Signup
Welcome to... Canonfire! World of GreyhawK
Features
Postcards from the Flanaess
Adventures
in Greyhawk
Cities of
Oerth
Deadly
Denizens
Jason Zavoda Presents
The Gord Novels
Greyhawk Wiki
#greytalk
JOIN THE CHAT
ON DISCORD
    Canonfire :: View topic - Top Gods in GH
    Canonfire Forum Index -> Greyhawk- Heresy!
    Top Gods in GH
    Author Message
    Journeyman Greytalker

    Joined: Jun 18, 2004
    Posts: 218


    Send private message
    Sat Apr 05, 2008 6:57 pm  
    Top Gods in GH

    Most polytheistic pantheons have a "top god" who is in charge of things, and is usually somehow tied to the creation of the world as it is (Odin, Zeus/Jupiter, Brahmin, etc).

    I'm trying to reinforce this idea in GH, but some pantheons don't really have an obvious choice. Others seem obvious, but I may be missing something.

    Here's what I've got so far. Thoughts?

    Dwarves - Moradin.
    Elves - Corellan Larethian.
    Halflings - Yondalla.
    Gnomes - Garl Glittergold
    Suel - Lendor (?).
    Baklunish - Al’Akbar.
    Flan - Pelor or Rao (?).
    Oeridians - ???
    Olman - Kukulkan (Quetzalcoatl).
    Touv - Uvot.
    Rhenee - ???

    Telas
    GreySage

    Joined: Aug 03, 2001
    Posts: 3310
    From: Michigan

    Send private message
    Sun Apr 06, 2008 3:07 pm  

    I think it depends on where you are. In Veluna they'd say that Rao was the head god. In the Pale, they'd credit Pholtus as being the most powerful of the true and virtuous gods (with those who would not acknowledge the sovereignty of the Blinding Light little better than demons). In the United Kingdom of Ahlissa, Zilchus, god of wealth, prestige, and politics, makes for an admirable Overking of the deities. In the grim North Kingdom they know Hextor is more powerful; the Shieldlanders concur but maintain that his brother and eternal foe, Heironeous, is mightier still and will ultimately triumph. In Ekbir they believe Al'Asran, the Baklunish face of Pelor, is the greatest of all deities, while in grim Ket, pragmatic Tusmit, and distant Zeif they revere Istus as the queen of the heavens. In the Old Faith, Beory is the source and center of everything, but the proud folk of Tenh side with their less civilized cousins the Rovers of the Barrens in worshipping Pelor as the skyfather, patriarch of the gods. In the lands of the northern Suel barbarian folk, Vatun is held to be the greatest of deities, temporarily imprisoned due to an act of sneaking cowardliness because their god could never be bested in a fair fight. The Black Brotherhood holds that Tharizdun is the deposed king of all the multiverse, who will one day be king once more, ruling a kingdom of glorious infinite ruin and desolation. The cultists of Nerull know that death ultimately claims all; even Tharizdun will one day be freed only to fall before the scythe of the Reaper. In the Duchy of Urnst they teach that Lendor is the father and mother of all the gods, but that Lendor has grown old and distant and gods like Pelor and St. Cuthbert are more potent in the present era. The Scarlet Brotherhood agrees that Lendor's time has past, teaching that Wee Jas, Syrul, and Pyremius have grown mightier than their progenitor (Pyremius might even be slowly poisoning him while Syrul feeds him flattering distractions, and this is only the proper path for the ambitious in the face of unworthy superiors), but the Silent Ones in Keoland believe that despite his withdrawal Lendor has lost none of his ancient power and wisdom.
    Journeyman Greytalker

    Joined: Jun 18, 2004
    Posts: 218


    Send private message
    Sun Apr 06, 2008 7:32 pm  

    Thanks; that's a good synopsis of it. I guess I was going for more of a "disparate but internally consistent pantheons" approach. Which doesn't make sense, given the jumble of cultures that is Greyhawk.

    Hm... You'd think that a direct line of communication to the deities would hinder a relativist view, but it's not like anyone's really in charge of it all.

    "Yeah, this is Rao. Yeah, I'm the leader of the pantheon; got rid of all those demons, didn't I."
    "Pelor here. Yup, it's like the sun still rises and sets because of me."
    "Pholtus here. What? Lemme tell you something, those other guys can't hold a candle to me. My future's so bright, I gotta wear shades, baby."
    "This is Lendor's answering machine. Leave a message and I may get back to you this millennium."

    That said (leaving the direct topic), I'm encouraging characters and NPCs to acknowledge many deities. Clerics may choose one deity, or may choose to serve a pantheon or other cultural mix. (I'm running Savage Worlds - what's a Cleric Domain?)

    Telas
    Apprentice Greytalker

    Joined: Feb 28, 2008
    Posts: 127
    From: Charlotte, North Carolina

    Send private message
    Wed Apr 16, 2008 9:17 am  

    How about this brief scenario:
    In the beginning Tharizdun was a god of balanced creation and destruction and as such created the greyverse and perhaps all of existence. In doing so, however, all creation aspects of his nature were torn from him which unbalanced the very being of his nature. All that was left was a desire to destroy existence. Perhaps this is a reaction he cannot control, making him more of a force of nature, or it may be intentional as he now must destroy all in an attempt to regain that which he once was.

    Note: He could very well be a she and it would actually be more consistent with many of our own mythologies as deities that have a dual creation and destruction aspect tend to be female.

    --Telemachus
    Journeyman Greytalker

    Joined: Jun 18, 2004
    Posts: 218


    Send private message
    Wed Apr 16, 2008 10:38 am  

    Thanks for the feedback. I've run across the "Tharizdun as creation deity" meme before. I like it, but not for Greyhawk, at least not for my interpretation. (And that is frankly one of the coolest things about GH - it's what you make it.)

    I like the idea of Tharizdun as the embodiment and source of all entropy. Everything, even the gods, must one day pass. And what fantasy setting (RPG or literary) doesn't have an Enemy? ;)

    Telas
    Master Greytalker

    Joined: Aug 17, 2004
    Posts: 924
    From: Computer Desk

    Send private message
    Sun Jun 15, 2008 7:15 pm  

    My List:
    Dwarves - Moradin.
    Elves - Corellan Larethian.
    Halflings - Yondalla.
    Gnomes - Garl Glittergold
    Suel - Lendor
    Baklunish - Istus
    Flan - Beory
    Oeridians - Unknown
    Olman - Kukulkan (Quetzalcoatl).
    Touv - Uvot.
    Rhenee - Don't Worship Oerth Deities - Rhop (?)

    Changes
    Suel - Lendor is top of Suel Deities
    Baklunish - Istus controls Fate of Baklunish Pantheon
    Beory - Flan Deities are her children
    Oeridians - Unknown - Mentions no head of the pantheon
    Rhenee - Homeworld Rhop not Oerth
    Grandmaster Greytalker

    Joined: Nov 23, 2004
    Posts: 1212


    Send private message
    Mon Jun 16, 2008 7:12 am  

    It has been a while since I looked at tSB, but IIRC the Olman gods rotate in a cycle as to which is chief. I to not recall if K/Q is supposed to be on top now. I wrote an attepted humorous article Barbakoa, Alligator Accession, http://www.canonfire.com/cf/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=764, setting up Huhueteotl as the top dog for the Olman revival. - We forward in this generation, triumphantly!
    _________________
    Plar of Poofy Pants
    Display posts from previous:   
       Canonfire Forum Index -> Greyhawk- Heresy! All times are GMT - 8 Hours
    Page 1 of 1

    Jump to:  

    You cannot post new topics in this forum
    You cannot reply to topics in this forum
    You cannot edit your posts in this forum
    You cannot delete your posts in this forum
    You cannot vote in polls in this forum




    Canonfire! is a production of the Thursday Group in assocation with GREYtalk and Canonfire! Enterprises

    Contact the Webmaster.  Long Live Spidasa!


    Greyhawk Gothic Font by Darlene Pekul is used under the Creative Commons License.

    PHP-Nuke Copyright © 2005 by Francisco Burzi. This is free software, and you may redistribute it under the GPL. PHP-Nuke comes with absolutely no warranty, for details, see the license.
    Page Generation: 0.35 Seconds