420 lines
20 KiB
Plaintext
420 lines
20 KiB
Plaintext
DIVINE RIGHTS
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by Paul W. Will
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(AKA Koordar)
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The contents of this article are suitable for use with AD&D (tm TSR
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Hobbies Inc.) but are easily adaptable to any other major FRPG.
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In considering the writing of this article, several
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questions/problems became apparent. First was classification of Deities.
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Second came the requirement of keeping the record keeping simple in a
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complicated business (DMs already have their jobs cut out for them). And
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finally; the correlate of such information previously set forth in both
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the AD & D system and the fine pages of The Dragon Magazine (tm TSR
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Hobbies Inc.)
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With these things in mind; to work.
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Gods; gods of war, passion, harvest, chance and more have been the
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back-drop for countless civilizations in the past. The flavor of a
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country and the personalities of it's peoples all find some root in the
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otherworldly personages and legends of their religions. Any AD&D (tm TSR
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Hobbies Inc.) campaign gains something special when such things are
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carefully interwoven into their fabric, but this is no easy task; and
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can detract from a game as easily as not.
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To add a religious note to your campaign there are two strategies;
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1) Use a pantheon from the DDG.
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2) Create your own, taylor made pantheon(s).
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As for the first method, I suggest that you research the era and
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and area(s) of power, as well as the legends and tales of the pantheon
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in question, in depth. Grasp firmly the concepts and theologies before
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implementing them. As far as general advice goes; that is the extent of
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it.
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Should you choose the second method however (and probably if not)
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this article should be of interest to you.
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Let us discuss the basics of deity-hood. Gods are divided into five
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groups (as I have concluded from information derived from the DDG,
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Dragon #68, and subsequent issues) in order of potence:
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Greater (as per TD #68)
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Major*
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Minor**
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Lesser (as per TD #68)
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Demi-god (as per TD#68)
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Saint (as per TD #71)
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As Mr. Gygax has, in his 'deities of the Flaeness' series described
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some of his gods as being 'Major' and 'Minor' without further
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information given I will take this opportunity to give my own versions
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of these:
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*Major Gods:
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Anti-magic shell (2) Protection from evil/good,
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Command 3rd effect (2) +2, 30' radius
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Control weather Quest (2)
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Cure critical wounds (2) Remove curse
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Death spell (1) Remove fear
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Dispel (evil/good, Restoration (2)
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illusion, magic) (6 each) Resurrection (5)
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Fly Shape change (2)
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Gate (2) Summon #
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Globe of invulnerability (1) Symbol (2)
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Heal (2) Time stop (1)
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Holy/Unholy word (2) Trap the soul (2)
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Improved invisibility True seeing (4)
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Improved phantasmal forces Wish (2)
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Polymorph other (4)
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* * Maximum hit dice of 35, no more than 5 creatures. * *
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**Minor Gods:
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Anti-magic shell (2) Polymorph other (2)
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Command 3rd effect (2) Protection from evil/good
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Control weather (2) +2, 25' radius
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Cure critical wounds (1) Quest (1)
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Cure serious wounds (3) Remove curse
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Death spell (1) Remove fear
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Dispel (evil/good, Restoration (2)
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illusion, magic) (4) Resurrection (4)
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Fly Summon #
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Gate (2) Symbol (2)
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Heal (2) Trap the soul (1)
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Holy/unholy word (2) True seeing (3)
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Improved invisibility Wish (1)
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Phantasmal forces
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* * Maximum hit dice of 30, no more than 4 creatures. * *
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With this errata out of the way, onward . ..
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What, other than the obvious powers stated, differs each rank of
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gods from the others? That is a question that is arduous to answer in a
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generality. Some say it is the number and power of their worshipers,
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this I say is a misleading if not unworkable idea. Which came first; the
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god or the believer? Obviously this is something that you will have to
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define for yourself, but I operate on the precept that the god(s) was
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first, shortly followed by everything they created.
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Another misconception (at least in my opinion) is that divine
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beings gain power directly from their worshipers and in direct
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proportion to the number of their faithful. If this were the case any
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mortal might claim divinity simply because he or she had cowed a few
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handfulls of weaker creatures into paying homage to the character in
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question. This sort of behaviour, shows plainly that the requirements
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for deifacation must be up-graded.
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Gods are their own power-sources, or tap into great power stores
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un-attainable to mortals, for their spell abilities. It is part of their
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nature; why else would men (creatures capable of attaining great power
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themselves [in the form of high levels]) live in awe of any god?
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This leads to yet another strange question: why then, if gods are
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self-sufficient for their existence, would 'Divine Beings' solicit even
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the recognition of men?
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First I must lay down here a postulate that I hold to be true and
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workable in gaming.
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1) any divine creature has the proverbial 'snowball's chance
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in
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hell' to manifest it's-self in any way on a plane (material
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plane, that is) where it has no supplicants.
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By this rule a god has effectively zero influence on a world where
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he/she is without priests. Clerics might well be sent to far lands
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(worlds), there to introduce their gods doctrines. A god does not cease
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to exist merely because no-one believes in him any longer, the god in
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question would simply take truck to planes where he or she finds the
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fields more verdant. Thus on any reality where a god has the slightest
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interest he or she would actively seek to spread-the-faith. Priests are
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charged to do so, and are benefitted with spell capabilities to aid in
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this task. The phrase: "Wherever goest thou faithful; there shall I
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be.', is an applicable statement here.
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The god without a flock is able only to manifest on it's native
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plane, a dangerous place indeed for a god, but any gods reason for
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opening material worlds to itself are sure to be deeper than 'just to be
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there'. Some gods are greedy and desire the wealth of their worlds,
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other gods are curious, some wish to propagate their views, still others
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simply feel a need for lesser creatures to pay them homage. A god might
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simply be bored; eternity is a long time, and what about spiteful gods;
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might they not seek only their nemisis' failure in that enemy god's
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dealings with man? Other reasons are plentiful, referees should give
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each god his or her own purpose for association with man; a task that
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could (should with respect to at least a handfull of any pantheon's
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gods) be tied into THE BIG PICTURE.
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What are the origins of your world, cosmos or multiverse? Devise
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it. Was it the Big-Bang, a mating of celestial beings, or did the Cosmic
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Dung Beetle roll amorphous materials into planets? Are the stars other
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suns, carnal creatures thrust into the sky, or cracks and chinks in a
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great universe encircling wall? The multiverse, is it divergent
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realities stemming from Day One (ala Zelazny), or the results of two
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ultimate beings unknowingly trying to create Everything, in the same
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spot at the same time?
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It stands to reason that the Creator(s) is a Greater god, or
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perhaps a group of Greater and Major Gods. As for the rest consider the
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following;
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Greater God:
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A) The most powerful Outer Realm creature of its alignment, or
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B) Any of the most powerful Perpetual Beings.
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Major God:
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A) An Outer Realm creature of great power, or
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B) The offspring of a Greater God.
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Minor God:
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A) An Outer Realm creature of average power, or
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B) The offspring of a Major God.
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Lesser God:
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A) An Outer Realm creature of little power, or
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B) The offspring of a Minor God.
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Demi-God:
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A) Any half-divine mortal who has shown ample merit to his/her
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divine
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parent and granted immortality.
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Saint:
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A) Any true mortal who shows extreme potential through the service
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of
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his/her Deity, and been granted an eternal afterlife, or
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B) Any Demi-God not yet ascended.
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I define the Outer Realm as "that which existed before the
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creation, and which still exists beyond the borders of the creation."
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A "Perpetual Being" is one the "is because it is." More to the
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point let me give an example: Loroth is the "God of the Good Earth," he
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cane to be when the earth did and he represents all that is alive. His
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priests take joy in life and its continuance, he is a Perpetual Being
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because he is the physical embodiment of something that may one day
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cease to exist (would this cause him to fade from existence?). His twin,
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Mortis (God of Death), skips through Time, existing only in the instant
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when something dies and within eyesight of that thing. He too is a
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Perpetual Being, and may one day be no more. Neither could exist without
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the other.
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Further I have made mention of the Ascendance of Demi-Gods, this
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takes place at the death of the mortal body of the Demi-God. After the
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usual Astral Journey (DDG page 11) upon its arrival at the proper plane,
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if it is the same plane as is native to its Divine parent then it will
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become a full-fledged Demi-God. Until this time it is treated as having
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only the powers of a Saint. Should the half-mortal choose in its life to
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serve a cause other then that of its Divine parent's, then there would
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be slim chance of another God granting him/her immortality, and thus
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would remain but a Saint eternally.
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Feel free to alter the definitions as necessary, but remember, the
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difference bewixt various ranks of Deities must be more then just the
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number of Wishes they can crank-out in a day....
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Pantheons all have one thing in common. That is that they each
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reflect their respective civilizations. Of the dozen or so
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pantheon/cultures that I examined in preparation of this work I found
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that eleven had war-gods, seven had sun-gods, six; gods of sea. Further
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there were five each, gods of thunder, storms, and love. Fully one-third
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included gods of wind, death, nature, air, running waters, and a king of
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gods. These things can tell one much about these cultures, if not of the
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nature of man. War seems to be at the foremost of man's thoughts, so he
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epitomizes a god of destruction. The sun was a wonder to early man, thus
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a deity represented it or vise-versa, be that god a cruel and glaring
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one, or a warm and kind one. Likewise many cultures were based on their
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sea-faring merchants or soldiers, they would naturally imagine a god of
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the waters, who must surely watch over them, and be in control of the
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seas depths and ravaging nature. Love (taken in any context) is
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frequently thought of as a gift of a specific supernatural being. Air
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and wind gods are attributes of sailing cultures, death and nature are
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mysteries and thus deified. River-based cultures, of course, boast of
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river-gods, and prevalent in family or monarch oriented cultures there
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are found a "Ruler of the Gods." The latter is often a patriarch or
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matriarch, or even a matched set, this lets the church help in
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controlling the lower castes.
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As can now be seen, a coherent pantheon should be representative of
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the culture(s) that gave rise to it (also vise-versa), and must set an
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example for the whole civilization.
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As stated previously, some pantheons' rulers are
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patri-/matri-archial. These pantheons have historically involved
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incestuous relationships (again the lifestyles of the devout would,
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detrimentally, reflect this). Although occasionally a new being might be
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brought into the scene (perhaps from the pantheon of a conquered
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nation), the nature and origins of these interlopers would likely be
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jumbled or varied from church to church.
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Here is a list of possible spheres of power for deities compiled
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from twelve pantheons, and followed by a few additions of my own device,
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the first three are more "Role-Types" commonly evidenced.
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Creator Ruler Subverter War
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Sun Fire Sea Thunder
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Storms Death Love Wind Mature
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Air Running Waters Rain Underworld*
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Undead Poetry Music Magic Animal**
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Archery Theft Luck Earth
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Fertility Sky Night Smything
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Knowledge Law Gambling Agriculture
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Punishment Motherhood Guardian-of-dead Wealth
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Evil Beauty Combat Hunting Strength
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Moon Racing/Speed Winter Spring
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Fall/Harvest Summer Cities Darkness
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Devil*** Mountains Youth (eternal) Forests
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Fate Medicine/Healing Chance Chaos
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Life Good Gifts Justice
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Multi-purpose Time Gravity Wine
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Competition Travel
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* Not necessarily representative of a single plane, but possibly in
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charge of all of the dead souls of mortals.
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** Representative of animal(s) held as sacred.
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*** Usually the "Subverter" and of radical alignment.
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The gods of a pantheon need not be of a single alignment, nor even
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a group of related alignments. In my own campaign, my two pantheons each
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represent a plethora of view-points and the full range of alignments.
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Let the priest, and indeed the priesthood, fit the god. Little
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details do count; the priests of Loroth (God of the Good Earth) never
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wear shoes that their feet never leave the ground. The priests of Woolio
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(Duke of the Drunk, and God of Gravity) must start the day with a ritual
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called "Hair of the Dog" lest they be struck with mystic fits of
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migraine.... Woolio, by the way, invented gravity so he could fall,
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well, um, down.
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The spells that each Deity can grant should be closely related to
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the Deity's philosophy, and sphere of power, thus Loroth cannot grant
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such spells as Levitation, nor Wind Walk. Woolio's priests are at a loss
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to cast such spells as Neutralize Poison (alcohol is after all a poison,
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and the reverse of this spell cast by Woolio's adherants causes the
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victim to be quite intoxicated...), and True Seeing.
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Gods have to be limited in both the type and number of spells that
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they can grant to their priests. The former so that the spells that
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their priests cast conform to the theology. The latter so that priests
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will usually choose at least on extremely potent god and possible on or
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two additional gods, this will serve to simulate the side-byside style
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of worship so common in pantheon religions. I offer this chart regarding
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the number of spells each god can grant.
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Spell Level:
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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Deity Rank: Greater: 12
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12 12 9 7 5 3 Major: 12 12 9 7 5 3 1
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Minor: 12 9 7 5 3 1 - Lesser: 9 7 5 3 1
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- - Demi-God 7 5 3 1 - - - Saint: 5 3
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1 - - - -
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According to the AD&D system a Cleric gains his/her spells through
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prayer, meditation, and study. First and Second level spells are gained
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from the teachings of the church, wether by rote chants, reading prayer
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books or similar means. Third, Fourth, and Fifth level spells are
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communicated to the Cleric via the Deity's servants: Saints, Devas,
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lesser Devils or Demons, etc., as the priest prays. Finally Sixth and
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Seventh level spells are granted by the deity itself.
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Utilizing the rules outlined in this text observe the following
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example.
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Laurus the True is an eleventh level Cleric with a 14 Wisdom who
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worships a Major God, a Lesser God, and a Saint of the Major God. Laurus
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chooses the following numbers of spells from his deities:
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Divinity:
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Major Lesser Saint Spell Level: 1
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3 3 1 2 2 2
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0 3 1 1 2 4
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1 2 - 5 0 2 -
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6 1 - -
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To receive the Sixth level spells he is in direct communication
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with the Major Deity. The Major Deity sends a deva with the Third and
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Fourth level spells.
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A deva servitor of the Lesser God brings the Third through Fifth
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level spells requested by the priest.
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Finally the Saint himself (at least in spirit) visits the priest
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with the Third level spells and possible any news of import.
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In this scenario the priest would likely have a very close
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relationship with the Saint, as the Saint consults with him on each day
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bringing spell-knowledge.
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The next step in meshing religion and Deities into the campaign is
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to list each of the cities in it. Once such a list is complete, count
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the churches in each city, adding them to the list categorically by
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location. Now define whether each of the churches are mono- or poly-
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theistic in beliefs. I recommend that such a list be patterned after the
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example below.
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KINGDOM CITY ALIGN- PRIM- SECOND- TE RTI-
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MENT ARY ARY A RY
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Southeron Portsmouth CG(N) Imparte Publius As sorte
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Ghar-Dun N Ithain Woolio
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Velton Velton NG Loroth Oberik Go ram
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The categories of Kingdom and City are self explanatory. Alignment
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is that of the Deity, or a consolidation of the Deities involved
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(obviously no church should house more than a "one place" difference
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between the alignments of its Deities [see DMG page 37, Alignment
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Factors]). In the above example (the Southeron Kingdom, City of
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Portsmouth), Imparte (the Benefactress) is Chaotic Good, Publius (the
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Speaker) is Chaotic Neutral with Good tendencies, and Assorte is Chaotic
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Neutral. All are of similar alignment, and their Credos are not
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dissimilar, so a Cleric of one, might also recognize one or both of the
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others. In this instance Imparte enjoys the position of "Most Exalted",
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having the majority of direct followers. The church is designated as
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Chaotic Good with Neutral tendencies, as this is the direction of the
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most "counts", rational as follows.
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Inclinations are: Good, Evil, Lawful, Chaotic, and Neutral.
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The Primary Deity registers three (3) "counts" for each of its
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Inclinations. The Secondary Deity registers two (2) for each of its
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Inclinations, and the Tertiary Deity but one (1).
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Tendencies are only half the normal value.
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Add these "counts" up, the alignment is then derived from the
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Inclinations with the most "counts". In Portsmouth all of the
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Inclinations are of Good, Chaos, and Neutral.
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Inclinations
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Good Chaotic Neutral Deity: Imparte
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3 3 0 Publius 1
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2 2 Assorte 0 1
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1
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Totals: 4 6 3
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The results: Chaotic Good (heavy on the Chaos) with Neutral
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tendencies.
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Setting churches up like this will make the task of choosing
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Deities much easier for the Cleric, as most priest will want to be
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associated with just such an established organization. It also gives the
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DM more control of the religious groups, and a better method of
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recording them.
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The Rules set forth in this article should facilitate religion
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simulation, promote pantheonism, and greatly enhance any game while
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keeping the effort at a minimum.
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I hope you enjoy, and bid you good gaming.
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