The Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Osirion

I would hope they dont. I dont mind settings borrowing ideas from 'reality', but if it goes too far then for me the setting looses that sparkle and I lose interest.

I would bet there is probably some overlap between the Vudrani and Hindu pantheons, while they're not exactly the same. The Lands of the Linnorm Kings have already been covered, though, which is kind of a shame since this article got me thinking about how I'd do the Norse pantheon in Pathfinder... I think I might actually do a lot of them as demigods, really.

MMCJawa wrote:

Simplicity. If you are going to have a land that is basically pseudoEgypt, why not use actual Egyptian gods? There already is precedence for Earth existing in the setting, and by using real mythological figures you get to use a cast of characters already familiar to many players. The fact they come from real world mythology also means there are tons of books and websites for material to learn more about them for incorporation into your game.

So that begs the question why create a fictional Vudrani pantheon, for example, rather than just appropriate the Hindu pantheon? Why create Irori when you could use Vishnu? Why not copy the Norse pantheon for the worship of the Ulfen people?

Also, as a self-ascended monastic figure, Irori is a better analogue for Budda than Vishnu.

MMCJawa wrote:

Simplicity. If you are going to have a land that is basically pseudoEgypt, why not use actual Egyptian gods? There already is precedence for Earth existing in the setting, and by using real mythological figures you get to use a cast of characters already familiar to many players. The fact they come from real world mythology also means there are tons of books and websites for material to learn more about them for incorporation into your game.

So that begs the question why create a fictional Vudrani pantheon, for example, rather than just appropriate the Hindu pantheon? Why create Irori when you could use Vishnu? Why not copy the Norse pantheon for the worship of the Ulfen people?

Probably because Hinduism is still a major religion for a good chunk of the world's population. It's the same reason we haven't got stats for Jesus yet.

And who's to say that the old Ulfen gods are not Norse? Maybe if we get an Ulfen heavy AP we will get an article detailing all the Norse Gods?

I wonder about the proteans, were Keket and Naunet a part of Osirion mythology

I'm crazy-excited about this. However, I find the blatant lack of Mafdet in this list sorely disappointing.

My apologies for the double-post.

No... like the rigidity of Egyptian life, the pantheon was set there to help the people. Set, once the god handling the outside world, turned evil after a big invasion attempt, as I understand it.

Set was actually just a god of change. Chaos is just the force of change. Where there is change, that is chaos. Destruction is the beginning of the cycle of life, etc. Set actually works toward maintaining the balance of Ma'at and upon sunrise, slays the demon A-pep. (That's why the sunrise has red, it was supposed to be the serpent's blood)

Yeah, like Sissyl said, there just aren't a lot of evil entities in the various incarnations of the Egyptian pantheon. Even Set, in some interpretations, isn't necessarily evil, it's pretty much just Apep (and some smaller weaker entities that would probably "just" be Demigods in Pathfinder). The Egyptian gods existed in their culture mostly to teach and oversee orderly conduct, the ancient Egyptians didn't have as much in the way of sweeping drama plays involving light vs. dark, good vs. evil, and that sort of thing.

I think Block Knight's got it pretty right here. Just wanted to add that A-pep wasn't a god, though. Was seen as a demon "of sorts". It is un-creation, the exact opposite of Ma'at. It doesn't destroy, it negates. And it was FAR from a god.

One thing to keep in mind is that Egyptian Religion is not just its mythology, We tend to focus on the mythologies of different cultures, wheather they be greek, egyptian or what not. But while important to religion, it is not the end of it.

Also the egyptian religion is still practiced today, Kemeticism as it is called.

This article however is of great use to me for my version of Osirion. They are not the deities of just 'ancient' Osirion, but modern Osirion. The current Ruby Prince is encouraging a massive cultural revival, and that also includes the old gods of Osirion are now being promoted once again.

Set's rise and fall was tied to what happened to Egypt. Set was seen as a God of 'Foreigners' of outside influences ( in addition to his role as God of Desert/Storms/other). As these foreigners had negative impacts on Egypt , then so did Set become 'bad'. Invading Egypt militarily cast Set in a very bad light.

Its true of any religon though.

Niiiiiiice!

I'm crazy-excited about this. However, I find the blatant lack of Mafdet in this list sorely disappointing.

I'd say it's because of the Maftets, but they've certainly split hairs with spellings before.

Yggdra wrote:

I'm crazy-excited about this. However, I find the blatant lack of Mafdet in this list sorely disappointing.

I'd say it's because of the Maftets, but they've certainly split hairs with spellings before.

Oh, poo. I guess you have a point, there. I can totally see a Mafdet cleric, though, slaying enemies of the king (or whomever liege lord they serve), cutting out their heart and sending it back to them. Travel, Law, Nobility type domains. /sigh Oh well. :)

(I wonder about the Advanced Classes like the Skald and the Swashbuckler. Gives me some hope they'll change some words there in the finalization..)

It is interesting to note that there is no gods of Artifice and Healing, but there is one of Destruction and Healing.

I think this is aweful, just a personal opinion.

I think this is aweful, just a personal opinion.

why?

It is interesting to note that there is no gods of Artifice and Healing, but there is one of Destruction and Healing.

You would think that the creator god types would have domains of both Artifice and Healing, such as Khnum, the third aspect of Ra.

Gods that have multiple aspects, should they have Domains that are a compilation of all their aspects, or would you think that a Cleric may worship a particular aspect of a god?

Question: For non Human races (like Pahmet) Dwarves would it cause issues if one was to worship a Dwarven version of Anubis over the similar god for the Dwarves?

I have a Dwarf Oracle of Bone who is quite twisted and has lived deep beneath the earth. I want his powers to come from the old gods and Anubis seems like a good fit. He is somewhat of an outcast because he lives so far under the desert and isnt really aware of who is actually powering him.

I love the art!