Post by Katolin on Oct 22, 2006 17:06:20 GMT -5
There have always been Gods watching over the mortal races. Religious texts dating back thousands of years tell of the first coming of the Gods onto mortal soil, when the Goddess of Nature taught the people how to farm crops and care for the land. Over time, more gods and their influences on the mortal world are recognized. Some speculate that these gods always existed, but without a need they just slumbered. A prayer can be all that is needed to awake a god.
In the beginning, the Goddess of Nature was the most powerful in the pantheon. She oversaw the flow of life in general and guided the mortals. However, peace never lasts long. Soon populations began to build and minor conflicts between tribes turned into full-on war. The attention shifted off of pure Nature and onto the escalating danger and challenge of war. As her followers faded, Nature lost power and her position. Soon, the Sun God, the next most powerful in the pantheon, took up the lead. The God of War gained much power in the following rearrangement of power within Aethrin. War went from being a very minor god to one of the most powerful. The city of Mixteca was founded to honor the glory of the Sun God. There are many temples residing in the city, but because of its original purpose it serves as one giant temple. All other temples built within the original city guide have some effect on the power of the other gods, but the effect is muted. Temples built outside the original city do not have this dampening effect.
The relatively recent formation of Thalanos has caused another upset in the pantheon structure. Thalanos claims the God of War as its patron, and as it grows the power balance shifts away from the Sun God. Periods of imbalance often create opportunities for minor gods to gain power.
As minor gods gain power their jurisdictions grow. In the example given in the God Applications Template, Fred the God of Pillow Fighting has a narrow jurisdiction. He can fight using pillows. However, if he gains enough Pillow-fighting fanatics he can increase his power and maybe supercede Jenny, Goddess of Beds. Suddenly, Fred is the new God of Beds. He still has a lot of pillow-fighting ability, but now he has new powers dealing with beds and Jenny is either forgotten or becomes the new Pillow fighting god. The pattern may stop there, or Fred may become very ambitious and eventually become the God of Houses, or even the God of Architecture. And in an extremely nerdy society, the God of Architecture may even become the patron god! Of course, getting a society of architects raises its own problems...
As a God, you aren't an all-powerful entity. You have limits, you have relationships, and you can have goals. If you choose to be a lazy god that is perfectly fine. However, even power balance shifts that occur without your participation can still affect you. As power shfited from nature to warfare minor gods of chaos and destruction and anger and bravery all increased in power where they had little before. Gods of love and peace and fluffy bunnies lost power.
In the vast realm of Aethrin, located on a different plane from that of the mortal world, the gods live out their daily lives. Aethrin is formed of the same material as the gods, and therefore can be changed and moulded at will. However, the land itself is relatively constant and unchanging. The shorelines of the East may be artistically redesigned by a bored deity, but they will always be shorelines that hold the same fish year after year. The rainforests of the South cater to the same animals. An eternity in this immortal land for immortals can be quite boring after a while. Gods who don't specialize in healing arts or rejuvenation can be hurt physically while in Aethrin, but those wounds can't kill. They can get hungry, but they won't starve. It's a changeless environment that can lead some to turn angry. Inevitably, gods turn to meddling with the mortal world as a diversion from their own boring lives.
Good vs. Evil:
There is no set definition of good and evil. Good can be defined different ways by followers of different gods, and evil is the same. Some gods will do anything short of destroying the world to get what they want. They see all others as simply obstacles or means to a goal. In some sense, they are 'evil.' But these gods can hand out charity when they feel like it as well. 'Good' gods are as prone to fits of rage and anger as much as others. In other words, gods and mortals share the same spectrum of morality.
In the beginning, the Goddess of Nature was the most powerful in the pantheon. She oversaw the flow of life in general and guided the mortals. However, peace never lasts long. Soon populations began to build and minor conflicts between tribes turned into full-on war. The attention shifted off of pure Nature and onto the escalating danger and challenge of war. As her followers faded, Nature lost power and her position. Soon, the Sun God, the next most powerful in the pantheon, took up the lead. The God of War gained much power in the following rearrangement of power within Aethrin. War went from being a very minor god to one of the most powerful. The city of Mixteca was founded to honor the glory of the Sun God. There are many temples residing in the city, but because of its original purpose it serves as one giant temple. All other temples built within the original city guide have some effect on the power of the other gods, but the effect is muted. Temples built outside the original city do not have this dampening effect.
The relatively recent formation of Thalanos has caused another upset in the pantheon structure. Thalanos claims the God of War as its patron, and as it grows the power balance shifts away from the Sun God. Periods of imbalance often create opportunities for minor gods to gain power.
As minor gods gain power their jurisdictions grow. In the example given in the God Applications Template, Fred the God of Pillow Fighting has a narrow jurisdiction. He can fight using pillows. However, if he gains enough Pillow-fighting fanatics he can increase his power and maybe supercede Jenny, Goddess of Beds. Suddenly, Fred is the new God of Beds. He still has a lot of pillow-fighting ability, but now he has new powers dealing with beds and Jenny is either forgotten or becomes the new Pillow fighting god. The pattern may stop there, or Fred may become very ambitious and eventually become the God of Houses, or even the God of Architecture. And in an extremely nerdy society, the God of Architecture may even become the patron god! Of course, getting a society of architects raises its own problems...
As a God, you aren't an all-powerful entity. You have limits, you have relationships, and you can have goals. If you choose to be a lazy god that is perfectly fine. However, even power balance shifts that occur without your participation can still affect you. As power shfited from nature to warfare minor gods of chaos and destruction and anger and bravery all increased in power where they had little before. Gods of love and peace and fluffy bunnies lost power.
In the vast realm of Aethrin, located on a different plane from that of the mortal world, the gods live out their daily lives. Aethrin is formed of the same material as the gods, and therefore can be changed and moulded at will. However, the land itself is relatively constant and unchanging. The shorelines of the East may be artistically redesigned by a bored deity, but they will always be shorelines that hold the same fish year after year. The rainforests of the South cater to the same animals. An eternity in this immortal land for immortals can be quite boring after a while. Gods who don't specialize in healing arts or rejuvenation can be hurt physically while in Aethrin, but those wounds can't kill. They can get hungry, but they won't starve. It's a changeless environment that can lead some to turn angry. Inevitably, gods turn to meddling with the mortal world as a diversion from their own boring lives.
Good vs. Evil:
There is no set definition of good and evil. Good can be defined different ways by followers of different gods, and evil is the same. Some gods will do anything short of destroying the world to get what they want. They see all others as simply obstacles or means to a goal. In some sense, they are 'evil.' But these gods can hand out charity when they feel like it as well. 'Good' gods are as prone to fits of rage and anger as much as others. In other words, gods and mortals share the same spectrum of morality.