1d6 small gods of my setting and a few corrections
Clarification Time
Turns out Heso was spelled Jesu and kinda polytheism kinda monotheism found in most elfgame settings actually has historical roots where in the near eastern and Mediterranean cultures, they practiced religion in a similar fashion since they have "pick a deity out of the pantheon" situation when it comes to worship. I still don't like this in my fantasy game. I also should have been a little more clear on how gods are general concepts, but different towns have different gods for those same concepts. For example, a desert village would have Sarivi the Healer being a god of rain. A coastal village would have their god of rain as a more hostile deity since fishing in the rain or in a storm isn't recommended. They would have Cassina the Skyblight as their god of rain. Desert village would have a Rain Day to celebrate the life giving water while the coastal village would have a Rain Day to appease the god and hope for no storms.
Extremely narrow gods are fun though for gods that factions worship. In the Lands of Legend, there are gatherings of orcs have a "good" god of muscle growth from bladed combat while glazes of goblins have an "evil" god of left ear rashes. (A glaze is a group of goblins btw). Without further ado, here's some gods. God-lings have no specific gender, gods are male and goddesses are female.
From OTM Tactical |
1d6 Small Gods
- Jesu, God of Lead shrapnel. A weak god, only gaining a lot of followers recently when his main followers changed from lead miners to warriors. He is the father to Hesalu, the goddess of weak candlelight. A common ritual is to have small lead balls and to roll them around a circle of chalk outside a new cave to increase the amount of safe lead you find. Jesu is kind, helping his followers achieve great heights and innovation. A festival of his is a day where a head sized lead rock is thrown in the air and whoever catches the rock is given a blessing. The lead balloon is said to bring good accuracy to the blessed. His holy symbol is a lead ring with a piece shattered off.
- Gulivere, Goddess of Work undone by the end of the week. She is a old god, being as old as the concept of work. Many pray to her for salvation, hoping that dark schemes are sabotaged and blundered into dissipating. Gulivere's wife is Danaga, god of low tide of the Seniga Sea. Her holy symbol is a half-filled hourglass tilted on it's side. A follower of Gulivere once tricked a tyrant to delay their plans so that the tide could undo years of army training and recruiting. Her festival is a day where derelict buildings are broken, so that an opportunity for a new project can take it's place. If someone can find her Altar of Extension, where she ascended to godhood, they can add an extra day to the 8 day week.
From Young Archelogist's Club - Cusina, God-ling of Hosting small events. They are a god-ling full of energy and encourage their followers to bring this energy to their endeavors. Cusina cooked the very first birthday cake, becoming good friends with Wancere, god of spiteful cooking. Their festival involves gifts being given to children at the dark of winter's night. The uninitiated call the people who leave these gifts "Santa", which annoys Cusina greatly. They say if you make a small party with a cake made of sunflowers, Cusina will be there to watch you succeed.
- Apiath, God of Stone wall corners. He is a fickle god, he will only respect those who can create the Great Angle of 90 degrees. He is even allowing his followers to use magic to achieve the great angle, making him the enemy of Encanti, god of pinewood fences. There is myths told that Apiath has a triangular object with sets any wall to be level and it's corners 90 degrees. The Set Square of Apiath has been lost in the underworld. A celebration of Apiath is by gathering in the town square and dancing in groups of four. If celebrated correctly, Apiath may bless construction of future buildings.
From London Fine Antiques - Fwayco, Goddess of Fading trails. She is curious, wanting to hear of trails that need a little bit more visibility. She is part of the Pact of the Wane, where Fawyco and Illuminatic (godling of blown out candles) brighten the path to the land of the dead once a year to aid souls to the beyond. Fwayco is often called upon by burying berries in a circle around someone who wants to stay hidden. A celebration is often held by followers where they bury weak trails to be hidden and hopefully found by adventurers.
- Jolke, God-ling of Adequate training. They are patient, waiting for the exact moment someone is qualified, no earlier and no later. Jolke carries a burden of sending Kelune (goddess of changing tournament rules) to battle with not enough training. A follower of Jolke once finished a castle in a single day by spending a month under Jolke's harsh mentorship. Jolke is celebrated by having schools and educational centers working extended hours. Those that do this may have Jolke aid the student on a high noon.
From National Trust How to make your own gods
I made these gods by thinking of an aspect of life (like education in Jolke's case) and finding a specific aspect to it to create something a godling can cover. All you need is a name (I put random syllables together, you may have other methods), a aspect, a word that describes their attitude (like loud or cold) and a ritual. Gods in my limited research have those things to make them stand out and memorable. I put holidays to help motivate myself to track time in a hexcrawl campaign I am thinking of running next. I try to have gods that are explicitly good or evil. Gulivere could be worshiped because someone wants a project to be undone, (their own from regret or others from jealousy) or to keep a work going (their own or someone else's). Rituals should be unusual to help them stand out to the players.
Clickables
Ktrey at d4 Caltrops helped create Gulivere thanks to their d100 table
Town Scrier gives us some Dungeon oddments
Idraluna Archives shows us their megadungeon stocking procedure
Tales of the Lunar Lands talks about overland travel
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