The Gods of Gothenya

"Being an overview of the great pantheon of the primary Gods of Gothenya..."

Our world has a unique pantheon of alien gods, travelers from the Outer Dark who came to our world before man walked on two legs. They brought with them both the seeds of life and those of entropy. They gifted the race of men with insight and society. They allowed their servitor races: the elves, goblinoids, fey, giantkin, dragons and dwarves live off the land and intermingle with man. Mutations arose. Orcs, halflings, lizardfolk, dragonborn, all were the result of either crossbreeding or magical mutations. The gods do not want their followers to know the truth. That they only have "influence" over their domains, rather than literal and total control. Further, they hide the fact that they gain (or lose) power only through the number of followers they maintain. Their lives, sleeping or awake, often boil down to petty squabbles over possession of followers, thus power. They constantly attempt to be everything to everyone, in order to gain even more followers. Within their domains, they go by many names, covering a wide array of cultures, in order to claim mortal followers who worship whatever deity in whatever broad field they technically influence. The more cultures, the more names, the more followers. With regards to their power of influence, they can functionally harness the elemental weave of the natural universe, in order to manipulate the very forces of the domains they claim (often granting them the power to create and destroy), but they themselves are not the actual embodiment of those forces. They only utilize the forces they claim to lord over. Such elemental and natural forces are still determined by an older, non-sentient (or beyond sentient) force...or perhaps concept outside the realm of human understanding. That which was there before the gods shall remain once they are no more. The Greater Lords carved out their niches early on in a cosmic game of musical chairs. Once one “domain” was seized, it "belonged" to them. They then raised their children (the Lesser Lords) to enter the family business, so to speak, thus creating a domain with both central and orbital influences. Such as with Hindelaine (Greater Lord of Nature) and her son Behalaie (Lesser Lord of the Forest). In their greed for more followers, and thus more power, it's even possible a powerful enough god could attempt to grab all other domains for itself. Thus creating a nascent monotheism. This has never occurred, but has long been prophesied.

DEITIES OF THE VARIOUS RACES

Humans have multiple deities, since they were not created by the Lords of the Outer Dark (aka the gods of Celene). Those beings actually created by the gods (elves, dwarves, etc) tend to worship their creators, though this is not always the case. Some demi-humans have turned to the worship of lesser deities, native or akin to their species (covering the existent Dungeons & Dragons demi-human pantheons, which are present in Gothenya), as well as the occasional fiend or celestial. With regards to Gothen pantheon, the peoples tend to either venerate gods individually, or by degree of power (lesser or greater). The apogee of the "Greater" Gods, sometimes referred to as "The Six" or " The Zenithal ", was the official state religion of Wyeth until the Reformation, when the Age of Destiny shifted to the Age of Will (marked by the crown's dismissal of the ruling power of the Zenithal Church). Many today still revere "The Six," but many others worship individual deities, both "greater" and "lesser." What follows is a list of Lords (having influence over Gothenya) and the realms of their dominion...

DEITY / ALIGNMENT / STATUS / DOMAIN / SYMBOL

YAREUSS (aka Elasaire) / NG / Greater / Life (Light) / A hand with an eye at its center

RYKTUSS / NE / Greater / Death (Darkness) / A skull minus its jaw

HINDELAINE / N / Greater / Nature and Worldly Harmony / A tree in bloom with exposed, tangled roots

OBARANE / LN / Greater / Order and Cosmic Law / Scales in balance

PRIX 'O PREYUSS / CN/ Greater / Chaos (Entropy), Lord Trickster (God of Thieves) / A black mask with a broad smile

CHRONOS / CN / Greater / Lord of Time (formerly Lord of War) / An hourglass with eyes

KRYTUSS (aka Faldrighel) / CE / Lesser / Lord of Corruption, Rot, and Disease / Worms spilling from a deer skull

TAHALUSS / CE / Lesser / Lord of the Art (magic) / A black staff topped with flame

SIVASHISS / CG / Lesser / Lord of (Forbidden) Knowledge / A book with a padlock

TENORA PELORA / CN / Lesser / Mother of Music, Leisure and Love (Light) / A harp surrounded by radiant light

MORDANE / LE / Lesser / Lord of War (a "promoted" fiend) / A mace in an iron fist

REVA / CE / Lesser / Mistress of Pain / Two jagged hooks, crossed

BEHALAIE / NG / Lesser / Lord Protector of the Forest and Lakes / A white stag

VERDIS / CN / Lesser / Storm Lord (Tempest, Hate) / Lightning bolt on a crashing wave

ISOMETHE / LG / Lesser / Lord of Progress (Technology) / A mechanical cog, framed by the rising sun

VALIMSHAE / CN / Lesser / Lord of Prosperity and Loss (Fate) / A two-faced mask on a coin

DEMI-HUMAN DEITIES & FIENDS/CELESTIALS

It is possible for anyone (but especially demi-humans) to worship any of the existent gods akin to their species, as provided by various pre-existing sources within the Dungeons & Dragons multiverse (such as Lolth for the Drow/Qualenti). Further, fiends (such as Asmodeus) or celestials with a subset of followers may also be chosen as a focus of devotion. In any of these cases, the player may cross-reference any "official" off-the-shelf D&D product for inspiration.

SOME SPECIFICS & OUTSIDERS

The global pantheon, covering all Gothen folk (both human and non-human), covers an extremely wide spectrum. As such, Gods from various pre-existing pantheons (mostly humanoid) are common, and if you ask the Custodians, all pantheons are facets of the same Forces. However, some forces outside the normal patheons are worth mentioning. The Elder Gods The Great Old Ones. The Deep Ones. The Eldritch. Little is known of these beings, who by all accounts, are older than time itself. They come from beyond the Planes of Existence and seek only to subjugate and trasnform all lands to service their inhuman desires. The most known Old One is the Lentokki deity known as Faldrighel or Krytuss. It is suspected that not only did he escape the destruction wrought by The Sundering, he may have even had a hand in it, as the affair was predominantly orchestrated by the Blood Mages that would go on to become the Lentokki God Kings. There is some confusion as to whether or not Faldrighel is actually an aspect of Krytuss (or vice versa), or a separate entity. Few alive have been close enough to know the truth. Chronos, god of time The one addition to a traditional pantheon is that of Chronos. He who lives outside of time and space. The Mad God. He who is every time and no time. His followers tend to be of Neutral alignment, and have interest in the arcane. The manipulation of the fabric of time, the "false" blanket that allows men to order their very thoughts, this is the goal of his followers. If you find a Boorka who prays, it's a good bet they'll be praying to Chronos. Chronos' symbol is that of a broken, sideways Hourglass.

GODS DEAD OR FORGOTTEN

Several deities have, within the span of recorded time, ceased to exist for one reason or another. Below are two of the most notable... SYGGOS, Lord of Entropy, killed in the destruction of the Sundering. PYRUSS, Lord of Solitude, forgotten/faded away due to the loss of all his followers.

Structure

There is no one lord of the gods, or any being that takes precedence over its peers. However, the gods are broken down into general categories of "greater" and "lesser," with the implication that the greater powers have more sway over the cosmos than their lessers. Each god has a portfolio or domain to maintain, and they allegedly work in harmony to combine all these portfolios into one great stew that comprises the Prime Material Plane. If at any time the gods fought over dominion, it is unknown to Gothenkind. They are a secretive lot, and such secrets are beyond the scope of their communion with their worshippers.

Public Agenda

Purpose of the Gods Is it possible that the gods only have influence over their domains, rather than literal control? And that they gain power through the number of followers they have? So its all about petty squabbles to gain followers, thus power. They became all things to all people in order to gain even more followers. Within their domains, they go by many names, in order to gain anyone who worships whatever field they technically cover. They can functionally harness the elemental weave of natural law to manipulate the forces they use to create/destroy, but they aren’t actually those forces. Such forces are still determined by an older, non-sentient force (or concept) beyond the realm of human understanding. That which was there before the gods. Greater Gods carved out their niches early on. In a cosmic game of musical chairs. Once one “domain” was seized, it belonged to them. They then raised their families (the Lesser Gods) to enter the family business, so to speak. Creating a domain with a center and orbital influences. Could a god attempt to take other domains? Thus creating monotheism?