Pre-BECMI Deities of the Known World

[Paul J. Stormberg]

Howdy All.


I am looking for a list Pre-BECMI (B/X Rulebooks, AC1, B1-7, X1-X5) Deities of the Known World including which modules they came from, alignment, and name. So far I have:

B3--C--Arik
B3--?--gods of Haven (assumed Lawful)
B4--L--Gorm
B4--N--Usamigaras
B4--N--Madarua
B4--C--Zargon (False)
X1--C--Kopru (False)
X3--L--Forsetta
X3--N--Nooga
X3--C--Cretia

So what ones are missing?

Futures Bright,

Paul

[rogueattorney]

Isn't there a deity named for the islanders in X1? (Not the Kopru... I mean the islanders south of the wall.)

B2 doesn't have a god named, but does have some interesting details to build upon in the Shrine of Evil Chaos. Ditto for B1 in the chapel.

B6 has a festival going on in Specularum. I think a god or saint or hero of some sort is named.

[havard]

Isn't there a deity named for the islanders in X1? (Not the Kopru... I mean the islanders south of the wall.)

Oloron IIRC.

B6 has a festival going on in Specularum. I think a god or saint or hero of some sort is named.

Really? Must investigate this one...!

Havard

[Snorri]

B5, a nameless Lizard-God, which seems to appear in other places.

X1, Eleren, Lord of sky

X11 Idris, a black dragon mounted sword-lady venerated in Denagoth. A shrine of Enoreth, the Elf god (known as Labelas in other worlds) is mentionned

CM1 Crones ?

I'l see if I found others, but I already searchen for the same thing

[rogueattorney]

From B6:

Advancing toward the gate is the Procession of Lucor. The procession is a religious celebration honoring a legendary local cleric named Lucor. It winds through the streets of the city to the harbor, where the statue of Lucor is floated out to sea. Each year a woman of notable rank and importance leads the procession. This year Lady Magda, a member of the Torenescu faction, has this honor.

[rogueattorney]

X5 has "The Living Light."

Also X5 has the citizens of Hule ruled by a hagiarchy. But, I do not believe that the god or gods worshiped are ever mentioned, other than to say that they are Chaotic.

Elyas is the name of the sage/wizard and founder of the religion of the elves in B7. The temple and shrine seem to be dedicated to him. It doesn't really say whether Elyas is the object of worship, or if Elyas taught the elves to worship someone else.

[Snorri]

we got allready a nice Pantheon. I'll verify in my M modules, where we can find "proto-mystaran" immortals : Vanya, Alphaks & Koryis.

In B1 clerics NPC / prerolled PC's names, we find St.-Cuthbert, St-Carmichael and a few 'religious order names' which could be usefull.

I grasped that material in my world setting :
http://sites.google.com/site/wizardinabottle/

[QuantumEFX]

I don't know if the Egg counts, the "Frog God" from the Temple of The Frog and aracane prime, off the top of my head.

The DA modules had several pre-blackmoor "gods" listed in the history sections. Which of course I can't remember any right now.

The immortals list* has several primordial / prehistory immortals on it.

* based on the codex immortalis by Marco Delmonte over at Pandius

[Lord Dynel]

In B5, there are a few references of a "pagan" god.

There are more gods in the Known World that are kind of obscure, but within your criteria you pretty much have them.

[Snorri]

In the Master set, The Big One and the three dragon rulers of law, neutrality and chaos could be undsertood as being gods. They are later stated as immortals.

Old Averoigne as a very religious background, which seems to catholicism (as it is described as middel-age France) and hostile to 'Pagans'. As for Cretia, the plain nomads deity, paganism seems strongly linked to chaos, even if law isn't so clearly linked to christianism as in od&d (let's see the thread on law & chaos clerics on odd74).

In X13, 'Gylgarid' is a chaotic and evil god worshipped by north barbarians of the Erid isles. Its origins are 'uncertain'. Its clerics lives isolated and tolerates no other humans, using ogres as henchmen. He's depicted as a Bull-headed god and Minotaurs statues protects his shrine.

As X13 is set in Vestand, Forsett is also named amon other unnamed gods. Another chaotic god named there is Darga, whose symbol is a winged warrior.

The Ruthinian order is lawful, but it's unclear if Ruthin is only the place of the monastery or if it's also a god name - they seem to be rather polytheists. Monks of high order wear a yellow robe, and they strongly support the ruling dynasty.

I didn't noticed theses gods before, so that thread is a great opportunity to rediscover pre-mystaran known world. I'llc ontinue to watch other modules.

Edit: X8 Kara-Karas (tropical green orcs) have a Pig God named Tapu. A devil-swine lure them into let believe he's actually Tapu. He's depicted as a pig-faced umanoid.

Our proto-pantheon grows!

[Lord Dynel]

In the Master set, The Big One and the three dragon rulers of law, neutrality and chaos could be undsertood as being gods. They are later stated as immortals.

Old Averoigne as a very religious background, which seems to catholicism (as it is described as middel-age France) and hostile to 'Pagans'. As for Cretia, the plain nomads deity, paganism seems strongly linked to chaos, even if law isn't so clearly linked to christianism as in od&d (let's see the thread on law & chaos clerics on odd74).

In X13, 'Gylgarid' is a chaotic and evil god worshipped by north barbarians of the Erid isles. Its origins are 'uncertain'. Its clerics lives isolated and tolerates no other humans, using ogres as henchmen. He's depicted as a Bull-headed god and Minotaurs statues protects his shrine.

As X13 is set in Vestand, Forsett is also named amon other unnamed gods. Another chaotic god named there is Darga, whose symbol is a winged warrior.

The Ruthinian order is lawful, but it's unclear if Ruthin is only the place of the monastery or if it's also a god name - they seem to be rather polytheists. Monks of high order wear a yellow robe, and they strongly support the ruling dynasty.

I didn't noticed theses gods before, so that thread is a great opportunity to rediscover pre-mystaran known world. I'llc ontinue to watch other modules.

Edit: X8 Kara-Karas (tropical green orcs) have a Pig God named Tapu. A devil-swine lure them into let believe he's actually Tapu. He's depicted as a pig-faced umanoid.

Our proto-pantheon grows!

I caught those, too, Snorri, but since those were outside the parameters set by Paul, I scratched them.

[Mr. Reaper]

Well, it's from '83... but

M1, Blizzard Pass

As you advance into the room, you see a magnificent white statue of a toad-like creature resting in the center of the room. The body of the stone beast lies close to the ground, as if ready to spring. Your lantern light glitters off its enormous multifaceted eyes, making the statue seem almost alive.
...
Roderick circles the statue slowly, studying it from all sides. Finally, he says, "If I remember my studies properly, this is a statue of Stodos, called Master of the Icy Wastes by his worshippers. This evil god lives in a frozen world where no other life survives, and is an abomination to all things natural. His worshippers desire to spread his icy realm throughout the land. Some even believe he bestows power over the elements upon his most devoted followers."

[havard]

The DA modules had several pre-blackmoor "gods" listed in the history sections. Which of course I can't remember any right now.

Zugzul.

Havard

[Snorri]

I caught those, too, Snorri, but since those were outside the parameters set by Paul, I scratched them.

Right, Mylord. So we got a prehistoric pantheon (before becmi) and a protohistoric one (before Mystara).

Amon prehistoric gods, i noted the Scorpion-Man :

"The scrolls tell of the scorpion-man god who lived at this temple. A
lawful being, he was charged with keeping certain evil horrors
under the earth, away from the world of men. To aid him in this
task, the gods gave him invulnerability to all things but a magically
inscribed ivory spike. In time, a religion grew around the scorpionman,
and his worshippers built the temple around him." (X4, p. 13)

Some monks also worshipped unnamed gods (it there is some taboo on naming gods) :

"This entryway is lavishly carved and painted with pictures of the
gods of learning once worshipped by the monks. These show
benevolent old men with long beards and robes holding various
objects in their hands - a mirror, a bowl of water, a small animal,
and a plant of some type.", p. 23 and

"At the top are a group of god-like beings, apparently the
gods of the temple. The other scenes depict man (at the bottom), a
group of demonic creatures struggling with each other, a group of
animals, and the elements of earth, fire, and air. In the center of the
wheel is apparently the holy symbol of the order - a bull’s horns
with the sun in between them. The other half of the gate has a
picture of a fierce and ugly god-like creature slaying smaller
hideous creatures against a background of clouds. The gate is
barred from the inside." p. 24.

[QuantumEFX]

The DA modules had several pre-blackmoor "gods" listed in the history sections. Which of course I can't remember any right now.

Zugzul.

Havard

Yep, that's the main one that was lurking in the back of my head.

Thanks Havard

[havard]

Yep, that's the main one that was lurking in the back of my head.

Thanks Havard

NP

I know Odin and Hel have been attributed to the Blackmoor era, but I'm not sure if they were actually mentioned in the module. I know Zimriel used Odin as the main patron of the Blackmoorians. Mystaros introduced the Odin/Hel rivalry. Hel has always been attributed to the creation of the Beastmen back in the Blackmoor era ofcourse, but these are from post BECMI sources.

Havard

[Thorkhammer]

Don't know if Zeus preceeds Holmes, but he appears in the "blue book" p.40, along with Crom and Cthulu; the latter 2 made me blink upon seeing (just the other night!)

Don't know if they, truly, qualify for the "known world" but, certainly appear before BECMI.

[bobjester]

Don't know if Zeus preceeds Holmes, but he appears in the "blue book" p.40, along with Crom and Cthulu; the latter 2 made me blink upon seeing (just the other night!)

Don't know if they, truly, qualify for the "known world" but, certainly appear before BECMI.

Holmes' blue book? Nope. Sample dungeon starts on p. 40. Which blue book are you talkin' 'bout, Thorkie?

[Thorkhammer]

Holmes, 2nd Edition, November 1978 print, p.40, 3rd paragraph states:

"Once the game begins... When characters swear they call on the wrath of their appropriate dieties, be it Zeus, Crom, Cthulu or whatever."

[bobjester]

I completely missed that on first scan. Then again, I keep forgetting that searching for a word or set of words in a printed book is different than doing a word search on the internet... The words aren't in bold type or highlighted, you actually have to read the damn thing!

Thanks, Thorkie!

[Agricola]

Wow! What a group-quick, informed answers. Dragonsfoot is Great!

[Mike]

Miscellaneous gleanings...

B3 has statues of "unknown gods and goddesses" as well as the Protectors
X1 Cult of the Walking Dead, led by a Zombie Master (surely Chaotic; but no gods named, probably voodoo type spirits)
X1 "Oloron, Lord of the Skies" (Lawful, village of Mantru, on forbidden plateau)
X2 has "death demons"/"Ostego" (Chaotic) and mentions a dream of a winged god or goddess.
X4 "The Malakaz" is a godlike being, probably Neutral
X4 "The One Who Keeps Us" (the scorpion-man god)
X4 "The True Faith" (of the desert dervishes)
X4 "The Guardian against False Reading and Impious Thought" (statue of lawful god?)
X4 "The Veil of Truth" (statue of lawful goddess?)
X5 "Unknown Benefactor" may be a god
X5 "Living Light" (probably Neutral or Chaotic since it kills people)
X5 gods/goddesses of Hule (Chaotic)
X5 Black Altar to a forgotten religion
XSOLO "Araknee"/"Temple of Araknee" (apparently a forgotten spider god, unknown alignment)
XL1 "He Who Watches" (Lawful, patron of Ghyr?)

(XSOLO and XL1 are both 1984, same as B6)

[Snorri]

Nice pick! Any other unnoticed deity?

[ExTSR]

Forget not the Greater Deities -- The Egg, Great Kaye (no relation to MiB), Perrin, the First Blume, and others (even the evil Pog of entropy).

F

[Telemachus]

(even the evil Pog of entropy).

Nay, not so the PoG; for her name is faded and forgotten, and she is but a shadow of malice in the wilderness, sent back powerless to the Void.

Sorry, I've been rereading the Silmarillion.

[QuantumEFX]

Forget not the Greater Deities -- The Egg, Great Kaye (no relation to MiB), Perrin, the First Blume, and others (even the evil Pog of entropy).

F

Perrin? The "P(n)=" Perrin?

[ExTSR]

Sorry, I meant the Perren (creator of the First Pattern).

[chatdemon]

Miscellaneous gleanings...

In addition, if we look at B1, in the pregenerated characters section at the back, under clerics, we find:

Dohram, Servant of Saint Carmichael
Tassit, Servant of Saint Cuthbert
and
Nupo, Servant of The Bringer

Granted, St Cuthbert was used in Greyhawk, and it's apparent from early printings of B1 that it was intended for use in that setting, but going by Paul's criteria in the original post, I think these are worth considering. So add St Carmichael, St Cuthbert and "The Bringer" to the list?

Also interesting in the clerics list are hints of religions/cults with no divine affiliation mentioned:

the Great Church
the Secret Church
the Holy Brotherhood

Ah, in first skimming the thread, I missed Snorri's post where these are mentioned. Kudos!

[Snorri]

Miscellaneous gleanings...

In addition, if we look at B1, in the pregenerated characters section at the back, under clerics, we find:

Dohram, Servant of Saint Carmichael
Tassit, Servant of Saint Cuthbert
and
Nupo, Servant of The Bringer

Granted, St Cuthbert was used in Greyhawk, and it's apparent from early printings of B1 that it was intended for use in that setting, but going by Paul's criteria in the original post, I think these are worth considering. So add St Carmichael, St Cuthbert and "The Bringer" to the list?

Also interesting in the clerics list are hints of religions/cults with no divine affiliation mentioned

the Great Church
the Secret Church
the Holy Brotherhood

Ah, in first skimming the thread, I missed Snorri's post where these are mentioned. Kudos!

I use them, some under variant names, in my game setting for my current od&d play-by-post (by the way, players wanted!)

[Marco]

Were there any deities mentioned in Castle Amber? I can't remember offhand. There was that whole temple section to the chateau, plus there was an abbey of some sort in Averoigne. I don't think any specific deity names were ever brought up, however.

Marco.