[dungeoncrawl] Re: Deity mechanics
- From: Johnathan Detrick <jdetrick@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: dungeoncrawl@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Wed, 16 Oct 2002 09:15:40 -0400
That's a VERY interesting idea. I like that idea a lot. I would hate to
see this world be under the total control of the Riders. To have a case where
dwarves were created by someone else, and are ignored and forgotten by the
deities of the world, could create some fascinating plots. Brilliant!
Jim and Karen wrote:
> I know there's been a TON of discussion since this email, but Damon had a
> neat idea. What if there weren't any dwarves? Or, if the gods forgot them,
> and they exist anyway (say deep undeground, or in some remote location, cut
> off from their gods, what would happen?) Would they seek a new protector -
> like, say, Amrikol?
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Damon Kline" <damon.kline@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> To: <dungeoncrawl@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Sent: Tuesday, October 15, 2002 3:54 PM
> Subject: [dungeoncrawl] Re: Deity mechanics
>
> > Guys,
> >
> > I'm sorry that I haven't been able to jump into the discussion here, but
> > I've been pretty busy. Let me say a few things.
> >
> > First, I definitely agree that we don't want to just take all of our
> > characters and make them deities. However, I do like the idea of having a
> > diverse pantheon. I see Shawn's point in that the Realms is really made
> up
> > of its core pantheon and then several other pantheons thrown into the mix.
> > It really is a mess. But if you just take the core group, like the one
> put
> > forth in the Faith's and Avatars book from 2nd edition, it's pretty cool,
> I
> > think. There are a bunch of different deities with different histories
> and
> > different portfolio's that really allow you to flesh out your character.
> > Instead of having your character worship someone based on their alignment
> > and be stuck with only 2 or 3 deities to choose from, you can worship
> based
> > on your personality and be able to find a deity more suited to your
> > character. I like that. So, perhaps there is room for more character
> > deities, although the core group that went through everything to get here
> > should be the ones to decide things and they should also be the "greater"
> > powers.
> >
> > As Jim said, the characters that started this are the ones who get to be
> > deities initially, but if they want to flesh out the ranks a bit, it would
> > make sense that they would turn to other characters that they have spent
> > time with.
> >
> > Now, having said that, I don't think we should give the Gods stats and
> then
> > perhaps play them at a later time. Once a character becomes a deity, they
> > are no longer "playable". With the exception of strictly role-playing
> > scenarios. Perhaps some time in the future the Riders pantheon will get
> > together to discuss how to proceed with a certain action, or perhaps one
> of
> > the Gods goes crazy and starts killing off other Gods and disciplinary
> > action needs to be taken. It would always be a role-playing thing where
> > stats wouldn't matter. Avatar's are a good way to go if we wanted to
> > interject them in a campaign based on the new world, but they shouldn't be
> > over used.
> >
> > As far as whether the Gods are decided first or the planet is decided, I
> > suppose it could go either way, but here's how I envision it:
> >
> > The group that was there last night, and are the first to go through the
> > portal and become deities, gets to decide how the world starts. As Jim
> > mentioned, they decide what type of world it is, at what level society is
> > at, what is the ratio of the different races, what races exist on the
> world,
> > all of the basics that give the world life. At that point, we'll have the
> > beginnings of a formed world, but one without a personality. It would be
> a
> > shell, filled with the different land masses, oceans, rivers, forests,
> > races, kingdoms, etc. but no portfolios. Then, once we have the shell, we
> > can figure out who is going to be in charge of what portfolio, who else
> they
> > want to invite in to become powers, what plane they will exist on, etc.
> >
> > We also need to consider that it really isn't "us" creating the world, it
> is
> > our characters. Right now, dwarves are not represented among our
> > characters, so would there be dwarves on our new world? Maybe not. I
> don't
> > like the idea of not having dwarves there, but would the characters think
> to
> > put them there. Probably, but you never know.
> >
> > Anyway, that's it for now...just some things to think about.
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Johnathan Detrick [mailto:jdetrick@xxxxxxxxxxx]
> > Sent: Tuesday, October 15, 2002 2:34 PM
> > To: Riders II
> > Subject: [dungeoncrawl] Deity mechanics
> >
> >
> > Guys,
> > For the moment, why don't we table the discussion of who might be a
> > deity. We can discuss that later. Right now I had some other questions
> > to throw out, relating to the game mechanics and how we are going to
> > handle the deities.
> > I have been spending as much time as I've had today looking at the
> > 2nd edition Powers and Pantheons book, as well as the Deities and
> > Demigods book from 3rd edition. 2nd and 3rd edition treated deities is
> > drastically different ways, and we need to decide which way we prefer.
> >
> > In Second Edition, deities had no stats. The prevailing wisdom was
> > that your characters shouldn't be dealing with a deity, as they were,
> > you know, gods, and a little out of the league of your typical
> > character. The gods would make appearances as avatars. Their avatars
> > were quite powerful in their own right, usually with very nice stats and
> > levels between 15-30. They had some kick butt magical items and were
> > quite formidable, but no where near the power of the gods in person.
> > Third edition still has avatars (and I believe they are around the
> > same power level), but they do give the gods themselves stats. Most
> > gods are 20 hit die outsiders, with between 30 and 50 character levels.
> > The gods have all kinds of special abilities and neat-o powers, and they
> > can crush the normal mortal without much thought. However, having stats
> > binds them in the game and does mean that they could battle opponents
> > from time to time.
> >
> > So which one does everyone prefer? My first instinct is to go with
> > second edition. I don't believe that deities should have stats. I
> > think that they should be above that sort of thing.
> > However, for these characters, perhaps stats would be nice. Besides
> > the excitement of making your character between 30-50th level, it seems
> > like everyone would like to have the option of using them at a possible
> > future time. I'm not really for that, but I seem to have been
> > informally outvoted. :)
> > Let's see what everyone else thinks. Now I have to do some work.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
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