Use My Gods

Last night I sat down and made the decision to really hammer down my setting's gods, religions, and faith practices. What I came up with isn't complete, but it is a sight better than just a list of names and portfolios, which is what I'm so often relegated to when brainstorming gods on the fly. I should say that these deities have been revised, inserted into and yanked out of world conflicts, and polished quite a bit to get them where they are. 

The gods take a significant amount of inspiration from Greek mythology, with gods having human-like emotional spectrum and a certain amount of fallibility that lends them to creative storytelling. 

This leads me to a little side piece on gods in gaming: I believe wholeheartedly that gods should be divorced from the alignment system. My reasons are the following.

• It's too easy for a character playing a paladin, cleric, of faith-based character to simply look at deity alignments, choose one that mirrors their own, and then jump ass-first into that character without considering the god as a character in the world. That is to say, what if your paladin values honesty and the lawful neutral deity she's chosen to follow is a renowned patron of litigators and legal loopholes? You might argue that such a god wouldn't be lawful neutral, but this is my example and in my campaign world I can do whatever I want. Nevertheless, that paladin would be ill-served by adhering to the god simply because of an alignment chart that is predicated on cosmic planar laws. That leads me to my second point...
• The alignment system is founded on the idea that the world you're playing in is part of a diverse array of cosmic planes which each have some predilection to chaos, law, evil, good, or an absence or mixture of those things. Your campaign world doesn't have to follow that model, so alignment can easily be a moot point.
• Finally, gods should be interesting individuals with grand stories to their name. The greatest stories ever told are the ones that involve them. We don't have to look any farther than pop culture to know that. But the gods in those stories (Kratos, Thor, Wonder Woman) are only interesting because of their fallible, human-like aspects. Simply calling the god of knowledge a bookworm true neutral deity with no care for relationships can work. But if there is a why embedded in there -- why is he a loner? why does he trust so slowly? why does he prefer automatons to others like him? where did he get that scar? -- and the alignment is removed from the equation, suddenly we have creative liberty to design the god however we want. However you want. 
• Actually finally, alignment isn't all bad and I use it to constrain myself when I want to subvert tropes, limit the impact a character or deity can have in a situation or narrative, and produce the familiar to make my players feel at ease when I want them to feel at ease. Nothing is more refreshing after a litany of trope-bending characters than one who meets exactly our expectations and then slowly shifts them over time. I still don't slap an alignment on my gods; instead I explore them in a framework provided by an alignment.

That turned into a long aside rather than the short one I thought it would be. Eh.

For your viewing pleasure, I offer you the Niovit. These are a pantheon of gods who did not create the world, but who created the living creatures that inhabit it. They are family, as befitting a pantheon which stakes itself in mortalkind's continued survival. And they are mythological deities, with tales and fables attributed to them to explain natural phenomena. The world is entering a new age, and as such gods like these help people understand their environment and model their lives. Most mortals will venerate at least one or two of the gods, though not all find them worthy of worship.

The faiths of the Niovit are communal forms of worship. They bring people together, joining them through commonalities and the need for support, and uplift each other. Individuals may pray alone, meditate, or consider the miracles of the gods in solitude, but they worship by engaging the community in their revelations. Chapels and large, physical edifices of worship are erected to the Gods of Society, the Church of the Three Mothers, and Rophion, though they hardly resemble each other in construction and purpose. Other gods have shrines, holy sites, and forums where worshippers come together to pray together, eat together, and discuss amongst themselves.

The Church of the Three Mothers builds holy houses where the sick, poor, lonely, and afraid congregate. These houses are usually existing buildings repurposed for the means of the Church, or are humble buildings built with donated funds and time from citizens. They resemble soup kitchens and homeless shelters, but the blessing of the Three Mothers prevents disease from spreading in their confines, and punishes those who would siege the houses themselves.

The Gods of Society have large, elaborate, beautiful stone and glass chapels built where idols to the three deities of civilization are arranged for the worship of large congregations. These chapels are modeled after the mosques of the half-orcs, who popularized the buildings before the Long War through mission work. In Ceilia, the chapels are less opulent and more utilitarian, resembling a single large building with numerous halls and rooms where the functions of the chapel are housed. Often, Ceilian chapels are circular and feature a promenade which encircles them, where trade and debate can be waged.

The churches of Rophion are less frequently a singular building and more often look like large, sprawling villas crossed with academic campuses. They are low to the ground, have numerous distinct buildings, and feature long outdoor walkways paved with stone and crisscrossing beautiful gardens and lawns. Oftentimes, the buildings have gardens on their roofs where people gather for lunch and talk about current affairs. Rophion's churches almost always have a chamber of the Holy Niovit, a small shrine built to glorify all of the gods of the pantheon, where worshippers of other deities may come and pay their respects. These chambers are dimly lit, quiet, and usually have one or two priests who attend the devotees by providing holy texts, incense, holy water, and garb appropriate to mediation and prayer. Rophion's churches are nearly always the location of a bath house and steam room, allowing travelers and citizens alike the luxury of cleanliness.

The gods are as follows.

• Maonos, god of dragons, is one of the most powerful deities. He is worshipped by the various intelligent dragons which reside on Ordain, as well as dragonborn and other sentient folk who rightfully fear and respect the mighty and terrible dragons. He has a son, the Wyvern King, who is the demigod ruler of the nation of Odetsa in Ahlvator. Maonos is said to have built the kingdom of heaven himself, using all the wealth of that realm to create a resplendent, shining city where all the gods now reside. It is his daughter, Tiamat, who led the first uprising against the city of heaven in what is known as the First War. Many angels followed her, including one who would come to be known as the Adversary of Igdione.
• The goddess of song and travel, Palanthia, is one of three gods known as the Gods of Society. The other two, Gideon and Talon, are venerated alongside her in the civilized parts of the world. They are the patron gods of the Ceilian empire, and are among the only gods to require churches or other edifices constructed in their name (other gods usually ask that worshippers construct shrines in their homes or in the wilderness). Gideon is the god of magic, while Talon is the god of light, law, and knowledge.
• Igdione is the mother of the gods, including Maonos and the Gods of Society. She is the goddess of stars, and as such she is said to be all-seeing and all-knowing. Her eldest sons are the gods of the sun and the moons, and because of this she is viewed as a goddess of fertility. She is worshipped alongside her daughters Heqdea and Palanthia in a faith known as the Church of the Three Mothers. Members of this faith come from all walks, seeking healing, wisdom, alms, and sometimes just a place to lay their head at night. The Three Mothers faith only allows women into the clergy, and commands numerous members to quest in the aid of families, mothers, and children who cannot help or protect themselves. Clerics of the faith are called Daughters.
• Phoberar and Akramhu are the god of the moons and sun, respectively. Phoberar is also venerated as the sky god, bringing rain, health, and seasons to the people of Ordain. Akramhu is known as the fertility god, as well as the god of protection and forethought. They are twins, and are often depicted fighting the Adversary of Igdione while their mother shelters the mortals of Ordain. Phoberar is a somewhat aloof god, who frequently muses over philosophy and art, while Akramhu is the passionate brother, loving and quarrelling in equal measure.
• Rophion is the god of the earth, crafts, rivers, and music, and is the patron of cities and towns across Ordain. People revere him even if they don't worship him, as he takes comfort from trade, craftsmanship, festivals, dance, and a strong family. He is also the god of brewing, and brewers, vintners, and distillers usually offer the first barrel or keg of a batch to him out of respect, blessing it and pouring the first cup into a specially prepared plot of earth. Some longtime brewers bury their loved ones in these plots, which more often than not grow bounteous fruit trees -- even if none were planted there.
• Heqdea is Igdione's eldest daughter and firstborn, and she is the goddess of fate, sleep, darkness, and forests, and is venerated by elves the world over. She was the first being to set foot on Ordain, and she is said to have walked every step of the land at least three times before she was sure of the world's safety. She is a watchful, silent guardian, and owls are her favored animal. She sees wildlife, especially the creatures of the forest, as kin, and her most devout are vegetarian, taking no sustenance from the flesh or products of animals of any kind. She was also the first being to give birth after Igdione, and she bore Acros, the god of paths, luck, and animals. Her son is the exact opposite of her pensive nature, and he fills the halls of heaven with dance, levity, and wit, and enjoys debating his elder aunts and uncles. He is not allowed to drink, however, as the one time he did he broke into Phoberar's vault of the sky and -- filled with uncharacteristic malice -- dumped a cup of wine on a model of one of the moons. Since then, both drink and the moon have driven men to madness, though each in their own way.
• Curphorian is Igdione's youngest son, and he is viewed with suspicion and distrust at best by his siblings. He is the god of war, storms, death, and the oceans, and was instrumental in defeating the Adversary in the early days of the world. He has sired sons among the world since the first days, and each of them has grown to great strength and influence. His siblings do not hate him, they simply see his ways of war and destruction as a necessary evil for the world to continue on its course.

The following are 2nd generation gods, and are more likely to be patron deities to cults or smaller religious systems.

• Atrix is the daughter of Rophion, and is the goddess of honesty, peace, and justice. She is the patron god of dwarves, and worked with her father to gift them with long life and memory so that they might never forget the lessons of their history, even after the history itself has faded. She is close to her grandmother, and the two are alike in their omnipotent vision of the world. Atrix is present at the swearing of oaths, ceremonies, and death, signing the final compact that puts a soul to rest. Ghosts are said to be those Atrix forgets or punishes, forcing them to live out a past evil until they can be absolved.
• Mortar, son of Akramhu, is the god of miracles, victory, and zeal. He is his father's passion incarnate, and he is one of the only gods who finds the company of Curphorian enjoyable. Together, the two have led many an army to glory, and together they have engineered the downfall of kingdoms and empires. Paladins of all kinds pray to Mortar for the conviction and strength to do right by their oaths and charges, and find that the god rewards those who take risks and punish the apathy of evil.
• Oziphan, god of reason and language, is the son of Rophion. He is the close confidant of his sister Atrix and of Phoberar, his uncle. Together, the three of them have stoked the flames of philosophy and learning among mortals, giving them the desire to learn and wonder at the mysteries of the world and worlds beyond. Half-orcs view Oziphan as their patron, though their relationship with him is less cozy than that of Atrix her people. Instead, they see Oziphan as the greatest teacher and thinker of all, and strive to emulate his intellectual ways.
• Hibelia, the daughter of Heqdea, is the goddess of thresholds. She guards every transitory space, be it the eaves beneath a home or the veil of life and death. She is invoked by name at the beginning of a journey and thanked when home at last. She is one of the most sworn-by gods, and many are fond of the phrase, "By Hibelia's keys…" in reference to her fabled ring of keys which unlock the gates between realms. She is said to be the only one among the gods who knows how to unlock the door between heaven and hell, and she presides over the march of souls that are shepherded through by the fey psychopomps, the faeries.
• Esparath, the daughter of Palanthia, is the goddess of martyrdom and suffering. She is said to have walked in the wake of her mother as travelers spread the first plague and borne the agony of those afflicted, granting them reprieve in lieu of her mother's folly. Since then, Palanthia has adopted the sick and the weary into her faith, and lepers and the cursed are said to sometimes be cured by making the Traveler's Pilgrimage. Esparath never fully recovered from the first suffering, and as a result she is also the goddess of pain. Her faithful are never with her for long, usually passing from the world. She soothes the wounded in battle as they die, and consoles mothers when their children are taken early.