Brand New Gods

[ZedAlpha]

23 minutes ago, Richard S. said:

Yeah, but more importantly they can actually do new things! Given how absolutely jacked the first whaler probably is, I really need to see him throw down with some other heroes before he gets Compromised away...

Okay I'm gonna catch a quick sleep now.

okay, I was planning on this being part of a Wolf Pirate-centered adventure, and the idea of some scared islanders summoning their ancestor god to smack the crap out of Harrek the Berserk (if the PCs are able to help the locals pull it off, of course) is an amazing image that I have to try and use if I ever get the chance to actually run this game.

To paraphrase the ancient illuminated spirit warrior Qui-Gon Jinn, "There's always a bigger sea monster."

Edited August 30, 2023 by ZedAlpha

[EricW]

Wasn't the chaos god Atyar believed to be lost in the catacombs of a Kraloralan city, or stranded on a remote lost island? Maybe too overpowered for your scenario. 

[Manunancy]

On 8/30/2023 at 7:05 AM, ZedAlpha said:

And as far as why the island popped back into Glorantha, I'm not entirely sure but I've got some bare ideas. Maybe the island was isolated during the Darkness by some sort of desperate ritual by the Tide-Watching timekeeping god that went horribly right, and then however many generations later in their little pocket dimension, someone found a way to reverse it.
 

With both the Closing and the Syndic's ban unraveling, you may not even need an action from the island - or maybe whatever was done on the island worked this time because of those two external factors.

Edited August 31, 2023 by Manunancy

[mfbrandi]

6 hours ago, ZedAlpha said:

I also need to come up with better names for these folks

But it is probably best to start with titles/descriptions — as you have — true and personal names of gods can be added as and when you come up with them and/or the narrative needs them. I mean, terms like “the lord” do a lot of work IRL.

[General Confusion]

Something to look at that could be thematically relevant; the Waertagi. They're an ethnic group descended from Waertag, a God Time hero/deity who was the son of a god and a mermaid. He built the first boats and was a famous slayer of Sea Dragons. 

 

Now the Waertagi mostly were wiped out in the Second Age by a one-two punch of the God Learners beating them badly in war and then the Closing sweeping the seas clean, but small numbers of them survived in a variety of coastal and island enclaves. Could be related to these island gods?

[Joerg]

57 minutes ago, General Confusion said:

Something to look at that could be thematically relevant; the Waertagi. They're an ethnic group descended from Waertag, a God Time hero/deity who was the son of a god and a mermaid. He built the first boats and was a famous slayer of Sea Dragons. 

 

Now the Waertagi mostly were wiped out in the Second Age by a one-two punch of the God Learners beating them badly in war and then the Closing sweeping the seas clean, but small numbers of them survived in a variety of coastal and island enclaves. Could be related to these island gods?

Another option would be the Banthites, a sea-going tribe in the Neliomi region during the Storm Age for a short period (according to Revealed Mythologies). They disappeared after a conflict with the Brithini and/or the Waertagi, and might have retreated into one of those islands that disappeared, and possibly re-appeared either with the Opening Voyage of Dormal or alongside Old Trade in the Aamor expedition.

[ZedAlpha]

I think the Waertagi angle rhymes enough with the myths I panic-typed out on my phone last night during the tornado warning that I might go with that. That's a really good idea. So these people and/or their gods could definitely be kin to the Waertagi, perhaps with having a few names that in true Storm Age/Darkness style, would be suspiciously similar to current Waertagi history and culture, post-Dawn, but could predate the Waertagi being a distinct thing.

Maybe the Waertagi could be descended from some people from this culture who were trapped outside the time bubble when it happened, and resettled elsewhere?

Y'know what? MGIV, I guess, I like that a lot. That could really be a fun plot hook to have the PCs go explore and try to find this island. A small community of Waertagi gets a vision that their ancient ancestral homeland has been opened, and they hire the PCs to escort them to this island, and they find...this weird, half-ruined place full of regular-ass humans with weird gods, all wondering why the sky looks different colors and why their magic is acting weird.

[General Confusion]

6 minutes ago, ZedAlpha said:

I think the Waertagi angle rhymes enough with the myths I panic-typed out on my phone last night during the tornado warning that I might go with that. That's a really good idea. So these people and/or their gods could definitely be kin to the Waertagi, perhaps with having a few names that in true Storm Age/Darkness style, would be suspiciously similar to current Waertagi history and culture, post-Dawn, but could predate the Waertagi being a distinct thing.

Maybe the Waertagi could be descended from some people from this culture who were trapped outside the time bubble when it happened, and resettled elsewhere?

Y'know what? MGIV, I guess, I like that a lot. That could really be a fun plot hook to have the PCs go explore and try to find this island. A small community of Waertagi gets a vision that their ancient ancestral homeland has been opened, and they hire the PCs to escort them to this island, and they find...this weird, half-ruined place full of regular-ass humans with weird gods, all wondering why the sky looks different colors and why their magic is acting weird.

I like it!

 

There's stuff about the Waertagi in the Guide to Glorantha if you have that; otherwise the brief synopsis is that within history they were a nomadic ocean-going culture who lived primarily on giant ships built out of dragon carcasses, and they controlled intercontinental sea travel for a long time until the God Learners broke their monopoly. They're mythically associated with the western Malkioni cultures - Waertag was a son of Malkion. 

 

The Waertagi obviously have a very strong association with water; they practice both theistic magic, including ancestor worship of Waertag and of various sea gods, and Malkioni-style sorcery. 

[ZedAlpha]

And that fits this being largely an ancestor cult with ties to the sea gods, and having some sorcery that could be oddly similar but distinct from Malkioni-style sorcery. Perfect.

[Darius West]

Hi ZedAlpha.  You seem to want to run a sea based game with new deities.  There is a part of Glorantha tailor made for you.  It is called the East Isles.  It is an archipelago with thousands of islands, and each one has a unique deity, most of whom have never been written up.  For example, it has a deity called Rathmorasomangon aka Comb and Braid who is a god of barbers.  There are no doubt other deities such as those of Hot, Warm, and Cold Turtle Soup, each with their own island, a deity of skipping rope, a deity of infomercials who invades your dreams with amazing deals on wonder products, a deity of repurposing writing implements, a deity of woven string bags, a deity of patchouli, you get the picture.  It is the Wild East out there. Make up any deity you like. You can literally go crazy. 😵

Edited August 30, 2023 by Darius West

[ZedAlpha]

not the feeling I'm going for here, but thanks for the suggestion. Have you ever created any deities for your Glorantha before? I'm interested in hearing about them if you have.

[jajagappa]

1 minute ago, ZedAlpha said:

Have you ever created any deities for your Glorantha before? I'm interested in hearing about them if you have.

I have - localized cults and variants for the Kingdom of Imther (detailed in my Edge of Empire work). These include local versions of Yelmalio (Khelmal), Ernalda (Nealda), Pole Star (Arahar), Hearthmother (Ralaska), and Lokarnos (Alakarma) and a few city gods and tricksters. Imther is at an intersection of the Lunar Empire with the southern provinces, so while close to mainstream cults, the local cults work fine as part of the mix. 

[Akhôrahil]

17 hours ago, ZedAlpha said:

As I've said in a few other threads today, I'm probably going to be trying to run a FATE Core game set in Glorantha. One thing I was wondering was how much space there is in Glorantha for a group to make up new gods for their version of the setting, and if so, what sort of considerations people would recommend taking into account before/during doing so?

Fairly low when it comes big gods, but that's only if you want to adhere to canon. It's a lot easier to add subcults and hero cults. Also, some areas aren't covered nearly as much as others - in the East Isles, you may well stumble upon a new god with every new island you visit. And plenty of mere wyters may count as "local lesser gods".

The big factor in making up new gods is probably "what purpose does this god fulfil that wasn't already present in the setting?" Do you need a new war god rather than some variant on Humakt, Storm Bull or ZZ, especially as you could just make a different cult of one of them instead?

Of course, if the Lunars could do it, so can you! 🙂

[ZedAlpha]

7 minutes ago, Akhôrahil said:

The big factor in making up new gods is probably "what purpose does this god fulfil that wasn't already present in the setting?"

On this note, are there any established gods of bees or other pollinators? Or just insects/bugs in general? Specifically ones that might be worshipped by humans instead of primarily by trolls?

Edited August 30, 2023 by ZedAlpha

[Akhôrahil]

13 minutes ago, ZedAlpha said:

On this note, are there any established gods of bees or other pollinators? Or just insects/bugs in general? Specifically ones that might be worshipped by humans instead of primarily by trolls?

Gorakiki-Bee for bees (Gorakiki in general for insects, Aranea for spiders). Human worship of some Gorakiki cult, perhaps under a different name and with varying rituals,  seems reasonable to me.

[mfbrandi]

11 minutes ago, ZedAlpha said:

On this note, are there any established gods of bees or other pollinators?

Minlister, god of booze, is a beekeeper — for the sake of mead — but I doubt bees worship him (unless in an Invisible God/Ompalam twist).

I think there is room for a fire–sky bee cult in addition to the darkness-skewed Gorakiki. Just think of how Japanese honey bees deal with hornets … but maybe they are just ZZ bees.

[ZedAlpha]

1 hour ago, mfbrandi said:

Minlister, god of booze, is a beekeeper — for the sake of mead — but I doubt bees worship him (unless in an Invisible God/Ompalam twist).

I think there is room for a fire–sky bee cult in addition to the darkness-skewed Gorakiki. Just think of how Japanese honey bees deal with hornets … but maybe they are just ZZ bees.

in another thread I'm discussing Caladraland as a setting for a possible campaign using the FATE rules...I do like the idea of a minor bee-deity as a subcult of Caladra for two reasons: fire-bees that bake their enemies alive, like you just said, and bees being so very important for agriculture in general, especially the kind of agriculture you'd probably find in Caladraland.

Okay, three reasons. One of the prospective players in that campaign is Native American, and furthermore is studying for a doctorate in Mesoamerican anthropology and mythology. Any even accidental reference to Ah Muzen Cab, real-world Mayan God of Bees, will make them incredibly happy. It also kinda fits the Polynesian-Central/South American feel of Caladraland pretty well, I think just on a flavor level.

[g33k]

21 hours ago, ZedAlpha said:

I was thinking this island has been trapped in a time bubble since the Great Darkness and only recently reappeared in the world, hence why they have their own boatbuilding god who isn't Dormal--who's rather recent, right? That also explains why they haven't been destroyed by the Wolf Pirates in all that time. Although now, that's going to absolutely be a risk, and probably why the PCs are heading there.

And as far as why the island popped back into Glorantha, I'm not entirely sure but I've got some bare ideas. Maybe the island was isolated during the Darkness by some sort of desperate ritual by the Tide-Watching timekeeping god that went horribly right, and then however many generations later in their little pocket dimension, someone found a way to reverse it.

I'm not sure I want the gods of this little island to be explicitly related to anyone except maybe Magasta, but I like the idea of similarities being found between them, the same way a lot of Golden Age/Great Darkness cultures had very similar gods and goddesses that sorta flattened out into the same few gods over time after the Dawn.

But I really like the idea that Magasta's daughter was a mermaid who saved him at sea. I like the idea of her being referred to as the Giving Tide, who brings driftwood and allows fishing vessels to leave and return safely.

Alternate theory:  your mobile island (with Dormal aboard) sailed out onto Sramak's River for a while.
The "Opening" marked the moment when Dormal re-entered the oceans of the mortal world.

Maybe the "Closing" was simply a ritual so offensive the eyes of Dormal, he left with his ships and much oceanic knowledge; the "Opening" was a ritual of propitiation, begging his return.

It might not be quite the "same" Dormal -- some cognate deity, same-and-not-same.

[ZedAlpha]

That could also be an interesting plot hook to use, thanks!

[Darius West]

I created Saint Narthex, the Defender of the Faith, a Rokari Saint/Ascended.  His monks go deeply cowled and masked, having sworn to be anonymous in their faith and to erase their identities in life as they are in death subsumed into Solace.  They are overtly highly charitable, providing food and medicine for the needy, but they are in fact religious assassins, and they teach the spell Increase/Decrease Poison.  They also have a Pass Unnoticed spell.

[Brootse]

On 8/30/2023 at 8:51 AM, ZedAlpha said:

okay, I was planning on this being part of a Wolf Pirate-centered adventure, and the idea of some scared islanders summoning their ancestor god to smack the crap out of Harrek the Berserk (if the PCs are able to help the locals pull it off, of course) is an amazing image that I have to try and use if I ever get the chance to actually run this game.

To paraphrase the ancient illuminated spirit warrior Qui-Gon Jinn, "There's always a bigger sea monster."

It would have to be quite a sea monster to kick Harrek's ass!

I've ran some Wolf Pirate scenarios, and I've used Harryhausen style monsters in them for great effect.

As for completely new larger religions; back in RQ3 there were some empty bits of Genertela dedicated for DM's to put their own stuff in. And there's nothing stopping you rewriting some areas, religions or cultures or whatever for your own campaigns even in RQG.