Okay, it's not a monster with fangs and claws. More like an enormous file filled with the Living Greyhawk campaign's latest interpretation of the Greyhawk deities. At 210 pages, it draws on numerous sources to present Greyhawk's crowded pantheon.
So check out the Living Greyhawk Official Listing of Deities for Use in the the Campiagn, Version 2.0 document (is that a mouthful, or what?). Scary thing is, this monster is only a draft. It is an interesting file, and I thought I'd share it with our Canonfire! patrons.
First, it is a semi-draft. That is, the list is complete, to date, for the LG campaign, as are the various domain assignments, but the flavor text is not complete.
Second, there are a lot of domain reassignments. Among them is a change from the Death to the Repose Domain for Wee Jas. Why? Because the Death Domain is full of undead creating spells and the Repose Domain isn't. Likewise a large number of "prestige" Domains (mostly meaning those outside the PHB) have been reassigned, primarily to give higher level deities more Domains and lower level deities less. (Having a hero-power with 8 Domains and a Greater Power with 5 was not working.)
Third, all those additional Domains are not in the PHB. To use that full list you will need the Complete books, the Terrain books, and the Race books. Having some others will help as well.
Fourth, it provides a number of variant Prestige Classes for clerics, mostly changing the "core" deity name and allowing others to take the class. I won't comment further on the "Shining Mace of Cuthbert".
Fifth, it is so many pages because the deities are listed one to a page so LG players can print out the single page they need for their deity instead of the entire document. It is still huge. :)
Okay, it's not a monster with fangs and claws. More like an enormous file filled with the Living Greyhawk campaign's latest interpretation of the Greyhawk deities. At 210 pages, it draws on numerous sources to present Greyhawk's crowded pantheon.
So check out the Living Greyhawk Official Listing of Deities for Use in the the Campiagn, Version 2.0 document (is that a mouthful, or what?). Scary thing is, this monster is only a draft.
Realizing this is a whopping 210 pages, I find myself wishing for more meat on the bone. I'm not reading more on these dieties (except the Hero-Gods, whose references are a bit more scattered) than I've read in other products. The demi-human gods, in particular, are much better done in the Forgotten Realms product Demihuman Deities, and since all the demi human gods are present in both settings, I just use that.
I think the demi-humans should be deleted and done in another product. Likewise for the humanoid and monster gods. Then I think more attention should be given to who the (primarily) human Greyhawk dieties are. In particular, I'd like to know more about how the deity hierarchy works--how the ranking system of the pantheon works. How did the gods themselves come to Oerth? Did they find this sphere uninhabitied and fill it with life, or did they create the world and then populate it? The Complete Book of Elves (not a canon reference, I'm sure) suggests that the long battle between Corellon Lariethian and Gruumsh is the reason elves and orcs are found on so many worlds. Is it a similar case for the other deities of Oerth?
While it is great to have all the deities in one central location, it will be better if there's more than just a blurb on each god.
While it is great to have all the deities in one central location, it will be better if there's more than just a blurb on each god.
I agree on deferring demi human information to other books, they aretreated with more intensity in those arenas. Concerning this work, despite the size of the document, don't confuse it for some attempt to make a tell-all Greyhawk sourcebook. This is purely a comprehensive guide book for choosing a religion to play in Living Greyhawk.
While it is great to have all the deities in one central location, it will be better if there's more than just a blurb on each god.
I agree on deferring demi human information to other books, they aretreated with more intensity in those arenas. Concerning this work, despite the size of the document, don't confuse it for some attempt to make a tell-all Greyhawk sourcebook. This is purely a comprehensive guide book for choosing a religion to play in Living Greyhawk.
Well, to be truly comprehensive, IMHO, more is needed than simply the sphere of influence. How about a description of faith and dogma? We get gobs for St. Cuthbert--but many other religions are neglected in that way. What about church structure? Major figures in the religion? More on religious artificats. What are each god's holy days, and why are they sacred? I haven't seen anything like that in the draft.
Comprehensive as in the alphabetical listing of names. My bad.
Most of the information contained in Living Greyhawk guidelines will only be useful in making your character and advancing it in level and keeping it convention legal. While the details for faith, dogma, church structure and holy days would be cool, that's all fluff that you'll usually only get in magazine articles and on regional websites.
Comprehensive as in the alphabetical listing of names. My bad.
Most of the information contained in Living Greyhawk guidelines will only be useful in making your character and advancing it in level and keeping it convention legal. While the details for faith, dogma, church structure and holy days would be cool, that's all fluff that you'll usually only get in magazine articles and on regional websites.
Well, I would call it meat, not fluff Nonetheless, you are quite right
Most of the information contained in Living Greyhawk guidelines will only be useful in making your character and advancing it in level and keeping it convention legal.
This is totally true, Mort. Every Living Greyhawk region has its Meta Organizations. And, the regions base the requirements for membership in religious Meta-orgs on information in documents like this thick deities list. Also, access to goodies (magic, Feats, Prestige Classes) is based on documents like this.
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Nonetheless, you are quite right