[As some of you may know, I am currently working with Matt on creating the world on which our fall D&D4e campaign will occur. We're still roughly in the initial stages, but making excellent progress, and I would naturally like feedback when possible. However, given the semi-public nature of this blog, I can only post things that would be potentially be ok if the PCs saw. Hopefully you will enjoy what I do post though, and I'd love any kind of feedback you can give.
The world is a tidal-locked, low magic world, more in the style of GRRM than Tolkien. There are 3 major countries, and 3 major religions (those three sets don't necessarily map onto one another).
The following is one of the three religions, the one modeled roughly after neo-paganism, with a decently strong Greek influence. The others are a Shinto-like nature focused religion, and a monotheistic one in the style of Old Testament brimstone and fire.]
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| Working map of the world. Click to enlarge. Followers of the Athanatos (The Immortals) The Pantheon Name: Nero, Protector of the Oceans Alias: The Dour One Domains: Water, Non-sentient Life, Unspoiled Nature, Honor, Nourishment Demeanor: Reserved and Guarded Stance on Mortals: Trust must be earned and is easily broken, as Man has despoiled nature too often for their own purposes Brief description: Nero spends most of his time deep below the ocean, taking various forms of ocean-life. His attention is mostly focused on maintaining the environments and encouraging basic forms of life, and although his domain is the oceans his watch spreads anywhere there is water. He views sentient life as an incursion that must be tolerated, although individuals that prove true to their word can sometimes receive his blessing. Most prominent gift to mortals: Food and clean water Name: Akath, Warden of the Earth Alias: The Cheerful One Domains: Earth, Fortifications, Industry, Crafting, Metal, Luck Demeanor: Boisterous and Energetic Stance on Mortals: Loves to indulge them in order to further their industry and development Brief description: Akath spends the most time amongst mortals, often taking their form and wandering from city to city, lending a hand wherever possible. He is endlessly interested in the things sentient life creates, and especially by how they take his gifts and mold them to their own purpose. He most often takes the form of a journeyman smith, and the profession is usually greeted with great courtesy in most cities, just in case. Most prominent gift to mortals: Metal Name: Kapsa, Wielder of the Flame Alias: The Fury Domains: Heat, Fire, Passion, Ingenuity, War, Truth, Sacrifice Demeanor: Proud and Dignified Stance on Mortals: Gifts are given but to the few, but they are highly blessed in her eyes Brief description: She dwells deep within the heart of the planet in its molten core, and sees around her the reflection of all fires on the surface. From her viewpoint there she works the flames to subtly influence events on the surface, and the strange beauty of flames is attributed to be her influence at work. Most prominent gift to mortals: Fire contained Name: Syna, the Rime Queen Alias: The Stoic Domains: Cold, Logic, Ice, Riddles, Justice, Wisdom Demeanor: Brooding and Calculating Stance on Mortals: Somewhat apathetic, but will assist with the cause is just Brief description: She is said wander the cold side of the planet, a distant, almost hallucinated figure of a beautiful maiden wandering through snow-storms. She muses constantly on problems, and writings down brilliant glimpses of truth in the snow, only to be obliterated seconds later. Somehow she manages to watch over the entire planet, and sometimes writings are left to those she has championed. Most prominent gift to mortals: Written language Name: Ouran*, King of the Heavens Alias: The Watcher Domains: Sky, Air, Freedom, Sentient Life, Faith Demeanor: Carefree and Joyful Stance on Mortals: Loves watching them but rarely intervenes, preferring for things to sort themselves out on their own Brief description: Ouran's form is clouds itself, and it is a rare moment when he is not floating above, observing everything. He watches everything and values freedom, but in that he means the freedom to face consequences as well as receive rewards. Those with the perseverance to never give up no matter what the cost sometimes receive his boons, but that is a rare moment. Most prominent gift to mortals: Freedom from fate Name: Sorea, Mistress of the Unknown Alias: The Unending Domains: Magic, Life, Death, Time Demeanor: Mysterious and Unpredictable Stance on Mortals: Chaotic Brief description: She takes myriad forms, and is said to greet every being at birth and welcome them again at death. Few speak of her normally, and fewer still actively worship her, and those who do are almost invariably magic-users. Nonetheless, shrines to her are always built, for none are sure where her domains truly end. She alone of the gods is said to dwell not on the planet, but rather on the moon. Most prominent gift to mortals: See domains Creation Myth The Six Athanatos, although kin, were in a state of continuous bickering. They wished to use their powers to create a world to watch over and shape, but attempt after attempt ended in compete destruction of the world after one of the gods invariably overstepped the boundaries and took too much of the world for his or her own. Iteration after iteration was completed and destroyed, and the gods grew more and more frustration with each other. Eventually the creation process broke down completely and the heavens shook with the sounds of the gods' rage unleashed. They quickly realized that the squabbling served no purpose, and to settle it by random chance. Creating a die, they all rolled for order, and then took turns creating a principle feature of the world and claiming it as their own. Akath, always lucky, rolled first, and created a sphere of earth and metal, gems and stone, and thinking himself clever, claimed the earth as his own. Pleased with himself, he stepped aside. Nero rolled second, and disturbed by his brother's apparent dominion of the core of the planet, decided to cover everything in water. It splashed down, covering a majority of the planet, leaving only scattered continents above the quickly-forming oceans and seas. Satisfied with his work, he backed away. Ouran rolled third, and sensing the senselessness of the fighting, decided to create at atmosphere far above the earth and sea, and was quite content to watch above as his three sisters made their choice. Syna, always clever, decided she would knock down the pride of her brothers and take a bit of each of their domains. She created cold, and with it the ability to steal gases from the sky, ice from the waters, and snow to cover the lands. Ouran took this in stride; his domains were large enough that the small theft was no matter. Akath laughed, amused by his sister's creativity. Nero, however, was irate, and swore vengeance against Syna, but agreed to wait till the process was finished. Syna did not react, and only the cold intelligence in her eyes betrayed any response. Kapsa, always competitive with Syna, learned from her choice chose heat, and with it the ability to burn the lands, boil the seas, heat the air, and melt the snow. Proud of her accomplishments, she stepped back. Finally, Sorea approached, and was disgusted by the greediness of her siblings. She then created life, and renounced all claim to it in order to infuriate her brothers and sisters. It ran rampant, and began to tame all that the other five had created. She then disappeared. The reactions were varied. Akath was utterly amused by the more intelligent of the creatures, and was pleased with their use of his domain. Nero was infuriated by what he saw as the despoiling of his domain by the intelligent ones, and took to fiercely guarding the simpler ones, hoping they would overtake the then-fewer sentients. Ouran, still floating peacefully, felt unaffected. Syna and Kapsa, however, always fighting fiercest, battled for control of the world. They quickly began to each take half of the planet, branding it with their domain, while in the middle, startled, the Nero and Akath fought to keep the two from colliding. Syna and Kapsa were fierce, though, and without Ouran's help the two could not force the two apart. They begged for Sorea to return and bring peace between her two sisters. Eventually Sorea reappeared, further disgusted by her siblings continually fighting. She had apparently learned greater powers from wherever she had wandered off to, and began to weave complicated, intense magic unlike anything the others had ever seen. Suddenly the planet froze in its current state, and the other five released their ability to affect the planet as a whole had greatly lessened. Sorea then created the moon, to be away from her siblings but still able to watch and prevent further destruction. To this day, the five still attempt to influence the planet, and although they are far friendlier with each other than many years ago, the tensions and enmities still exist, deep below the surface, appearing only when they choose avatars to work for them. Sorea alone stays apart from the intrigues and the plotting, although it is rumored that in times of dire need she will intervene, and that one day the magic may began to wane and the gods shall battle once again. Beliefs and Practices Most Followers of the Athanatos give their due to each god, although most tend to favor one over the rest when praying for help or assistance. Akath is easily the most favored, followed by Ouran, and then the other three almost equally, with Sorea a far and distant last. Obviously location and profession often influence the choice of patron god. Followers believe that the Gods often touch and influence special individuals, and there have been many anointed Saints in the history of the religion. In extreme cases, the Gods have chosen Avatars and imbued a small part of their power within a mortal, in order to perform the god's work. Organization and Major Figures Shrines for each of the six exist in most major cities, and smaller towns and villages will often have a single building with an alcove for each. Services are held daily and with special rituals on each of the gods' Name Day. Extremely devout Followers will pray daily, although normal people will visit only every few days or so. The exact form of prayer or devotion depends entirely on the God in question; for instance, Followers of Akath will sometimes offer up a small item they created as sacrifice (and donation to the shrines), and Followers of Syna will solve riddles and puzzles created by her priests. Many priests and priestesses exist for the various gods, and will help Followers in whatever way they can. Many wander from village to village, and others will form monasteries or nunneries to aid in various ways. Some major Saints/Avatars from the religion's history Avatar Kipos: Imbued by Nero, long ago improved farming practices to better protect nature and reduce hunting Saint Domos: Blessed by Akath, creator of the airship Saint Stavro: Blessed by Kapsa, led the Legion of Flame against the Amdrahian barbarians during the First Invasion Avatar Thiki: Imbued by Syna, created and catalogued the Great Library of Arkest as well as retrieving rare volumes from across the globe Many, many more exist. -HTMC *not named after the show I liked (I swear), but rather the Greek word for 'sky', "ouranos." |
This is a solid bit of fluff. Color me impressed.
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