Pantheon for a modern superhero setting

[Draz74]

In my modern/slightly futuristic superhero setting, I want to have a pantheon of powerful spirits who kind of act as successors to ancient pagan deities.

They're not supposed to be superheroes themselves; they're supposed to be antagonists, or temporary allies if the superheroes can persuade them to team up against some common foe. Therefore these spirits, and their portfolios, should be morally gray at best.

They're supposed to be a reflection of concepts that humanity thinks about or believes in, born from the collective consciousness of the world. I've been thinking of them as being humanoid in shape, but I could be persuaded otherwise -- or it could vary from spirit to spirit. Making them a family to each other, like the Greek gods were, is another idea I haven't yet accepted or rejected.

I suppose there could be exceptions to the "mostly antagonistic" rule if the portfolios make sense; the occasional spirit could be a superhero that works alongside humanity due to having a "Good" portfolio like Truth or Compassion or something. I would just make those spirit(s) weaker than most, so that they don't dominate the setting.

Anyway, I'm open to suggestions about what spirits and portfolios should exist. Thanks in advance!

Some ideas I've been mulling over:
- Spirits of spring, summer, autumn, and winter. I even thought of these possibly being the most powerful of the pantheon at their respective zeniths; I kind of like the idea that heroes might have to deal with a different personality of "gods" depending on the time of year. But I'm having trouble coming up with what kind of personality and what kinds of powers would go well with each season, especially Spring. And then I guess there's the problem that the tropical region, which houses a large fraction of humanity, doesn't really have these same seasons.
- The old cycle of air, earth, fire, and water (or similar cycles, perhaps with more materials added) is too cliche and focuses too much on the power of raw nature to be the main organization of my pantheon, but I wouldn't mind these being secondary portfolios for appropriate spirits.
- Abstract concepts like Justice, Selfishness, Fear, Irony, Knowledge, Humor, Competence, Order, Chaos, Boldness, or Wealth seem like promising portfolios, but I'm having trouble organizing a finite set of them in my head, deciding how many there should be and how different they should be from each other, etc. Plus, a lot of such concepts are too much on the "Good" side of things, such as Courage, Charity, Joy, Elegance, Generosity, Kindness, Hope.
- Nature is too big and diverse a concept to have just one spirit, so spirits of nature should exist. But I don't think I want them to dominate the pantheon, as nature has a more limited role in modern humanity's life than it did in ancient times. And, what should the relationship be between spirits with nature-portfolios and spirits with more abstract portfolios?
- I thought about having geographic spirits, essentially, that represent different cultures and such. But I think it will be more interesting if the spirits, or at least the more powerful among them, are more universal and don't even understand the concept of national boundaries.

I could go on and on, and maybe eventually putting my thoughts on paper would turn into some decisions, but I'll stop there for now and see if the forum has any suggestions that resonate with me.

[Mechalich]

They're supposed to be a reflection of concepts that humanity thinks about or believes in, born from the collective consciousness of the world. I've been thinking of them as being humanoid in shape, but I could be persuaded otherwise -- or it could vary from spirit to spirit. Making them a family to each other, like the Greek gods were, is another idea I haven't yet accepted or rejected.

It's hard to find a set of concepts that humanity, as a whole, actually believes in, as opposed to the beliefs of a single large culture or a cultural conglomeration like WEIRD (Western, Educated, Industrial, Rich, and Democratic) persons. The latter is an important group because essentially all psychological experimentation and study has been conducted on WEIRD persons, notably college students.

As a result, modeling these spirits on something like the Jungian archetypes of the collective unconscious - which seems like it would match the idea you're going for - is questionable, because there is little evidence of universality.

[Draz74]

Would the The Seven Deadly Sins and The Seven Holy Virtues work? These would be humanoid methinks. Pride, Envy, Wrath, Sloth, Greed, Gluttony, and Lust VS. Faith, Hope, Charity, Prudence, Temperence, Fortitude, and Justice?

Not morally gray enough (the Virtues would mostly be helpful to PCs, and the Sins would be too hard to ever work with). And too specific to Catholicism, for that matter.

[MoiMagnus]

One thing I can suggest is to take "concept represented by a stereotype".

For example, "Justice" is kind of vague, does not have the same meaning for everyone... While "a wise old judge" or "a diligent inquisitor" are probably much more precise on what kind meaning of you put to "Justice". Similarly, "Fear" is vague, while "the kid's nightmare" or "the coard" are much more interesting.

In fact, one spirit is not forced to appear in exactly the same form to everyone (changing sex depending on the culture, for example), as long at it represent the same vision of the same concept.

Why? Because it is easy to make boring NPCs if the only thing that characterize them is just an abstract concept. While a stereotype, even if that's not better than an in-dept NPC, that's still more interesting to interact with (and you can create them in huge quantity by just improvising them)

One question: Do you want your pantheon to be fully fixed? Because that's easily the kind of settup where you can have a pantheon with more than 1000 relevant members, and you will no create that much in advance.

Oh, and I will just put a system of "elements" I've used recently, if you're interested in:
They have two different names each time.
1) Matter/Antimagic. It represent anything that isn't influenced by the 4 other elements. So it pretty much works like the physic of our world, with the exception of things like the living (which is assumed to be "magic", so not from the domain of matter).
2) Energy/Mouvement. (include the standard elements). It works according to some physical laws, a little extended for magic to works.
3) Spirit/Group. (every sentient species has a spirit, including AIs, groups (like a forest, or tempest) can also have some. Mostly that's something that come out naturally of anything complex enough). It works by opening your mind to influence your surronding, at the cost of being influenced by it.
4) Soul/Faith. (unique to humans & other major races, the source of god's power). It works with faith in a same concept/goal.
5) Life/Blood. (every living has some of it). It works using some law of equivalent exchange: everything has a cost, sacrifice is a solution.

[brian 333]

Iustitia (Justice, Courts, Legalism)

Iustitia would appear to be a well formed woman wearing a blindfold and bearing a sword or hammer.

Many would revere her due to the belief that she supports the weak and oppressed, but this diety is among the most oppressive of them all, allowing little room for free will. A thing is either codified as law or it is EVIL in her blind eyes, and the difference between them is as sharp as the edge of her blade.

Iustitia's dogma not only tells what is not allowed, and assigns punishments for it, but it defines what is allowed, and how it must be performed. Thus, there is only one 'right' way, according to her law. She is not fond of changing her mind. The process of correcting an oppressive law is byzantine and almost impossible to accomplish once it has been recorded. Similarly, precedent supersedes common sense, in that if a precedent established a particular penalty or remedy for a thing, and it is later found not to work, it remains the precedent until that remedy is overturned via the previously mentioned byzantine process and a new precedent established.


Hersteller (Work, Industry, Manufacturing)

A hard-working middle-aged man in a jumpsuit whose fingernails are broken and dirty, whose skin and clothing bear oil and grease stains, and who may be in need of a shave. He smokes, drinks, and swears often.

He lives by the clock, and expects you to do so as well. There is a time for everything, and if you aren't doing what it's time for you are malingering.

Every job, from the most menial to the most complex, is under his purview, and the making of super-suits, super-weapons, and other gear used by superheroes is supervised by Hersteller, whether the work is performed in his factory or elsewhere.

Inventors, creators, and builders revere him and promote his dogma of regular, hard work being the proper lifestyle for all.


Mangingisda (Boats, Navigation, Fishing)

This small, Asian deity is master of the various naval arts. Though not directly a warrior, only a fool would attempt to battle this deity on the sea.

He, or she, appears as a worn and ancient person, or as a whale or seabird. Being a shape-changer there is no one identity for this deity.

Fishermen and those who make a living on the seas or upon littoral waters worship him, but expect nothing from him, as he is a capricious and often vindictive deity. Thus, they appease rather than venerate him. His net is magical and can catch anything he intends to catch when he throws it. Thus if he throws it intending to catch shrimp, it will catch shrimp, while if he intends to catch a great white shark, when he pulls it in there will be a shark in it.

The Eye of the Sea is his boat, which can be any kind of local fishing boat, or indeed any kind of boat he wishes it to be. Usually he will sail it alone, but if it is a vessel large enough to require a crew, those who recently died of drowning will be his crew. To ordinary people they will appear to be living, but they will not speak. Those who can see the truth will see them as dead and drowned people. It is said in one tale that The Eye of the Sea once took the form of a guided missile cruiser which devastated a fleet which intended to attack an island under his protection. It is either a sentient entity on its own, or it is operated by a sentient creature under Mangingisda's influence.

[Alexvrahr]

Just a thought but historical gods were associated with cultures or regions. Sometimes implicitly because 'these are the Greek gods', sometimes explicitly as in the Dragon of the East Wind or Athena, patron of Athens.

One more group of seven you could use is continents. North/South America, Antarctica etc. They might come with implicit portfolios, Antarctica's freezing emptiness, NAm's wealth; harder to think of something good for SAm, true.