Hi GHers,
I'm currently writing an italian article about the genealogy of baklunish gods ( i'm working for the italian website www.greyhawk.it ). may you help me?
I suppose the first Baklunish goddess is Istus, but what about Geshtai and Xan Yae? Are they ancient gods too?
What about their birth?
Good luck with the project, we need more Baklunish lore.
I doubt there is an established source on the geneaology of the Baklunish gods, unless someone here or in the Oerth Journal touched on it. The other pantheons you can start to make a tree out of, but there is nothing comprehensive. Even then, it is said Gygax never fully filled out the Baklunish pantheon and others exist, hence Moquol emerging in the LGG. I strongly suspect elemental or genie-kind should serve as stand-ins for deities in some cases. Other aeas of the Baklunish West, ahem Ull, even worship beings from the lower planes much to the detriment of the Bak pantheon.
I am of the opinion that we do not know who all of the Baklunish deities are, it has always appeared to me that EGG did not list the entire baklunish pantheon in WoG (folio and boxed set) probably because they are not realy part of the flanaess, which the product focused heavily on. instead he just gave the gods that were best known to those east of the baklunish states, and/or most heavily worshiped in those baklunish states closest to the flanaess.
that being said, I would make Xan Yae an ancient goddess... Gestia I would make pretty old as well, but I could see her as only a minor goddess (like a quasi-deity) before the Invoked devistation who grew rapidly in power afterwards, when much of the once lush baklunish lands became a parched and barren sea of grass.
that being said, I would make Xan Yae an ancient goddess... Gestia I would make pretty old as well, but I could see her as only a minor goddess (like a quasi-deity) before the Invoked devistation who grew rapidly in power afterwards, when much of the once lush baklunish lands became a parched and barren sea of grass.
Of course I'll make Xan Yae an ancient goddess, but in my opinion Geshtai is equally ancient! Maybe she was the goddess of rain, fertility and rivers when the baklunish land was a greeny and humid country. Later, after the Invoked Devastation, she became the goddess of water, oasis etc...
I have always found that Xan Yae and Zuoken don't fit very well with deities such as Istus, Al Akbar and Mouquol. The former have an Chinese feel whereas the latter have an Arabic feel.
Although my character have not really been involved with the Baklunish deities enough to make this matter i have given it a bit of thought and decided that it would make sense to provide a reason rather than ignore it. SOme thoughts I had were that the two styles of Baklunish deities may reflect two different tribes that the ancient Baklunish are descended from. Maybe Xan Yae's people were from the mountains and the others from the low lands.
Maybe the Arabic style deities are the more indigenous of the Baklunish regions and Xan Yae's worship was brought from further to the west or from the north by monks and adopted into the Baklunish pantheon?
Geshtai could fit in with either as a goddess of fertility, rain and healing and I agree that she should be an ancient goddess both of mountian springs and water holes of the plains.
I also remember reading that Incabulous has a Baklunish name and I think he would be a good addition to the Baklunish pantheon.
there are also a lot of portfolios missing from the Baklunish deities. There is no god of magic or of the sea in particular. When I thought about this I decided that in my campaign I would give Istus greater prominence...even than Al'Akbar who is not a major god at all in my game. Istus as the Lady of Fate is worshippped by all no matter what their profession or class as fate touches all. She is worshipped by the mages and the fighters and the merchants and the sailors...much in the way Allah is - complete with the exclamation..."It is the will of Istus" is things go wrong.
Baklunish magic is descrbed as involving the elements and the genies and so I think that many magic users would worship the elemental lords (both good and evil)...the names of who I forget (Yan-C-Bin is one that comes to mind).
Okay - those are just some thoughts for now. Hope they are of some help
Another diety that may or may not be part of the Baklunish panthenon is Incabulos, believe it or not.
In Oerth Journal number 9, Russell Timm wrote of an aspect of Incabulos called Sevelkhar the Waster. He was described as a master of famine and drought and the poisoner of wells. He was the arch enemy of Geshtai in this aspect. Both were desribed as being subservient to Istus, but because Incabulos is a greater god in the east this is contradictory to his aspect in the west.
Check out the article in Oerth Journal 9 right here on CF to see if it is worth exploring in your geneology of the bakluni.
I vaguely remember reading somewhere that Boccob had a Baklunish aspect known as Al'Zharad, or something similar - but this is a vague recollection and I don't think that the suggestion was that he had been part of the official pantheon.
I think the reason why the Baklunish pantheon is so small has more do do with the fact that the people tend to have small cults rather than organised religions. Canon says that local cults based on ancestor worship and elemental worship are common, as is a strong elemental component in Baklunish arcane magic.
In other words, there is probably no god of the sea because the Bakluni worshipped the sea itself as an elemental being, or possibly paid homage to an elemental prince.
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