Notes on the Divine Building

So – We need gods foe the cleric classes, and Gods for the people.

1. Nature – for the druid types.
2. Rangers? (or do we want them separate?)
3. Magic – if I read the players correctly
4. something Dark or Evil to rail against
5. Monks could use a Profit system. 
6. barbarians? Animism, shaman, Mysticism, or something primitive?
7. Luck
8. Music - bards?

Gods for normal populace:

Banker god 

Seafaring

Messages

Love

Beggar deities

Brewings

Crossroads

Ideas

A god who is a ghost

the sleeping snow (how ominous)

patron of midnight

MAGIC SPELL NOTE:

   Druids, Sorcerers and Warlocks need a divine font.  They learn magic by communing with their divine.  Having a religion that is pointed at these classes makes sense.  

   Rangers, Bards and Paladins are trained and more mage-like in their spells.  They need a font of mortal / manifested font of knowledge to learn their spells (and abilities?) from.

• Ancestor worship would not be a cleric directed. Would there be a cleric-like class? A way to invoke the ancestors into action? A way to get healed?
• Animism would would be the same as Ancestor worship. Is there an animal spirit near-by who could help? How long does a sacrifice last if accepted to tilt the odds?  If you make your sacrifices, would it charge your karma pool?  This seems an easy way of continuing a Creatorian relationship - if the Creator has joined with his Creation, then honoring the spirits of that world might fill that bill.
• A Profit system would work well for Monks – they could certainly speak in parables and sayings.  I know there are always exceptions to the rules, but it makes a good narrative/story start 
• Having a meditation for Bards/Rangers – to be learning their magics?  A place for them to come together to share their knowledge? A book?

Ranks of God

Demigods – often offspring of gods

Lesser Gods

Greater Gods

Forces – do not require worship – they just are. Often intersect with Domains:

Concepts

• Animism – spirits inhabit the world – sacrifices / gifts to appease these spirits sway your path/destiny/luck
• Primitive /phenomenon worship – Our god lives in that lake. Don't kill us, oh Black Hole.

Seasons - Spring (renewal), Summer (growth/reflection), Fall (bounty/changes), Winter (wisdom, decline).

Sun worship – to make sure the sun will continue to rise

Weather / Storms

• Ancestor worship – good relations need to be kept with tribal/family spirits
• Profits – sent by god with generally have messages (ethical and moral teaching) to reflect on, and a way of living honestly.
• Re-incarnation cycles – good living moves a soul up to enlightenment, meditation
• Dualism – two god system: Good/Evil, Male/Female
• Monotheism – belief in a single god.
• Mysticism – god is UN-knowable but accessible through ceremonies. (as examples - Wiccen. Satanism)
• Shamanism – the holy man keeps good relations with the spirit world for his tribe. He is needed to intercede with the spirit world to help individuals. Voodoo

Domains

This is a list of basic concepts presented as a springboard.

      - highlighted entries are Forces

Terms

• animism: Non-human entities (animals, plants, things, natural forces) possess a spiritual essence, separate from (and the equal of) humanity.
• deism: A single creator-god who is separate/distinct from creation, and is not presently active in the created universe.
• henotheism: A single creator-god is worshiped, but adherents acknowledge/accept the existence of other/outsider gods.
• monotheism: A single creator-god who is separate/distinct from creation, but is active within the created world.
• nontheism: A model of moral living not based on a worship of divine/supernatural; real-world examples include Buddhism and Jainism.
• pandeism: The creator of the universe became the universe, and no longer exists as a separate, conscious entity.
• pantheism: The divine is the sum total of all there is; everything in creation is a manifestation of that single divine.
• panentheism: The divine interpenetrates every part of nature, but is nevertheless fully distinct from nature; the divine is part of nature while retaining an independent identity.
• polytheism: A plurality of gods is recognized and worshipped.
• polytheistic pantheism: The divine is the sum total of all, but it presents itself as a variety of divine individuals/beings.

Established Gods:

   These are the ones in 'active' use.  There are more - just these are more active in our stories

Dreams – prophecy, joy

Elements – polytheism – if you worship one, you have a belief in the others. One is called to be your personal deity. Air, Earth, Fire, Ice and Water

Necropolis – memory, undead

Nightmares – stormy, reflections

Secrets - knowledge

Stam, agriculture – nature, growing

Swabash, Adventure - exploration, discovery,

Undead - undead

   There is an opportunity to make gods that might fill the same kind of function.  There could be different kinds of Death gods.  More than one Dragon God of Magic....

   We have lost the Gate Keepers/ knowledge gods all together.

Forces and Gods

   Just so players know:

• Element Gods will be separated from their Elemental Forces of Nature. They will not be diminished. It is possible the elemental Forces will manifest physically.
• Undead will now be the God: The Great Lord (Eddie) and the Force: Undead.  Eddie, the familiar manifestation is the God.  The Force of Nature is probably very fond of this undead God.

Mythology

   Now that we have outlined the needs of the divine – Need to build the backgrounds. Like Secrets, Dreams & Nightmares, and Fire all have a myth past that pulls together.  It's the same pantheon - the same myth.

   It's possible to build more than one panthoen.  A Tivalera myth.  A Jira myth.  It's possible that these gods would 'over-lap' (much like Greek and Roman gods).

Lastly, we need to put their worship structure in place.  I mention this as a springboard that might generate the idea for the God.  A ritual day of getting drunk would lead to a god like Dionysus

• Rituals & Holy Days
• structure of clergy, age, lifestyle, dress
• symbols, and holy symbols
• death rites, birth, marriage, coming of age (purification, choosing profession, dress)