Proof-read and help me flesh out my religion descriptions

[PhoenixPhyre]

I'd like some feedback on the worship practices I've written for my gods.

Important facts about them--
* They're all former mortals; the oldest has been a god for 200-ish years.
* They were chosen by a set of caretaker deities that do not get involved with anything but the running of the universe itself. They're replaceable if they break too many norms (like interfering too much in mortal affairs).
* The gods get their power for carrying out their domain-related duties, not from worship.
* Demigods are chosen from mortal spirits by the gods to serve them. There are ascended heroes who are empowered by faith as well.

In alphabet order, the gods are

Spoiler: Aerielara, the Jeweled Lady

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Usual depiction: A high-elven woman of unsurpassed beauty, wearing little except strategically placed gemstones. Her hair color is iridescent and her pose is scandalous. Usually white marble or alabaster skin.

Companions/Demigods: Lyre-plucker T’a, Mad Malian, The Dancer in the Dark

Worship: Commonly worshipped by artists, musicians, bards, and prostitutes. Her clergy, both men and women, are always beautiful and charismatic. Her temples (which are many, especially among the high elves and the rich) are beautifully decorated in rich materials. Youths are often tutored in sexual arts at these temples before they marry. For humans and high elves there is very little stigma to patronizing one of her acolytes.
The second-most worshiped deity in the Stone Throne, especially among the Isal classes. There the primary focus is dance and rhythmic music. In beauty hides thorns—her clergy often are also trained in poisons and unarmed self-defense.

Religious Precepts: Truth is found in beauty; ugliness is evil. Give in to passion—do what makes you happy without regard for the judgement of others. Spread beauty and pleasure, destroy ugliness and misery.

Spoiler: The Hollow King, Betrayer

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Usual Depictions: A suit of blackened armor, empty. The armor bears a kris-like dagger, point downward, dripping red liquid (colored water, usually).

Companions/Demigods: The Empty Mask, Venom-master Huang

Worship: Official worship of the Betrayer varies by nation, but official cults only exist in the Council and in the Stone Throne.
Council Lands: Assassins pray to him for aid. His official cult (that of the Jagged Knife) act as a court of last resort under governmental sanction. The existence of this cult is an open secret, but the location of their central shrine is unknown. Their calling card is a black-hilted silver dagger. They use magic (both arcane and divine) heavily, mostly for stealth and defense. They are most oriented toward removing suspected Outcast cults with prejudice.
Stone Throne: His worshippers are most common among the less savory elements of society. Several organizations dedicated to him act as bodyguards for powerful figures and collectively control the underworld of that nation. They use copious quantities and varieties of poison. Their calling card is an eyeless, black mask with a single tear embroidered on it. One such organization (the Silent Assembly) is headquartered in Asa’ka; the other major organization (the Darkened Scale) is centered in Kel’al’ar and is active in the unsettled politics there.

Religious Precepts: You are the last judge of the untouchable. The one that acts where others cannot. No oath or ideal is more important than your mission. Trust no one, verify everything. Preserve the peace of the realm. Annihilate the Outcast cults by whatever means necessary.

Spoiler: Kela Loran, Lady Luck

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Usual depiction: A female Halfling. Seriously blinged out—rings on every finger, several necklaces and jeweled belts. One hand holds a bag of coin, the other a pair of dice.

Companions/Demigods: Purse-cutter; Money-changer; Ore-Finder; Gem-Polisher; Fine-crafter Lorkan

Worship: Commonly worshiped by gamblers, thieves, merchants, and the wealthy. Her worship services always have an element of luck/random chance. And door prizes. And door fees. Her clergy will do anything for money. Lots of cash. Her worship is relatively wide-spread

Religious Precepts: Wealth is a sign of righteousness. The means aren’t important. If you aren’t lucky, make your own luck. If you don’t look out for yourself, who will?

Spoiler: Korokonolkom, the King Below

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Usual depiction: A larger-than-life hairless, muscled humanoid (goliath? Giant?), head bowed and fists pressed together. Usually covered in painted “runes” (usually nonsense) and wearing a loincloth. Usually made out of a dark stone.

Companions/Demigods: The Lovers (a pair of dwarves)

Worship: Korokonolkom is dominantly worshiped among the dwarves of the Council. His worship is especially strong in and around Fuar Uulan.
Traditional dwarves: A deep hole is bored at the base of the statue. Worshipers arrive, write their prayers on pieces of flat slate and silently hand their written prayers to the officiant, who holds them up to the statue and then drops them down the hole. When the hole is filled (which can take decades), a new hole is bored. No words are ever spoken in the shrine. To do so is sacrilege.
Heretics: There are heretic groups (mostly dwarven but this is spreading to the local human communities as well) that practice tests of endurance including self-flagellation. A worshiper’s status is determined by how long they can go without making a noise or flinching while being subjected to discomfort or pain.

Religious Precepts: Endure whatever comes. Face it head-on and refuse to bend. Be slow to trust new people or ideas. Remember offenses against self and clan and repay them with interest. Sacrifice self for clan and honor. Honor your written word—lying in writing is a cardinal sin.

Spoiler: Lae Loara, the Huntress

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Usual Depiction: A dark-haired woman, dressed in forest leathers, with a wolf at her side. In one hand she carries a bow; the other is outstretched with a falcon on the wrist.

Companions/Demigods: Two companions—a falcon and a wolf.

Worship: Propitiated more than worshiped, her major devotees are those living in the Orc-Lands region. Travels through unclaimed lands usually start with an offering to her. An offering is made before setting out on the hunt or on a trip through the wilderness and after returning. The type of offering depends on the type of journey—blood for hunting (your own on the way out, prey’s blood on the way back) or a small amount of travel food for a journey. The officiant will advise on care of the wilderness in exchange for food or a donation.

Religious Precepts: Take what is needed by force, but with guile. Fools rush in and die. The cycle of life is to kill and be killed—hold no grudges for death. Step lightly and give thanks for what you take; hunt not the mothers with young. Cull the weak, for they hold the herd back.

Spoiler: Lon-Ka, the Hammer

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Usual Depiction: A short, bearded dwarf (of indeterminate gender) wearing a blacksmith’s apron and heavy gloves. It stands at an anvil with a metal blank on it, hammer raised.

Companions/Demigods: Ignis, Fire-bearer. Stone-mender Chuluu. Loremaster Noym. Gear-cutter Clang. Potion-stirrer Spark-tinker.

Worship: Lon-ka is worshiped by more progressive dwarves (especially in the Stone Throne), craftsmen in general, and especially the goblins and dragonborn of Byarshia. New inventions and special items are brought to its clergy to be blessed—copies of the schematics are presented and burned ritually before it. Its clergy are always some of the best crafters around. Those touched by the spark of invention are “called by the Hammer.” Most savants venerate Clang and Spark-tinker more than anyone.

Religious Precepts: Stasis is death. Constantly reach for new ideas and thoughts. Test all traditions by fire and anvil. The world exists to be used—be efficient but don’t hold back. Above all, create new things and share that knowledge. Generosity and collaboration are rewarded.

Spoiler: Loran Hae, Shadowed Sun

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Usual Depiction: A male half-elf (lightly pointed ears and slight elven features, dark hair), wearing simple clothes. He bears a sickle in one hand and a sheaf of grain in the other.

Companions/Demigods: Sheaf-binder Caleb, Thresher Cain

Worship: Worshiped as part of the Seasonal Four in the Council Lands, especially by middle-age men and halflings. Offerings involve first-fruits of the harvest, presented to the priest for his blessing and then eaten as part of a festival. Clergy often solemnize marriages and contracts. A common expression in the Sea of Grass region is “sure as the sun in shadow”, meaning certain to occur. Worshiped in the Dynasty, where the contractual precepts are deemphasized and the hard work precepts are emphasized.

Religious Precepts: You reap what you sow. In hard work is salvation. Carefully prepare for the upcoming winter. Those that will not work, cannot eat. Make bargains carefully, because you will be judged for failing to follow through.

[PhoenixPhyre]

Spoiler: Melara, Lady of Mercy

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Usual Depiction: A white-haired woman, neither old nor young. Her eyes are silver. She is dressed in a simple floor-length gown with a fur mantle over it. Usually depicted facing a kneeling figure (exact details vary), wiping a tear from the figure’s eye with one hand on its head.

Companions/Demigods: The Handmaiden

Worship: Worshiped as part of the Seasonal Four in the Council Lands, especially by the elderly (especially women). Clergy are often responsible for grave upkeep. Only rarely worshipped in the Dynasty, due to associations with winter. Her temples are simple with only a simple altar (always covered with a lace-work snowflake cover). Her clergy often spend their younger years as traveling healers and grave-tenders. They retire to stationary shrines when they’re too old to travel. While they do not take vows of poverty, they do live simple lives. Her clergy are also always trained in combat, emphasizing anti-undead skills. Offerings to her are focused on memorializing the dead. Stories of their lives, simple incense, things like that. Her clergy accept food and shelter in exchange for healing and grave-tending, never money.

Religious Precepts: Honor the dead, learn from the past. Suffer not the necromancer or his spawn to live. Live quietly. Grant mercy to the defeated living; protect those that are weak. As the snow protects the winter wheat, preserve life with all its potential. Lay the undead to rest. Suffer not the lich to live. Respect the dead and their resting places.

Spoiler: Peor-Fala, Hearth-keeper

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Usual Depiction: A heavily pregnant woman with a spoon in one hand and an open flame in the other. Often depicted surrounded by a bunch of children who are climbing on her and at her feet.

Companions/Demigods: The Woodcutter, the Fire-starter

Worship: Worshiped by mothers, mostly. The highest concentration of her worshipers is among the halflings on the Sea of Grass, with most clans having an attached priestess (who is never Kliba). Her clergy are healers and caretakers (usually women). They are all married and have many children. Unlike Melara’s clergy, Peor-Fala’s are stationary. Halfling children are brought at the end of their first week to her priestesses for blessings; naming follows later. Gifts of useful items are what she wants—these are distributed to the needy.

Heretics: The Sin-Eaters are a heretic sect that believes that theirs is the duty to take on the sins of violence and “cleansing” so that the faithful can remain undisturbed. They are highly militant and believe in cleansing the world from the unclean (goblins, undead, demons, and orcs mainly). They are active only on the border between the Council and the Orc-lands, where they maintain a keep. As long as they don’t bother honest folk, they’re tolerated. Rumors among the wise say that although they worship Peor-Fala, it’s Roel Kor or Pinwheel who’s their actual divine patron.

Religious Precepts: Be fruitful and multiply. Children are a blessing. Non-violence is the way to live. Keep the hearth burning and under control. Cooperate with your neighbors. Husbands, love your wives. Wives, obey your husbands. Care for the poor and the orphans and widows. Violence must be the last resort, and only to defend the defenseless. Clergy should not benefit at the expense of others. Possessions beyond the necessary should be used for the benefit of others, especially the poor.

Spoiler: Roel Kor, the Red Crown

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Usual Depiction: A male high elf, wearing red-painted, ornately-decorated plate armor and wearing a crown. He wields a two-handed mace. A multi-colored snake is wrapped around his shoulders, head out with fangs displayed.

Companions/Demigods: Ssss’al, the Serpent.

Worship: Not often worshiped in the Council, although the Monarchists certainly venerate him. Tied with the Jeweled Lady for worship among the Stone Throne, especially among the lower classes. Combat (physical and intellectual) competitions are common. Playing dragon-chess is a common replacement for actual violent combat. His worship is the most ritualistic, with many exacting rules and status-dependent rites—commoners and nobles worship at different times and in different ways. Many offerings are token blood offerings, preferably shed in combat. Surrender in ritual combat is allowed and encouraged if over-matched. Know your place and all that.

Religious Precepts: The strong rightfully dominate the weak, by force if necessary. Order is only possible through strict hierarchy. Those that can act, should. Violence is necessary to get one’s way. Might is right. In exchange for protection, the weak should honor and respect the strong.

Spoiler: Sakara, Lady of the Dawn

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Usual Depiction: A young woman wearing a belted tunic that reaches just above the knees. Her face is open and cheerful. She wears a crown of white flowers; one hand is in front of her, palm flat, with a songbird on it. In painted depictions she is usually standing in a field of spring flowers.

Companions/Demigods: The Fawn

Worship: Commonly worshipped in the Council and the Dynasty. Her festivals are dances, parades and parties, celebrating new life. Children born over the winter are named. Unmarried people often find partners—expectations of fidelity are loosened (except among the dwarves, of course). “As seen in Dawn’s light” or “[he/she]’s seeing by Dawn’s light” is an expression meaning that one is over-optimistic (much like saying that someone is a Pollyanna).

Religious Precepts: Protect animals, especially the cute ones. Protect children and young creatures of all races—violence against those that would harm children is required. Be cheerful and happy. Sing and laugh, for winter is over. Spring is a time to fall in love.

Spoiler: Selesurala, Storm Serpent

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Usual Depiction: A serpentine dragon/sea serpent, scales glitter metallic blue-grey. When painted, she is usually depicted rising from the sea in the middle of a storm.

Companions/Demigods: None

Worship: Not worshiped, only propitiated. Proptiated during storm season in the Stone Throne. Feared and hated in the Dynasty, where they talk of “a serpent up the back” for a bad feeling or curse with “Sele’s shed scales.” This causes much friction with Stone Throne dwellers. Propitiated with blood sacrifice, and not a token one. Always an animal, preferably a predator.

Religious Precepts: The ocean is inscrutable. Do not advertise your plans. The chill of the ice is implacable. Keep pressing forward until you have ground your enemies underfoot. All men are equal before the storm. No inherent respect for tradition or authority.

Spoiler: Tor Elan, Sun-Lord

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Usual Depiction: a humanoid figure in full, plain plate armor with a full helm that hides the face. He bears a heater shield with a full sun (golden) on a white field and a simple cross-hilted long sword, point down.

Companions/Demigods: The Shield-maiden, the Youth, the Squire

Worship: Worshiped as the head of the Seasonal Four in the Council, heavily worshiped in the Dynasty. His clergy are the militia heads in the villages and lead in training exercises. They often take the role of administrators. They wear armor whenever possible and are always armed. Offerings are deeds—heads of threatening beasts, weapons taken from foes, etc. His festivals usually involve ritual combat. Unlike Roel Kor’s combats, surrendering is considered bad form, as is any kind of underhanded tactics. Wrestling, running races, and other athletic contests are very common. “The sun sees all” is an admonition to do one’s duty honestly.

Religious Precepts: Be loyal to those in authority; those in authority must consider carefully their duty. Meet the enemy head on to prove your faith. Be willing to die before letting the weak suffer. Never betray an oath; live with honor even in the face of deceit. Smite the foe that that threatens your people.

Spoiler: Yogg-Maggus, Lord of Magic

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Usual Depiction: A male figure wearing a hooded robe, hood pulled up but face visible. Most prominent feature is his beard, which is divided into 4 long braids—one from each cheek and two from the chin. He carries a staff upraised and an open book.

Companions/Demigods: None

Worship: Worshiped by arcanists and scholars. Very little organized religion; his clergy are scholars first. They often get in long, arcane (pardon the pun) debates about strange topics. Offerings of books (especially rare ones) are the most prized. “Hooded-one’s Eyes!” is an epithet used to express surprise; “I swear by book and beard” is a strong oath of truthfulness.

Religious Precepts: Knowledge is power. Keep it out of the hands of those that would use it for the ill of the world, even if this requires violence. Consider the consequences of your magical actions before acting. Search out and recover lost magical knowledge. Maintain an open mind—all truth is truth and should be respected regardless of the source. Soul-based magic (blood magic especially) is an abomination.

Spoiler: Ytra, the Evenhanded

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Usual Depiction: A neuter figure, indeterminate race. Close-cropped hair. Wears a mask with no eye holes. It carries a set of pan scales in one hand—on one side is a stylized heart, on the other a set of weights. The other hand carries a double-edged sword, point upward.

Companions/Demigods: None

Worship: Worshiped primarily as Final Judge in the Council Lands and the Dynasty; her (the conventional pronoun, despite the indeterminate gender) clergy (among which are many paladins) are all combatants and inquisitors. The common people rarely worship her per se, seeing her as harsh and implacable. Her high priestess is the court of final appeal—any citizen can appeal to the Scales for judgement. This is rarely done, as what follows will be just with no regard for mercy. Swearing by the Scales and Sword is the strongest oath known in the Council or the Dynasty; falsely swearing this oath is a mortal sin and usually results in death if discovered.

Religious Precepts: Let justice be done, though the heavens fall. Respect not the man of power. Tell no lies. This includes lies of omission. Smite those that step away from the righteous path. There are no minor sins.

[TheStranger]

My initial reaction is that it looks like a pretty standard pantheon. Which... maybe it shouldn't? If these gods were mortals less than 200 years ago, their mortal lives are going to be a major factor in how they're thought of. People will remember them as leaders, heroes, and legendary figures. People will know that Tor Elan had a thing for redheads, and Roel Kor drank too much, and Yogg-Maggus always went to church on Sunday. Lemon cakes are left at altars for Peor-Fala, for no reason other than she liked them when she was a mortal. Their descendants will be around, and known. Humans will still be around who knew some of the younger gods personally. Elves and dwarves will remember all of them. Some of them will think the actual god is undeserving, and they would have been a better choice. Some of those might have followers who agree. Other people will still worship the gods who came before this, or the caretaker deities.

Anyway, that's my thought - if your gods are young, they shouldn't be pure archetypes. They're also people, with personalities, histories, and real connections to the world.

[PhoenixPhyre]

The problem with that is that they were chosen in the aftermath of a world wide cataclysm that killed 70+% of everybody and reshaped the world.

Due to some other specifics, there aren't any* people in the campaign area who remember who they were, if they even knew them. They were pulled from the whole world, including other continents.

* There are two that know one of the demigods, but they're not talking. Another ascended hero (the one most worshipped in one nation) just ascended 5 years ago, so everyone knows her. But the gods have intentionally gone mysterious.

[jqavins]

Disclosure: I haven't read the descriptions yet, but jumped ahead to the discussion.

Even if no one alive remembers the gods as people, or who their descendants are, they should remember. Does Peor-Fala still like lemon cakes? Does Tor Elan still have a thing for red-heads. Or does he overcompensate by shunning them? Even if the world has completely forgotten their personhood (which seems strange, but so be it) their personhood shapes them in ways that 200 years or less will not have completely washed out.

Now I've got a bunch of reading to do.
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I've read the first batch and lunch is about over. One comment so far: you don't mention alignment (which I have to assume is still a thing in 5e) or domains (I don't know if that's still a thing). I'm not saying that's a bad thing, or a good thing; it's a thing of note. Any comment?
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OK, it's the next day, and I've finished the rest. No general comments, three specific ones.

Melara is definitely a grandmother figure; there are doylies on her alters.

Peor-Fala's precept "Violence must be the last resort, and only to defend the defenseless" seems to forbid self-defense. If one is capable of defending oneself then one is, obviously, not defenseless, and therefore violence may not by used to defend one. If I'm a cleric of Peor-Fala, and a child is threatened, then I may, nay must defend him/her. But if I'm attacked I must stand there and take it. (But then, a requirement to take it makes me defenseless, so I may defend myself, but then I'm not defenseless, but...)

Also on Peor-Fala, the Sin-Eaters are weirdly situated. Heretics, sure, because their actions and beliefs are radically different from hers, but not really opposite them either. You note that their divine power is believed to come from Roel Kor, so why don't they just worship Roel Kor outright? Why would a group like this even think that they are following Peor-Fala? If they were to follow a god who's precepts match (or come a lot closer to) their own, then there'd be no heresy, and no conflict.

[LudicSavant]

Quick take on a random entry:

Spoiler: Ytra, the Evenhanded

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Usual Depiction: A neuter figure, indeterminate race. Close-cropped hair. Wears a mask with no eye holes. It carries a set of pan scales in one hand—on one side is a stylized heart, on the other a set of weights. The other hand carries a double-edged sword, point upward.

Companions/Demigods: None

Worship: Worshiped primarily as Final Judge in the Council Lands and the Dynasty; her (the conventional pronoun, despite the indeterminate gender) clergy (among which are many paladins) are all combatants and inquisitors. The common people rarely worship her per se, seeing her as harsh and implacable. Her high priestess is the court of final appeal—any citizen can appeal to the Scales for judgement. This is rarely done, as what follows will be just with no regard for mercy. Swearing by the Scales and Sword is the strongest oath known in the Council or the Dynasty; falsely swearing this oath is a mortal sin and usually results in death if discovered.

Religious Precepts: Let justice be done, though the heavens fall. Respect not the man of power. Tell no lies. This includes lies of omission. Smite those that step away from the righteous path. There are no minor sins.

The description is nice and evocative.

The first bit regarding worship bugs me as a writer, because it's proper noun dump with no explanation of what those proper nouns mean... which renders the sentence before the semicolon meaningless to me.

Second bit raises a big question: Why are all her clergy combatants and inquisitors?

Honestly I would have found the entry stronger if it was just the parts following "Her high priestess is the court of final appeal." That bit is compelling and meaningful and the sort of thing you can build characters and stories around.

Aerielara, the Jeweled Lady

Usual depiction: A high-elven woman of unsurpassed beauty, wearing little except strategically placed gemstones. Her hair color is iridescent and her pose is scandalous. Usually white marble or alabaster skin.

Companions/Demigods: Lyre-plucker T’a, Mad Malian, The Dancer in the Dark

Worship: Commonly worshipped by artists, musicians, bards, and prostitutes. Her clergy, both men and women, are always beautiful and charismatic. Her temples (which are many, especially among the high elves and the rich) are beautifully decorated in rich materials. Youths are often tutored in sexual arts at these temples before they marry. For humans and high elves there is very little stigma to patronizing one of her acolytes.
The second-most worshiped deity in the Stone Throne, especially among the Isal classes. There the primary focus is dance and rhythmic music. In beauty hides thorns—her clergy often are also trained in poisons and unarmed self-defense.

Religious Precepts: Truth is found in beauty; ugliness is evil. Give in to passion—do what makes you happy without regard for the judgement of others. Spread beauty and pleasure, destroy ugliness and misery.

Again the depiction seems good.

For worship... first sentence limits her worship to narrow classes and doesn't really tell us anything more about the form her worship takes or why players should care about it. And as before I'm wondering why all of her clergy fit into a box... in this case why are all of them always beautiful and charismatic? How can it even be true that they're all beautiful given that beauty is in the eye of the beholder?

The third sentence is where we start getting relevant details about the beliefs and practices... and it's here that I find myself wondering even more why the first sentence is telling us that this is largely just for artists and the like. Tutoring youths prior to marriage seems like a service that could apply to anyone in a culture.

The poison bit comes off as a bit disconnected from the rest of the entry, though I appreciate the attempt to diversify the portfolio.

Usual Depiction: A male figure wearing a hooded robe, hood pulled up but face visible. Most prominent feature is his beard, which is divided into 4 long braids—one from each cheek and two from the chin. He carries a staff upraised and an open book.

Companions/Demigods: None

Worship: Worshiped by arcanists and scholars. Very little organized religion; his clergy are scholars first. They often get in long, arcane (pardon the pun) debates about strange topics. Offerings of books (especially rare ones) are the most prized. “Hooded-one’s Eyes!” is an epithet used to express surprise; “I swear by book and beard” is a strong oath of truthfulness.

Religious Precepts: Knowledge is power. Keep it out of the hands of those that would use it for the ill of the world, even if this requires violence. Consider the consequences of your magical actions before acting. Search out and recover lost magical knowledge. Maintain an open mind—all truth is truth and should be respected regardless of the source. Soul-based magic (blood magic especially) is an abomination.

Again I like the depiction... you've established a memorable and recognizable look for each of the deities I've looked at so far.

The first three sentences tell me little about the religion or its beliefs and practices or why players should care about it. It's another "the worshipers are usually in this box" style entry. The debate line seems like a commentary on scholars rather than anything connected to the religion itself. The first detail we get about the form worship takes is that he gets offerings of rare books. I find myself immediately wondering: what form does offering take? Are they supposed to be sacrificed? Given to a library? I don't know. The epithets too don't tell me too much about the nature of the worship, though they are fun and colorful details.

Offerings of books suggests sacrificing them to the god and thus losing access to them (though it could possibly mean submitting them to a public library or something). Using violence to keep knowledge out of "unworthy" people's hands seems to be the first command, fearing the consequences of magic the second, and soul-based magic being abominable the last. Maintain an open mind is rather vague (after all, any given philosophy is going to advertise itself as truth). Pretty much the only thing he tells you to do that actually adds knowledge or arcane mastery is finding lost stuff, rather than learning or developing anything new. If the intent is to make a god of knowledge, suppression of knowledge and mere maintenance and recovery of extant materials perhaps shouldn't be the primary foci.

[jqavins]

The first bit bugs me as a writer, because it's proper noun dump with no explanation of what those proper nouns mean.

I assume that by "The first bit" you mean "Worshiped primarily as Final Judge in the Council Lands and the Dynasty." The Council Lands and the Dynasty refer to geographic regions (or nation states or both, I forget) which Phoenix has detailed in a previous thread. I read some or all of it months ago, but I don't really remember much (obviously).

A link to that thread would be helpful.

[LudicSavant]

I assume that by "The first bit" you mean "Worshiped primarily as Final Judge in the Council Lands and the Dynasty." The Council Lands and the Dynasty refer to geographic regions (or nation states or both, I forget) which Phoenix has detailed in a previous thread. I read some or all of it months ago, but I don't really remember much (obviously).

A link to that thread would be helpful.

Yes, it would.

[PhoenixPhyre]

Yes, it would.

I assume that by "The first bit" you mean "Worshiped primarily as Final Judge in the Council Lands and the Dynasty." The Council Lands and the Dynasty refer to geographic regions (or nation states or both, I forget) which Phoenix has detailed in a previous thread. I read some or all of it months ago, but I don't really remember much (obviously).

A link to that thread would be helpful.

I'll try to find it, but here's the short version:

Edit: Here's one focused more on economics. I can't find anything more specific about culture right now.

The Council Lands are the largest and most religious nation in the area. They're pantheists--the four seasonal gods (Sakara, Tor Elan, Loran Hae, and Melara) are the primary gods worshiped by everyone and then the rest have little pockets of particular worship. So the "commonly worshiped by" parts are the people who focus most commonly any worship on those (other than propitiating them during their festivals or when their domain is important in their lives).

The Dynasty is another religious nation. Once the two made contact, most of the dragonborn from the CL moved to the Dynasty to help their kin who are the dominant race there and took a lot of their religious habits with them. So the Dynasty is quite religious. Less seasonally focused and more selective in worship.

As to a few specifics--

Arielara is somewhat of a strange one. That section about the poisons and dance is more specific to the Stone Throne (a third nation), where the local spy network (called the Handmaidens) are often trained by/part of her clergy.

Ytra hand-picks her clergy (unlike most deities). She's very much a militant type--they're all combatants. Final Judge just means that everyone considers her judgement (in the hands of her clergy) as the last word--if the Scale-balancers say it's evil, it's evil and it will be destroyed. Anyone can appeal...most don't. Because justice has no mercy.

Yogg-Maggus is (by design) a caricature of a scholar. His clergy (who aren't common) take those traits to 11. And yes, the offerings are to libraries. If you have favor, you might even get access to what you "donated" afterwards. Some of his precepts came from a player--this god was once a PC in a game. He was partially responsible for the Cataclysm that messed things up and feels responsible for keeping another one from happening. He specifically does not want a free exchange of information.

Second edit: As for domains and alignments:

I'm pretty loose with domains as this is 5e. The full site has information on what mechanical domains are commonly associated with each of the gods--this is more focused on the religious culture.

Alignment isn't a thing in my games. For anyone, not even outsiders. Wouldn't work for 3e D&D, but for 5e it's a simple surgery. It's a highly non-standard cosmology anyway.

[PhoenixPhyre]

Now I'm at a desktop and can search properly--here are more possibly relevant links.

http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showt...should-they-be

http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showt...-and-Cosmology

Finalized holy symbols: http://www.admiralbenbo.org/index.ph...e-congregation

[Elanasaurus]

So what exactly are their domain-related duties?

Tor Elan is a good name.

[PhoenixPhyre]

So what exactly are their domain-related duties?

Tor Elan is a good name.

More than anything, they're responsible for making sure their part of the universe works. Basically middle management for the universe. With the rise of mortals and the change to make faith a principle of power, they're also responsible for managing the emotional and spiritual health of mortals as it relates to their domains. What that means is something they disagree on. Most of the internal politics of the gods (and the astral plane as a whole) relates to how they see their role vis-a-vis mortals. Do they actively intervene to "guide" them onto a right path or do they let them exercise their free will and merely encourage/nudge them? And what's the right path? The universe provides no answers.

But the universe does have a hard requirement--anything that messes with the flow of anima (produced by mortals, intelligent or not, as they grow, develop, and learn) means the whole universe starts crumbling. That flow of anima gets passed around to let the elementals do their thing (rebuild the physical structure of the universe, keep the sun shining and the air/water circulating, the planets in orbit, etc), lets the angels protect the Crystal Shell from the horrors Outside, lets life flourish in general. Last time there was a Cataclysm and the flow stopped for an instant, the whole set of planes got misaligned and it took the sacrifice (out of duty) of all but 4 of the previous gods to stop it from all unraveling. Something like 70% of the world's population died, either promptly or through starvation. Magic stopped working/went chaotic for 50 years. Ie bad things. So all the gods are protective of such events. Its the only case where they're licensed to actually step in in person, because no one wants that to happen again.

[jqavins]

Important facts about them--
* They're all former mortals; the oldest has been a god for 200-ish years.

[I]t took the sacrifice (out of duty) of all but 4 of the previous gods to stop it from all unraveling.

So who are the four surviving previous gods?

[PhoenixPhyre]

So who are the four surviving previous gods?

They're 4 who really aren't active as gods. They're more subunits of the Great Mechanism. They're only involved in keeping the gods on track. Mortals don't know/don't worship them.

Edit now that I'm not on my phone:

To quote my notes:

The Four are at the top [of the celestial hierarchy]. They are tightly tied into the fabric of the universe. They may be four faces of the same being, or four separate beings that are incredibly close. They do not intervene in the Prime Material and are rarely, if ever, worshiped by mortals. Individually, they are The Maker, The Preserver, The Judge, and The Unmaker. Some claim that they are really one being with four aspects.

They were worshiped (in principle) in a pre-Cataclysm theocratic empire. In reality, they were considered to have been incarnated in the God Emperor. They've withdrawn completely from the mortal plane and play the role of meta-god--they're the god of gods. They were responsible for uplifting the new gods after the Cataclysm and the sacrifice of the old gods. They don't annoint clerics or respond to mortals in any way. They control the flow of anima that the gods draw from, and can cut it off from anyone who goes too far outside their role. So they're the Sword of Damocles for the astral plane, the final threat. Other than that, they have no active role and only care that things don't go *sproing* again.