[Fantasy / World-Building] Building a Cosmopolitan Polytheistic Religion

[Phantasm]

I've been messing with my Ranoc setting since '01 or so, but only half-heartedly the last few years. One of the features of it is a polytheistic religion that's the official religion of a number of nation-states, most of which used to be part of a long-lasting Great Empire. I admit to using the Roman model as a basis, but trying to give the religion its own flavor.

What follows is what I have for the worship of the pantheon as a whole and a number of the more prominent deities. For the most part, I'm leaving off the mythology portions at the moment to focus on the everyday worship.



The worship of the Teyoth Pantheon is highly regimented, with temples dedicated to the entire pantheon where the gods are worshipped together. This pantheon has been worshipped for millennia, and was the official religion of the Great Empire of Man, becoming the official religion of its successor states, with the sole exception of Redwater, and has spread into the Wyrmspire Mountains, the Rochladastacht, and the northern Umojan jungles, and temples can be seen even as far east as Freehold in the Vast Expanse. The pantheon has a single Cardinal who is held as the ultimate authority on the will of the gods; the Cardinal serves from the day he is elected from among the archbishops until he retires, dies, or is replaced following the Conjunction.

There are two opposed sides to the pantheon; one side associated with the natural order of things, and another side associated with the forces of corruption and those who seek to overthrow the natural order to impose their own. The first side is openly worshipped, mostly in temples dedicated to the entire pantheon. While shrines dedicated to individual deities appear in various locations, only rarely are entire temples built dedicated to an individual deity. In addition, several monasteries and convents have been built for those seeking a more contemplative form of worship, as opposed to the public service of the priests.

The opposed side of the pantheon is worshipped in secret, with only a few notable exceptions. The worship of most of these gods is outlawed in most nations of the Teyoth and surrounding regions; priests of these gods often pass themselves off as worshippers of other gods in order to hide in plain sight.

From a philosophical point of view, public side of the pantheon represents the virtues of the society that spawned the religion, while the secretive side of the pantheon represents its vices and aspects of the society that it would rather refuse to acknowledge.


Galsus (king of the gods; god of the sky, law, storms, and lightning) is commonly worshipped in large temples dedicated to the entire pantheon, rather than individually. His priests have informal authority over the priests of the individual deities – being the priest of the head of the pantheon is often translated into being a priest of the entire pantheon. His priests preside over the pantheon-wide festivals and communal prayer-rites held weekly in the pantheon's central urban temples. Smaller villages, hamlet, and thorpes often don't have a communal temple, often a temple or church dedicated to a more localized deity (commonly Hannass, Kaimana, Barsus, or Suthre), but when one of Galsus's priests shows up they have the right to preside over any services, though in practice this varies from priest to priest.

The one day this authority is ignored is the day of the Conjunction.


While Fehrest (goddess of women, children, kitchens, and taverns) has her place in temples dedicated to the entire pantheon or to those dedicated primarily to her husband, Galsus, the majority of Fehrest's shrines are seen in taverns, kitchens, and nurseries across the Teyoth region. Of all the Teyothi deities, Fehrest has the strongest hold amongst the populace of Redwater; the Redwater Church has tried – and failed – several times to snuff out her worship. She rarely has priests dedicated solely to her, although she has been known to grant favors to her faithful.

Fehrest does not have any festival days dedicated solely to her. However, she is praised at every festival.


Kaimana (god of the sea) has temples and shrines dedicated to him in every town and city in the Teyoth region that engages in ocean-going trade or deep-sea fishing. Even in Redwater, where the religion has been outlawed, it is not uncommon to find his shrines in the docks districts of coastal cities or in small fishing villages.

Kaimana's primary festival is held on the tenth of every month at sundown, consisting of a festive meal followed by music, dancing, and song lasting well into the night.


Hannass (goddess of nature, fertility, and agriculture) has two main festivals, held on the Spring and Autumn Equinoxes. These often indicate the start of the planting season and the start of the harvest season. Her priestesses and temples are primarily rural in location; she has only female priests.

Hannass also has a mystery cult. (which I need to develop more.)


Nyysan (goddess of the home, hearth, peace, and diplomacy) has no official priests, and every home has a small altar or shrine near the central fireplace in her honor.

One notable exception to the 'no official priests' is the organization calling itself the Divine Diplomats. These Diplomats all honor Nyysan, working to spread peace and understanding through talking over problems and getting people to compromise when opinions differ significantly. Even Redwater has been known to grant the Divine Diplomats greater leeway than other pagan priests.


Golma's (god of the dead) priests preside at funerals and often act as impartial judges in cases that deal with religious sects. For the most part, his priests are male, but there is no discrimination between male and female priests.

Golma is also known to have a mystery cult. This cult tends to refer to Golma by the ancient Corcoranese unisex gender pronoun zhe, if they use a pronoun at all for the god. Rumor has it that one of the initiation rites into the mystery cult reveals Golma's true form and gender, and that the initiates are forbidden from referring to Golma as either gender in order to avoid accidentally revealing the truth to non-initiates.

One of the most disturbing facets of this mystery cult is that all initiates are said to have come face to face with the god of death and then sent back. What is known is that some of the initiates do not survive this particular trial. The inner circle of Golma's mystery cult are said to possess the ability to bring someone back to life after they have died, a feat that clerics of other gods – even those of other pantheons – have never successfully accomplished.


While normally worshipped in conjunction with the rest of the pantheon in their communal temples, Ryl's (goddess of wisdom and prophecy) priests have sought out natural sites which can amplify their link with the goddess. Several of these locations have become renowned as oracular sites; there is at least one in every nation in the Teyoth region. The oracles of these sites take vows of chastity and blindness, walking around blindfolded and spending most of their time in deep meditation.


Navor's (god of light, knowledge, medicine, music, etc.) priests are found mostly in temples dedicated to the entire pantheon or at oracular sites dedicated primarily to Ryl. Shrines have been erected in other locations, however, most notably in houses of healing, public baths, and universities. As the patron deity of the accumulation of knowledge, many schools and universities hold him in high regard. There has been a rising trend in the academic world to build a temple on the university campus dedicated solely to Navor; the first such university to do so was in Rinkasae; the city has since renamed itself Navoropolis in his honor. Navor's individual temples often but not always have shrines to Ryl and their children, Ha'all (god of chaos and art) and Grangre (goddess of order and knowledge).

The priests of Navor and Vy (goddess of darkness, knowledge, corruption, etc.) the Corruptor have a long-standing rivalry, and Navor's priests have occasionally gone to incredible lengths to uncover Vy's sects and hidden temples.

It is rumored that the Navoropolis Academy houses several pages from Vy's Ebony Tome under lock and key, though nothing has ever been proven; this rumor is not denied, however, with priests claiming that if it were true, the pages are in the safest place possible.


Gessa (goddess of the night, woodlands, and the hunt) doesn't have dedicated temples. Most of Gessa's adherents build shrines in temples shared with other deities, or in groves that are commonly considered "sacred". Gessa's priests are commonly female, but there are male priests as well.


(continued next post)

[Phantasm]

Akanksha (goddess of love, passion, fertility, and sex) is one of the few gods to have temples dedicated solely to her in addition to her shrines in the temples dedicated to the entire pantheon.

Akanksha's temples are well-known in the Teyoth region as houses of ill repute, with her priestesses well-skilled in the erotic arts. In addition to this, her priestesses – Akanksha has no male priests – are skilled healers; in times of crisis, her temples become houses where the sick and injured will be tended without discrimination.

During the Festival of Akanksha, which occurs monthly on the night of the primary full moon, her priestesses lead any who are willing in a full-blown orgy. As one priestess put it, "One of the most common means of communicating with the divine is by inducing an altered state of consciousness. And there is no more pleasurable means of achieving that altered state than lots of orgasms!"

Akanksha refuses anyone to be armed or armored inside her temples. Most temples have a storage room near the front doors for storing any weapons and armor a visitor may be carrying. She requires all of her priests to be affirmed pacifists, never fighting except in self-defense and always to disarm, never to kill (in game terms, the Pacifist (Self-Defense Only or Total Non-Violence) disadvantage).


Suthre (god of the forge) rarely has temples devoted solely to him; his priests typically tend to shrines in temples dedicated to the entire pantheon. Many more shrines, however, are found in and around blacksmith forges, kilns, mining towns, and blast furnaces.


The patron of warriors and champion of noble causes, Vilhelmo's temples often resemble military barracks or monasteries. He has shrines in every town guard and militia.


Trys (the trickster goddess, goddess of luck, cunning, pranks, laughter, noble thieves, and treasure hunters) has no formal temples of her own, and only occasionally are shrines to her encountered outside temples dedicated to the entire pantheon. Despite this, she is a commonly invoked when seeking good fortune or wishing such to others. "Trys smile upon you," is a common phrase for wishing others good fortune.


Kesuul's (god of lycanthropes, hunting, woodlands, etc.) worship began in Hrigak (a nation composed primarily of Vulptens, a fox-type race), being worshipped in temples dedicated to the entire Teyoth Pantheon. His worship has spread to South Ford, Ered-Dûm, and the Teyoth region, and today he is worshipped alongside the full pantheon in the central temples. Like Gessa, however, many shrines to him have appeared in rural and wilderness areas.

Clerics, priests, or other followers of his are strong, wild, cunning, and are considered the best for adventuring companions in those circles due to their loyal nature, which is hard to gain, but, once earned, can be inviolate. Unfortunately, due to the bias against were-creatures in general, not everyone will seek out their aid or trust themselves in their care. This is not entirely unexpected, given that some lycanthropes have earned their evil reputation, even though most have not. Strictly non-were followers of his, especially human ones, are considered crazier then most.


Su'kal's (goddess of death and the undead) temples tend to be hidden in underground sewer systems and ancient crypts in cemeteries, both places that have lots of bodies for the creation of lesser undead.


Rallos (god of war, destruction, rage, and mindless slaughter) is one of the few gods following Ekchhar the Rebel whose worship is open in the Teyoth Region. Many barracks have shrines to Rallos in a corner, next to shrines to other warrior gods.

Rallos's favored warriors are known as berserkers both for their tendency to lose themselves in a mindless rage during battle and their tendency to fight without armor – and in some cases bare naked. A mystery cult has grown around the art of berserking.


I've got a ton of other gods I need to work things out for, as well as expanding most of these above. But is there anything that stands out as saying, "uh, this doesn't make sense"?

[mikeejimbo]

I'd love to hear more about the Conjunction.

[David Johnston2]

I kind of have trouble with the goddess of passion being a pacifist.

[Phantasm]

Originally Posted by mikeejimbo

I'd love to hear more about the Conjunction.

Sorry, that was actually described in a wholly different section of the setting document.

Essentially, there are three moons in the sky; the Conjunction is when all three moons are not only in the sky together, but full and seeming to pass one in front of the other. It's an event that happens - by my current calculations - once every 23 years or so.

During the Conjunction, according to the religion's dogma, rulership of the pantheon passes to the goddess of order so that the current leader and the leader of the renegade faction duke it out for control over the pantheon.

Originally Posted by David Johnston2

I kind of have trouble with the goddess of passion being a pacifist.

I see it as a passion to create, channeling positive passions rather than destructive ones. I'll be honest, part of that came from the setting's original D&D days, with the goddess being an "I'm a lover, not a fighter" type.

I'm open to suggestions, though.

[johndallman]

Originally Posted by Phantasm

Kaimana's primary festival is held on the tenth of every month at sundown, consisting of a festive meal followed by music, dancing, and song lasting well into the night.

Given you have three moons, would it make sense for his festivals to be linked to the tides?