-god Io. To the gnomes they are Gaerdal Ironhand and Gelf Darkhearth. To the dwarves, they are Clangeddin Silverbeard and Laduguer. To the Suel, they are the ebullient Kord and scheming Pyremius, twin sons of Phaulkon and Syrul.
As Kord, the Suel view Heironeous as more chaotic and prone to battle-rages than other cultures. According to Suel myth, only his grandfather Lendor can control him when he flies into berserk fury.
Hextor
Epithets: Scourge of Battle, Champion of Evil, Herald of Hell
God of war, discord, massacres, conflict, fitness, and tyranny
Alternate names: Hextor (Oeridian), Pyremius (Suel), Tiamat (dragons), Ilneval (orcs), Nomog-Geaya (hobgoblins), Gelf Darkhearth (gnomes), Laduguer (dwarves), Sixin (Xill)
Many myths speak of Hextor, jealous of his brother's unbreakable skin, making a pact with the archdevils of Hell in exchange for four additional limbs, though dragon myths, which name the Herald of Hell as Tiamat, say she received four additional heads instead.
The Suel call Hextor Pyremius, and emphasize that he favors fire, poison, and stealth over his brother Kord's more honorable tactics. Pyremius seldom manifests in the full six-armed battle form associated with his Oeridian aspect, preferring more subtle manifestations, including that of a diminuative jermlaine or a sly tiefling.
The orcs call Hextor Ilneval, depicting him as a lieutenant of their creator god Gruumsh. Orcs think little of Heironeous except as a patron of other peoples, and instead emphasize Ilneval's rivalry with Bahgtru (Erythnul). Ilneval is younger than Bahgtru and seeks to prove himself the elder god's superior.
The goblins know Hextor as Nomog-Geaya, who they believe conquered the goblin pantheon through strength of (six) arms, banishing the Elder Elemental God Maglubiyet, dominating the other goblin gods, and creating the hobgoblin race. Hobgoblin myths say that Nomog had only two arms originally, but in order to make him victorious against all of his enemies he was gifted with two other pairs by the Lords of Hell, becoming known as Nomog-Geaya thenceforth. After he thus proved himself to have greater strength, goblinkind follows Hextor willingly, but believes the war between Hextor, who commands the spirits of the goblin fallen, and the Elder Elemental God, to whom the foolish orcs retain loyalty to, continues eternally in the afterlife.
As Laduguer, Hextor is patron of the duergar, who teach that Laduguer alone would aid them when they were enslaved by illithids. As such, they are fiercely loyal to him.
Istus
Epithets: Lady of Our Fate, Stern Lady, Runecarver
Goddess of fate, magic, oaths, death, birth, law, ethics, propriety, culture
Alternate names: Istus (Baklunish), Wee Jas (Suel), Istus (Baklunish), Allitur (western Flan), Raven Queen (elves), Nera (Old Faith), Alia (Oeridians), Valkauna (dwarves), Shekinester (nagas)
The Baklunish see this goddess as supreme, the weaver of fate for both mortals and the divine. Most other peoples see her as subordinate to Lendor, who the Suel consider to be her father and mother, and Boccob, who the elves consider to be her creator, and whom she stole magic from in order to become a greater goddess in her own right, retreating to the Shadowfell after a cabal of mages tried and failed to in turn steal much of her power. The Flan who revere the Old Faith say she was once Nera, the consort of Nerull, god of death, but she escaped his underworld with a mighty magical ritual, later acquiring dominion over the sphere of fate after wresting it from the demon Lolth. As Allitur, younger sibling of Rao, the Western Flan emphasize her dominon over ethics and propriety. As Stern Alia, the Oeridians emphasize her as the arbiter of Oeridian culture and as the mother of the sibling-gods Heironeous and Hextor.
The dwarves call her Valkauna, goddess of oaths, death, and birth. They say whenever a dwarf swears an oath, she records it by carving it into an impossibly tall cliff.
It is the nagas, perhaps, who have the most complex view of this deity, in which she subsumes the roles of Boccob, Lendor, and Tharizdun in her three aspects as Empowerer, Preserver, and Weaver.
Moradin
Epithets: All-Father, Soul Forger, Rock Carver, Dwarf-Father, Steelskin, Creator
God of smithing, craftsmanship, metalcraft, stonework, engineering
Alternate names: Moradin (dwarves), Bleredd (Oeridians), Fortubo (Suel), Flandal (gnomes), Skoraeus Stonebones (giants)
Perceived as a relatively minor god by most, Moradin is held in highest regard by the dwarves, who credit him with the creation of the world and their own race from metals and gems that lie at the heart of the world, and breathing life into their cooling forms.
The dwarves view Moradin as the son of Shendon All-Giver (Lendor), who created him in order that the raw elements of creation could be properly shaped. Apart from the elemental gods (Tharmekhûl, Beory, Procan, and Velnius) and Shendon's brother Thautam, god of magic, Moradin is viewed by the dwarves as among the eldest of the gods and their rightful patriarch, and with his wife Ulaa he is usually considered to be the father of the other gods in the dwarven pantheon, who are usually grouped into pairs of siblings: Berronar and Vaulkana (Berei and Wee Jas), Clangeddin and Laduguer (Heironeous and Hextor), Dumathoin and Muamman Duathal(Celestian and Fharlanghn), Hanseath and Mya (Olidammara and Myhriss), Vergadain and Abbathor (Zilchus and Kurell), and the youngest, Dugmaren Brightmantle (Delleb), who stands alone.
The Oeridians call Moradin Bleredd, and say that he taught them metalwork. Other races, such as the gnomes (who call him Flandal Steelskin), revere him as the god of metal, mining, and smiths, but do not treat him as a patriarchal figure or believe he fathered the rest of their pantheons.
Ulaa
Epithets: The Stonewife
Goddess of hills, mountains, and gemstones.
Alternate names: Ulaa (unknown origin), Jascar (Suel)
Ulaa is the goddess of hills, mountains, and gemstones. Her husband is Moradin (also known as Fortubo or Bleredd), the god of metal, mining, and smiths, and some myths claim it was her heart that provided the raw materials from which Moradin forged the dwarves, and from which Olidammara (as Garl Glitterlode) crafted the gnomes.
To the Suel, Ulaa is Jascar, viewed as a sibling to Fortubo (Moradin) and usually represented in male aspect, or as a horse or pegasus. The Suel view Jascar as a tireless foe of Beltar, goddess of caves, pits, and malice.
Ulaa is said to have other husbands in the past. Once, claim the giants, she was married to their god Annam (Boccob), and she gave birth to the various mortal giant races from his seed. But like Annam's other wives and concubines, she wearied of his constant affairs and daliances and joined them in driving him into retreat in his Hidden Vale. Moradin has been a much more agreeable partner for her.
Berei
Goddess of home, family, and agriculture
Alternate names: Berei (Flan), Berronar Truesilver (dwarves), Cyrrollalee (halflings), Merikka (Oeridians)
Berei is known among halflings as Cyrrollalee, goddess of hearth, agriculture, and home. She is considered to be a daughter or lesser aspect of Yondalla.
Berei is known to the dwarves as Berronar, who protects the homes and hearths of the dwarven people and brings fertility to what crops they are able to grow. Some dwarven sects consider Berronar to be a bride of Moradin instead of or in addition to Ulaa, but this is uncommon on Oerth.
Myhriss
Epithets: The Thrice-Kissed, Maid of Light and Dark
Goddess of love, light, romance, passion, art, music, literature, and beauty
Alternate names: Myhriss (Flan), Hanali Celanil (elves), Lirr (Oeridians), Lydia (Suel), Mya (dwarves), Sheyanna Flaxenstrand (gnomes), Iallanis (giants), Surminare (selkies), Scharossar (dark cults), Xanag (Touv)
Myrhiss is the goddess of love, romance, and beauty, the inspiration of artists and musicians. She is closely associated with Evergold, a sacred crystal fountain and pool found within her crystal palace in the Outer Planes.
But Myhriss has a dark side, a blasphemous side named Scharossar, the cruel goddess of torture. Some claim Scharossar is Myrhiss’s twin, while others say she is Myhriss's own denied hungers given form by the power of her own refusal to confront them.
The gnomes say that Myrhiss, who they call Sheyanna Flaxenstrand, is the source of the rivalry between Gaerdal Ironhand and Gelf Darkhearth (Heironeous and Hextor). She refused to choose between them, choosing instead to encourage matchmaking and passionate affairs among the mortal gnomes in her care.
To the giants, Myhriss is Iallanis, who often stands in the shadows of Hiatea (Ehlonna). She is said to have been born after Hiatea, and follow Annam's reluctant acceptance of female offspring.
Celestian
Epithets: The Far Wanderer, the Moonbow
God of stars, space, wanderers, mysticism, dreams, transcendance, death,`the depths beneath the Oerth, the Astral Plane
Alternate names: Celestian (Oeridian), Sehanine (elves), Dumathoin (dwarves), Urogalan (halflings)
Celestian, whose skin is the color of night and whose eyes shine like distant suns, is known to many different races and cultures as the guide who helps travelers on truly far journeys among the stars and in the blackness deep beneath the world, helping dreamers and lost souls find their way across the Astral Plane to their proper destinations.
To the elves, she is Sehanine Moonbow, who guides souls to the afterlife and watches the People of the Testing. To the dwarves, he is Dumathoin, the Keeper of Secrets Under the Mountain. To the halflings, he is Urogalan, and the halflings say he is accompanied in his endless wanderings by a night-black hound.
Celestian is always said to be the twin sibling of Fharlanghn, who guides travelers across the surface of the world as Celestian guides them through the darkness above and below it.
To the elves, Fharlanghn is Solonor Thelandira, patron of hunting and survival. To the dwarves, he is Muamman Duathal, god of adventurers, wanderers, travelers, and expatriates. His sibling, Celestian (also known as Sehanine, Dumathoin, and Urogalan) guides travelers through the stars and deep darkness as Fharlanghn guides them across the world's surface.
Olidammara is the god who rogues look to when they steal for the joy and challenge of it, and many thieves guilds are torn between devotees of gay Olidammara and bitter Kurell. To the dwarves, Olidammara is Hanseath, god of carousing and alcohol. To the halflings he is Brandobaris, god of stealth, thievery, and adventure. To the gnomes he is Garl Glittergold, their primary deity and, they believe, their creator.
In the early days of creation, say the gnomes, Olidammara was exploring a system of caverns in the continent of High Boros, beneath what is now called Rigodruok, the Rainbow Vale. There, he discovered a sealed cavern that, when Olidammara used his passwall ability to access it, turned out to be covered in gems unlike any he had previously seen. Whenever Olidammara sees a sparkly thing, he has to steal it, but when he pried a gem from the wall his eager breath brought the stone to life, transforming it into the first gnome. Again and again, the Laughing Rogue pulled gems from the wall, and each one became a gnome, ecstatic over the new life the god had unwittingly granted it. Olidammara has since done his best for his creations, using his cunning to help banish the Elder Elemental God when in its pride it threatened creation, but the Laughing Rogue is too capricious to be relied on.
Zilchus
Epithets: The Merchant, The Great Guildmaster, the Money Counter
God of power, prestige, money, business, and influence
Alternate names: Zilchus (Oeridian), Vergadain (dwarves), Astilabor (dragons), Bargrivyek (goblins), Mouqol (Baklunish, jann, merfolk), Uvot (Touv)
Zildhus is the god of wealth and influence and the dealmaker of the gods who finalizes divine treaties and pacts. He is the brother of Kurell, who feels bitterness toward his brother's popularity and success. Zilchus is considered to be the husband of Sotillion, goddess of summer and the west wind.
In the Great Kingdom, the ascent of House Darmen in the newly created United Kingdom of Ahlissa has made Zilchus the primary patron of the nation.
The Baklunish know Zilchus as Mouqol the Merchant. The Baklunish say that Mouqol was neutral in the ancient war between Light and Dark, providing goods to both sides of the battle, and they speak of his ancient travels trading with genie-kind.
To the Touv of southern Hepmonaland, Zilchus is Uvot, god of prosperity. To the Touv, Uvot personifies the beauty and prosperity of the land.
To the dwarves he is Vergadain, patron god of merchants and, in contrast to his brother Abbathor (Kurell), patron of the more respectable, white collar breed of dwarven thieves who restrain their tactics to socially acceptable parameters.
Known as Bargrivyek to goblins, Zilchus councils unity and cooperation among the goblin races so that they may better gain in territory and other forms of wealth.
Kurell
Epithets: The Bitter Hand, the Scorned Heart, the Vengeful Knave
God of jealousy, greed, traps, outcasts, scapegoats, revenge, and theft
Alternate names: Kurell (Oeridian), Black Wolf (Wolf Nomads and Flan), Abbathor (dwarves), Task (dragons), Kurtulmak (kobolds), Khurgorbaeyag (goblins), Baravar Cloakshadow (gnomes), Fenmarel Mestarine (elves)
Kurell is the god of outcasts and exiles, who steals out of desperation, vengeance, and bitterness, as opposed to the worshipers of Olidammara, the god of revelry, who steal for the challenge and joy of it.
The Oeridians, as most other cultures, consider Kurell to be the brother of Zilchus, god of wealth. Myth has it that Kurell was loved by Atroa, goddess of the east wind and springtime, but he spurned her in order to pursue his brother's lover Sotillion, goddess of the west wind and summer, and as a result lost both and filled him with bitterness and loss.
To the elves, Kurell is Fenmarel Mestarine, god of outcasts and scapegoats. The elven pantheon blames Fenmarel for inviting Lolth to dwell among them, and so he lives apart from the rest of the Seldarine, albeit as much by his own choice as peer pressure.
The dwarves know Kurell as Abbathor, the god of greed. The other dwarven gods tolerate him because he has aided them in battles in the past, such as that against the Elder Elemental God Tharmekhûl, but none trust him. Berronar (Berei) loathes his deceitfulness, and Ulaa shields treasures from him, to his fury. The dwarves view him as brother to Vergadain (Zilchus), the god of merchants and luck, and say that Abbathor is bitter that his brother is much more favored by the other deities.
In goblin legend, Kurell (who call him Khurgorbaeyag) was the runt of the gods, and stronger deities like Maglubiyet, Hextor, Olidammara, Zilchus, and Moradin frequently tormented him. Because of his cunning, though, Kurell tricked the other deities into offering him more power in exchange for shiny metals too soft to be of any real value. These baubles earned him a place in the heavens. His sympathy for other beings dismissed as runts makes him one of the few gods who choose to accept goblin clerics, rather than merely having no better options.
Olidammara outwitted Kurell (whom the kobolds call Kurtulmak), trapping him in a cave after springing Kurell's own trap. Since Kurell is a kobold patron, this is one of the explanations for the kobold/gnome rivalry. In most gnomish versions of the myth, Olidammara willingly steps inside one of Kurell's traps and pretends to be bound. Kurell drags Olidammara off to his hidden lair, and Olidammara endures Kurell's tedious bragging about his cleverness and listing of imagined greviances. Olidammara responds by reciting a bizarre and hilarious tale in which he humiliated Zilchus, one of the many gods that Kurell has a grudge against. Kurell was so distracted laughing at the story of his enemy's shame that he failed to notice as Olidammara slipped out of his bonds and used his transmute rock to mud power to weaken the supports of the cavern they were in, collapsing it on Kurell and his entourage. Olidammara tweaked Kurell's nose and plane shifted away, laughing. Gnomes and kobolds have not gotten along since.
The darkest of the gnomish gods (save Urdlen, the blind burrower, and Gelf, lord of discord), Baravar Cloakshadow (known as Kurell among humans and Kurtulmak among kobolds) is the patron of thievery, illusions, and exiles. Kurell loathes Olidammara for his humiliation, but he has attracted some gnomish followers in the guise of Baravar Cloakshadow, appealing to the gnomish love of illusions and trickery. Cultists of Baravar Cloakshadow are, at the highest levels of the priesthood, encouraged to treat the faithful of Olidammara as rivals, outwitting them and stealing from them whenever possible. Olidammara, for his part, knows exactly who Baravar is, but is glad to have the deity encourage his people to be smarter and trickier.
Also known as Skerrit, Obad-hai is the god of nature, woodlands, freedom, hunting, and beasts. He and Ehlonna are rival patrons of the sylvan elves, with wilder tribes of elves and the favoring the worship of Skerrit.
Obad-hai, known as Baervan to the gnomes, is a wilder, darker god than blessed Ehlonna, more concerned with preserving the sanctity of the wilderness than making it easier for gnomes to live in it. He is propitiated by many gnomes who live on the edge of the wild, and worshiped fervently by forest gnomes who consider themselves to be more creatures of the wild than of civilization.
Ehlonna
Alternate names: Ehlonna (Common), Ehlenestra (elves), Thera the Maned Lady (Baklunish), Sheela Peryroyl (halflings), Hiatea (giants)
Ehlonna is the goddess of forests, woodlands, flora and fauna, and fertility. Forest gnomes and all gnomes who live near the forests revere her, and gnomish agriculturalists and gnomish women who wish to become pregnant will give honor to her as patron of fertility.
Ehlonna is worshiped by halflings as Sheela Peryroyl, the lady of the fields and forests. She shares with her mother, Yondalla, dominion over fertility, though she lacks her mother's destructive aspect.
Ehlonna is known among giants as Hiatea, who see her as a dual-aspected goddess. Giantish myths say that she was raised by firbolgs in ignorance of the fact that Annam was her father (her mother was supposedly a mortal firbolg, though some stories claim she was Wenta). A message from her dying mother revealed Hiatea's true father, and so Hiatea undertook a series of arduous trials and quests, honing her hunting skills in order to prove herself as worthy of Annam's attention. Thus, Hiatea is venerated as goddess of community and childbirth by the firbolgs, but also as a wilder goddess of nature, wild places, and hunting.
Beory is the primal goddess who personifies the Oerth and the element of Earth, said to have been brought into being by the will of Boccob (or, according to some, Lendor) and set under the authority, along with her fellow elemental deities, of the Elder Elemental God until that entity grew tyrannical and had to be cast down. She is said to resist elemental chaos ever since.
Known to the halflings as Yondalla, she is the great goddess of the Oerth and all living things, able to grant fertility and strip it away with an act of will. Halflings believe that she created their race personally, making a pact with a lonely fey creature or giving birth to the first halflings in reaction to the creations of the other gods despoiling the world.
Myths paint Beory as the mother of Ulaa, goddess of mountains, and of Berei, goddess of the hearth.
The Suel have the darkest view of Beory, propitiating her as Beltar, the ever-changing goddess of caves, pits, and malice. The orcs call this aspect Luthic, and though she is the bride of Gruumsh in their myths, Gruumsh still feels thwarted fury that most of the essence of the goddess of the world remains outside his grasp. Luthic, for her part, would gladly rejoin with her sister-aspects and become whole.
Velnius
Epithets: The Rainshroud, the Elder Breeze
God of the sky, weather, joy, and avians
Alternate names: Velnius (Oeridian), Stronmaus (giants), Phaulkon (Suel), Aerdrie Faenya (elves), Remnis (giant eagles), Vogan (Touv)
Velnius is the elemental god of the winds and air. Cloud and storm giants are particularly drawn to the worship of Velnius, whom they call Stronmaus. To the giants, Stronmaus is the firstborn son of Annam, who inherited much of his power but is more good-natured and benevolent. In some myths, Stronmaus played a crucial role in helping Annam defeat the Elder Elemental God. Since Annam retreated from creation, Stronmaus has become the de facto leader of the giantish gods.
As the elven goddess Aerdrie Faenya, Velnius is welcomed as a bringer of fertility and rain, and feared as a bringer of thunderstorms. She is also revered by some aarakocra and giant eagles and friendly to lammasu and ki-rin.
To the Oeridians, Velnius is considered to be the parent of the four gods of the winds and seasons: Telchur, Atroa, Sotillion, and Wenta.
Thrym, the wild patron of the frost giants and winter, is called Telchur by humans. He is the oldest of four siblings, which include his sisters Atroa, Wenta, and Sotillion, all of whom became lovers of Annam before their quarrels drove the god of magic away.
Kostchtchie is a demon lord who considers the frost giants to be his own property. He eagerly steals them away from Thrym whenever he can, offering them power in exchange for sacrifices and worship.
Erythnul
God of hate, envy, malice, panic, ugliness, and slaughter
Epithets: The Many
Alternate names: Erythnul (Oeridian), Hruggek (bugbears), Bahgtru (orcs), Grolantor (giants), Vaprak (ogres, trolls), Gorellik (gnolls), Urdlen (gnomes)
Erythnul is a chaos-spawned manifestation of fear and loathing, continually shifting between human, gnoll, bugbear, ogre, orc, giant, and troll forms. Some myths say these creatures were born from his spilled blood, and his drops of blood continue to transform into these creatures to this day. He is often considered to be a chief rival of Hextor, a younger god who has stolen many of his worshipers.
The dwarves call Delleb by the name Dugmaren Brightmantle, believing him to be the youngest child of Moradin and Ulaa, overly spoiled by his mother.
The gnomes call Delleb by the name Nebelun, affectionately known as the Meddler. He is the patron of knowledge and invention, encouraging gnomes to experiment and push the boundaries of magic and craftsmanship and to constantly learn new things. He is believed to have been a mortal gnome who earned his way to divinity, or sometimes he's considered to be a younger son of Ulaa and Flandal.
Nerull
Alternate names: Nerull (Flan, the Old Faith), Falazure (dragons), Shargaas (orcs), Tharoth (Baklunish), Meyanok (Touv)
The orcs call him Shargaas the Night Lord, worshiping him as the god of orcish thieves, stealth, darknesss and the undead. He despises all non-orcish races, but this hatred is rooted in his hatred for life itself. The orcs view him as a brother to Gruumsh with no role in the creation of the orcs who nonetheless believes he has a rightful share in all creation, a belief he acts on by bringing death to the world. Some orc tribes worship Shargaas as their special patron. Instead of conquering territory, these tribes focus on raiding nearby settlements at night, murdering through stealth and guile to ensure their terrible god gains his due.
Incabulos
Alternate names: Incabulos (Common), Yurtrus (orcs), Selvetar the Waster (Baklunish), Vara (Touv)
Known to the orcs as Yurtrus or, euphemistically, White-Hands, the dreaded god of nightmares and disease is represented in orcish art as a gigantic orc covered in peeling, rotting green flesh, whose corpse-white hands comprise the only unblemished skin on his body. In orc tradition, Yurtrus has no mouth and never speaks. Tribes who look to Incabulos as their primary patron concentrate on spreading plagues and nightmares among those surrounding him. His priests wear pale white gloves made from the human, demihuman, or goblinoid creatures they have killed.
Elder Elemental God
God of fire and elemental chaos
Alternate names: Elder Elemental God (Common), Elder Elemental Eye (Common), Vilp-akf’cho Rentaq (drow), Gruumsh (orcs), Maglubiyet (goblins), Tharmekhûl (dwarves), Memnor (cloud giants), Surtr (fire giants), Panzuriel (krakens, undersea peoples)
While some may disagree about the primacy of Lendor or Boccob, the greater, and much more violent, schism in the religions of Oerth is between those who believe the world was shaped from elemental chaos by the Elder Elemental God and unjustly usurped by the younger gods who stole it from the Elder Elemental God's chosen races, and those who believe the Elder Elemental God to be rightfully defeated and cast down in order to make the cosmos safe so that ordered creation could begin.
Known by many names, including Gruumsh, Maglubiyet, and Surtr, the Elder Elemental God is an extremely ancient deity once worshiped by tentacled abominations before the birth of the present-day races. In many modern myths, the Elder was the oldest of four elemental beings who helped create the world. Of the four, Beory represented the land, Procan the sea, Velnius the air, and the Eldest, with its flaming eye, represented fire and helped bring the others to life and guide them in the act of creation. Believing it to be a tyrant, the younger elemental gods, along with Boccob, Lendor, and perhaps others, conspired to overthrow the Eldest and cast it into the elemental chaos outside of creation, but the Elder Elemental God is not destroyed or imprisoned and gathers to its cause countless monstrous creatures who still venerate it as the rightful creator and master of the cosmos. Giants and orcs are particularly drawn to the Elder, as are some drow and other subterranean races.
Myths vary about how legitimate the Elder Elemental God's grievance is. Many races, including surface elves and humans, credit Boccob, Istus, or Lendor (or some combination of these) with the true, original act of creation and believe the Elder Elemental God was merely a servant who, swollen by pride, deluded itself into believing itself the true creator. The orcs, on the other hand, believe that Gruumsh was the original maker of all things and he was cast from his throne by gods who wished to give the world to their own creations instead of Gruumsh's chosen, the orcs. The goblins are interesting because although they acknowledge the Elder Elemental God as the original creator, they have chosen to venerate Hextor instead, believing that in overthrowing Maglubiyet, Hextor has proven himself his superior.
Orcs depict him as a massive orc with a single burning eye, his universally accepted holy symbol. The orcs believe the Elder Elemental God created the world and that orcs are his chosen race, destined to inherit it. When the gods of other races seized control of creation and banished the creator from their company, Gruumsh thrust his spear into the Lortmil Mountains, the Drachensgrabs, Garek Enkdal in the Griffs, and other sites now considered holy by the orcs, telling his people to gather at these sites and promising them the entire world would one day be theirs again.
As Panzuriel, krakens and other undersea creatures depict the god as a vast golden kraken with a single fiery eye. Aquatic elven myths claim that Panzuriel's dominion over the elements was overthrown by Deep Sashelas (Procan).
To the giants, the Elder Elemental God was a vast, barely sentient world-destroying monster, and Annam retreated from creation in part due to the wounds he (and sometimes his son Stronmaus) suffered in defeating it. Memnor, god of evil cloud giants, is said to have been born from the Elder Elemental God's corpse. Fire giants worship the Elder Elemental God as Surtr, allying with those among the drow who know the deity as Rentaq.
As Tharmekhûl, god of fire, dwarves believe the Elder Elemental God was assigned by Shendon All-Giver (Lendor) to be Moradin's assistant in the work of forging the world. Yet he refused to submit willingly to Moradin's control, and instead had to be bound before he would light the Soul Forge. The battle between Moradin and Tharmekhûl was fierce and protracted, and some myths say that both Clangeddin (Heironeous) and Laduguer (Hextor) needed to lend their aid before Tharmekhûl could be tamed. And yet some foolish races, such as the orcs and giants, still revere Tharmekhûl as the creator, rather than Shendon or Moradin.
That's exactly the kind of thing I was looking for. Merging the various pantheon in this way gives all of the gods much, much richer (because contradictory in the ways gods should be) myths and stories. Enjoying Mos'slyk merged with Boccob as a creator-type deity in particular, interesting because usually portrayed as subtle and malevolent (some Gnostic overtones now). This is some incredible work, sir, and it'll take me a little while to digest it.
I wonder if it would be useful to differentiate these deities not in terms of relative power but of generation.
What if the first generation were strictly conceptual (maybe Boccob and Tharizdun both wooing Istus as a mate), who begat the second generation of physical deities.
For that second generation, I might argue for reestablishing the old Flan myth of Pelor/Lendor (who is only lord of time because of the physicality of rising and setting sun) and Nerull (day and night, life and death) both wooing Beory, as three very primal gods, and the Elder Elemental God somewhere in the mix.
I'd be quite interested then in how the third and subsequent generations of deities shake out.
(Also, I'd demote Lendor slightly b/c of new sun association and promote Istus to the primal generation)
Personally, I think that's a reductive approach that ultimately takes out some of the "messiness" of religion and culture. I vastly prefer to see different deities with very different personalities, which leaves room for conflict not only between them personally, but their followers.
I don't disagree with what you want as an end result, Mr. Bloch, what I'm looking for is something closer to the divine "truth" of the cosmos. What's operating on the ground of Oerth, however, is exactly what you describe: two completely separate religions sometimes fighting each other over semantics even though, unbeknown to almost everybody, their apparently distinct gods are, in fact, the same being. For instance, a battle between worshippers of Clanggedin and worshippers of Heironeous, all unaware both gods are one, might actually serve the obscure purposes of the god Heironeous-Clanggedin in some way only known to very few.
I too want the Oerth very very messy but less messy "up above"; that's what appeals to me about Rasgon's formulation.
Is it safe to assume, Rasgon, that Saint Cuthbert is only and none other than the Catholic saint of Earth transplanted onto Oerth?
I didn't mention him because I don't think he has a nonhuman equivalent. Whether he's literally Cuthbert of Lindisfarne is another question. I was actually thinking about him the other day, with a holy text going something like:
Quote:
And the Sainted Cuthbert confronted the Spider Queene.
"You cannot be real," said the Saint. "I find myself in this realm of demons and monsters where no one knows the name of my god, but I remember fighting at the Battle of the Somme, and at the Battle of Hastings, and yet I died in my cell in 687, and yet I fought a dragon in Verbobonc. You are a madness I have been afflicted with."
The Queene of Spiders laughed, a horrible chittering sound. "Is it I who am not real, Cuthbert, or could it be you are only a toy soldier crafted from lead, used to fight imaginary battles in a basement in Wisconsin?"
And Cuthbert recoiled as if struck in the head, and it was as if a burst of stars obscured his sight.
"Foul demon," said Cuthbert. "My mace will prove the correctness of my truth."
And the Spider Queene laughed again. "At last," she giggled. "You are playing the role."
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