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I am still using generic 3.5 or Greyhawk gods in all of my games. Why? Frankly, because 10 years long habits are hard to drop, and to be honest, because a lot of the Golarion gods names sound silly to me.
I mean seriously, Gozreh, Rhovagug and Norgorber sound like something somebody had to invent on a very close deadline and mashed the keyboard a few times (i'm not trying to insult anybody's creativity or his/her contribution to this wonderful system)...
Its all a matter of Preference I suppose. Certain gods can easily be converted from D&D to pathfinder since they're VERY similar. Examples are:
Heironius (spelling), Is a LOT like Iomedae (lawful good "paladin" type god)
Wee Jas is similar to Pharasma (dagger favored weapon, death goddess who hates undead, etc)
Erythnul is similar to Rovagug (mindless destruction, chaotic evil etc)
Gozreh and Obad-hai are both the neutral nature-gods.
Boccob and Nethys are both neutral gods of magic.
just a few off the top of my head. But in the end, its all a matter of what makes your game better for you.
Its all a matter of Preference I suppose. Certain gods can easily be converted from D&D to pathfinder since they're VERY similar. Examples are:
Heironius (spelling), Is a LOT like Iomedae (lawful good "paladin" type god)
Wee Jas is similar to Pharasma (dagger favored weapon, death goddess who hates undead, etc)
Erythnul is similar to Rovagug (mindless destruction, chaotic evil etc)
Gozreh and Obad-hai are both the neutral nature-gods.
Boccob and Nethys are both neutral gods of magic.
just a few off the top of my head. But in the end, its all a matter of what makes your game better for you.
This.. more or less... I use a lot of the major demons... Loth, Orcus, etc. THe names of the gods are good to me as variations of names in different regions...
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I am still using generic 3.5 or Greyhawk gods in all of my games. Why? Frankly, because 10 years long habits are hard to drop, and to be honest, because a lot of the Golarion gods names sound silly to me.
I mean seriously, Gozreh, Rhovagug and Norgorber sound like something somebody had to invent on a very close deadline and mashed the keyboard a few times (i'm not trying to insult anybody's creativity or his/her contribution to this wonderful system)...
Really the same can be said of the old DnD gods also...
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Really the same can be said of the old DnD gods also...
Olidammara, the god whose name is 'Armadillo' spelled backwards? That's a classic.
And then there's Rao. Only in Greyhawk, can you be a cleric of Superman's Kryptonian god...
Ribbing aside, I do miss Wee Jas, Istus, Trithereon, Celestian, Phaulkon, Xan Yae & Zuoken. Those were some fun deities.
Istus granting access to both the Law *and* Chaos domains was a little bit awesome, as she was god of both inescapable predestination and fickle fate.
I miss Grummsh. He was cool.
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I am still using generic 3.5 or Greyhawk gods in all of my games. Why? Frankly, because 10 years long habits are hard to drop, and to be honest, because a lot of the Golarion gods names sound silly to me.
I mean seriously, Gozreh, Rhovagug and Norgorber sound like something somebody had to invent on a very close deadline and mashed the keyboard a few times (i'm not trying to insult anybody's creativity or his/her contribution to this wonderful system)...
Yeah, because Fhananrghrallaghan and St. Camembert are really kick-ass names...
Hey, awesome, a thread that brings yet another division between gamers.
Real gods also have interesting sounding names to some and out right curse words to others.
Take the ancient Finnish God of Thunder, Perkele. Thematically he was very similar to the Norse God, Thor. Today however, in the aftermath of the Finnish conversion to Christianity, Perkele is a rather crude swear word. So says a Finnish friend of mine. *Waves at Srraxarrakex*
I miss Grummsh. He was cool.
He's still around. He realized that he was bigger than orcs so he put some armor on picked up some even bigger choppy and called himself Gorum.
Now hes the god of WARRR!!! which is like being a god of war but more hardcore and bloody. Plus it really does ones rep bad when your closest rival looks like this Seriously is it a boy? Girl? Confused? Gruumsh does not wish to have his defeats associated with such a pasty metrosexual freak. At least Cayden's manly if a bit foppish.
On another note. Forgotten Realms gods are still awesome.*
*Poster has failed to realize that the 4th edition forgotten realms has compeltely raped some of his favorite pantheon. Please spare this boys fragile mind and smile and nod.
Hey, awesome, a thread that brings yet another division between gamers.
isn't that what this fourm for?
I really like the Golarion gods. I could care less about the names, as all systems of deities have some lame ones. The descriptions and such are what matters.
Also, the fact that Rohvagug is continually referred to as "the Rough Beast" is awesome. Makes me think of the Second Coming poem. Actually, many things from Golarion make me think of that poem......interesting.
i'm a big fan of Irori, Zon-Kuthon and Sarenrae.
Gorum and Iomedae are cool too.
so are that red mantis thingy and Lamashtu.
Now hes the god of WARRR!!! which is like being a god of war but more hardcore and bloody.
Is that anything like WAAAGH?
I am still using generic 3.5 or Greyhawk gods in all of my games. Why? Frankly, because 10 years long habits are hard to drop, and to be honest, because a lot of the Golarion gods names sound silly to me.
I mean seriously, Gozreh, Rhovagug and Norgorber sound like something somebody had to invent on a very close deadline and mashed the keyboard a few times (i'm not trying to insult anybody's creativity or his/her contribution to this wonderful system)...
We're the first to acknowledge the power of momentum and nostalgia, so by all means, if you like Greyhawk's deity's more than Golarion's, keep right on using them. I promise no one from Paizo will ever show up at your house on game night to tell you you're having bad-wrong-fun and ask for your books back. :P
That said, when we created Golarion, we obviously couldn't use an other company's fantasy deities, and we're super keen on wholly cribbing gods and goddesses from real-world mythology, so we invented our own. And five years later, they've worked out great for us, I know more about them then I ever knew about any D&D deities (even after being a writer and editor for Dragon magazine), and I'm more likely to play a cleric or inquisitor now more than ever. Admittedly, I'm biased, and like I said, to each his own, but we're quite pleased with our deities, their roles in our ever expanding world, and their names.
Grab me at Paizocon or Gen Con some year and I can tell you tons of stories about our thinking on putting this pantheon together, coming up with symbols and roles for these guys (and what never made it), and the awesome time we had naming them (and some of the subtleties behind the names). For example, how Olidammara isn't the only deity with a backwards name. :P
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I would love to come to a paizo con or gen con, but, sadly, i don't see that happening in the near future. I live in southeastern Europe, Serbia to be more accurate. The possibility, of course exists, but it is very unlikely, considering a standar sallary here.
As for the gods, of course you're proud of golarion deities! You made them and they are used by thousands of players...you should be proud.
Keep making awesome books, and i promise i'll keep buying them. Even with silly names in them :D
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Overall, I'd say the Golarion Pantheon works well enough. I've never really liked the idea of godly pantheons being such a huge part of setting design, compared to cultures/races/nations, wildlife, and terrain. I understand their function, don't get me wrong, but how many generic sun-gods and ultimate-evil gods do you really need?
The paizo gods are all more-or-less complex enough and nuanced enough that It takes more than a short sentence to describe them. Sure, you can say that Erastil is stodgy old man, and Iomedae is a 40K Sister of Battle, and Zon-Kuthon is a Cenobite, but it's far better than most setting's spread. And a few are really, REALLY awesome (cayden cailean) or REALLY creepy (Lamashtu).
really, the only stinkers are Gozreh and Torag. old-school druidism and Droskar are both way more interesting as nature deities and dwarfy-mc-beard-axe deities, respectively. The rest at least have some sort of nuance or hook. for example, Urgathoa stands out because she's a fleshy, gluttinous undeath god with memorable art, as opposed to your standard skeleton guy.
The gods of Golarion have sillyish names but, actually, I think the old Greyhawk pantheon is less appealing to my ears.
M
Hmm. Irori spelled backwards is... irorI!
OMG, you have no idea how elaborate I plan to get with that in just a few months. :P
Keep making awesome books, and i promise i'll keep buying them. Even with silly names in them :D
Awesome. :)
Overall, I'd say the Golarion Pantheon works well enough. I've never really liked the idea of godly pantheons being such a huge part of setting design, compared to cultures/races/nations, wildlife, and terrain. I understand their function, don't get me wrong, but how many generic sun-gods and ultimate-evil gods do you really need?
The paizo gods are all more-or-less complex enough and nuanced enough that It takes more than a short sentence to describe them. Sure, you can say that Erastil is stodgy old man, and Iomedae is a 40K Sister of Battle, and Zon-Kuthon is a Cenobite, but it's far better than most setting's spread. And a few are really, REALLY awesome (cayden cailean) or REALLY creepy (Lamashtu).
really, the only stinkers are Gozreh and Torag. old-school druidism and Droskar are both way more interesting as nature deities and dwarfy-mc-beard-axe deities, respectively. The rest at least have some sort of nuance or hook. for example, Urgathoa stands out because she's a fleshy, gluttinous undeath god with memorable art, as opposed to your standard skeleton guy.
Really? No love for Gozreh? I thought he/she was one of the more interesting gods, personally.
Really? No love for Gozreh? I thought he/she was one of the more interesting gods, personally.
Guessing a baseball fan came up with that one. Gozreh-Herzog?
Silly sounding names are in the ear of the, um, be-hearer?
Saran-wrap and Nor-goober sound silly, but Bawkawb the chicken god of magic and Obad-sez-hai aren't exactly spectacular names, either.
And then there's Wee Jas' brother Hugh.
LMAO!
I'd totally rep you if I could for that!
Really? No love for Gozreh? I thought he/she was one of the more interesting gods, personally.Guessing a baseball fan came up with that one. Gozreh-Herzog?
Or perhaps it has something to do with the fact that James Jacobs is a fan of the director Werner Herzog?
Or perhaps it has something to do with the fact that James Jacobs is a fan of the director Werner Herzog?Really? No love for Gozreh? I thought he/she was one of the more interesting gods, personally.Guessing a baseball fan came up with that one. Gozreh-Herzog?
More likely. I'm new to the forums, so didn't know that about him. I'm also more of a sports guy, so that's where my mind went.
More likely. I'm new to the forums, so didn't know that about him. I'm also more of a sports guy, so that's where my mind went.
No, really, I'm honestly asking. I don't know for sure, I just know that James has mentioned being a fan before. Your guess is as good as mine . . . ;)
The D&D gods all sounded silly, too, or just were silly in theory (St. Cuthbert? There's a god named Saint?). I rarely, if ever used them in the first place, and by the time 3.5 came to its end, I was back to using the gods from Greece, Egypt, and Asgard available in the 3.0 Deities & Demigods, plus whatever Lovecraft struck my deranged fancy (from CoC d20) and a few I adapted from other real world mythologies or urban legends/superstitions.
What I would love is an updated Deities & Demigods like the one of old, with everything and its cosmic brother included, especially those Assyrian and Mezzo-American rarities.
Slight digression:
I wonder what happened to the idea that was floated back in 2007 about WOTC using some real world deities in their default setting pantheon? The way Kord was described in 4E almost screamed Thor and I got a very Ares vibe off of the "default" Bane.
I like the Golarion gods...I like the Greyhawk gods(though there were some wtf gods there...like Lendor(?) the god of tedium and boredom...who would actualy whorship that?)..and I liked the FR gods.
All names can sound kinda of silly...so that has always been a non-issue. My only problem come when I can't pronouce the name.
RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32
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No, really, I'm honestly asking. I don't know for sure, I just know that James has mentioned being a fan before. Your guess is as good as mine . . . ;)
More likely. I'm new to the forums, so didn't know that about him. I'm also more of a sports guy, so that's where my mind went.
I would place odds on the director and definitely not the book. And I had to google 'baseball Herzog' to get the sports reference.
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The D&D gods all sounded silly, too, or just were silly in theory (St. Cuthbert? There's a god named Saint?).Google St. Cuthbert.
:)
All in all, i think i prefer Greyhawk. Most of the Golarion deities just don't get me, I think the GH ones are better balanced over all, and hold more potential.
I googled St. Camembert and I keep getting a kind of cheese. Looks tasty.
By the way, "Herzog" isn't just a name, it is also an old German nobility title, roughly corresponding to the British duke.
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Really? No love for Gozreh? I thought he/she was one of the more interesting gods, personally.
Can't Imagine why you'd think that, compared to...any of the others.
Here's my take on the pantheon
Desna: Magical Girl. Very old, might actually be a giant space butterfly spirit
Cayden Cailean: his origin is freaking awesome, and he's the god of the Toblerones. Kamina would be proud.
Nethys: Ascended Mortal that went Doctor Manhattan, now crazy and fractured after dividing by zero and succeeding
Abadar: The god of BANKING. That's all kinds of funny, given historical context.
Asmodeus: The god of lawyers, an evil god who's not Lolevil.
Pharasma: Grey Goth god of ascetic stoic grim small-town traditionalism, churches have that big gothic guilty catholic feel, but with less color and more skulls.
Calistria: A wasp spirit pretending to be an elf. Which is why her view of sex is so different from the normal mammalian one.
Lamashtu: a an evil manifestation of the pain and side-effects of placental birth, born as a nascient demon lord when the first mammal arose.
Norgorber:...Anonymous does not forgive, does not forget. Seriously, I have no bead on this guy. moving along
Rovagug: Crush, kill, destroy. Upon being freed, will destroy everything between him and sarenrae, destroy sarenrae, then destroy everything else
Sarenrae: an ascended angel of pure, kind, caring GOOD, over all else
Erastil: a stodgy old man.
Iomedae: a Sister of Battle, with more Feminism. Faith and Purity, and a wee bit of man-hate, judging by that bit in kingmaker.
Zon-Kuthon: He's a godling that got captured by the cenobites, came back wrong, now he's an ultimate, sadistic evil that will just twist and torture everything he comes across, because why not?
Urgathoa: Undead God, all about being selfish and gluttonous, wanting more than you deserve, a spoiled brat rotting from the inside.
Irori: Another ascended god, this one by just being totally awesome. He's the Monk God, what of it?
Gozreh is a dualistic nature deity that has little to do with actual nature. All the cool parts of nature are the living things in it, not the wind, waves, and other weather. I'm actually fine with that; nature doesn't need a patron god.
Creative Director
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I am still using generic 3.5 or Greyhawk gods in all of my games. Why? Frankly, because 10 years long habits are hard to drop, and to be honest, because a lot of the Golarion gods names sound silly to me.
I mean seriously, Gozreh, Rhovagug and Norgorber sound like something somebody had to invent on a very close deadline and mashed the keyboard a few times (i'm not trying to insult anybody's creativity or his/her contribution to this wonderful system)...
Well... most of the deity names come from my homebrew, and I can assure you that over the course of the 20-some years I've had to refine the majority of these deity names, I didn't mash keyboards to get names. I'm actually pretty proud of the names, and like them lots, otherwise I wouldn't have given them up to Paizo to use for Golarion.
To each their own, I guess! :-)
(For what it's worth, Sarenrae is pronounced SAIR-en-ray. Rhymes with FAIR-in-day. Say it like that and you don't have saran wrap problems at all!)
(Also, there's no "h" in Rovagug's name... nit picky, yeah, but if you're going to complain about a deity's name, it's good karma to spell the name right in your complaint.)
I'm a big fan of the Golarion gods, they've got a lot of great flavor to them. There were, of course, jokes going around the table about certain names, but those have mostly faded...except one. Despite being one of the coolest evil gods for the campaign, Norgorber's name still brings some chuckles.
It usually starts with one of us saying: "Welcome to Norger Burger, can I take your order?"
The usual response is something like: "Yes, I'd like a Back-alley Shankburger and a large order of Skeletons-in-the-closet. Ooh, and extra Envy Sauce, please."
I speak a similar language like the author of the thread and Rovagug sounds much better than in English, actually a part the name translates as ''to burrow'' or ''trench''. Also Rovagug is supposed to have a weird name, for a such Lovecraftian creature.
Norgorber is also easier to pronounce, the name reminds me a bit of the Grey Mouser.
The rest of the names, I already had homebrew world before Golarion with some FR gods, I incorporated the names that sound good imo.
Sarenrae is close to Roman Lady Justice, blindfolded, changed the name to Austia.
Cayden sounds modern to me, it's Khaiden.
Abadar, I wanted to keep Waukeen, it's called Comerike, to indicate trade.
Desna means ''right side'' in my language.
I've combined Nethys, Savras and Neth (demiplane from Planescape) into Nethus.
Changed Fandarra into Maghara, to give her a more megalithic vibe.
Irori didn't sound very oriental, merged with Deneir he's now Zendeir.
Urgathoa and Zon-Kuthon are excellent-sounding names fitting to their nature, perfect.
Asmodeus and Lamashtu are demon names from mythology, one of the best.
Iomedae is cool, I added the dragon clashing myth to her cause of ''Io''.
Era-stil hints about of his conservative ways.
Gorum is almost as badass as ''Crom''.
I've changed Groetus into Kroetus, cause he's merged with FR's Jergal.
And so on, don't hesitate to change what you think will work better.
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Really? No love for Gozreh? I thought he/she was one of the more interesting gods, personally.Can't Imagine why you'd think that, compared to...any of the others.
Here's my take on the pantheon
Desna: Magical Girl. Very old, might actually be a giant space butterfly spiritGozreh is...
You kinda missed Gorum out :)
I love the Golarion gods compared to the DnD ones, I especially have a love for Rovagug he just oozes adventure hooks in my mind. To bad the Old Ones have center stage in my Kingmaker game as the bad gods sidequest otherwise I would have some nice Rovagug action going down :).
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I've changed Groetus into Kroetus, cause he's merged with FR's Jergal.
Jergal's definitely a favorite. I love the idea of prehuman gods who have outlived whatever race(s) may have worshipped them originally. (Aerdrie Faenya, having been adopted by the Seldarine after her aarokocra worshippers all but went extinct during the decline of the Creator Races, might be another.)
Desna might have that sort of thing going on, in Golarion.
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You kinda missed Gorum out :)
Really? No love for Gozreh? I thought he/she was one of the more interesting gods, personally.Can't Imagine why you'd think that, compared to...any of the others.
Here's my take on the pantheon
Desna: Magical Girl. Very old, might actually be a giant space butterfly spiritGozreh is...
Damn it...
Gorum: War for the War God. Essentially a chaotic neutral version of WHfantasy Khorne. Also, a Half-orc.