Ishy’s Homebrew Pantheon!
For my homebrew world, I have a limited pantheon to choose from. This doesn’t exclude the equivalent of “saints” for each of these deities which can be created as needed. Much like the Greek pantheon, mine features gods that are all acknowledged to exist by the people of the material plane, but individuals typically choose a “patron” deity to follow. There are also those, however, who find none of the gods worth worshipping, and pay patronage to none of them at all.
Gods can gain their godhood by being worshipped, openly or otherwise, by holding dominion over other sources of power, such as collecting souls or claiming ownership of other powerful beings, or through other strong emotional responses such as fear or anger. Each god chooses their own method to obtain power, and some are definitely stronger than others.
This also means that it is indeed possible for mortals to obtain godhood through ascension, and imagine 20th level characters as approaching this threshold.
The Canon:
Canon deities are those that are openly worshipped. They often have temples or shrines dedicated to them in town squares, along roadsides, or in other prominent locations. People also frequently have tiny, personal shrines to their favored god within their homes.
Dragarix
The Platinum Dragon
With wings large enough to black out Hethora’s gaze and to blow away Keth’s fiercest storms, Dragarix commands all metallic dragons. Occasionally, exhausted of waging constant war in Zephyrius, his soldiers flee to other planes where he cannot reach them; being deemed a traitor is an easier fate than what Dragarix would impose upon them personally for failure. He creates Dragonborn by gifting mortals with the scales of Xel, who he keeps chained at his feet.
Goren
The Gilded One
The god of craftsmanship, artistry, and metals, Goren granted the talent of infusing magic into tattoos and the knowledge to weave textiles of pure gold and silver to his people . He wields the hammer that forged the other planes material from the Elemental Chaos.
Hethora
The Wayfinder
Hethora plucked her own eyes so that she could constantly observe the material plane in an attempt to protect it from evil forces. The Sun, her left, and the Moon, her blinded right eye, shine in the sky, showing direction and time to those who look up.
Keth
The Gray Tempest
Any captain worth his salt won’t sail without making an offering to Keth, lest they want lightning to strike the bow and winds to slice their sails. His rains nurture crops, his snows fill streams, and his seas provide fish to those of the material plane.
The Mistmother
The Whispering One
She is the whisper of death upon the back of your neck, the call of a raven above a bloody battlefield. She sows and reaps souls, tucking them away in her breast until they are needed again. Her castle in the Shadowfell sprawls like a layer of fog on the sea.
Nyshane
The Ever-changing One
Both infinite and finite, summer and winter, the coldest stream and the hottest desert wind. Nyshane is the parent of elves and the Feywild, whose form is in constant flux just like the passage of seasons or the unending descent of time.
The Outliers:
Gods that aren’t necessarily socially acceptable to worship are referred to as the Outliers. While not necessarily evil, individuals aren’t likely to disclose to others that they worship these gods. Frequently these deities gain their power through other means than adoration.
Adezik
The Smoldering King
Master of devils and sealer of contracts, Adezik holds more souls in his possession than any other being. He resides atop the highest spire in Avarjia and gazes down upon everything that is his, constantly seeking to add to his collection
Blight
The Thread of Chaos
A physical void, decay, the web of reality. Blight slithers in an out of each hole in the realms, both holding them together and unmaking them thread by thread. It reaches into the farthest corners of the universe, seeking to consume all that is.
Helmedeus
The Formless One
Their will is pure arcane magic. Sometimes worshipped in secret by wizards and sorcerers alike, Helmedeus is the well in which all arcane magic is drawn, overflowing and folding in upon themselves, reaching out to grasp at all the other planes.
The Pillars
The Judges
Looming in the deep gray of the river, Cyrrix, the Pillars judge without eyes. Their gaze weighs more than the mightiest beast, despite their immovability. The current parts for their stone columns, but only for them. Upon a mortal creature’s death, despite any claim to their soul, that creature must pass through the river and wait before the Judges so that they can determine whether that soul is worth the fate it has received, or if it must wander the river again.
Sarmora
The Abyssal Maw
Daughter to the Shewolf but banished to the Withering Wastes, wherever Sarmora walks, demons sprig forth from her footsteps. She creates canyons here her claws drag along the ground and her breath generates constant, stone-rending winds.
The Shewolf
The Ghost of the Beastlands
An entity of unknown origin, The Shewolf patrols the Beastlands as her own territory, passing through on silent paws. Worshipped primarily by beasts, her jaw is said to open into an endless void, and she gladly consumes any who oppose her.
Throxera
The Many-throated Serpent
The queen of chromatic dragons and hoarder of unimaginable treasures, Throxera’s terrible roars saturate the air with her might. She is always a moment’s grace away from erupting to the material plane to take what she feels she deserves.
Xel
The Chained Dragon
Xel, the daughter of Throxera and born of her rage, lay chained at Dragarix’s hand. He harvests her colorful scales when creating his Dragonborn. Her every moment is spent attempting to escape his many, many layers of enchanted, platinum chains.
Zarma
The Many-legged
The terror of the Underdark, Zarma dug the tunnels to escape Hethora’s constant gaze, dragging some of the material plane’s peoples with her. The realm shivers when she crawls and the clacking of her mandibles sends shockwaves through the earth.
The Ascendant:
Mortals that attain godhood are referred to as The Ascendant. They’re frequently favored in tandem with other gods. They’re typically young and their followings aren’t as large as the canon gods.
The Avalon
The Matron of Resurrection
The Mistmother’s right hand, the Avalon feels every pluck on the strings binding soul to body. Upon the shattering of your restorative diamonds, she will appear and determine the result of your resurrection herself.
The Bastion
The Unyielding Shield
Once a paladin of Hethora, and whose name has been lost to time, the Bastion single-handedly repelled an army of devils until his shield, full of arrows, sundered under the onslaught. The mourning elevated him to divine status of his own.
Everred
The Bleeding One
Always nipping at the Shewolf’s heels is another beast whose coat is perpetually stained in blood from her own perpetual wounds. She is feared for her ferocity on the hunt and leaves a bloody wake wherever she travels.
Lystara
The Shadow-bringer
Once mortal, Lystara raised her daggers against the constant gaze of Hethora, blinding her right eye. The darkness granted by this feat allowed those of the material plane to find sanctity in shadows. The praise she received helped her ascend to godhood.