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That would indeed be super neat.
I'm gonna leak a little insider info here (you heard it here first!): Class Acts is going to run a series on the Aztec deities starting very shortly. Once that series runs its course, I'd like to do another from a different pantheon. I might just have to go with Celtic. :)
Yes, Mike, Celtic would be major cool. I second the motion. I've just been reading a book of Celtic mythology and it's pretty cool. Evangeline Walton's "Mabinogion" tetralogy was even cooler. Arawn, and Manannan MacLir, and the Dagda. Very cool.
And on your Aztec deities series, do publish a couple of references for those of us that might be interested in further reading. (Aztecs are quite cool too!)
If you need someone to do Chinese deities when you're done with the Celts, I volunteer.
I'll second the second.
I really enjoy Celtic Folklore.
And I agree it would be cool if yu could include a bibliography for further reading.
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That would indeed be super neat.
I'm gonna leak a little insider info here (you heard it here first!): Class Acts is going to run a series on the Aztec deities starting very shortly. Once that series runs its course, I'd like to do another from a different pantheon. I might just have to go with Celtic. :)
How interesting. Vikings would be cool too. Odin!!!
I have been an avide reader about the Celt's as my ancestrygoes back to the Belgae clan which split in two after the roman invasion with one half moving to southern England and the other half remaining on the European continant and eventually establishing the country of Belgium.I hope you consider some of the obscure gods as well as the well known as at last count I believe archeologists have confirmed just under four hundred Celtic dieties and some of the lesser known gods are really neat.It may also a good idea to split the celtic gods into regional areas such as the Irish Pantheon,the Welsh Pantheon,the northern and southern Albion as well as the mainland which includes from the northern part of Spain and the majority of Europe all the way east to the edge of Turkey where they had there salt mines and some of the celts even traveled as far south as Africa as shields and swords have been discovered in Egypt.If you could use any help let me know as I had been doing a Celtic d20 source book anyway.
If you asked for Persian Gods now you might be able to get them in in time to tie into a middle east theme to go with the launch of "300".
I would also love to see stuff on the celtic pantheon. A lot of my research for my homebrew is done through the books I own on the Celtic myths and heros.
MOR-RI-GAN!!! MOR-RI-GAN!!! MOR-RI-GAN!!!
*cough* Ahem... sorry, I get a bit emotional talking about my favorite topics. I love Celtic legends a great deal, and any snippets of such that have popped up in Dragon have made me ecstatic (Master of the Hunt article = masterpiece). I support any effort to get the likes of Cernunos, Dagda, and (of course) Morrigan into an updated D&D format.
I'm gonna leak a little insider info here (you heard it here first!): Class Acts is going to run a series on the Aztec deities starting very shortly. Once that series runs its course, I'd like to do another from a different pantheon. I might just have to go with Celtic. :)
So will the Aztec pantheon be presented in their real world incarnations, or within the context of their presence within D&D [such as Camaxtli getting obliterated by Orcus/Tenebrous]?
And of course likewise with any treatment of the Celtic pantheon, it'd be nice to see any article take into account their inclusion within D&D over the years (such as the deific realm of Annwn in the Gray Waste, or the one proxy of Arawn who's a member of the Dustmen in Sigil), etc.
I love Celtic legends a great deal, and any snippets of such that have popped up in Dragon have made me ecstatic (Master of the Hunt article = masterpiece).
That’s the coolest thing that anyone has ever said about one of my articles. ;) I'm glad that you liked it!
A rundown of the Gods of the Celtic Nations would be fantastic- the main snag to avoid would be over-codification, since the oral traditions have meant the stories can be wildly inconsistent from one another (an aspect I love, since it indicates the folklore is still alive and vital).
If you're looking for great starting resources one for the mythology and how it's tied to it's lands, might I suggest these, since the plethora of material can be bewildering (I'm Irish, so that's where my bias lies):
A Dictionary of Irish Mythology- Peter Berresford Ellis.
Mythic Ireland- Michael Dames.
The Tain- Thomas Kinsella.
For a great insight into the Pagan Celtic mind, The Warlord Chronicles by Bernard Cornwell shows us a world where nature is alive with spirits and portents.
Mike-
That is *SO FREAKIN' COOL*! I love, love, love the idea of featuring different real-world mythos in the context of D&D. I liked the Grendel piece, and would like to see a continued feature of lots of different cultures- all have something different to offer.
I am *really* stoked about the Aztec one! Totally by coincidence, I started playing an Aztec Dread Necromancer just two weeks ago in our Age of Worms campaign- how cool is that?? Here is hoping for Mictlantecutli, God of the Dead... :)
And, in an earlier campaign, I played a Viking Barbarian/Druid. So that pantheon would be very nifty, too.
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Contributor
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Mike-
That is *SO FREAKIN' COOL*! I love, love, love the idea of featuring different real-world mythos in the context of D&D. I liked the Grendel piece, and would like to see a continued feature of lots of different cultures- all have something different to offer.
I am *really* stoked about the Aztec one! Totally by coincidence, I started playing an Aztec Dread Necromancer just two weeks ago in our Age of Worms campaign- how cool is that?? Here is hoping for Mictlantecutli, God of the Dead... :)
And, in an earlier campaign, I played a Viking Barbarian/Druid. So that pantheon would be very nifty, too.
I'm glad you're excited. I love mixing the real world into my D&D, so until Erik takes away my keys expect to continue to see real-world tidbits in Class Acts. The issue I'm working on now (#351), in fact, has a historical piece in the CA section. ;D
Mike,
I can see this type of thing being a great article in the magazine, but I am a little more confused on how it is going to fit into Class Acts. Additionally, how long is a "series?"
I am just thinking that a series on Aztec gods, while mildly interesting, won't provide much for most games as most are not in the area that Aztec gods would play a role (places like Maztica or even the Jungles around Sasserine might be the exception).
Would this mean I shouldn't expect crunch in class acts that would be useful to a generic D&D cleric for a while?
Please keep in mind that I love the idea of themed entries, but a series worries me. One issue where all Class Acts were themed would be great.
Sean Mahoney
Celtic is great, but what about the Egyptian dieties and mythology?
Of course, everyone will have their favorite, and second favorite, and so on, so a line has to be drawn somewhere, but all the same, I think it could be done.
Using space for class acts or using a demonomicon type of approach and spreading 6-12 dieties out over a year could work, though I would be impatient waiting for an entire year to "complete" a pantheon. Still, anything is better than nothing.
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That would indeed be super neat.
I'm gonna leak a little insider info here (you heard it here first!): Class Acts is going to run a series on the Aztec deities starting very shortly. Once that series runs its course, I'd like to do another from a different pantheon. I might just have to go with Celtic. :)
When is the Aztec series coming? My crystal skull is on the fritz; I think it has a worm.
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Contributor
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I can see this type of thing being a great article in the magazine, but I am a little more confused on how it is going to fit into Class Acts. Additionally, how long is a "series?"
I am just thinking that a series on Aztec gods, while mildly interesting, won't provide much for most games as most are not in the area that Aztec gods would play a role (places like Maztica or even the Jungles around Sasserine might be the exception).
Would this mean I shouldn't expect crunch in class acts that would be useful to a generic D&D cleric for a while?
Please keep in mind that I love the idea of themed entries, but a series worries me. One issue where all Class Acts were themed would be great.
Let me attempt to alleviate some of your concerns. As with all series we run in Class Acts, the deity series will not show up every month. Right now I have it pegged to appear every other month in the Divine slot, beginning in Dragon #352. The decision to begin then ties in with the Divine Class Act from #350, which also presents a new deity.
We're going to try to make sure this or any series is useful to as many players as possible. :)
How long would such an arc last before you start a new one?
Mike--
The appearance of the Aztec pantheon in #352 Class Acts was quite timely, given that they are also the gods of the Olman for Savage Tide. Thanks for bringing this--in answer to my query on Olman deities on the STAP board, it would seem, if I didn't know it was otherwise planned. (Thanks also to David Schwartz for writing this installment). Guess I'd better get hot on my query for that Chinese deities article, so you'll have it in your file a year from now when you start looking for the next series of gods to run.
Question for Mr. Schwartz. Do you have any good suggestions for outside reading on the topic of Aztec deities and religion?
Question for Mr. Schwartz. Do you have any good suggestions for outside reading on the topic of Aztec deities and religion?
Of the books I used, here's my top three:
For anthropology: "The Ancient Sun Kingdoms of the Americas" by Victor W. von Hagen
For myths: "The Hungry Women" John Bierhost, ed.
For pretty pictures: "Aztecs: Reign of Blood & Splendor", Time-Life Lost Civilizations, Dale Brown, ed.
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Contributor
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The appearance of the Aztec pantheon in #352 Class Acts was quite timely, given that they are also the gods of the Olman for Savage Tide.
Yeah, believe it or not, but sometimes—just sometimes mind you—I actually pay attention to what the other editors are up to around here. Mostly, though, I just do my own thing. ;D
Question for Mr. Schwartz. Do you have any good suggestions for outside reading on the topic of Aztec deities and religion?Of the books I used, here's my top three:
For anthropology: "The Ancient Sun Kingdoms of the Americas" by Victor W. von Hagen
For myths: "The Hungry Women" John Bierhost, ed.
For pretty pictures: "Aztecs: Reign of Blood & Splendor", Time-Life Lost Civilizations, Dale Brown, ed.
Hill Giant--thanks!
Mike, considering the number of Olman/Aztec gods apearing in the pages of DRAGON and DUNGEON could you please (pretty please)put in some phonetic pronunciations of the gods names? Pronouncing those names can be pretty annoying, and I hate seeing my players continually butcher them. I know it takes up space in an article or adventure, but forcing DMs to pronounce complex Aztec names or search on the Internet for the correct pronunciation is just cruel :)