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OrOhy v \ ‘G ert is) N f Le fol Crest Tees) TOMALES James Wyatt| DEITIE i ND DEMIGOD _ Ric RepMax, Sep Wiams, Janes Wea Chet 2 UH i at Pel OME tis libata DME Tort fo ‘Micuere Carter, Dayr> Noowan * ‘Dawn Moris CREATIVE Diarcror | CORR ILLUSTRATION i Ep Stark ‘ Sam Woon ; rt oFF By yt “PNTERIOR ILLUSTRATLONS®” MANAGUNG “) KYLE ANpERsoN,GunwANcus, ) PE rant (2) x > vu m Fc) fe) r5 m escutbcte tie eee eee e slo works sn each of thete «pes of f¥stera howe people worship, how clevies Fane Implications fot your campaign.» 2 PANTHEQNS tnpectng # certain standan! of behavior i ee ‘n.a tvose pantheon at |, Tater Won dls ae pats of eld he ea ihe kul oAeises rule the various aspects of mortal existence, variously coop crating with and competing with each other in administering the affairs of the universe, eople gather in ‘worship gods such as Peloror meetin hidden places to venerateExythnl ach deity ia loose pantheon has «portfolio and (s responsible for advancing that portiolio in the mortal world and in the divine Heironcous, god of valor, calls cleris and paladins to his service and encourages them t society. His followers propagate notions of chivalry and justice through thei societies. Even in his neverending war with Hextor, Heironeous promotes his own portolio—war fought nobly and in the cause of ustice ples ead the ideals of honorable warate in Hextor,similaey, promotes his porefolio of war and tyranny through his actions and those of his worshipers. His clerics preach military readiness and quick, harsh action in response to any swrong. In the divine realm, he fights his wa with Heironeous on his terms—as brunlly, destructively and underhandedly ashe can, Individuals—both clerics and laty—generally fallow one deity of loose pantheon shove all others, choosing one as apatron deity. Because cach deity ithe undisputed master of sl things telated to his or her portolio, however, lay believers often devote prayers and sacrifices to other gas those other sods are not enemies oftheir patrons. Even a devout follower of Heitoneous would do well 9 make an offering to Fharlanghn before setting out om a journey, for example, and might offer prayers to Wee Jas at a funeral. No self-respecting devotee of Heironeous would consider making sacrifice to Hextor, however, since Heironcous and Hextor are mortal enemies. Not everybody his a patron deity, though most people show at least some degree of devotion to some ofthe gods. In most loo pantheons, not choosing a patron deity has no penalty. Most people are assured of finding a home on the Outer Planes aftr leat Their souls simply goto the plane corresponding to thei alignment Though the rewards of serving adeity might be great in this life and inthe next, thete is no punishment for those who do not make a commitment o single god,or even for those who neg leet the expected scrfices, There ae some exceptions. Inthe Foxcorzex REALMS campaign seiting fr example, the souls of those wth nopatron deity ar com signed to wander the Fugue Plain until they are either taken in by a merciful deity or captured by demon or devil riders and drafted {no service in thei infernal wat. The souls of the "aihless” those who actively oppose worship of the gods, are bound into the living wall around the City of Judgment, from which they ean never return. In the world of Torl nearly everyone has a patron deity In vome ways, loose pantheon is like + number of smal, dis tinct zeligions on nis than their patrons, 38 devoted to each deity Each religion teaches a THE DIVINE GLOSSARY The following terms are used frequently in Deities and Demigods Animism: Belief in a multitude of spirits that influence the natural word. Deity: A god. Deities have from 0 to 20 divine ranks, Divine Rark: A measure of how powerful a deity is. More powerful deities have more divine ranks Dualism; Belief in two deities. The deities are often oppo: sites in conflict with one another, Lay Member: A worshiper who doesn't receive spells from a deity. Within a religion, the noncleries are sometimes referred toas the laity Monotheism: Bliefin a single deity. Many moders religions Inthe real world are monotheistic tics, pr Aisrinet cod tices certain unique ttes, and retells certain myths about is deity usually without reference toany other deity (except for specific eases of enmity between two deities such 48 Heironeous and Hextor of Corellon Larethian and Gruumsh). (OF course, even devored followers ofa single deity recognize the existence and power of other deities and occasionally sacrifice ro them aswell, but they worship only one god 3 time Tn terms of game-mechanie implications, the loose pantheon is thesimplest model to adopt in your campaign. since isthe baseline for the D&D game, Simply substitute your panheon forthe defi pantheon in the Payers Handbook. Most of the guidelines in this ‘hapter apply directly to loose pantheon mel, and you need t0 Acide such issues as how many gad there canbe, what godsare and where cheir porer comes from (see The Nature of Divinity, below), TIGHT PANTHEONS Ifthe deities ofa loose pantheon are the mulhitudinous centers of many distinct religions a tight pantheon, by contrast isthe focus ofa single religion Prertionees of that religion may eevee ll the Aeities, select number of thems, or even just one, but whichever deity or deities they worship, chey share a certain body of myths nals and ethics. The Olympian, Pharaoni, and Asgardian pantheons described in Chapter 4, and are examples of tight pantheons. The gous of the Olympian pantheon are united under the tuleeship (nd, sn many ctses, the paternity) of Zeus, as the Asgardian gods ‘united under Odin, The Pharaonic pantheon is unified by the pol tics ofthe mortal kingdom, the ides of adivine rer (pharaoh), and the cancept ofa divine order in the universe (Malt Like the gods of loose pantheon, the detiesof tight pantheon cach have thei own areas of control (porfolio). Within thei vn pantheon, Ares and Oalin are gods of war much like Hextor and Heironeous, and they have similar agendas. Aphrodite and Freya are responsible fr al affairs ofthe heat, while Athena and Thoth (oversee matters of earning and knowledge ‘Some individuals, more often clerics than ity devote themselves to individual gods fa tight pantheon often as members of mys tery cult (see below). Most people, including many clerics, are ddevored tthe entire pantheon. At with loose pantheon, follower of the Olympian pantheon males offerings to Demeter to ensure 4 0d harvest, to Poseidon before traveling by bot, to Aphrodite ‘when seking asistance in romance, and to Apollo for healing. The "actfices each god expects ae part of the share! doctrine ofthe pa theon, and sometimes the gods even share temples, ‘Most ght pantheons have one or more aberrant gods, deities whore worship is not sanctioned by the clerics ofthe puntheon as a whole. These are usually evil deities and enemies ofthe pantheon Mortal: A creature with no divine ranks. Mortals include humanoids, outsiders, and the other creatures in the Monster Manual [Mystery Cult: A secret societ of single deity. Pantheon: A group of deities, Each DED campaign has its ‘own pantheon, and some have more than one. Patron Deity: The primary deity worshiped by an individual Jozan’s patron deity is Pelor, for example Polytheism: Belief in many deities. Most ORD campaigns Including the one described in the Player's Handbook, are poltheistc Portfolio: One or more aspects of the world that a deity has usually devoted tothe worship responsibility for For example, Thor's portfolio includes storms Isuch a theTitans (Olympian pantheon), Set (Pharaonic), and Loki Asgasdian), These deities certainly have eulis of their own, attract Ing social outcasts and perverse villains 10 theie worship. These cults resemble mystery eults their members strictly devoted ro their single god, though even members of aberrant cults often pay lipservice in the te ’N tight pantheon requires only Few modifications to the sta deity in offered ples ofthe puntheon. dard D&D rules, Clerics may choose a specific par which case they choose their domains from among bythe deity Clerics also have the option of serving the entire ps theon, in which case they can choose their two domains from ‘mong all the domains offered by all the deities ofthe pantheon, éxcept aberrant gods. A cleric ofthe Pharaonic pantheon could hoose Sun (offered by Re Horakhty) and Luck (offered by Bes) a his two domains, for example. A cleric cam only select an align ment domain if his alignment matches that domain. the cleries alignment must match the alignment of some deity inthe pan theon (excluding aberrant gods) ‘A tight paheon is more likely than a loose one to limit the pos sible numberof gods and the means to divine ascension. Divinity may be imparted, but can rarely be simply earned (see The Nature ‘of Divinity below MYSTERY CULTS A mystery cult isa secretive religious organiration based on a itl of initiation in which the initiate is mystcally identified with the ol being worshiped, Mystery cults are generally devoted to single 5 oF a most small handful of related deities (eee the entree for Demererand Dionysusin Chapter 4 and Thoth in Chapters for sample mystery cults). Mystery cults ae intensely persons), con: «cerned with the initiates individual relationship with the deity and experience of lation ‘Azmystery cutis actually a specifi type of worship within the context of tight or loose pantheon, ther than a distinct religious system itself. Even ifthe pod at the center ofa mystery ulti part ‘fa tight pantheon, however, the mystery cult itself more like the worship of a dety in a loose pantheon. it stands asa religion uno itself, related tothe myths apd rituals of the pantheon’ cul bur presenting ss own myths and rites s primary The myths ofa mystery eult are its essential clement. The his tory of the god is the foundation ofthe cult and is reenacted (sym: bolically) in the cults initiation ritual. The foundation myth of « 1s usualy simple and often involves gods death and rising, of ajourney tothe underworld and a return, Sun and moon deities and agricultural deities—gods whose portfolios reflect the «ycles of natire—are often the centers of mystery cults The curs rirual of initiation follows the pattern ofits foundation mith: Neophytes retrace the gods footsteps inorder to share the seals ultimate fate tn the case of dying and rising gods, the (oym olic) death of he initiate often represents the ides of death tothe cl life and rebirth ito a transformed existence, Initiates live 1 new lf, pty remaining on of buman alas, party ele vated to a matter of divine concern, The inivate fs guaranteed 4 place inthe gods realm after death, but also experiences new depth nd meaning in his orher hie Asa subset ofa pantheon religio no special modifications co the standard rules for clerics and patron deities MONOTHEISM Monothelstic religions revere only one de deny the existence of any other deity. L'you introduce a monothe istic religion into your campaign, you need to decide whether ther godsexist or not. Even they dont, other religions can exist side by side with clerics wth spelleasting ability, their divine spells may powered by the one true deity, by lesser spits who are not true deities 1 monotheistic religion I'these religions have jpossibly including powerful theit fait, however misguidy Unlike the gods of pantheon, the deity of monotheistic religion demands exclusive worship. Usually, such a deity as avery large potlalio and is portrayed asthe crestor of evrything, i contol of everything, and concerned with every aspect of existence. Thus. 3 worshiper ofthis god offers prayers and sacrifices tothe sare god regardless of what aspect of life i in need of divine assistance wat, setting off on a journey of hoping to nes affections the worshiper prays to the same gor Monathestc religions often promise dire consequences 0 those not adopter deity asa ptron, whether they follow adi fale” god or no god all. Such religions borer on dualism (see below), with an outerplanar paradise reserved for the souls of the fahful and another plane of torment forthe souls of those who did not revere the deity in fe, Other mo ‘universal teaching that only one Quter lane exists (0 correspond t2 the one deity, in which all souls soonet or later, come to rest. ‘Monothe'stc religion is perhaps the most divergent system from the co mons and devils), oF simply by D rules, and requires some adjustments ro she rules for clerics. In some cases, the dit ofa monotheistic religion may grant access to every cleric domain, while ino ‘Rants access only toa large subset f the avalable domains The god ‘of monotheistic religion receives bonus salient divine abilities su ficient o give the deity access to fifteen domains However the deity oes not gain the sph ike abilities or domain powers ofthese exea domains. For example, Tala, the monotheistic deity described in (Chapter 7, grants access to twenty di tts Domain sient divine ability for five domains (in addition to the three domains she originally hd), soshe can use the domain powers and spells from eight of these domains, bt not the other twelve Different clerics ofthe same deity may possess very diferent abil ties. One cleric of Tia may venerte her Destroyer aspect and choose mains. She has the so the Strength and War domains, while another might wor ship her Creator a¥p cess tothe Knowledge and Magic domains In some religions, clerics may group themselves {nto different religious orders in order to better differentiate between clerics who choose diferent domains. For example, the church of Tain includes an order called the Pucifying Elame, ‘whose members typically choose from the domains of Death, Destruction, Law, and War The same church also includes a devo al onder the Suns Fath, whose members usually choose from the domains of Good, laling, and Protection, Insteal af church with different orders, some monathelstic rl: sions describe diferent aspects oftheir dit. single god appestsin diferent aspects asthe Creator and the Destroyer, andthe cleric of that god may focus on one aspect or the other, determining their domain access ad possibly even thei alignment om that bis The most universal deicies offer access to all the alignment domains (Lave, Chaos, Good, and Evil) Ax with a tight pantheon, however, no cleric car choose alignment domains that rmatch his alignment. While the mind of an infinite god may be able contain duametrical opposites such a conflicting alignment domains, mortal minds are much more limited Ina monotheistic religion, the alignment ofthe deity is particu lacy importa. The most universal deities are neural and actually allow clerics of any alignment, incl have other alignments (usually good), and may or may not allow clerics 0 volte th ent must be within one step of his deity Some good detics are served by evil clerics, though iti also possible tha there clerics actually gain their spells from another source, sch asa powerful demon, devil celestial or simply from the power of their futh, You should carefully conside serait i bes to allow clerics of any alignment le neral rule thats clerics align whether you want to outhw clerics ofa certain alignment; in Different orders within a church, or different aspects of as eity may have diferent alignments aswell In this ease, the generalrule applies: cleric’ alignment must be within one step of his onder’ or chosen aspect alignment i the gad of monotheistic religion is good, and evil clevics gt theie spells from an evil source, the religion shades aver into dua: ism. The only rea distinction in this case isthe power of the evi force, and the distinetion is purely philosophical, nt practical. 1 doesnt matter ifthe primal force of evils god ora demon lord, as long ast is there and grants spells those who serve i Generally the god of a monotheistic religion ks born divine, nd no possibility of divine ascension exiss though it may be possible for mortals to ascend to semidivine status, possibly divine rank 0 as chasen agents ofthe deity In effec, a monothefstic religion is limited! 19 20 tor ranks of divine power all of which a tated ina single deity though any numberof beings with divine rank ¢ may be present) However, monotheistic religion could center ona deity who earned tha position by killing the previous sole deity ofthe universe, ors deity who destroyed all the other + in recent of mythological history. tn such case, a mortal ould concetvably replce that deity to become the supreme Bing UALISM A dualistic tligion views the workl as the sta two diametrically opposed deities or divine forces Most often, the ‘opposed forces are ood and evi, oF opposed deities representing those forces In some pantheons the forces or deities of law ail chaos are the fundamental opposites ina dualistic system. Life an deat, light and darkness, matter and sprit, body and mind, health andl ness, purty and deflement, positive and negative energy the DAD univers il of polar opposites that could serve asthe fou Aation for dualistic religion. Whatever he terms in which the dual som is expressed, however, ome alf of the pats usualy believed to be “good —beneficial,desiable, oc holy-—while the other half x ‘bad? ifnot explicitly evil Ifthe fundamental conflict im religion i expressed 3 the opposition between matter and spirit, the followers of thar religion believe tha one ofthe two (usally mare) i evil and the ether pint) good andl so see to besa thei spirits from this mater world and its eis through asceiism and contemplation. Rare dualistic systems believe that the wo opposing f reimain in balance inthe universe, always pulling away from each for confit berween other but remaining bound together in creative tension, Most dualistic religions have rv deities b ave a number of deities arrayed on opposing sides of te great conflict between, seed and evil or law and chaos) If not hosts of gods, many dualistic religions a least have hosts of lester spints (possibly including pow erful sprit of divine rank 0) on ether side ofthe conflict. The key Aistinen between a dualistic religion and a monotheistic religion DEMON PRINCES AND ARCHDEVILS ‘The default assumption of the DLD game is that, while power: ful outsider and elemental lords exist, they ate not gods, and they cannot grant spells to clerics the way deities do. Though they are powerful and often revered by those who share their alignment, they reach no higher than divine rank 0, The demon prince Yeenoghu is a classic example: He is revered by gn clerics, but the god Erythnul actually grants them their spells. YYeenoghu acts simply as a go-between, a patron of the gnclls and a loyal servant of Erythnul. Loyal at least, until the chance for real godhood comes within his grasp. In an alternate cosmology, however, it may be important to allow these figures to grant spell, If evil clerics are to exist in 2 world dominated by a monotheistic religion with a good deity, they must have a source for theit spells. In such a with strong opposing force i tha, in a dualism the two forces are liewed to be equa. Neither one existed before the other, nether is owerful than the other, and iris quite possble that neither can exist wichout the other, despite their eternal animesity The majority of those who fallow a duslis rly cod within the religion, Wor selves 10 that on worship the deity ot force identified as, shipers of the good deity trust 1 onect ther ftom the evil deity forces and the woes they bring Since the evil deity im most dualistic religions is viewed as the source of everything char is detrimental o human existence, only the perverse and depraved actully offer worship to this divine abomination, However, monsters and fiends often serve the ev deity as do dark cults that mest in secret. While the official texts of 1 dualistic religion usually predict wit certainty thatthe good dei I, apocalyptic bate, the forces of evil believe thatthe outcome ofthat batle isnot predetermined and actively work to promote ther deity’ goal, Deities ina dualistic system maintain large portfolios All aspects ofexistence reflect che dualistic struggle, and al things fill on one or the other ofthe conflict. day is good, night is evi if fies evil, water is good. Agriculture, mercy, the sky, medicine, and poetry might be in che portfolio ofthe good deity, while Famine, hatred, the earth, disease, and war belong to the evil deity: As within «pantheon, each deity has absolutely no influence over the portfolio of the other—the good deity cannot cause disease any more thin the evil deity ean cure i Ina cosmology defined by an ecernal confi berween good and evil, mortal ate expected to take sides. Lan apocalypic bate lies Inthe furue, the winner of chat atte i sure to reward the mortal souls who helped that deity achieve ultimate victory, while pur ‘ching those who aided the other side. Again, the established texts of most dualistic religions predict the ultimate victory of good over tvil,and thus urge mortals 10 take 4 stand onthe good side while opposing evi inal its forms. ‘Duslism is essentially avery small loose pant two deities, and works much like a panth game cules. However, no all alignments are avalable t clerics in mont dualistic systems, IFthe polarity ofthe universe is between and evil then clerics ofthe good deity must be good, while must be evil There tno room for fence siting n such eligion Likewise, law chaos dichotomy demands that clerics be lawful o¢ chaotic, nor neutral along th Each deity grant access to about half f the available domains in the game, though i is difficult to divide the domaine stricely ‘evenly (se Following the Light in Chapter 7 for an example). With each deity offering access 1 between nine and thirteen domains, so consisting of on in terms of the D&D ‘campaign, the demon princes and archdevils, as well as other lernental and outsider lords, may achieve divine rank 1 or higher, though they should not rise higher than demigod status (divine rank 5). Making them actual deities, however, means that the religion is not strictly monotheistic, since there are ‘now multiple deities in the religion. \Fonly one such evil deity ‘exists, the religion is dualistic. IF there are more than one, you hhave created a loose pantheon, The alternative is to maintain these powerful creatures at divine rank O but give them the special ability to grant spells to their servants. Ifyou want to limit this abilty in some way, you {can allow them to grant access to only a single domain, hand icapping the demon-worshipers ina minor way when compared to clerics of the "true faith.” This approach better maintains the feel of a monotheistic eeligion inthe game.the followers ofeach deity may form onders that emphasize certain aspects of the deity and select certain domains, as described undet Monotheism above. ‘Those rare dualistic religions thar emphasize the balance of forces inthe niverse may stn cleriesto serve the dulism itl, Such @reigion Is usually true ‘eutral,end may allow clerics of any agement. this may usually choose access to any two domains, with the usual resttictions on alignment domain. As with monotheism, the gods of dualistic religion are usualy born divine and have no room for mortal ascension. In the cas dlalism, there is generally «mit of about 30 total rank poner split more or less evenly berwcen the two gods the religion, There may be many spits of divine rank 0, ofcourse. As the eternal struggle berween the ro gods pe posable for one gol to tke divine ranks from the other, upsetting the blance of power berwsen them. In some religions may be poe sible for mortals or powerful spirits totale ranks from one ofthe gods as well—perhapsby fighting or stealing from the god, perhaps by the fd investing a portion of power into a chosen servant for atime ANIMISM ‘Animism i the belief that spirits inhabit every patt ofthe Tian animistic worldview, everything haba sprit grandest mountain tothe lowliest rock, from the great ocean toa babbling brook, ftom the sun and moon toa fighter’ ancestral All these objects, andthe spirits that inhabit them, are alive and sentient, though some ate more aware, alert, and intelligent than others Some ae also more powerful than others and might even be considered deities All ane worthy of respect and veneration CClerice im an animist religion have the ability o.command or implore the spirits perform specific asks on thei behalf. Instead ‘of patron deity, these clerics have two or three specific patcon Spirits who grant them de ower Most other char acters do not pay allegiance to any one spirit over the others, Instead, they offer prayers and sacrifices to diferent spirits at differ ent times as appropiate tothe situation. A pious character probably makes daily prayers and offerings to her ance-tor spirits and the spr f the house rel ptions omer yp ich a to ction sprts such asthe spittot a forest and sporadic peayers to shost of other spirits a well ‘An animistic religion s very clerant. Most sptts dont care 10 whom a character abo offers steifices, as long as they get the sac ices and respect they ate due. As new religions spread through cur animist lands, they typically win adherents but not converts People incorporate new spitits and deities into thei prayers without displacing the old ones. Monks and scholars may adopt complex philosophical systems and practices without changing their belief Im and respect fr the sists tal Animist functions essentially s a large tight pantheon. All clerics serve the panheom a+ a whole, and s0 may choose any 10 Jomains each domain representing a patron spit of sors for that ric), withthe usual restrictions on ai nains Clerics ‘may bef any alignment, since there are spirits of every alignment Spirits represent the whole range of divine rank, rom 0r0 20, Animism is certainty an example of an infinite pantheon, since ‘ew spirits come into being all the ime. The sptts probably gain their power through wotship—a spirit thar i not worshiped docs rot die, but itrarely rises above divine rank 0 Divinity s earned is an animistic system, People who engender the reverence of feat of others during these lives can expect to linger as minor spirits after their death, and the worship of more people grant them increas ing power. It may also be possible wo achieve divinity before death usually by attaining some sort of enlightenment, bt hiss really the province ofa philosophical system that overlays an animist religion, rather than ofthe animist system isl 1c like tight pantheon allowing divine url m the omain spells and Forrunes of Good Luck, occasional sucifces of incense FORCES AND PHILOSOPHIES otal cleric powers come from deities Ln some campaigns, philoso- pers hold enough conviction in thei eas about the universe that they gan magical power fiom thateonvition. In others, impersonal forces of nature oF magic that grant power 10m sttuned wo them may replace the gous, ln the D&D rules druids and fangers can gain theit spel ability from the rather than froma specific narue deity, and some’ themselves eo ideals rather than toa deity: Palins may serve a phi lesophy of justice and chivalry rather than aspecfic deity By their nature, forces and philosophies are not worshiped they ate not beings that can heae and vespond to prayers or accept sacrifices. Devotion toa philo exclusive of service roa de tals who are why ora force is not necessarily ‘Aperson can be devoted tothe piles ‘phy of good and, asa result, offer worship to various pood des oF revere the force of nature and also poy sevice to the gods of nature ‘who might be seen as personal manifestations ofthe imper force. Few philosophies in a fantasy world deny the existence of deities, although + common philosophical belief stares that the deities ate more ike mor ld have mortals believe ‘According to such philosophies, the gos are not truly immortal just very long lived and humans may be quite able to atin divin iny themselves. Infact, ascending to godhood isthe ultimate goul ‘of some philosophies. Generally, the power of philosophy comes from the belief that mortals invest ine A philosophy that only one person bel 4s not strong enough to force,on the other and, can have power apar from the belief in it cr even apt fom the existence of mortals Cleric of forces and of some philosophies work like cleries with no specific deity as described inthe Payers Handiwok. The cles can choose any two domains, except alignment domains that do not match bis alignment. Other philosophies dictate the domains svalable to theit clerics, as well a the clerics alignment, ust as deities in loose pantheon do bestow magical power on that person. A This section will help you make decisions when designing.» pan theon for your campaign. The rules requinements for designing a pantheon appear elsewhere, The material here is about Davor fel, and the impact of such decisions on your game. Numerous cam: paign and venture ideas illustrate how your decisions can focus a ‘mpaign or provide gripping adventures Each part of this section ntains notes for applying the decisions to monotheistic, dualis tic, animistic, and other systems ifthe applications difer from polytheisi. Ia choice afects clerics and paladins, the conse {quences ofthe choice are mentioned Your decisions affect phiyers and their characters. Be very clear with your players from the beginning about th impact f your deck sions Depending on your style as a DM, you may want wo discuss se rpics with your players as you develop your pantheon. If your players would like their characters to have the opportunity © become gods, you need to plan for that. Ifyou place a barrier terween the godsand mortals doing 0 may affect spell that invoke other planes, and anyone playing a spellcaster will want to know. INFINITE OR LIMITED DIVINE POWER (One of the fest decisions in designing a pantheon i whether the numberof gods is limited or not. H the universal total of divine power islimited, then «pantheon can havea few powerful members ‘¢ many weaker ones. fno limit exists, then nothing prevents an Infinite umber of gods of any rank, even if they dont all have di ferent porolios, Household or local gods are more cormman. Buti ‘ronly a finite amount of divine power, no god can advance unless another surrenders power or dies In such a system, you should establish a total number of divine anks forthe pantheonand divide those ranks among your gods. Sce Building a Pantheon, below, fr the minimum numberof gods you need. Limited divine power can mean cutthroat divine politic, and you may not want your gods tact in such a manner. A supreme god could institute Some sor of iivine police” to keep onder inthe gods home such a system interests you, Irs possible 1 build a limited system in which the existing gods do not assimilate all the divine ranks a 1, leaving some room for growth and the ali A single spark of divinity is not mandated in a monotheistic system. Ifyou build a celigious system with a single god, you may choose to give divine ranks to Servants ofthat god, calling them saints archangels,or whatever you lke The same is true fora dual istic system. The two opposed deities may have hosts or choirs of servants Animism assumes that spiritual power in everything and Is best when paired with an infinite amount of divine power HIDDEN KNOWLEDGE As you design your pantheon, keep notes about what is public knowledge among mortals, and what secrets the gods keep for themselves. You could design a pantheon where the total of divine power has limit andthe gods constantly scheme sinate each other, oF to protect themselves and theit followers from such activities (depending on alignment), Mortal wor shipers know nothing of this, and the gods strive to keep their limitations hidden Hidden knowledge might gensinely be the domain of the gods ‘oct might be hidden in ancient texts, perhaps in a numerical or symbolic code, Ancient beings such as dragons and titans might hold bits and pieces of hidden knowledge aswell Such knowledge has value both to mortals and to gods. One example of valuable hidden knowledge could be the exact method by which one earns divine status (ee The Nature of Divinity, below Your choice of pantheism, monotheism, dualism, o afiects the source of hidden knowledge. tn the fist three cases, thar knowledge ean come f the god (ot the one god, inthe e n mortals divine servants or one of ‘of monotheism) ‘gods interact with the world affects the likelihood of their hiding fr sharing knowledge of themselves. Lf you build an animistic system, most hidden knowledge comes from mortals who learned something about the spirits, or about a specific spirit. If your system contains mystery cults, many of them posses atleast one fragment of hidden knowledge shared only with initiates: “Hiden’ can bea relative term, The knowledge can be in « ‘common text ut hidden in ‘guage, awaiting only translation. Or perhaps any literate person -ad it easily, f only the librarian cou remember where the text was kept. THE NATURE OF DIVINITY God are immortal beings wit power heyond mortal esp You decide where they came from. Consider the divine spatk, the iindefinable quality that separates god and mortal, separately from the et (see Dependent and Independent Deities, below). While they may be the sime thing, they dont have tobe smericalcode. Irean bes a dead lan source of divine po Innate Divinity Divinity, the divine spark that makes gods able ro perform their roles, may be innate tothe gods. The Olympian gos, descended from the Titans, were born with their divine status. In this case ‘mortals such s your player characters cannot earn diviity (hough you may decide that deities can impart divine status to mortal Rarely are such gods born during recorded history. They generally predate the intelligent races, and may have created those races ‘With this option, you ser the number and identity ofthe gods at beginning ofthe game, and these quantities generally emain static. If your campaign will never focus on player characters ascending to godhood or on divine events, this decision on the nature of divinity may be your best choice, See Buildin theon, below forthe minimum numberof gods you need. The choice of pantheism, monotheism, or disism i independ ent of chs choice. In animistic systems, assuming the spits ae ‘born’ with their divine spark is best. There ate a lo of spirits, and new anes come into existence al the time, Stil, ts possible 10