Making a Pantheon of deities [PF]

[Honest Tiefling]

Well, the title is just that. I wish to build a pantheon of gods for a Pathfinder campaign setting that can be added to, but at least start with a decent spread.

I should note that I don't particularly care for alignments, so 'good' gods will have serious flaws, and 'evil' gods might have good aspects to them. And despite their powers, they are going to act remarkably human, with their own preferences, failings and emotions.

Also, in this setting I wanted to have both benevolent and malevolent gods working together against the fiends, who represent a threat to everyone. in this setting, the demons arose when one god slew another, so they formed the Godsblood Oath, where followers of one god could not kill or harm followers of another god without just cause. It is very loosely upheld, but it is enough to allow the followers of enemy gods to cooperate enough to not murder each other in the streets (well, most of the time).

(The gods are divided up into the worlds they originated in, but that's something to worry about later.)

Gods of Arcadia

Basina: Basina is a goddess of the moon, madness, dreams and curses. Her followers are given great powers, through they usually come at a dear price. They are also tasked with helping each other, an impotant thing when she has few followers that are often spread out in smaller communities.

While she is feared across Arcadia, her intent is actually to punish the wicked and reward the kind. She doesn't have the best reputation because she often has collateral damage and a very poor success rate.

Tellion: Is a god of hope, joy, friendship and freedom. He is eternally optimistic, and even tries to smooth relations over with evil gods. Some rumors state that he is attempting to convince other gods to become more benevolent, but hasn't had much success.

His following has caused problems for the Humans, as they were caught freeing slaves. His worship is still allowed in human lands, but he has no temples established in their lands.

Suna/Sunai: The twin gods of fortune, misfortune, illusions, and trickery. Fickle and flippant, they have few allies among the gods. Only the most capricious of mortals tends to devote themselves to the Twins.

One of them is the god of misfortune, the other is the god of fortune. One is also female, and one is male. No one really knows which is which, as they constantly tell their followers different answers. Their plans are equally shrouded in blatant lies, and no one really know what the Twin's true goals are.

Yariat: a god of trade and waterways, he tends to stay out of most affairs outside of his domain of merchants or the rivers they use. Sadly, rich merchant caravans are desirable targets, so he uses a lot of his resources protecting trade routes. More so then most gods, he encourages his followers to work together.

Lisellith: Liselltih was once the goddess of the night, love, family, and beauty. She is no longer a goddess, but has been corrupted into a daemon monarch and calls herself Janna. What the difference is between a god and a daemon is not well understood by mortal scholars. What mortal scholars do know is that her corrupted followers, formerly the rulers of the elven race are now the fearsome drow that continue to raid settlements in Arcadia.

Treysa: Treysa is the goddess of plants, strength, forests and fertility. Many druids revere here, particularly in the forested areas of Arcadia. Her worship tends to be done very simply, and she cares little for rituals or ornamentation. Her shrines tend to be groves of oak trees, or even a particularly impressive tree.

Una: Una is Treysa's daughter, and the goddess of domesticated animals and farming. She is often worshipped alongside Treysa, and doesn't really have a separate following. Una's father used to be Valk, who Treysa tried to bring him closer to her. He faced such great pain in the attempt that he now hates both his lover and his daughter, and seeks to kill them both. He has somehow been granted the powers of a Daemon monarch, likely through the machinations of another Daemon.

Lorn: Lorn is even more fickle then Suna/Sunai, and he is the god of passion, emotions, love, war and creativity. Of all of the gods, he probably asks the least of his followers, but tends to give them very little other then their freedom to do as they wish with his power. Some say that only those would agree to such a deal would be the ones who would care to follow such a free spirit.

Sorvin: The god of hunting, exploration and cunning. He is ruthless, brutal and cunning in his hunts, and his followers are rumored to even hunt people to prove their strength. His followers have no established hierarchy, and often move into the wilds to claim it for their god rather then fight one another. He also encourages his followers to lay claim and protect their territory, seeing control of land as a means to power.

His worship is sometimes tolerated in remote settlements, since his followers will often seek out dangerous beasts and fey and beat them in submission (or death, which is counted as submission). Areas that are under attack or starving are often approached by followers of Sorvin.

He stole dominion over animals from Treysa, when she had expended her power too much and she was left in a weakened state.

Vara: A goddess of knowledge, darkness, oaths and caves. Her followers tend to be scholars, wise men or women, or teachers. Her priests often are peacekeepers and keep records of oaths and contracts brought to her shrines. Her dedication is not to the letter of the law, but to the spirit and often dissolves oaths she feels were made in bad faith.

Nethalyn: A goddess of magic, death and spirits. She is uncompromising and demanding, but also powerful and few can rival her skill or knowledge of magic. She has also taken it upon herself to monitor magic and mages, destroying those who present a grave enough threat to others, alive or dead. As a goddess of death she occasionally uses the souls of her followers in willing servitude from beyond the grave, but finds all other forms of necromancy to be unforgivable.

After Lisellith turned into a daemon, most of the elves turned to Nethalyn for guidance and protection. She has led them to become some of the greatest arcanists known, and many elves know at least some arcane magic.

Ozrah: A goddess of poisons, alchemy, brewing, and decay. She is said to be the one to give the gift of alchemy to mortals. Her gift is one she intends to perfect, and everything her church amasses is used in her quest to study her dominions.

[Honest Tiefling]

Gods of Belant

The Godswalk: The gods of Belant were said to walk the world as mortals for a short period of time, and were pleased with their followers. Most of them even took wives and husbands, and their descendants are said to become the most pious of the halfling clans.

Morvena: The goddess of skill, bravery, victory, and cunning. Many warriors and athletes, particularly younger ones revere her and pray to her before contests or battles. She teaches that bravery and intelligence can win battles, but that bravery is not the same as foolishness. Sometimes, when a warrior of Morvena is older they will turn to worship of Jaromir instead. This practice is actually alright with both gods, as the two are close allies.

Jaromir: The god of family, home, community and nomads. While he is a strict traditionalist, he strives to understand and accept the ideals of other altruistic gods. His followers often preserve and record the traditions of their people and those they encounter. The only thing that drives the wise god to anger is betrayal, and he highly prizes loyalty. Those who follow him are expected to never betray the trust of others, lest they be ordered to undergo penance.

Katerina: A kind goddess of protection, healing and nurturing. She is often said to be the kindest of all of the gods. She is even kind to the most violent and cruel gods. Her kindness should not be mistaken for weakness, as she is also vigilant in her duty to protect. She and her followers both avoid unneceary conflict or violence, usually only taking arms when a life is threatened. She instructs her followers to always be kind, helpful and selfless, holding her followers to a very high standard.

Lazar: Lazar is the god of balance, cycles, seasons and diplomacy. While Vara was the one who bound the gods with the Godsblood Oath, it was Lazar who convinced all the gods, from the most stubborn to the most zealous to agree to it. His patience is rivaled by few, and he listens to all and any gods.

His devotion to neutrality often leaves him with few allies. Even Tellion, a dear friend of his, often excludes Lazar from his plans. It is said that this distance causes him great sadness, but he views his neutral stance to be of such importance that he eagerly shoulders the burden.

Nikolai: Nikolai is a carefree, brave god of hunting, trapping, craft and revelry. He loves to defy tradition, expectations and even common sense. He takes pride in his unpredictable behavior, delighting in befuddling and confusing his enemies and allies alike. As risky (or seemingly stupid) his deeds might be, he is always seeking to do good for others. Daring and the desire to aid others are two qualities he looks for in his followers.

His more prudish followers try to de-emphasize his more amorous exploits, and discourage re-tellings of various deeds attributed to him. He is even said to have seduced several evil entities, though never to deceive or to trick them being always honest with his affections.

Sorsha: The cruel goddess of cold, winter, hate and exiles. Most of her followers are those who were exiled or were about to be executed for heinous crimes, which pleases Sorsha. She teaches these loners to survive, even in the harshest cold, and protects them from all threats but each other. Many of her followers avoid one another for this reason, for even those who think they can kill others of the faith probably have plenty of enemies.

[Honest Tiefling]

The Old Gods of Niberu

Triune Faith: Most of the followers of religion in Niberu actually follow the Triune Fatih, which is the belief that following the three old gods of Niberu will lead to stronger tribes then following one alone. A tribe that follows Ishrai will be too tricky or too soft to survive in the wastes, while a tribe that follows Urgar alone might tear itself apart. Of the Triune faith, Arkalla is seen as the leader, but the other two are vital parts of the life of a tribe.

Arkalla: Arkalla is the goddess of life, death, disease, and healing as well as the mother and father of both Urgar and Ishrai. She is neither male nor female but in between just as she is in between the world of life and the world of death. Most of her followers are members of the Triune faith, and are the healers and wise men/women of tribes.

Urgar: God of strength, murder, hunting and brutality. Many warriors revere him, through the Triune Faith often keeps his followers from becoming too violet or murderous. Often, only those whose ruthlessness is kept in check by the Triune faith actually live in civilized areas, with the rest (who are the minority) living in the wilderness.

Ishrai: Goddess of cunning, trickery, and magic. Any spellcaster who is not a priest will likely follow Ishrai, seeing the magic as a gift from her. She instructs her followers to be kind even to outsiders, but many don't trust the goddess of cunning in that such instructions are genuine.

[Ring_of_Gyges]

No real advice, but I'm working on a pantheon at the moment myself, so it's neat to see one fleshed out. It looks ready to play to me. It's certainly enough to be starting with.

p.s. I totally love "Demons arose from the blood of a slain deity and are bad news for *everybody* good and evil alike."

[Omeganaut]

Those pantheons are really neat and I especially love the stories about how they interact. Keep it up!

[Volcan]

the idea of making a pantheon has always been awesome to me