Create a Pantheon of gods and goddesses

[Xen]

Just as the title suggests, create a great pantheon of gods and goddesses! Give them a portfolio (what they are gods of), and a dogma! If you like, and you get extra cool points if you do. Go into some detail of these gods and goddesses. What they demand of their followers, how they reward the good, punish the wicked, observances of holidays, sacrafices (if they are demanded), if they have any friends, enemies, lovers, etc.

I've been working on creating a pantheon of my own for a role playing game Im running, sort of a D&D meets D20 modern, meets D20 Future. Religion is very important, but very different from Earth.

Oh one last rule, no Gods or Goddesses from OTL, or in the ancient past, so no Zeus, no Jesus, Allah, Buddha or Ra. Just a pantheon of your own!

[Count Dearborn]

Zellonia: Goddess of those who Protect Socitial Order, Law, Justice, & Fate; Lady of Just Causes; Mistress of Traditions, Customs, Lore, and Protocal; Mistress of Personal Combat; Lady of the Red Coin*; Lady of the Shadowed Visage

Irrandaren: God of Fortune, Luck, Chance, Serendipity, & Magic; God of those who make their living on the Road; Lord of Lost Causes; Lord of Beginnings & Endings; Lord of the Green Flame; Lord of the Shadows, Eaves, and Corners

*A sect of her followers are Assassins, but not in the way you would think. They only interfer when a person is upsetting the order of society. From the social climbing courtier, to the gang leader. If they are causing too much trouble, they may awake with the blood coin on their pillow.

[G.Bone]

Lord Damien - the darkness incarnate, the Eternal Rider, the Sleeping King, passed off as the "Dark Jesus", noted for his actual passing into nothing, the father of the "dark" pantheon, known as the Lovesick Reaper, the Reaper that gave up his job just for a woman who moved on, and the protigener of the Wolves, Ravens, Crows, and so forth.

Lord Damien is always shown as a rider of sorts, journeyman's bag, dark clothes, and "sad" eyes. He has a thing for "matronic" women and tends to speak in a Northerner accent. The icon for "him" is always a man riding carved out of dark wood, ensconed in a mountain, a crown above him.

Followers tend to recite the Song of Origin everytime a prayer is uttered, then incense is burned before his icon, and the actual request.

The actual temples pass themselves off as small brick sheds located either where stables are located at or a crossroads of four roads near a hill/plain.

The Wolf Maid - the last person that saw Lord Damien "alive" before his passing, condemned to always wander without a home, known as the female avatar of the Eternal Rider, although presented in an attractive "womanly" body.

Icon is usually a crude womanly figure walking, also of dark wood. She is located to the right of Lord Damien. There are signs in which one can leave where a four sided rhombus with two lines jutting out as another icon.

The Bandit Queen - always seen as a moving ghost fleet that gives mercy to those that need it. Offerings are usually located on flat rocks, usually of fruit, and near a bay. The Bandit Queen is usually shown as a middle aged woman, kind, and wearing white.

Regarded as a "sub-set" of Lord Damien.

Davy Jones - depicted as a pale scribe dressed in black, sailor's qeue, belts over shoulders filled with scrolls, always hovering one inch away from the ground, dark eyes, wearing a haversack with various scrolls shoved in, "gallows" humor, and is always seen when there's an accident. Face is told as a "human skull imitating a horse".

People usually "buy him off" by offering gold coins to beggars. Davy Jones is not worshipped; rather always the emphasis of donations and acts of mercy. If one gets on his dark side, woe to that man, for Davy Jones has everything located on his scrolls.

Regarded as the "horse" of Lord Damien but regarded as the "darker one".

The Four Riders - The Four Riders of Apocolypse, one a sailor, one a monk, one a goblin, and the third a punk. Predecessors to Lord Damien, not so much as worshipped as much as regarded as folklore, regarded as "passed on into legend". The sailor is regarded as the protigener of Lord Damien. The goblin is regarded as the protigener of Davy Jones, although Davy Jones comes after Lord Damien.

The Crow Prince - a flashy sort of a man, always depicted with a mannish icon with a gold coin as his head, treated as Fortune, and always seen "Hanging around in Brothels". Whenever a bet is made, a second coin is given to the Crow Prince, whom lives on the right hand side of Lord Damien's house or possibly near a door.

The Crow King - the elder aspect of the Crow Prince, respected as the god for the Merchant Princes rather than gamblers, often prayed to for life changing events, depicted as a man holding a scale and grinning. Icon is usually reserved in facing a door rather near one.

The Summer Lady - not regarded as a part of the Damien Mythos but a part nonetheless. Always depicted as a woman in a garden although hollow in her beauty. Her icon is shown as a green triangle with black inside. Many regard her as the patron of witches and thing that need not to be mentioned.

Amine, Pale Rider - Icon is usually of a skinny man eating. Fickle in nature, fickle in decision, even more untrustworthy than the Crow Prince or Crow King. Often never worshiped but treated as Fortune. Often seen at restraunts that he "likes", woe to the man that actually gets his patronage.

The Rat King - patron god of criminals and mobsters, depicted as a flashy man with a "rat" head, red eyes, and patron saint of assassins. Icon is a rat and is fetted with gold coins. Is supposedly "good relations" with the Crow King/Prince/Amine.

The Fisher King - a dank and shapeless god, forever chasing a ship that stole his name, regarded as "the other". Sired off from Davy Jones when he took a nap, the Fisher King is never worshipped. Many simply appease him by throwing a bottle of grog whenever they sail into a swamp or bog.

The Fisher King without a Name - the "other" aspect of the said god, said to have given up name when pursuit was futile, always depicted as a morose cloud that lingers, sires depression and despair, also known by the sound of weeping that drives people insane.

The Rat - a curious fellow that often takes a guise of a young boy, always curious, regarded as the patron of "lost boys", regarded as an urban myth

[Midgard]

Lord Damien - the darkness incarnate, the Eternal Rider, the Sleeping King, passed off as the "Dark Jesus", noted for his actual passing into nothing, the father of the "dark" pantheon, known as the Lovesick Reaper, the Reaper that gave up his job just for a woman who moved on, and the protigener of the Wolves, Ravens, Crows, and so forth.

Lord Damien is always shown as a rider of sorts, journeyman's bag, dark clothes, and "sad" eyes. He has a thing for "matronic" women and tends to speak in a Northerner accent. The icon for "him" is always a man riding carved out of dark wood, ensconed in a mountain, a crown above him.

Followers tend to recite the Song of Origin everytime a prayer is uttered, then incense is burned before his icon, and the actual request.

The actual temples pass themselves off as small brick sheds located either where stables are located at or a crossroads of four roads near a hill/plain.

The Wolf Maid - the last person that saw Lord Damien "alive" before his passing, condemned to always wander without a home, known as the female avatar of the Eternal Rider, although presented in an attractive "womanly" body.

Icon is usually a crude womanly figure walking, also of dark wood. She is located to the right of Lord Damien. There are signs in which one can leave where a four sided rhombus with two lines jutting out as another icon.

The Bandit Queen - always seen as a moving ghost fleet that gives mercy to those that need it. Offerings are usually located on flat rocks, usually of fruit, and near a bay. The Bandit Queen is usually shown as a middle aged woman, kind, and wearing white.

Regarded as a "sub-set" of Lord Damien.

Davy Jones - depicted as a pale scribe dressed in black, sailor's qeue, belts over shoulders filled with scrolls, always hovering one inch away from the ground, dark eyes, wearing a haversack with various scrolls shoved in, "gallows" humor, and is always seen when there's an accident. Face is told as a "human skull imitating a horse".

People usually "buy him off" by offering gold coins to beggars. Davy Jones is not worshipped; rather always the emphasis of donations and acts of mercy. If one gets on his dark side, woe to that man, for Davy Jones has everything located on his scrolls.

Regarded as the "horse" of Lord Damien but regarded as the "darker one".

The Four Riders - The Four Riders of Apocolypse, one a sailor, one a monk, one a goblin, and the third a punk. Predecessors to Lord Damien, not so much as worshipped as much as regarded as folklore, regarded as "passed on into legend". The sailor is regarded as the protigener of Lord Damien. The goblin is regarded as the protigener of Davy Jones, although Davy Jones comes after Lord Damien.

The Crow Prince - a flashy sort of a man, always depicted with a mannish icon with a gold coin as his head, treated as Fortune, and always seen "Hanging around in Brothels". Whenever a bet is made, a second coin is given to the Crow Prince, whom lives on the right hand side of Lord Damien's house or possibly near a door.

The Crow King - the elder aspect of the Crow Prince, respected as the god for the Merchant Princes rather than gamblers, often prayed to for life changing events, depicted as a man holding a scale and grinning. Icon is usually reserved in facing a door rather near one.

The Summer Lady - not regarded as a part of the Damien Mythos but a part nonetheless. Always depicted as a woman in a garden although hollow in her beauty. Her icon is shown as a green triangle with black inside. Many regard her as the patron of witches and thing that need not to be mentioned.

Amine, Pale Rider - Icon is usually of a skinny man eating. Fickle in nature, fickle in decision, even more untrustworthy than the Crow Prince or Crow King. Often never worshiped but treated as Fortune. Often seen at restraunts that he "likes", woe to the man that actually gets his patronage.

The Rat King - patron god of criminals and mobsters, depicted as a flashy man with a "rat" head, red eyes, and patron saint of assassins. Icon is a rat and is fetted with gold coins. Is supposedly "good relations" with the Crow King/Prince/Amine.

The Fisher King - a dank and shapeless god, forever chasing a ship that stole his name, regarded as "the other". Sired off from Davy Jones when he took a nap, the Fisher King is never worshipped. Many simply appease him by throwing a bottle of grog whenever they sail into a swamp or bog.

The Fisher King without a Name - the "other" aspect of the said god, said to have given up name when pursuit was futile, always depicted as a morose cloud that lingers, sires depression and despair, also known by the sound of weeping that drives people insane.

The Rat - a curious fellow that often takes a guise of a young boy, always curious, regarded as the patron of "lost boys", regarded as an urban myth

WHOA! That's very much involved and complex, and is hinted at in some of the stories you've posted on this site and in CTT. You've obviously put a lot of thought into this.

[Mr. G]

I have created plently of GTS-Goddesses and a few mini goddess for my Wishbone multiuniverse stories.
Here's the link for my GTS-Goddess guide
Http://www.geocities.com/akagilles/Guide.htm
Here's the link for the mini goddess guide
http://www.geocities.com/akagilles/minigoddessguide.htm

For some reason I perfer writing about goddesses rather than Gods. Also the fact I'm a GTS/SW fan may have something to do with it.:p

[G.Bone]

here's some other stuff...

The Elders - gods who mucked up the world with the Flood; usually depicted as fallen angels and the whole nine yards. Can be classified as future humans although no skeletons have never been seen. Usually treated as an example on not getting big for one's britches although this is really never followed.

Lord & Lady of Summer - basically personification of Spring & Harvest, part of a Northern Cycle of gods that have a set season to rule although it's never clear on if they are Spring, Summer, or a combination of both. The rumor is on if they actually come to town, all sins will be forgotten, and the world will be pleasent. Actual fact and reality of the equation is...sort of left behind for the rewards.

Icon is usually a King & Queen in spring colors.

The North Wind - a savage creature/person that kidnaps young women to be his concubine, really dick, really asshole, but does not hold it; held as the personification of winter although never given an actual *statue*

The North Wind is usually given presents at odd moments of the fall/winter season. The image that people usually give out of him is that he's a cruel grandfather with a beard and cold eyes, a bald grandfather with a longer beard with cruel eyes, and finally a grandfather that has no beard and is quite hungry.

Jack Frost = a former prince that was running away with his princess, kidnapped, brainwashed, traditional Jack Frost of Western Mythology

Briar Maeve - the said princess from the myth cited in the North, forced to be a concubine of the North Wind, committed suicide with the briars, and eventually became the personification of briars (and female vengance), really a b_tch for all those wronged women, etc.

Usually depicted with a briar leaf; pacified to avoid the harsh elements of winter as well as female vengance:rolleyes:

Actual pictures of her are considered taboo on the account of one does not want to anger her.

Jack O'Knives - a city dweller from the North, usually the patron saint of murderers, killers, and their ilk. Usually depicted with two glowing eyes and crossed knives. Started out as an urban myth and became folklore in the North on the sins of the "flesh" (whatever that means). Paid off at odd moments of the year on preventing death coming to one's family, etc, etc.

The (Mage) Folk - wandering magicians supposedly working against The Riders, not exactly Elders, but not exactly human. Rumored to have animated corpses for their own people. Not a people to trifle with although the "Third Flood" sort of killed them off.

Auren; sometimes called Lauren - a person of reputable reality, wife/sister of Ebert, sometimes respected as the "kind aspects of womanhood", not necessarily known to be good in manifesting at her own body, tends to occupy others, last incarnation was of Elemi of the Blue.

Icon is a burning flame and often sacrifices are thrown in there.

Ebert; sometimes called Bertie - a traveling man of reputable reality, adventurer, father of all that was good in the North, endcap of the "Golden Age" of the North, savage in anger, good in honor, last incarnation was Adder the Lonely

Icon is shown as two shoeprints and a fallen walking stick. "Modern" myth of the person shows him walking with two Companions, although this is a new *twist* upon the legend. Who the Companions are have yet to be determined. Some do say that he's in the Far South, sailing on the ship with the Fisher King's name, and disappered into mist. Others say he is the Wandering King, his adventures fufilled, off to his rest in the mist.

Cedric - a man who fell in love with an Otter Maid, sacrified own children to get his wife back, went through three trials and failed when curiosity forced him to see if his wife was accompanying him, father of Ebert, folklore hero along the Western Deserts

The Otter Maid - kidnapped Otter Princess, wife of Ebert, tragic heroine. Not worshipped.

The Prophet - Jesus type fella; not at all popular; perhaps you've heard of him...

Durste Nan - a "Jewish" prophet from the Barrens, killed while saving a woman, supposedly founding a "Quaker" sect although this is disputed. His sign is a shepherd's staff but most do the six pointed star when danger arises.

[Count Dearborn]

Zellonia: Goddess of those who Protect Socitial Order, Law, Justice, & Fate; Lady of Just Causes; Mistress of Traditions, Customs, Lore, and Protocal; Mistress of Personal Combat; Lady of the Red Coin*; Lady of the Shadowed Visage

Irrandaren: God of Fortune, Luck, Chance, Serendipity, & Magic; God of those who make their living on the Road; Lord of Lost Causes; Lord of Beginnings & Endings; Lord of the Green Flame; Lord of the Shadows, Eaves, and Corners

*A sect of her followers are Assassins, but not in the way you would think. They only interfer when a person is upsetting the order of society. From the social climbing courtier, to the gang leader. If they are causing too much trouble, they may awake with the blood coin on their pillow.

These two are consorts. They are part of a larger pantheon of gods that are part of the Temple of the Four Quarters.

[Martel]

The Gods
The Great Patriarch and Matriarch (AKA the Creators, Those Who Sit, The Crankies)
Depicted as a man and a woman on a swinging throne overlooking the universe. They rarely do anything of significance anymore and mainly try to keep others away from the Green Fields of Creation. No official cult of the Creators exists any more; however, their feast is celebrated between late November and late December. Then, it is said, all the gods go to the Great Patriarch and Matriarch, offer tribute, then are criticized by Those Who Sit for their appearance, producing an inadequate number of worlds, and generally lacking direction. This scene is reproduced on Earth as families go to visit the oldest members of their families who then re-enact the role of the Creators.

Char (Lord of the Grill, the Unhealthy One, King of Tobacco, Junk Food Maker)
A male god responsible for unhealthy pleasures. Two main holidays, the first and last Saturdays of summer. At all picnics people are expected to leave a plate forr Char. During the end of summer feast, all of Char's favorite consumables must be cleared from your house and burned upon the sacred grill.

The Great Cat Lady (The Ninth Born, Slayer of the Weak, Woman of Mystery, Terror of the Small, Keeper of the Food and Litter Box, Protector of the Harvest, Preventer of Plague)
Female god of, well no one is quite sure. Even her true name is known only to her prietesses. Her elderly priestesses live in run-down houses throughout the world, caring for the avatars of the god. On the ninth day after the vernal equinox, the avatars are released to destroy small creatures.
The Great Cat Lady should not be confused with her daughter Cat Woman, Handmaid of the Just who is shown in skin-tight latex and carrying a whip and cat ears. Also the Handmaid of the Just should not be confused with S&M aspect of Stuh Dette Mu Fen (c.b.), the female god of sex (who is not generally portrayed with cat ears).

Gi Kah (Master of Technology, Finder of the Sacred Disk, the Entrapped One)
The unkempt male god of technology and knowledge. Gi Kah, on a dare from Char, took the sacred disk containing all the knowledge in the universe (called Friz Bé) from the Green Fields of Creation right in front of the Crankies. He was able to throw it to the first man and woman before being trapped for ten thousand years in the Great Habitrail of Doom. Unfortunately, the first man and woman tried to call Tech Support for Friz Bé and were trapped for a thousand years of staring before getting useless advice. Since then, humans with the later help of Gi Kah have begun to understand some of the knowledge included in Friz Bé.

More to follow...

[Martel]

Gods continued
Stuh Da Mu Fen and Stuh Dette Mu Fen (Hunka-hunka Burning Love, Those to Whom All Creation Begs, also others too numerous to mention)
The male and female gods of sex. They are quite clear that they are in charge of sex, not fertility (they have a minor deity that handles that) or love (which is the responsibility of all gods and mortals). They are celebrated through any act of consensual sex at any time. Some of their icons are judged quite unsuitable for children.

Sensa (Attractor of Attention, Scourge of the Idiot, Thumper of the Fool)
The female god of intelligence and common sense. Keeper of the sacred weasel-whack (also called the dopeslap) with which she strikes those who do unreasonably stupid things. Often prayed to by teachers and parents.

Cah San (The Fabulous, The Flamboyant, Keeper of Beauty, Maker of the Gourmet)
The male (gay) god of aesthetics. Portrayed as a well-dressed man in a hot pink shirt and tailored suit. His male priests are similiarly attired. His female priests, Hags, are also well-dressed though they have more choices. The Great Bitch Fest is Cah San's main feast when the priests rampage through the streets criticizing people's taste, followed by an elegant meal back at the temple.

Other Important Figures
Chu (Canis Major, Digger of the (W)hole, Destroyer of Property, Guardian of the Home)
Chu is not so much a god as a primordial force for chaos. Chu is said to have been expelled from the Green Fields of Creation back when the Patriarch and Matriarch actually did things, thus implying that he is uncreated. He is widely viewed as having both positive and negative aspects particularly when it comes to people and property. Shown as a large dog, his devotees roll in mud and feces, then attempt to shake it off, preferrable on someone. They claim that this blesses the person they spray. Despite an intense publicity campaign, this belief has not caught on with the general public.

Demons and theology to follow...

[King Thomas]

Iago, Demon of Loss

Not a god as much as a demon, who hides pen tops, socks,pairs of pants and other small but useful items.

[Max Sinister]

@Marteil: That was funny. :)

I had the idea for a magical pantheon (loosely based on the Rolemaster magic), i.e. from a fantasy world where magic is real (and the gods are too). Unfortunately I'm not very good at inventing names, so I left them out. Besides, who says that they have to be the typical anthropomorphic gods? The head god with the long white beard is so cliche... the deities could look completely different (I'm thinking of the "angels" in Neon Genesis Evangelion, frex).

OK, here they are:

Golden Deity: The head of the pantheon. All the other deities have to follow him/her/it/whatever. Gets the usual 10% of all incomes of the believers. Master over Life and Death, thus the one and only responsible for resurrections (of intelligent beings, at least).
Silver Deity: The spouse of the Golden Deity and the second-most important one.

(Now that I'm thinking about it, the two of them could represent the sun and moon as well.)

Red Deity: The world-changing magic - fire, storms, earthquakes and other elemental magic. The closest to a War God you get in this world.
Yellow Deity: Illusion magic. A kind of trickster god, but not really evil.
Green Deity (I tend to the name of Waldemar): The magic of nature, animals and plants, for druids and the like.
Blue Deity: Magic of Time and Space. Important for acquiring worldly knowledge and divination.
Grey Deity: Magic of the Mind - telepathy and similar.
White Deity: Healing
Brown Deity: Knowledge - creating magical artefacts and discovering new magical knowledge.
Black Deity: Necromancy, murder, poison and so on. Eeeevil.