DIVINE RIGHTS<\/p>\n
by Paul W. Will
\n (AKA Koordar)<\/p>\n
The contents of this article are suitable for use with AD&D (tm TSR
\nHobbies Inc.) but are easily adaptable to any other major FRPG.<\/p>\n
In considering the writing of this article, several
\nquestions\/problems became apparent. First was classification of Deities.
\nSecond came the requirement of keeping the record keeping simple in a
\ncomplicated business (DMs already have their jobs cut out for them). And
\nfinally; the correlate of such information previously set forth in both
\nthe AD & D system and the fine pages of The Dragon Magazine (tm TSR
\nHobbies Inc.)<\/p>\n
With these things in mind; to work.<\/p>\n
Gods; gods of war, passion, harvest, chance and more have been the
\nback-drop for countless civilizations in the past. The flavor of a
\ncountry and the personalities of it’s peoples all find some root in the
\notherworldly personages and legends of their religions. Any AD&D (tm TSR
\nHobbies Inc.) campaign gains something special when such things are
\ncarefully interwoven into their fabric, but this is no easy task; and
\ncan detract from a game as easily as not.<\/p>\n
To add a religious note to your campaign there are two strategies;
\n 1) Use a pantheon from the DDG.
\n 2) Create your own, taylor made pantheon(s).<\/p>\n
As for the first method, I suggest that you research the era and
\nand area(s) of power, as well as the legends and tales of the pantheon
\nin question, in depth. Grasp firmly the concepts and theologies before
\nimplementing them. As far as general advice goes; that is the extent of
\nit.<\/p>\n
Should you choose the second method however (and probably if not)
\nthis article should be of interest to you.<\/p>\n
Let us discuss the basics of deity-hood. Gods are divided into five
\ngroups (as I have concluded from information derived from the DDG,
\nDragon #68, and subsequent issues) in order of potence:
\n Greater (as per TD #68)
\n Major*
\n Minor**
\n Lesser (as per TD #68)
\n Demi-god (as per TD#68)
\n Saint (as per TD #71)<\/p>\n
As Mr. Gygax has, in his ‘deities of the Flaeness’ series described
\nsome of his gods as being ‘Major’ and ‘Minor’ without further
\ninformation given I will take this opportunity to give my own versions
\nof these:<\/p>\n
*Major Gods:
\n Anti-magic shell (2) Protection from evil\/good,
\n Command 3rd effect (2) +2, 30′ radius
\n Control weather Quest (2)
\n Cure critical wounds (2) Remove curse
\n Death spell (1) Remove fear
\n Dispel (evil\/good, Restoration (2)
\n illusion, magic) (6 each) Resurrection (5)
\n Fly Shape change (2)
\n Gate (2) Summon #
\n Globe of invulnerability (1) Symbol (2)
\n Heal (2) Time stop (1)
\n Holy\/Unholy word (2) Trap the soul (2)
\n Improved invisibility True seeing (4)
\n Improved phantasmal forces Wish (2)
\n Polymorph other (4)<\/p>\n
* * Maximum hit dice of 35, no more than 5 creatures. * *<\/p>\n
**Minor Gods:
\n Anti-magic shell (2) Polymorph other (2)
\n Command 3rd effect (2) Protection from evil\/good
\n Control weather (2) +2, 25′ radius
\n Cure critical wounds (1) Quest (1)
\n Cure serious wounds (3) Remove curse
\n Death spell (1) Remove fear
\n Dispel (evil\/good, Restoration (2)
\n illusion, magic) (4) Resurrection (4)
\n Fly Summon #
\n Gate (2) Symbol (2)
\n Heal (2) Trap the soul (1)
\n Holy\/unholy word (2) True seeing (3)
\n Improved invisibility Wish (1)
\n Phantasmal forces<\/p>\n
* * Maximum hit dice of 30, no more than 4 creatures. * *<\/p>\n
With this errata out of the way, onward . ..<\/p>\n
What, other than the obvious powers stated, differs each rank of
\ngods from the others? That is a question that is arduous to answer in a
\ngenerality. Some say it is the number and power of their worshipers,
\nthis I say is a misleading if not unworkable idea. Which came first; the
\ngod or the believer? Obviously this is something that you will have to
\ndefine for yourself, but I operate on the precept that the god(s) was
\nfirst, shortly followed by everything they created.<\/p>\n
Another misconception (at least in my opinion) is that divine
\nbeings gain power directly from their worshipers and in direct
\nproportion to the number of their faithful. If this were the case any
\nmortal might claim divinity simply because he or she had cowed a few
\nhandfulls of weaker creatures into paying homage to the character in
\nquestion. This sort of behaviour, shows plainly that the requirements
\nfor deifacation must be up-graded.<\/p>\n
Gods are their own power-sources, or tap into great power stores
\nun-attainable to mortals, for their spell abilities. It is part of their
\nnature; why else would men (creatures capable of attaining great power
\nthemselves [in the form of high levels]) live in awe of any god?<\/p>\n
This leads to yet another strange question: why then, if gods are
\nself-sufficient for their existence, would ‘Divine Beings’ solicit even
\nthe recognition of men?<\/p>\n
First I must lay down here a postulate that I hold to be true and
\nworkable in gaming.
\n 1) any divine creature has the proverbial ‘snowball’s chance
\nin
\n hell’ to manifest it’s-self in any way on a plane (material
\n plane, that is) where it has no supplicants.<\/p>\n
By this rule a god has effectively zero influence on a world where
\nhe\/she is without priests. Clerics might well be sent to far lands
\n(worlds), there to introduce their gods doctrines. A god does not cease
\nto exist merely because no-one believes in him any longer, the god in
\nquestion would simply take truck to planes where he or she finds the
\nfields more verdant. Thus on any reality where a god has the slightest
\ninterest he or she would actively seek to spread-the-faith. Priests are
\ncharged to do so, and are benefitted with spell capabilities to aid in
\nthis task. The phrase: “Wherever goest thou faithful; there shall I
\nbe.’, is an applicable statement here.<\/p>\n
The god without a flock is able only to manifest on it’s native
\nplane, a dangerous place indeed for a god, but any gods reason for
\nopening material worlds to itself are sure to be deeper than ‘just to be
\nthere’. Some gods are greedy and desire the wealth of their worlds,
\nother gods are curious, some wish to propagate their views, still others
\nsimply feel a need for lesser creatures to pay them homage. A god might
\nsimply be bored; eternity is a long time, and what about spiteful gods;
\nmight they not seek only their nemisis’ failure in that enemy god’s
\ndealings with man? Other reasons are plentiful, referees should give
\neach god his or her own purpose for association with man; a task that
\ncould (should with respect to at least a handfull of any pantheon’s
\ngods) be tied into THE BIG PICTURE.<\/p>\n
What are the origins of your world, cosmos or multiverse? Devise
\nit. Was it the Big-Bang, a mating of celestial beings, or did the Cosmic
\nDung Beetle roll amorphous materials into planets? Are the stars other
\nsuns, carnal creatures thrust into the sky, or cracks and chinks in a
\ngreat universe encircling wall? The multiverse, is it divergent
\nrealities stemming from Day One (ala Zelazny), or the results of two
\nultimate beings unknowingly trying to create Everything, in the same
\nspot at the same time?<\/p>\n
It stands to reason that the Creator(s) is a Greater god, or
\nperhaps a group of Greater and Major Gods. As for the rest consider the
\nfollowing;<\/p>\n
Greater God:
\n A) The most powerful Outer Realm creature of its alignment, or
\n B) Any of the most powerful Perpetual Beings.<\/p>\n
Major God:
\n A) An Outer Realm creature of great power, or
\n B) The offspring of a Greater God.<\/p>\n
Minor God:
\n A) An Outer Realm creature of average power, or
\n B) The offspring of a Major God.<\/p>\n
Lesser God:
\n A) An Outer Realm creature of little power, or
\n B) The offspring of a Minor God.<\/p>\n
Demi-God:
\n A) Any half-divine mortal who has shown ample merit to his\/her
\ndivine
\n parent and granted immortality.<\/p>\n
Saint:
\n A) Any true mortal who shows extreme potential through the service
\nof
\n his\/her Deity, and been granted an eternal afterlife, or
\n B) Any Demi-God not yet ascended.<\/p>\n
I define the Outer Realm as “that which existed before the
\ncreation, and which still exists beyond the borders of the creation.”<\/p>\n
A “Perpetual Being” is one the “is because it is.” More to the
\npoint let me give an example: Loroth is the “God of the Good Earth,” he
\ncane to be when the earth did and he represents all that is alive. His
\npriests take joy in life and its continuance, he is a Perpetual Being
\nbecause he is the physical embodiment of something that may one day
\ncease to exist (would this cause him to fade from existence?). His twin,
\nMortis (God of Death), skips through Time, existing only in the instant
\nwhen something dies and within eyesight of that thing. He too is a
\nPerpetual Being, and may one day be no more. Neither could exist without
\nthe other.<\/p>\n
Further I have made mention of the Ascendance of Demi-Gods, this
\ntakes place at the death of the mortal body of the Demi-God. After the
\nusual Astral Journey (DDG page 11) upon its arrival at the proper plane,
\nif it is the same plane as is native to its Divine parent then it will
\nbecome a full-fledged Demi-God. Until this time it is treated as having
\nonly the powers of a Saint. Should the half-mortal choose in its life to
\nserve a cause other then that of its Divine parent’s, then there would
\nbe slim chance of another God granting him\/her immortality, and thus
\nwould remain but a Saint eternally.<\/p>\n
Feel free to alter the definitions as necessary, but remember, the
\ndifference bewixt various ranks of Deities must be more then just the
\nnumber of Wishes they can crank-out in a day….<\/p>\n
Pantheons all have one thing in common. That is that they each
\nreflect their respective civilizations. Of the dozen or so
\npantheon\/cultures that I examined in preparation of this work I found
\nthat eleven had war-gods, seven had sun-gods, six; gods of sea. Further
\nthere were five each, gods of thunder, storms, and love. Fully one-third
\nincluded gods of wind, death, nature, air, running waters, and a king of
\ngods. These things can tell one much about these cultures, if not of the
\nnature of man. War seems to be at the foremost of man’s thoughts, so he
\nepitomizes a god of destruction. The sun was a wonder to early man, thus
\na deity represented it or vise-versa, be that god a cruel and glaring
\none, or a warm and kind one. Likewise many cultures were based on their
\nsea-faring merchants or soldiers, they would naturally imagine a god of
\nthe waters, who must surely watch over them, and be in control of the
\nseas depths and ravaging nature. Love (taken in any context) is
\nfrequently thought of as a gift of a specific supernatural being. Air
\nand wind gods are attributes of sailing cultures, death and nature are
\nmysteries and thus deified. River-based cultures, of course, boast of
\nriver-gods, and prevalent in family or monarch oriented cultures there
\nare found a “Ruler of the Gods.” The latter is often a patriarch or
\nmatriarch, or even a matched set, this lets the church help in
\ncontrolling the lower castes.<\/p>\n
As can now be seen, a coherent pantheon should be representative of
\nthe culture(s) that gave rise to it (also vise-versa), and must set an
\nexample for the whole civilization.<\/p>\n
As stated previously, some pantheons’ rulers are
\npatri-\/matri-archial. These pantheons have historically involved
\nincestuous relationships (again the lifestyles of the devout would,
\ndetrimentally, reflect this). Although occasionally a new being might be
\nbrought into the scene (perhaps from the pantheon of a conquered
\nnation), the nature and origins of these interlopers would likely be
\njumbled or varied from church to church.<\/p>\n
Here is a list of possible spheres of power for deities compiled
\nfrom twelve pantheons, and followed by a few additions of my own device,
\nthe first three are more “Role-Types” commonly evidenced.<\/p>\n
Creator Ruler Subverter War
\n Sun Fire Sea Thunder
\nStorms Death Love Wind Mature
\n Air Running Waters Rain Underworld*
\n Undead Poetry Music Magic Animal**
\n Archery Theft Luck Earth
\n Fertility Sky Night Smything
\nKnowledge Law Gambling Agriculture
\nPunishment Motherhood Guardian-of-dead Wealth
\nEvil Beauty Combat Hunting Strength
\n Moon Racing\/Speed Winter Spring
\n Fall\/Harvest Summer Cities Darkness
\nDevil*** Mountains Youth (eternal) Forests
\n Fate Medicine\/Healing Chance Chaos
\n Life Good Gifts Justice
\nMulti-purpose Time Gravity Wine
\nCompetition Travel<\/p>\n
* Not necessarily representative of a single plane, but possibly in
\n charge of all of the dead souls of mortals.
\n ** Representative of animal(s) held as sacred.
\n *** Usually the “Subverter” and of radical alignment.<\/p>\n
The gods of a pantheon need not be of a single alignment, nor even
\na group of related alignments. In my own campaign, my two pantheons each
\nrepresent a plethora of view-points and the full range of alignments.<\/p>\n
Let the priest, and indeed the priesthood, fit the god. Little
\ndetails do count; the priests of Loroth (God of the Good Earth) never
\nwear shoes that their feet never leave the ground. The priests of Woolio
\n(Duke of the Drunk, and God of Gravity) must start the day with a ritual
\ncalled “Hair of the Dog” lest they be struck with mystic fits of
\nmigraine…. Woolio, by the way, invented gravity so he could fall,
\nwell, um, down.<\/p>\n
The spells that each Deity can grant should be closely related to
\nthe Deity’s philosophy, and sphere of power, thus Loroth cannot grant
\nsuch spells as Levitation, nor Wind Walk. Woolio’s priests are at a loss
\nto cast such spells as Neutralize Poison (alcohol is after all a poison,
\nand the reverse of this spell cast by Woolio’s adherants causes the
\nvictim to be quite intoxicated…), and True Seeing.<\/p>\n
Gods have to be limited in both the type and number of spells that
\nthey can grant to their priests. The former so that the spells that
\ntheir priests cast conform to the theology. The latter so that priests
\nwill usually choose at least on extremely potent god and possible on or
\ntwo additional gods, this will serve to simulate the side-byside style
\nof worship so common in pantheon religions. I offer this chart regarding
\nthe number of spells each god can grant.<\/p>\n
Spell Level:
\n 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Deity Rank: Greater: 12
\n 12 12 9 7 5 3 Major: 12 12 9 7 5 3 1
\nMinor: 12 9 7 5 3 1 – Lesser: 9 7 5 3 1
\n– – Demi-God 7 5 3 1 – – – Saint: 5 3
\n1 – – – –<\/p>\n
According to the AD&D system a Cleric gains his\/her spells through
\nprayer, meditation, and study. First and Second level spells are gained
\nfrom the teachings of the church, wether by rote chants, reading prayer
\nbooks or similar means. Third, Fourth, and Fifth level spells are
\ncommunicated to the Cleric via the Deity’s servants: Saints, Devas,
\nlesser Devils or Demons, etc., as the priest prays. Finally Sixth and
\nSeventh level spells are granted by the deity itself.<\/p>\n
Utilizing the rules outlined in this text observe the following
\nexample.<\/p>\n
Laurus the True is an eleventh level Cleric with a 14 Wisdom who
\nworships a Major God, a Lesser God, and a Saint of the Major God. Laurus
\nchooses the following numbers of spells from his deities:<\/p>\n
Divinity:
\n Major Lesser Saint Spell Level: 1
\n 3 3 1 2 2 2
\n 0 3 1 1 2 4
\n1 2 – 5 0 2 –
\n6 1 – –<\/p>\n
To receive the Sixth level spells he is in direct communication
\nwith the Major Deity. The Major Deity sends a deva with the Third and
\nFourth level spells.<\/p>\n
A deva servitor of the Lesser God brings the Third through Fifth
\nlevel spells requested by the priest.<\/p>\n
Finally the Saint himself (at least in spirit) visits the priest
\nwith the Third level spells and possible any news of import.<\/p>\n
In this scenario the priest would likely have a very close
\nrelationship with the Saint, as the Saint consults with him on each day
\nbringing spell-knowledge.<\/p>\n
The next step in meshing religion and Deities into the campaign is
\nto list each of the cities in it. Once such a list is complete, count
\nthe churches in each city, adding them to the list categorically by
\nlocation. Now define whether each of the churches are mono- or poly-
\ntheistic in beliefs. I recommend that such a list be patterned after the
\nexample below.<\/p>\n
KINGDOM CITY ALIGN- PRIM- SECOND- TE RTI-
\n MENT ARY ARY A RY<\/p>\n
Southeron Portsmouth CG(N) Imparte Publius As sorte<\/p>\n
Ghar-Dun N Ithain Woolio<\/p>\n
Velton Velton NG Loroth Oberik Go ram<\/p>\n
The categories of Kingdom and City are self explanatory. Alignment
\nis that of the Deity, or a consolidation of the Deities involved
\n(obviously no church should house more than a “one place” difference
\nbetween the alignments of its Deities [see DMG page 37, Alignment
\nFactors]). In the above example (the Southeron Kingdom, City of
\nPortsmouth), Imparte (the Benefactress) is Chaotic Good, Publius (the
\nSpeaker) is Chaotic Neutral with Good tendencies, and Assorte is Chaotic
\nNeutral. All are of similar alignment, and their Credos are not
\ndissimilar, so a Cleric of one, might also recognize one or both of the
\nothers. In this instance Imparte enjoys the position of “Most Exalted”,
\nhaving the majority of direct followers. The church is designated as
\nChaotic Good with Neutral tendencies, as this is the direction of the
\nmost “counts”, rational as follows.<\/p>\n
Inclinations are: Good, Evil, Lawful, Chaotic, and Neutral.<\/p>\n
The Primary Deity registers three (3) “counts” for each of its
\nInclinations. The Secondary Deity registers two (2) for each of its
\nInclinations, and the Tertiary Deity but one (1).<\/p>\n
Tendencies are only half the normal value.<\/p>\n
Add these “counts” up, the alignment is then derived from the
\nInclinations with the most “counts”. In Portsmouth all of the
\nInclinations are of Good, Chaos, and Neutral.<\/p>\n
Inclinations
\n Good Chaotic Neutral Deity: Imparte
\n 3 3 0 Publius 1
\n 2 2 Assorte 0 1
\n 1<\/p>\n
Totals: 4 6 3<\/p>\n
The results: Chaotic Good (heavy on the Chaos) with Neutral
\ntendencies.<\/p>\n
Setting churches up like this will make the task of choosing
\nDeities much easier for the Cleric, as most priest will want to be
\nassociated with just such an established organization. It also gives the
\nDM more control of the religious groups, and a better method of
\nrecording them.<\/p>\n
The Rules set forth in this article should facilitate religion
\nsimulation, promote pantheonism, and greatly enhance any game while
\nkeeping the effort at a minimum.<\/p>\n
I hope you enjoy, and bid you good gaming.<\/p>\n
