Sunday, September 16, 2018

Gods of Man, Great Powers, Blessings


Stephanie Chan

The gods are created by man. This is a plain truth of the world, acknowledged by all. Their nature is human, their domains are the domains of humanity, they are inextricably linked to the hopes/fears/longings/beings of man.

There is no god of the sea, but there are a thousand gods of sailors.  Domains overlap, shift, are endlessly subdivided and rejoined. Time wears on; the gods change as man changes, but man is also shaped by the gods.

The Church, in common parlance, refers to the casual confederacy of religious traditions among most gods, barring the Lords of Hell and some fringe deities who do not play nice with others. You are all brothers and sisters, after all - even if you hate their guts, they're still family.

The domains listed below are not exhaustive in the slightest. Major gods can be guaranteed have regional variants in name, appearance, and domain. The primary divine family listed consists on those most widely agreed upon - certain traditions extend the children of Ama and Baba beyond the agreed-upon six. They will be marked with a (*) on the table.

The Gods of Man


Ama Adimatha, Mother of Multitudes

  • Mothers, wives, childbirth, fertility, protection, trickery

Baba Tubalkhan, All-Father

  • Craft, labor, patience, wise council, protection, fair judgement

DOG, the Greatest Friend

  • Loyalty, love, friendship, being a dog

Do-yo-da-no, the Twins

  • Emesh Diyu - Herding, hunting, fishing, tobacco smoking
  • Enten Daetgah - Farming, brewing, building, metallurgy

Nike, the Elder Sister

  • Achievement, athletics, sport, competition, sportsmanship

Calliope, the Younger Sister

  • Poetry, art, music, melodrama, theater, emotional highs and lows

The Stillborn

  • Loss, grief, mourning, mortality, empathy to the suffering of others   

Quisest, the Strangeling

  • The marginal, the stranger, the hidden, change, deviance

GodDomains
1) Abeona (*)Exploration, travel, leaving and returning home
2) AhuiateteoExcess, pleasure, gluttony, drunkenness
3) Aisling (*)Artists, dreams, inspiration, madness, imagination
4) AnachroniaBeing too late or too early; out of place and time
5) AnansiStorytelling trickster
6) AtzaliniStorytelling, friendship, hosts and cooks
7) Aza-ThothLibraries, secrets, hidden knowledge
8) AzadCraftmaster of the Néandr
9) Baron SamediGraves, smoking, drinking, obscenity
10) BluebeardThe killer you know, gory secrets
11) BokkaHumility, acceptance
12) BramblejohnPaths untaken, places returning to nature
13) BrendanSailors, whalers
14) Browning & ColtFirearms, gunpowder, explosives
15) BrukkitIdiot bravery, the dunning-kruger effect
16) CalibanMadness, eccentricity, rages, passions
17) Ceo-Coo-ExeInvestors, advertisers, marketers; Lord of Hell
18) Chain-BreakerEmancipation
19) CloacinaSewer systems, hygiene
20) CoprolaliaLies, libel, brags, smears, shit-talking
21) Crab-CrusherPaleolithic food-gatherer; context forgotten
22) CrocanaLazy afternoons; recreation, fishing
23) CthonJourneys into unknown places
24) DadaNonsense
25) Darvatius IConquest, empire, oppression; Lord of Hell
26) DhurumEndurance, laconism, straightforwardness
27) DordDensity, stupidity, being slow on the uptake
28) Double-TongueHypocrisy, liars, cheats, grifters
29) Dustfoot (*)Poverty, rock bottom, beggars, hobos, cripples
30) DyeuzTyrant-kings, rapists, abusive fathers
31) EbonikilCross-cultural exchange (food and art)
32) EkwensuBargains, trade, trickery
33) GaneshaThe placer and remover of obstacles
34) GordianosPuzzles, brute force solutions
35) Goth-AmokRebellion, catharsis, chaotic noise
36) GuanyinMercy, compassion
37) HachimanAgriculture, warfare; conscripted soldiers
38) Hain (*)Rhetoric, logic, scholarship, natural science
39) Hammu-Amun (*)Law, order, the written word, kings
40) HasturShepherds, the Lake of Hali, the city Carcosa
41) HestiaHospitality, hearth and home
42) Hi'iakaGolden Goddess of Pa'O Pa'O
43) HoteiGregariousness, good cheer, abundance
44) IndahontenTeachers, mentors, bookmakers, writers
45) JabimBroken things, repaired things
46) JanusBeginnings, doorways, endings
47) KentMundane life, ordinary folk, small acts of kindness
48) Know-NothingMalignant ignorance
49) Limpang-TungMirth, melodies, minstrels
50) LlaroDrums, pipes, song-writers, bards
51) Lu BanBuilders, carpenters, construction workers
52) MammonGreed, gold, coin, corruption; Lord of Hell
53) MaraAttachment, passion
54) Maya DiogenesCynics, swordmasters, noodle-makers
55) MenhitMindless violence; "she who massacres"
56) MithrasMystery-cult
57) Mmou-ShaubSlothfulness, restful sleep, patience
58) Moloch'Who Rapes the World"; Great Lord of Hell
59) MungDeath, silence, secret signs
60) NeirnnenThe socially inept and ostracized
61) NodounForgetting the needed; remembering the trivial
62) OannesEsoteric wisdom; kinship with Deep Folk
63) Old Jim BrookHard times, necessity and invention
64) Old ScratchCorruption, temptation, cutting bad deals
65) OnanVictims of disproportionate punishment
66) Orang-UtanApe-god
67) OxomocoAstronomy, calendars, study of the stars
68) OxossiHunting, contemplation, meals, crafts
69) Pan-PongoApe-god
70) Papa LegbaCrossroads, communication
71) Phobos & DeimosFear and terror
72) PikanpeExuberance, free-spirits, excitement, expectation
73) Postmaster FennicMail and the postal service
74) Pyrrhus Gradivus (*)Soldiers, veterans, scars of mind and body
75) PythagorasMathematics, triangles, sacred geometry
76) Red-CapAnarchy, tearing down the powerful
77) RokeshSwift and decisive victory, forward with speed
78) SapphoHomosexual women
79) Shi Yang (*)Pirates, sailors, prostitutes, fishermen, trade
80) Ta'xet & TiaViolent death, peaceful death
81) Temazcalteci Steam baths, doctors
82) Temu SchannSecrets we cannot utter, dark places in the heart
83) The Forge BaronIndustry, enslavement; Lord of Hell
84) The Sable MaidProtection of the weak
85) The Tolling, TicitokThe measuring and loss of time
86) The WormWar unending; Lord of Hell
87) TlazolteotlFilth and purification, usually sexual
88) Tūmatauenga Hunting, fishing, cultivation, war, cooking
89) TurusPrisoners of mind and body
90) Uastyrdzhi Monster-slaying, traveling, oath-keeping
91) VellamoFishermen of the lakes and rivers; water travel
92) VennJournalists, muckrackers, activists
93) Whiskey JackBartenders, alcoholics
94) XochipiliHomosexual men
95) YamaDeath, justice, moral ethics
96) YhewenVengeance, war, jealousy
97) ZangobatNecromancers, gravediggers, bonesetters
98) Zanni (*)Fools, comedy truth, nostalgia, fernweh
99) ZorkoIneffectual, comedic villainy
100) ZyreOH GOD THE DRUGS

Great Powers Among the Folk

These are those whose names are known far and wide.
  • Akerbeltz - The Black Billy Goat. Consorts with witches, gives questionable advice.
  • Ao Akupara Zaratan - The Great Turtle, has lived in this form longer than anything else.
  • Bast - Queen of All Cats
  • Br'er Rabbit - Trickster in the East.
  • Cernunnos - The Horned One, the Wild Man, the Big-Foot
  • Coyote - Trickster in the West.
  • The Four Goblin Kings - Masters of music and dance, missing now and foretold to return.
  • The Four High Courts of the Álfar.
  • La Fata Turchina - Blue-haired collector of puppets. Fascinated by the art of parentage.
  • La Fée Verte - Intoxicating muse of wormwood and anise.
  • Mab - The Midwife of Dreams. 
  • The Mountain King - King of the Dwarves, host of the great Feasting Hall.
  • Mundo - Magnificent Mundo, silky bastard!
  • Orca - Lady Leviathan, Queen of the Northern Seas
  • Pan - The Black Goat, bringer and embodiment of chaos and madness
  • Pangur Bán - The White Cat, the lurker in libraries.
  • Pele - Flying Fire, Queen of the Burning Mountain
  • Raven - Trickster in the North, creator, thief of the sun, an old friend of Mother.
  • Rainbow Serpent - Shaper of the world, bringer of the rains.

Blessings


Making an appropriate offering at the shrine of a god or fulfilling their rites will grant a bonus until sunset for rolls within their domain. For general OSR games, just use Bless. Use a Boon if it's Shadow of the Demon Lord.

Shrines can be found just about anywhere (dungeons will be loaded with them) and you could raise your own without much trouble (especially if you have a priest).

1 comment:

  1. A long time coming, this one, but great fun digging through wikipedia for obscure gods and making those asides I love so much.

    Beyond that, I've found that a setting built around these particular gods has a good amount of fuel to break away from some of the standard ruts, despite looking typical on the surface. I'll get into that later.

    ReplyDelete