Creating a Pantheon, Part One: Culture First

I begin the process of building the pantheon for Rioja and Capital, the location of my next D&D campaign. We start by considering Rioja's history and its relationship with the Caelian Empire, and then go on to discuss Riojan culture, from which the gods will be drawn.

[@bmd1675]

I'm years late, but hoping Matt will like this, given his fondness for real sayings finding new roots in his world - "Those who can, paint. Those who can't, patron."

[@scmh1288]

Good comment

[@Mage-xc5hi]

at 53:10 I expected the sentence to end "Vaslorians believe every man has his place, but Riojans believe every man has his time."

[@megamarkread]

Same! That would have been much snappier!

[@WinstonKillDeath]

Mage 424046 stealing that for my campaign (in some variation)

[@scmh1288]

Excellent

[@daviddelpozofiliu5556]

Being from Spain, it is really weird to hear you talk about Rioja as a fantastical place (it is a region here, know for its wine and little else).

[@nickchivers9029]

Love a good Rioja, nice full-bodied wine.

[@helixxharpell]

Wine IS CULTURE. Many fantasy world builders imo gloss over wine & strong drink in their setting. I brewed beer back in the 90s & even tho Ed Greenwood had detailed the FR so well that he had all these wines & ales I introduced my own spin on Sembian Ale, etc. Gave another detail point my players enjoyed. So wine my friend, IS CULTURE. 😊

[@daviddelpozofiliu5556]

@@helixxharpell I didn't say it wasn't (?)

[@emessar]

I am reminded of a phrase from Carl Sagan "In order to make an apple pie from scratch, you first must invent the universe." It seems you are in company, Mr. Colville. Nice work and looking forward to the conclusion.

[@FedEx867]

I LOVE this.

[@loganriemer3831]

A

[@LordBoofhead1]

So Riojan commoners think of themselves not as commoners but 'temporally embarrassed Nobles'?

[@MetalHomer1]

Like American Politicians always say you are a nation of "People who made it" and "People who are about to make it"? At least from the outside it looks like an important American Value.

[@LordBoofhead1]

That's exactly what I was I was referring to Civer.

[@anthonyewolf]

It's like the american dream but instead of making it rich, everyone aspires for true nobility

[@bcn1gh7h4wk]

I've been working on some lore myself, and I was missing a pantheon... one day I started turning the word "winter" around, and compared it to different languages, and it all sprouted from there: winter, night, moon, hell, summer, victory, war, celebration, spring, harvest, commerce, fortune, justice,.... before I realized it, bam, 20 gods, complete with crests, worship chants and paladins. I literally jumped out of bed, grabbed a pen and started writing, still in underwear, so I wouldn't forget lol best single-handed brainstorm I've had in years.

[@MonarchsFactory]

Had something else up on screen blocking my view and for a solid ten seconds was CERTAIN you'd listed "fate and Portugal" as godly virtues.

[@RSanfins]

As a portuguese, can't say I would be against that xD

[@chiarifairy6862]

I haven't played D&D yet, I'm getting into it, but I can't imagine NOT wanting to know the pantheon! For example; I love the game Skyrim of the Elder Scrolls series, part of my favorite part of the game is the lore! I know way too much about what and who the gods are, Aedra and Daedra, and I have favorites who I know various stories of, such as Sheogorath, the Daedric Prince of Madness, challenged Molag Bal, the Daedric Prince of Destruction, Domination, and Rape. Molag Bal made a hideous creature who was big and strong and had sharp teeth and claws, good old Sheo made a pretty delicate bird. When they creatures entered combat Molag Bal's creature kept attempting to attack the bird, but the bird was too fast. Then the bird landed on the creature. and the creature attacked it, the bird moved out of the way and the creature hit its self. The bird kept doing this until the creature killed its self and Sheo won the bet! The knowledge of this story does nothing in the games, but I'm such a lore nerd, I love to know as much about the gods of fantasy worlds as possible.

[@Infected_Apple]

Wasn't that a contest sheogorath had with hircine? =p (Doesn't really matter ofcourse, it's still a nice story and the Elder Scrolls do have a wonderfully deep lore with great little stories/myths in it)

[@charlieturk8141]

"How do you spell bureaucracy?" "With a 'B'."

[@newtsears423]

Charlie Turk /there's a b?/

[@jeanlannes4396]

"Portfolio" makes it sound like Lathander has 900 shares in Light & Dawn Inc.

[@theDMLair]

LOL - Now I'm imagining, what if deities did operate a sort of stock exchange of faith? Maybe they trade shares (followers) for favors/aid from other deities.

[@ProfessirRay]

This.., is actually a brilliant idea. Gods buying and selling ‘souls’ for their portfolio, and the souls actions in life determine their ‘stock value’.

[@zraylin.khalitzburg2968]

ProfessirRay it would be a great reason for gods to argue. Wouldn't want someone taking over your domain. Certainly be a way for less straightforward gods to have power.

[@joluoto]

He doesn't?

[@danieldosso2455]

Why can I only click once on the lick button for this comment?

[@matthewschlegel6253]

Just wanted to drop some praise. I have been watching your running the game series and now I started watching this. Love your content. It has served as an inspiration for my own dnd campaigns and writing. Really appreciate your content.

[@VechsDavion]

Great timing Matt. I am literally working on my first custom pantheon for a campaign setting. :)

[@IlluviumGaming]

Wow, I can't believe it's been over 6 years since I last saw one of your videos. Guess I just got too busy when I finished school. I loved your maps and your M&B gameplay, crazy seeing your (admittedly old) comment on a random video. Hope you're doing well.

[@cj719521]

As a web developer, the pain of naming things is very familiar and real to me. Honestly your process here is _very_ like my day-to-day (Googling and naming is 80% of the job).

[@NIKOSHEER]

I know it's been some time since you uploaded this! But "Rioja" it's actually a Province from my country Argentina; it's called "La Rioja" and it's very beutifull and have some breathtaking landscapes. I'm very gratefull for all your work, a group of friends and I are since the last year playing D&D thanks to you and it has been a wonderfull time!

[@jordanrudderham7981]

I hope the 'amen' equivalent of the followers of Adun is "En Taro Adun"

[@cruye9633]

Adun toridas.

[@davidkestler6242]

Nas beru uhn'adarr?

[@senteron]

This was beyond helpful, thank you Matt. Seeing your skilled and developed thought process is so interesting and valuable. I will absolutely take away a lot from this stream. Thank you again for sharing it with us.

[@teradul2480]

Haven't seen the whole thing yet, but as you mentioned that Riojans are too familiar with political intrigue, I immediatly though of a saying: "The only lasting king is Baldassure." or "Mortal kings come and go" as to reinforce the everchanging nature of their society.

[@tylerh2548]

Victor Braz Hail Noxus. Hail the Triferix

[@teradul2480]

Tyler H Strength, Vision and Guile.

[@therogueblade915]

58:45 is around where Matt mentions how he steals a lot of stuff from the real world. "Why not just have your setting in the real world?" Well, because we don't want to be in the real world. I think a lot of players want to be somewhere disconnected from our real-world problems, yet familiar enough for comfort. For example, one of the most popular fantasy worlds ever devised was J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth/Arda. He borrows a lot from real-world mythologies, even going so far as to state that, in his "setting", golf was invented by an oversized hobbit decapitating a goblin king with a club, causing it to fall down a rabbit hole. Just thought this was interesting food for thought :)

[@oz_jones]

That is literally what Matt means.

[@Xx_BoogieBomber_xX]

I have a dwarvish god of drunkeness in my setting. His sacred animal is the baboon. One of my players, who was a cleric, went on a crusade against the god. Great time.

[@theDMLair]

Holy crap! Some of my players would absolutely LOVE a god of drunkenness! LOL Might have to steal that. 😃👊

[@MinorLG]

There is a yet to be named god in my worldscape of drunkenness, marry making and feasts. That god also happens to be the patron deity of the vinyers, Brewers, and distillers.

[@KirieTrend]

I played a dwarven cleric once that worshipped a human saint who converted the communion of dwarves into human religion by introducing them the idea of church vine... Some stuff happened.

[@noahegler9131]

I had an evil Cult of Dadd in my campaign. Dadd is a God of puns, and his followers are granted the Vicious Mockery cantrip. However, they must wear a Hawaiian shirt, khaki shorts, and sandals over knee-high socks.

[@benjamindrinnon5211]

Hey Matt, I have been a viewer/subscriber for a little over a year now and, while I don't play D&D, I love world-building and storytelling. I found this pantheon concept particularly interesting. I want to respect that your world is your world, but I saw you respond to some twitch comments and entertain their ideas so I thought I might add a couple ideas to the conversation. I thought these up, not because I thought they were just cool ideas, but because I saw logical connections between the culture/gods you described and certain traits. 1. Attaching cowardice to the god of treachery and planning could be an awesome connection. Through this, you could have visuals of schemers and planners being cowards in plays/operas and them inevitably being foiled by the power of Fortune. This would also give another reason for commoners to despise guild members, because they attempt to spurn Fortune and, like cowards, rely on a "sure thing." 2. It might be interesting, with the concept of nobility, gods, and the changing of nobility being so closely tied, to have a belief that, if a member of nobility, from birth to natural death, stays in nobility, they get a chance to usurp the place of their ancestor god or saint, who didn't do their job of causing the wheel of fortune to turn on them. There could be a symbolic duel upon their death to determine if the previous god/saint succeeded in holding their position, or if fate pulled them from power. This would allow the pantheon to reflect Riojan culture, and allow for intrigue in the current story-point. Maybe the guilds, which are so hated for their scheming, have had the power to take over noble lines and they are starting to have children in that lineage, who would corrupt the whole concept of Fortune & Nobility if they survive to old age to challenge their saints. 3. It might be good to attach the concept of the sea and the god/goddess of fortune. With Riojans being so primarily attached to the sea, maybe it is where their first view of the Lord of Fortune came from, dashing some ships to the rocks and speeding others on their way. The fickle and unpredictable nature of the sea might be a good metaphor for the Lord of Fortune. 4. This one is a little out there. You could possibly have a Dionysus-esque god related to bravery and ambition. They could view being inebriated as a enlightened state where planning goes out the window and the normal fears and inhibitions are thrown aside, allowing for them to trust fortune. Once again, I don't intend to tell you how to make your world, but I found it intriguing and wanted to add to the discussion. Thanks for all you do for storytellers Matt!

[@mcolville]

I may continue this before next Saturday. I don’t want to wait a whole week before we continue, this may become a regular thing weeknights.

[@WorldAnvil]

Matthew we are running a competition on Deities RIGHT Now for our guild member in World Anvil :D We will be sharing this with them. - :D

[@amandanicholson6105]

Thank you for uploading this so quickly. I started watching it with everyone but it was late here in the UK and I fell asleep half way through.

[@confrizzby]

have you considered Greed as a vice in place of wealth on this list? Hoarding wealth is a sure thing, goes against gambling, and is something that the guilds would be guilty of.

[@eventingirl001]

For Art, maybe there is a saint that could be comparable to a muse in Greek mythology. When you think of art in many form painting, music etc. there is always a great story or a great woman (the portrait of Madam X by John Singer Sargent) sometimes these woman were courtesans or woman from noble families.

[@eventingirl001]

Stealing from Shakespeare, maybe the evil/black gods are bastards to the more virtuous or “high” gods. Baldessare maybe the god of nobility but not virtue. In the idea of the 7 sins and virtues, there can be balance, i.e. the idea of fate/serendipity as opposed to conspiracy and subterfuge.

[@braddalrymple8615]

I really appreciate that I can see you read this one article about Italian names and I hear members/names of the noble houses in capital coming through already! I'm listing to this after already listening to Up to episode 26 of the chain and I Think it is actually more exciting than doing it in the reverse order I am glad I didn't know where these names came from and then heard them in context I believe them to be reoohen and now we're seeing how the sausage was made feels extra exciting.

[@VerumAdPotentia]

I call upon Fabio, god of beauty and good hair, to manifest a light spring breeze that sensuously blow my silken locks back as I gently shake my head back and forth in slow-motion, drawing the gaze of all available women in the immediate area.

[@VerumAdPotentia]

XD

[@nikwaggoner2480]

All hail fabio 'the peerless'

[@bcn1gh7h4wk]

how are his followers/priests/vestals called?

[@VerumAdPotentia]

"The Fabulous". XD

[@bcn1gh7h4wk]

EXACTLY! XD

[@HMK-nh4ft]

This is why in my Homebrew setting(s) I use the same sort of religious panteón; for each domain their is a church or multiple church, such as a church of life, church of war, church of trickery , etc. And some clerics still worship individual gods, but most clerics (and even Paladins) worship the idea of a particular domain

[@Irawulf]

"The Saint of gambling", now I know what to aspire for :D

[@Twisted_Logic]

Irawulf Ecaflip

[@IONATVS]

St. Cajetan is the Catholic patron saint of Gamblers. Gambling itself has no patron, but gamblers do. Also St. Balthasar is the patron saint of playing card manufacturers...because he's one of the "Three Kings." The more you know.

[@tharrock337]

I want that saint to be called Eadric Vegas

[@cosymonkey4572]

Matt, Thank you so much for putting this all together! I'm an artist who's focusing on making video games atm. and it's fantastic being able to see the process of world building. Like seriously there is not enough of this kind of content on the interwebs. Thanking you, you are THE dude.

[@DrLipkin]

One of my favorite elements from Raymond E Fiest's Riftwar Cycle series of novels is that there were originally 100 gods, 7 greater and 93 lesser. But then before Man arrived on the planet, there was a great war in the cosmos against an unknown enemy. After the Chaos War, only 12 gods remains. The remaining gods expanded their domains to absorb the ones that were no longer managed. The God of the Sea was killed, and so his domain was taken over by the God of Nature for example. I love this idea, and want to steal it. But I also want to push it into being a little ridiculous. What does it look like when the God of Sports and Competition takes over for the God of War? What happens when the God of Domesticated Animals takes over for the God of Nature? When the God of Travel takes over for the God of Death?

[@MrWynterpaladin]

+1 for a fun idea. +1,000 for any reference to the Riftwar Saga.

[@Keyce0013]

What happens when the God of Travel takes over for the God of Death? He kills settlers. Everyone must be nomadic!

[@Walter-Anderson]

DrLipkin if i remember correctly, Midkemia is based on a homebrewed game that Feist played

[@blademonkey29]

"No no no, pistols right now" Has got to be one of my favorite things I've heard you say.

[@thwalmsley]

Oh man, I want to play in your Riojan cluture! The Pratchett reference was perfect, so evocative.

[@lmanproductions8680]

On several occasions my players have wanted to create their own gods when they’re in character creation. Because of the expectations of my group and my game I have always been able to work with them and support their vision

[@x-rayactual4770]

I'm currently tinkering with a game in a 1960s Africa inspired setting and this video really helped me naming the cities, towns and important NPCs

[@Avalikia]

I think all of my players engage with my pantheon, because I don't like the idea that a character coming back from the dead is as simple as casting a spell, even if it's a very expensive spell. So except in the case of a wish spell or a true resurrection spell, I treat these spells as way to ask a god (and they can choose which one - doesn't have to be their own) to pretty please use their power to bring the character back from the dead. And whether or not the god does as asked depends on whether or not the god wants to, which depends on their personality, goals, relationship with the person being brought back and/or the person asking, etc. And when I explained this to my players, all of the sudden even the people who are not clerics or paladins want to know about the gods, what they care about, and how one ought to behave in order to make them very pleased.

[@LS994]

I simply love the fact that you chose to take inspiration from the Italian Renaissance, and not for a weirdly exaggerated, overly zealous pride and sense of patriotism. I got none of that, I don't want that. But if there is one thing I personally take pride in, and the reason I'm writing this (hopefully not too much) long comment, is the fact that the medieval Italian Renaissance translates incredibly well to a fantasy setting. I love that, and I thank you for having even thought of that, of this culture in particular. I've spent a number of years, both in school, during class, and on my own, to research and learn about those times. So, again, thank you Matt, and keep up your amazing work!

[@DarkAvatar1313]

There wasn't any Early Medieval Italian names because there wasn't an Italy in the Early Medieval period. Lombard names would be a better search.

[@1mattwilson83]

"Riojans hate planning, hate administration and bureaucracy and outlines!" That line alone makes me wonder how they would build/run a city/population; how they would live, since money, and living takes planning and personal bureaucracy; if they are like a barbarian horde, or like a gypsy type civilization, former nomads who settled in a place they did not build. Not to say it's wrong, but I think it would be more natural to say 'they PREFER a relaxed living situation; Planning, administration, and bureaucracy are not considered a natural state of existence, but a price one must pay.' Add a bit of Eden in there 'The gods saw that they had spoiled their children, drunk with luxury and spontaneous pleasures, and cast them out from (eden stand in) to curse them with mortal woes so that they could better appreciate the gifts that had been bestowed upon them' But that's my thought. I thoroughly enjoyed this video. I'm told I do too much research for my stories, but this just tells me, I don't do enough world building XD Feeling inspired, thank you, and hope my 'input' was at least enjoyable (even though its like a year after this was posted, lol)

[@DanJMW]

Great video, thank you. It seems like the theme running through all the Riojan virtues is "passion".

[@violetsapphire952]

There were more than 3 moments over the course of this video, that caused me to close fullscreen to like the video, only to find that I'd already liked it. Sign of high quality right there.

[@TheQwuilleran]

(Commenting before watching because the title got me going. Will edit if necessary.) This is a good approach to take because whether you believe in certain deities or not, it is the culture and the environment that affect a region's gods. The behavior of the deities is influenced by the environment and vice versa. Another reason to begin with culture is because it 100% affects the gameplay environment. Your players will always have to deal with the culture. They may never meet its deities, though they'll certainly have to deal with how that culture interprets those deities. (Sorry, this is why I love D&D rpgs: the worldbuilding)

[@kalillucasxavier]

Sir, you are an absolute genius, and seeing your process of thinking just inspired me to work on my world. It's amazing how your line of thought is fast and flexible, and I am definitely watching this series over and over again, thank you.

[@joerideryckere6186]

Oh man, I'm about to paint miniatures for the entire day, what a great start to have this in the background!

[@seanminer937]

a) I found this very valuable, thanks Matt. b) I really enjoy watching Matt trying to assure us how short the video will be while I'm watching how long the video is.

[@PestoPosta]

They hate planing, spawning phrase, "The devils are in the details."

[@soilworker0226]

Really enjoyed watching your thought process! Would definitely watch another If you made this a thing.

[@TheChocolateEagle]

I've literally been slowly reading through priest and it wasn't until this video that it dawned on me they're set in your campaign world...

[@TheDumbGorilla]

Hour and a Half video uploaded at 2 AM? Thank Colville it's a Sunday.

[@FoodPoodle]

Thanks so much for this video Matt! So useful for DMs who don't know where to start in constructing a world (like many of your Running the Game videos). I kept waiting for the word "passion" to come up. That side of their culture looks like it bleeds into many of the virtues that you've identified, but to me it seems like a useful word to keep in mind. Can't wait to see the next part.

[@buttersnow8707]

Ok, this is my favorite type of video I've seen you make so far, it's so involved and detailed from both a DM and a writer point of view.

[@sharonlarsen3642]

Darn it, I will have to watch this video out of order now as one of my players has just asked an in game npc about how to worship. I am only on video 28. I am a first time DM with almost no experience in playing, we are up to session 4 in our game and i am loving the experience. Thank you Matt for giving me the confidence to build my own world for a later campaign whilst using a pre-written adventure for this one. I was panicking about having to build my own world for the first session and watching your videos made me realise I didn't have to.

[@chrisbovington9607]

This is the kinda thing I love about this channel.

[@timgaumond4794]

sometimes I really have to take a second to say wow this guy knows how to make basically everything for dnd, and me having run the game for about a year makes me feel a bit overwhelmed. Then again Matt has been playing since he was a teenager, the amount of resources and experience he has is giant.

[@cordelking6110]

Matt this is awesome, honestly this is what I needed. Thank you please continue this kinda work, where we break down and analyze how you do your writing. It gives me the opportunity to compare how I would do it that situation, especially when I'm currently stuck on how to build my own world. Again thank you

[@verigone2677]

The reason is Matt, Early Medieval Italian Names are actually called Late Roman Names. The fall of Rome as a military Power was the ushering in of the Medieval period, the Italian names remained very latinated even through to today in their surnames.

[@MajkiMoo]

Yooo, this is sick. People should do writing streams! This really demystifies the entire process. Now I don't feel as bad that it takes me like 30 mins to write a page. Thanks, Matt!

[@adam8688]

I absolutely love you audio. Most everyone else sounds like they are transmitting through a tin can. Also - no adds. Love it.

[@jonathanfrost8767]

Just found this. You're very entertaining, Matt. Thank you. I love your process.

[@djohnson2499]

I like the idea that domains are filled with multiple gods, and that each one of those are embodiment of a more specific idea. It reminds me of Greek Myth, and how you not only had the god of "War", Ares who was more about the brutal aspects of it, but you also had Athena, who embodied warcraft and strategy, Kratos the god of strength, Nike the god of victory, Deimos the god of fear in battle, etc. It definitely makes your culture more varied and realistic.

[@criticalreview9645]

I plan on DM'ing my first session EVER next month. You have made me a much better DM before I ever started, so thank you!

[@randomusernameCallin]

I would love to see you talk with The Lorerunner. Two extreme with world building and lore.

[@markinok.8787]

This campaign setting looks awesome can't wait for when the live game starts

[@bigdadwolf]

I know I am like 6-7 months late but I just screamed at my youtube screen saying that the female aspect of the queen is fortune and the male is fate...

[@theservantdm]

This was really interesting. Both as a world-building exercise and as a window into your personal perspective on religion. Thanks for taking the time to share it with us.

[@Liamneedham29]

Question: What is the Riojan opinion on Science, Philosophy and Invention, seperately? If they hate planning and overthinking, those professions which require detailed planning and are built around thinking are practiced less? Is technology upgraded to look nicer, but is only as functional as it was centuries prior, because nobody is scientifically minded? Is intelligence celebrated or shunned? - Smart people learn to lie earlier after all. Are Riojans discovering things? Are Riojans finding out things about neighbouring kingdoms, strategising for conquest or at least defense, and if not does that make them weak? Will Rioja fall because of their unwillingness to strategise and upgrade?

[@danscantland8066]

Liam Needham And because magic is an equivalent to science, what is their opinion on it. I see them seeing sorcerers as men blessed or cursed, both being romantic characters, while wizards aren't men to inspire, instead men to distrust. Warlocks are somewhere in between, they have taken their shot and fate will decide whether it works out

[@MajorWX2]

Instead of intelligence, Riojans admire savvy. Riojans respect those who have figured it all out, those who have put forth successful plans (even through treachery). Every plan is a gamble, but better than that, a gamble you can always win if you play your cards right. I think that Riojans have a mixed relationship with science. If we were talking about modern science, which is gathering data and evidence to back up and test a hypothesis, Riojans would think it was a waste of time, as all good scientific truths are self-evident. A Riojan wouldn't discover gravity, a Riojan would know all things fall down. Riojans hate career scientists but love revolutionary inventors, as the scientist is hoping to figure out about the world and the inventor already has. I want to write more but I think this is good for now. Edit: And right as I publish this, Colevile says riojans hate planning.

[@Liamneedham29]

Dan Scantland i agree that sorcerers are the ones who would be romanticised, since magic is not pursued but thrust upon them. Do they consider magic as a scientific or technological utility to be shunned or do they see it as an art form to create beauty from that which is beyond our conception?

[@Liamneedham29]

Dan Scantland Also are there any spells that are shunned or feared? If they dont invent, do they have access to named spells like the mansion one (i dont know exactly what its called)? Maybe they do but drop the name so as not to celebrate the inventor, to them its just a tool. Are there any illegal spells/schools? Do they even have access to the full spell list? Are there any spells they have that other places dont? What is there opinion on illusions - decietful or wondrous?

[@Liamneedham29]

MajorWX They admire savvy and spontaneous heart-driven crime. The pirates and swashbucklers and highwaymen and duellists are romanticised, maybe even celebrated (with statues and books and plays and guided crime tours). But do the victims of these crimes accept such a light approach? How does the romanticism affect the justice system? How much does public opinion sway the courts and the lawmakers? Are there factions and political disputes that wish to toughen the government up? Why arent they winning, whats stopping them?

[@edwardp4417]

Matt makes this look so easy.

[@mcolville]

It IS easy!

[@bloodsoup031976]

I have literally been putting off my pantheon section. Then I saw this, you sir are awesome thank you.

[@Liamneedham29]

Only watched part of the video so far so he might answer it better than I can, but heres what I would do for the question of getting your players to care about the gods. If the gods are present and active in the world, then you should show them doing things (good or bad) even at low levels. Eg. A storm blows through, and as the sky grows dark over the mountains, you hear the cries of the preist. He yells, "The Storm God has arrived, join me brethren to send him on his way!" He is joined by upwards of thirty people, dressed like ordinary townsfolk except for the silver symbol hanging from their neck. They all start chanting words of an unknown tongue that together mimic the sounds of the storm until they fade together and become one voice..... If the gods are not present and active, then the followers are the active party. Followers can be small like town preists and ignorable doomsayers, or large like orders of templars, armies and church states. You dont need to have these events be so huge, or even have them be involved with the main storyline. Just including them as more than a peice of info in a book, can make them engaging. Treating them as characters or as part of the game world mechanics, rather than lore. If it doesnt impact the game in a visible engaging way, then players arent going to engage with it. Plus you can always put in the more detailed histories and lore in for the players who will explore the world beyond what they are playing.

[@jackservans6906]

Each culture had its own ideas on the gods, but these can generally be broken down into three very broad categories: The Greeks and Babylonians had the conceptions of gods we normally think of, kind of. They had "gods of x", and these gods were imperfect beings who could interact with and mate with mortals. These gods were also masters of nature, having power beyond mortal understanding. The Norse and Celts had an idea of deities as these beings who were powerful, yes, but more of Avenger-like super heroes and wizard-knights than forces of nature. These gods could be killed, and though they were extremely powerful- Loki could shape-shift into pretty much anything, Thor could create craters with his hammer, Dagda had a pot that could produce infinite porridge- but in the end, just a powerful race of humanoids that were to be respected and feared. The Turks and the Egyptians had more natural gods. These gods were forces of nature. Generally speaking, they did not breed with humans and seldom interacted with them, and were far removed from the material plane. These gods had few of the petty arguments of mortal life, instead being infallible, unthinkable evil, or amorally neutral. Most people now and days shift this notion, making all gods fit within the Greek/Babylonian model, making Thor not a strong god who wields lightning and a hammer, but The God of Strength, Lighting, and Hammers. Likewise, we think of Egyptian/Turkic-style deities as those that can be interacted with easily, so that you could have a casual talk with Horus or Umay. Try to think about these three pantheon models and decide which you think your campaign falls under.

[@drunkenhobgoblin417]

Matt, the concept of nobility and art costing money, and the whole culture surrounding that culture phenomena, is strikingly similar to athletics and sports in the early 20th century, with the rise of the professional over the “wealthy” amateurs. Love this concept in your setting.

[@maidinsane]

This was fascinating! I wonder what you could do with a dual pantheon, like the Norse Aesir and Vanir? Hmmm...**opens Excel**

[@SilcronKaytor]

Hey Matt, great video. As someone native from Spain I think that you may like to know that Rioja is famous throughout the country for having the best red wine. It might be fun for you to roleplay tavern owners that boast about their wines.

[@citizenkeegan]

Thanks for doing this Matt! I loved seeing you work things out and found this super valuable.

[@ezequielsandoval6752]

"La Rioja" is a province in my country XD

[@BenA514]

This gave me the drive to put some more work into my own setting. I'd love to see more streams like this where we just watch you do some worldbuilding or planning, it really gets my creative juices flowing. Keep up the great work!

[@blushymae]

Terry Pratchett reference FTW! Those books have given me a huge fount of inspiration for D&D worldbuilding and playing. Humorous but also deeply meaningful.

[@TheScorpioProject333]

I’m currently running a campaign where all the gods walk around the planet and are the children of gods from the PHB And making them wasn’t to bad but from watching this I need to add more to them just in case I get a cleric This has been very helpful thank you keep up the great work

[@Burori1]

When we played a one shot run by a memb3r of our DnD group, I wasn't aware we were playing in our regular DM's universe, so I went with "Istus" as my Life cleric's God. Her phillospophy clicked with me and if I ever create a world of my own for people to play in, I'll take her methods into account when designing a deity of fate.

[@andrewvanhorne4359]

Hey, now I'm glad I downed that last, inadvisable cup of coffee.

[@MrKogarou]

See this comment the moment after I took my own sip

[@sarar4901]

Art is an end unto itself reminded me of another Terry Pratchett novel. In Maskerade, one of the characters has to explain to another that opera houses don't make money. "You put money in, and opera comes out."

[@koboldhasasword9440]

One thing I like to do for engaging players with thing like gods, is if, for example, the cleric is playing a race/culture that I've not done much world building for, I have them help me make a god for their character. That way they have an attachment to the god in the same way that they have an attachment to their character. This can also work for other aspects of the culture.

[@FVonMuller]

Perhaps you should consider changing Rioja's name to something with "g" and not "j", since "J" is not a part of the proper italian alphabet and would perhaps shake off that "feeling". Perhaps Rioggia? (Pronounced exactly the same as Rioja)

[@danmiltenberger5616]

oh this is clever

[@Shalakor]

Pretty sure Rioja is set in stone from years of use in other lands for his stories, tabletop and published both, prior to fleshing out the region proper. Maybe he could instead replace some instances of uses of the letter "g" with uses of the the letter "j" in the conventional Italian he's sourcing from?

[@JeffersonMills]

“La Rioja” - complete with letter J - is a region of Spain.

[@iancd9171]

Yeah, I was surprised when he said Rioja, and then said it was a medieval Italian type of culture. Even beside the fact that it is a region of Spain (known for its wines), it also SOUNDS Spanish and not Italian. Has he ever commented on this ? Anyone asked him directly ?

[@Hazel-xl8in]

FVonMuller it’s worth mentioning that it’s not actually italy, merely based on italy. he could do that, but he doesn’t need to.

[@firebugg2917]

comments while listening, which boils down to my interpretations of your ideas: - "They believe in upward mobility!" And downward, no? So they believe in the wheel of fate constantly turning. They venerate change, which ties into assassins and power changing hands. - "What do they think of wealth? They don't like guilds..." What if, for them, wealth was measured in leasure? And so being in a guild means you need to work to live. Questions that might be interesing to answer, these are interpersonnal and society-based questions that popped up based on the core beliefs that you laid out: - If Nobility and Art are major components to their culture, what are their responses to speech and emotions? - If a rough-spoken honest person and an elloquent liar present themselves to a riojan, who has better standing and why? - Is it acceptable to show emotions (semi-answerd with the adulation of Love)? If so, how? Modestly? Flamboyantly? With poetic speech? - Are there non-verbal cues or codes that a person needs to know to be fluent in riojan nobility? (thinking of Victorian flower speech, French noble fan language, and Italian hand gestures) - Honour seems important. Could there be a saint of honour? And what could be considered as an insult? Which goes to show how much can be deduced based on the society's core values, which the Pantheon represents. Thank you for showing your process.

[@hodges3524]

best video i have seen of yours,, im building my first homebrew world and guess what? what i started aint exactly the same way but similar gave me a some confidence about my logic

[@phoenixking62]

Interesting Idea, building the gods around the culture, never thought of doing it that way.

[@equusheart3344]

Why must I see this 5 months later?! Matt, you could also look up the names of constellations and planets and galaxies. There's a lot of interesting names there. And I go to Behind the Name a lot to see what they have.

[@JaminTheBen]

I started thinking about that Terry Pratchett bit just before you started talking about it! It was like you read my mind!

[@GrinningAries]

Something I like doing for names is using Sean Puckett's Random Word Generator and putting in a number of names in from a real world culture or two that my fictional culture takes inspiration from, and it gives me a bunch of new names by combining ones from my list. I'm not sure how 'linguistically' sound this is but if I make a list long enough, I occasionally get some names that seem both unique and 'right'-feeling. Also get a bunch of ridiculous ones, as with all things you have to separate the wheat from the chaff. Was wondering if anyone had thoughts on doing it this way?

[@Stratixphere]

Having read your novels, Priest and Thief, I love your religious system of Saints and Gods!

[@DarkEmpireGames]

My favourite thing is taking the names of important figures during the 1st Crusade, as they are so old and steeped in tradition. People like Adhemar, Baldwin, Berenguer, Bohemond, Tancred, and so on.

[@eleadschonken4943]

In regards to naming I find my process to be very similar and I learn a lot along the way. Also, sometimes typing an abstract term into Google Translate provides pleasing results.

[@Improbabilities]

So many questions, the signs of a great setting being formed. I'll just leave these here, for eventual musings and discussion. Are the merchants rewarded for being bold, despite (or perhaps because of) going against their culture? It seems like planning, divination and notions of long-term destiny clashes heavily with the Riojan culture. Is there a god in that realm, opposing the rest of the pantheon, which is helping the merchants prosper? Is there a god of schemes keeping both them and the assassins well off? Have the merchants adopted the faith of other gods during their trade with other cultures? Are there gods from outside trying to spread their influence to Rioja? Are the guilds seen as a threat by the nobles? They use money to make money, not art, and their influence is growing. If they are seen as a threat, would anyone actually do anything about it, or is the cultural focus on impulses enough to keep people from planning an action against them. What does Riojans think about art merchants?! Would it be a crime to sell art? Are there art galleries where the nobles make money showing off the work of artists they have sponsored? How high is the turnover rate on nobility, really? Nobles are expected to be or support artists. Artists are expected to die poor, regardless of success. Are there nobles that spend all their money on art, and fall into obscurity? Is that how the gods bring down the mighty? If so, how do they raise up the meek? Do good artists become nobles? How does the privilege of nobility work, in a world where everyone is (or is claiming to be) related to a noble? I have a hard time separating Riojan "Royals" (the ones who actually reside in the Halls of Nobility) from rich celebrities in my mind. If most people are set on replacing them, the Royals only seem to be protected by either money or personal loyalty. If so, is befriending Royals a way of becoming one of them? How central is gambling to the wheel of fortune? Are there nobles who gamble with their very titles?

[@rafaelbrandao4059]

I could watch you do that all day, man. Really interesting and inspiring process.

[@rafaelbrandao4059]

Actually, scratch that. "Really interesting" is what I wrote when I wasn't even halfway through. Now that I watched everything, I really need to upgrade it to "fascinating". Also, I'm shocked and jealous at how much you get done in one hour and a half.

[@sauron7839]

Verisimilitude in a nutshell: there should be things in your world that the player characters know are real but do not care about.

[@meraduddcethin2812]

Great video, Matt. Thank you so very much for showing the creative process in action. For myself, the creation of culture is the cornerstone for my worldbuilding. Once you know the culture, the politics, economics, history and religion kinda falls into place. At least, that's _my_ mileage. YMMV.

[@gregv3629]

I'm fascinated by what a Pantheon can tell you about the people: The ancient Sumerians had 3 different Goddesses who embodied fertility (among other things): Ishtar, Gutumdag, and Inanna. This really demonstrates how important fertility must have been to those people. One can only assume they had an insanely high infant mortality rate, not to mention a relatively low life expectancy. In addition, Sumerian views of the afterlife were pretty bleak. Not awful, just....blah. Nothing makes me visualize what life must have been like for those people more that looking at their myths.

[@MarvinMcDougle3]

Creating gods in a fantasy setting can be super fun because you get to consider what the supernatural races would worship. Dragons, elementals, illithids, lizardfolk, whatever else could have gods. Also you can come up with creation myths, which is another way to figure out who the gods were.

[@LucasPitcher13]

Best quote - "We've already been talking for twelve minutes, and we haven't made ONE god yet!"

[@VundalI]

my elven and dwarven gods took form after I asked myself how their respective races handled death. For the elves, they place the dead in trees (or the colossal Grave Trees, if they are in the capital cities in which those trees reside). The dwarves turn to stone when they die, and so the dead are brought back to a large hallowed out mountain, the Ancestry Fortress. Here, the dwarves believe their dead will come back to life when their god, Morn, returns to life.

[@oz_jones]

YOINK.

[@Ziveron]

When you raised the question of how Riojans view wealth, my immediate thought was that, in their view, wealth comes with nobility but is not the goal of nobility. Wealth is a tool or a weapon to be wielded, not an end in itself. One of the reasons the guilds are distasteful is that they ignore the virtues of nobility in favor of gathering wealth to themselves. I wonder whether the guild masters and merchants try to emulate the nobility and sponsor artists (who perhaps fall out of favor because of it) or if they spend their lavish sums in other ways. Do the merchants spend their wealth to compete with each other through constructing large artless structures, warehouses, ships? Perhaps their homes are gaudy without being artful. Merchants in private say to themselves and each other, "To seek wealth is noble."

[@Apollo9898LP]

the differences between Vaslorian and Riojan nobility seems to be that Vaslorian nobles come from blood and steel while Riojan nobles come from pen and ink.

[@bjhale]

I think focusing on religions rather than gods or pantheons would help a lot more with player engagement and verisimilitude with the world. I've always found it a little strange that fantasy settings based on high medieval/renaissance culture are filled with polytheists. And usually ahistorical polytheists who pledge themselves to one god at the exclusion--and even to the detriment--of all others. A religion entails an institution with a role in the world, something most players can relate to more than polytheism.

[@nothingpecial]

I would find a more historical scenario in which there are multiple religions that all claim to be “the one true faith” a lot less believable then a pantheon that occasionally fights itself. Because: if your world has clerics, there is at least one god who grants them their divine magic powers. If all religions in your world say that there is only one god and it’s our god, then that means by extension that ONLY ONE of them is real, again because the guy/gal/hideous horror squid actually made the universe and advances in divination magic confirm that not only did they do it, he’s still hanging around doing god stuff. Therefore when the inevitable clash between religious leaders comes, you have one side powered with divine magic and one side just kind of praying at the void that being able to planar travel to the domain of the god in question leaves for all other religions. Or you know, devils/demons are a thing but I don’t think those are quite as popular as a “let’s base our entire civilization around this” thing, mostly because most non-insane people are known to object to being torn apart by a pit fiend.

[@theDMLair]

bjhale That's a very good point. Historically there have been cultures that believe in multiple gods (Greeks, Romans, etc.) and others that believe in one god to the exclusion of all others (Christianity, Islam, etc.). However, in most D&D games I've ever played in, they've always been of the polytheist sort. It would certainly be interesting and possibly create more drama and tension to find more monotheistic religions.

[@bjhale]

nothingpecial That presumes clerical magic is directly powered by beings that objectively exist. Clerical magic could just as easily be powered by some combination of faith, ritual, and practice. See the Eberron campaign setting for one that does this. And even if clerical magic is powered by beings that objectively exist, or simply believed to be, there's no reason one religion couldn't claim theirs were superior or good, while the ones powering the "false faiths" are inferior or evil. After all, the latter WAS most of Christianity's view on witchcraft and much folk religion in the late medieval and early modern era. It also presumes a lot about religious conflict that is not always true. There are plenty of doctrinal disputes within Catholicism, much less within Christianity, about not only theology, but also the proper structure of religious authority and proper moral conduct, that have given rise to plenty of conflict. If a god stays out of these debates, I see no reason why this would not also be true in a fantasy world. Not to mention, being so exclusionary about religion is not universal; see China and the belief in separate covenants for different peoples. One can imagine eclectic clerics who incorporate beliefs and rituals from other religions. And even if some religions got powers and others didn't, never underestimate the power of moral and cultural imperatives. Sure, my ancestor worship may not allow me to turn undead, but they're my ancestors without which we would be nothing and we owe them our sacrifices and prayers. Sure, my religion of proper social conduct doesn't let me cure wounds, but it gives us a functioning society which is the greatest miracle of all.

[@HeliosLegion]

Various polytheistic religions symply became monotheistic over time and downgraded all their gods, except their "King of the Gods", into angels, demons, spirits, and spirits.

[@sierramike3879]

the DM Lair I don't know if you've heard of it, and it's more late 1800's-early 1900's rather than the typical D&D setting. But if you're looking for a good setting with a monotheistic faith, Dogs in the Vineyard is a lot of fun!

[@gexianhen]

from the page u was showing i liked Alba & Umbra for a goddes of dawn/ ligth and a goddes of dusk / dark - sound like they are sisters, or maibe a dual entity