Ye Gods
Okay, the gods thing is really bothering me. I may just go with "don't pick a deity, don't expect one to care enough to resurrect you if you die" and leave it at that :( I think if a character doesn't want to pick a deity, they shouldn't have to. Other folks will probably think they're stupid for not doing so (esp. folks who have experienced the work of priests etc.), but the chances of religious beliefs coming up in conversation is not terribly high, so I don't think it'll really happen too often. It's like finding people who don't believe in evolution or DNA, maybe. I mostly just want a guideline for myself if I end up in this situation, because technically it happened in my old campaign with a character that never actually played (but was created). I guess I'd have to make sure the character had a good reason for it and kept to it, but other than that... I think maybe I am making things hard on myself for no good reason.
Also, I think I might go with the d20 system SRD as my base rather than the player handbooks, since it would make the most sense not to have people forced to buy books (esp. if I'm not going to be playing with the most current edition, which is 4th edition). The 3.5 rules are pretty much the same, and I guess I will borrow the gods of the 3.5 handbook (apparently Nerull gets killed by the time 4th edition rolls out? He seemed like a jerk anyway, so I guess I'm not distraught or anything) as my Primary or "Attentive" gods... maybe toss another Attentive one in there, and then assemble a string of "Aloof" gods. Other than that, it seems the d20 SRD is a more suitable bare bones starter, so hopefully that will be useful.
However, I kind of wonder if I should embrace the bare-bones SRD completely and make my own versions of the standard DnD gods, as suggested to me by Bobert-chan :/ I really don't know if I'm up to making a complete pantheon, but my view of the gods seem kind of different than the way DnD gods are written (and there's apparently a lot I don't know about them), so that's kind of a motivation, but then again my previous campaign--the campaign that planted the seed of this whole world--used the standard gods :/ I suppose I could essentially put my own "skin" on the standard gods (player's handbook god equivalents and all that) and just translate them over... Yikes, that means more symbols to design :(
Maybe I need to explain myself? I view the gods as sort of beings born of magic, some of whom may have been born along with the world itself, being created and also shaping the world as the whole mess came into being. (This is probably a lot like what the inside of my head is like, so it seems apt, no?) The gods' dominions are not so much limitations as... hobbies? Passions. It's the passion that makes them good at whatever it is they hold dominion over, so there isn't a limit over who gets what and I don't like the idea that gods would pass dominions around between them (as the DnD gods apparently have done in the past). Maybe that makes it more like a talent? But it kind of explains why there's overlapping domains in my mind.
I also don't think you really get mortals becoming gods, just saints of gods, because you'd need to remake them of magic for them to become gods, and that's a lot of magic that needs to be slung and wielded (even for a god). There's places where raw magic can be found to do such things if you've got the know-how, and I think that's how you get the magical servants of the gods (saint/angel-types) and possibly demi-gods who are not quite as powerful. I guess I see it the same way my artificial intelligence teacher sees the creation of artificial intelligence--we may not be able to make something as complicated or intelligent as ourselves. In the same vein, I don't think my gods will be able to make new gods, but I don't rule out the possibility of magic giving birth to more gods. I kind of imagine that the places where magic pools together in the world becomes breeding grounds for things, be they new gods or demons (because they're kind of the same in my mind, just with different power levels). It's not to say they are invincible, and maybe they do kill or maim each other from time to time (as the DnD ones are wont to do) or are even killed or maimed by mortals, but it's not often a god dies, and I kind of doubt they die easily (even at each others' hands/limbs/tentacles).
The people, I imagine, believe that it's your patron god or his/her servants that escort your soul to the realms of the dead. The realms of the dead have territories, and each god has a plot to his/herself to populate or not populate as they see fit (like a country?). Evil gods might have a territory full of torment, lawful ones may categorize their souls into little areas of varying niceties or torments (like craft bins? Of doom?), or whatever they choose to do with what they've got. Maybe they'll choose to recycle the souls in reincarnation to keep things from getting crowded. Maybe they'll reshape the soul into a magical saint/angel/servant/etc. Maybe they'll eat some souls to increase their own magical might. Maybe they'll keep them all in little jars and shake them every so often for fun. Who knows, they're weird fickle things, these gods :/ Those souls who are not escorted to a designated realm are basically on their own and in a sort of free-for-all area where lesser magical beings may scoop them up and use them as they see fit, so it's like fate roulette whether you get picked up by a benevolent or malevolent being, or whether you get scooped out of limbo at all (which is considered a bleak, featureless area--all well and good if you're into eternal boredom, I suppose). Choosing a god as your patron is more or less a contract; you pledge your allegiance to the flag god of your choice and they will take care of you in the afterlife in return. It's not an unbreakable contract, and you can change your gods (esp. if you're changing alignments), but do it too often and they might not look too fondly upon you (and attracting the wrath of a god is a bad idea) :/
Does any of that seem reasonable? Does it seem like it could be meshed with the current DnD gods, or would it be more sensible to just write my own? I'm not really on a deadline from what I can tell (I have no idea if anyone actually has an interest in playing or if they're just saying stuff from time to time, and even if they do have an interest, I reckon I have until the end of the year to get it all together), but having more work on top of what I already know I want to do is a little scary. I just don't know if creating my own pantheon would be worthwhile.
And in case the mention isn't noticed in the previous DnD post, I have another post with some speculations on demographics here, which is where a lot of the DnD stuff should probably end up once I'm done whining about it here. But I kind of do want some feedback on the races I should have incorporated but missed :/ I'm feeling pretty fond of the Barinoori at the moment. I really need to get this gods thing settled so I can start getting write-ups on paper -_-
Also, I think I might go with the d20 system SRD as my base rather than the player handbooks, since it would make the most sense not to have people forced to buy books (esp. if I'm not going to be playing with the most current edition, which is 4th edition). The 3.5 rules are pretty much the same, and I guess I will borrow the gods of the 3.5 handbook (apparently Nerull gets killed by the time 4th edition rolls out? He seemed like a jerk anyway, so I guess I'm not distraught or anything) as my Primary or "Attentive" gods... maybe toss another Attentive one in there, and then assemble a string of "Aloof" gods. Other than that, it seems the d20 SRD is a more suitable bare bones starter, so hopefully that will be useful.
However, I kind of wonder if I should embrace the bare-bones SRD completely and make my own versions of the standard DnD gods, as suggested to me by Bobert-chan :/ I really don't know if I'm up to making a complete pantheon, but my view of the gods seem kind of different than the way DnD gods are written (and there's apparently a lot I don't know about them), so that's kind of a motivation, but then again my previous campaign--the campaign that planted the seed of this whole world--used the standard gods :/ I suppose I could essentially put my own "skin" on the standard gods (player's handbook god equivalents and all that) and just translate them over... Yikes, that means more symbols to design :(
Maybe I need to explain myself? I view the gods as sort of beings born of magic, some of whom may have been born along with the world itself, being created and also shaping the world as the whole mess came into being. (This is probably a lot like what the inside of my head is like, so it seems apt, no?) The gods' dominions are not so much limitations as... hobbies? Passions. It's the passion that makes them good at whatever it is they hold dominion over, so there isn't a limit over who gets what and I don't like the idea that gods would pass dominions around between them (as the DnD gods apparently have done in the past). Maybe that makes it more like a talent? But it kind of explains why there's overlapping domains in my mind.
I also don't think you really get mortals becoming gods, just saints of gods, because you'd need to remake them of magic for them to become gods, and that's a lot of magic that needs to be slung and wielded (even for a god). There's places where raw magic can be found to do such things if you've got the know-how, and I think that's how you get the magical servants of the gods (saint/angel-types) and possibly demi-gods who are not quite as powerful. I guess I see it the same way my artificial intelligence teacher sees the creation of artificial intelligence--we may not be able to make something as complicated or intelligent as ourselves. In the same vein, I don't think my gods will be able to make new gods, but I don't rule out the possibility of magic giving birth to more gods. I kind of imagine that the places where magic pools together in the world becomes breeding grounds for things, be they new gods or demons (because they're kind of the same in my mind, just with different power levels). It's not to say they are invincible, and maybe they do kill or maim each other from time to time (as the DnD ones are wont to do) or are even killed or maimed by mortals, but it's not often a god dies, and I kind of doubt they die easily (even at each others' hands/limbs/tentacles).
The people, I imagine, believe that it's your patron god or his/her servants that escort your soul to the realms of the dead. The realms of the dead have territories, and each god has a plot to his/herself to populate or not populate as they see fit (like a country?). Evil gods might have a territory full of torment, lawful ones may categorize their souls into little areas of varying niceties or torments (like craft bins? Of doom?), or whatever they choose to do with what they've got. Maybe they'll choose to recycle the souls in reincarnation to keep things from getting crowded. Maybe they'll reshape the soul into a magical saint/angel/servant/etc. Maybe they'll eat some souls to increase their own magical might. Maybe they'll keep them all in little jars and shake them every so often for fun. Who knows, they're weird fickle things, these gods :/ Those souls who are not escorted to a designated realm are basically on their own and in a sort of free-for-all area where lesser magical beings may scoop them up and use them as they see fit, so it's like fate roulette whether you get picked up by a benevolent or malevolent being, or whether you get scooped out of limbo at all (which is considered a bleak, featureless area--all well and good if you're into eternal boredom, I suppose). Choosing a god as your patron is more or less a contract; you pledge your allegiance to the flag god of your choice and they will take care of you in the afterlife in return. It's not an unbreakable contract, and you can change your gods (esp. if you're changing alignments), but do it too often and they might not look too fondly upon you (and attracting the wrath of a god is a bad idea) :/
Does any of that seem reasonable? Does it seem like it could be meshed with the current DnD gods, or would it be more sensible to just write my own? I'm not really on a deadline from what I can tell (I have no idea if anyone actually has an interest in playing or if they're just saying stuff from time to time, and even if they do have an interest, I reckon I have until the end of the year to get it all together), but having more work on top of what I already know I want to do is a little scary. I just don't know if creating my own pantheon would be worthwhile.
And in case the mention isn't noticed in the previous DnD post, I have another post with some speculations on demographics here, which is where a lot of the DnD stuff should probably end up once I'm done whining about it here. But I kind of do want some feedback on the races I should have incorporated but missed :/ I'm feeling pretty fond of the Barinoori at the moment. I really need to get this gods thing settled so I can start getting write-ups on paper -_-