Dungeon Mastering: Deities And Religion - The Dungeoncast Ep.16

Ever wonder where you go when you fail all your death saving throws? Will and Brian discuss some of the possibilities; from the more typical D&D pantheon to designs most mysterious. This weeks fantasy discussion is larger than fantasy life!
Starseeker's guide to Draken Star Pre-Orders- www.drakenstar....
Patreon: / thedungeoncast
Dungeoncast Merch: the-dungeoncas...
Discord: / discord
Twitter: th...
Instagram: www.instagram....
Our Amazon Wishlist: a.co/h523ORa
Our D&D Liveplay, Superquest Saga: • Superquest Saga (A 5e ...
Sponsor an Episode or just say hi @ [e-mail]
Send us a letter or postcard for us to read on the show: Po Box 1784, Upland, CA - 91785
The Dungeoncast is a D&D podcast where co-hosts Will and Brian talk about everything Dungeons & Dragons. Everything is up for discussion from Gods and Demon Lords to being a dungeon master and even building characters while keeping the conversational atmosphere lighthearted and friendly. Tune in as they explore the Dragon's Hoard of topics available from #5E, 4E, and all other editions of the world's most popular #ttrpg! Thanks for watching! #dungeonsanddragons

[@captainkiwi77]

When your pantheon consists of 4 levels Concepts like luck and the void Greater deities Lesser deities and other beings of similar power level ( arch devil/fey, lesser deities, demon lords, high level angels, low level primordials) And saints (mortals elevated to immortality by there patron to carry out there eternal will in a given facet of their domain)

[@joshuaneves6323]

I've been jumping thru your old videos and most current videos. I've had to watch at least 50 of them and I've never played dnd. But the lore is so interesting and you guys have such great banter and chemistry. Even these old videos are entertaining to watch, great videos guys

[@randallvance1299]

I've been a huge fan of the DC and I love to see how genuine these guys STILL are after over 200 episodes. Y'all do great work and my PCs backstory are always better after listening to y'all.

[@donnamcdonald805]

Great Job! Love Mom

[@joshuaneves6323]

Underated comment

[@sandydelrosario6748]

Just found what I will be listening to on my morning drives!

[@feylights166]

One of the things I love about settings like the Realms is that the gods are very real and active. I am not religious, but settings with deities add richness to the setting. Gods and the afterlife of the Realms are my jam. In the Realms, it isn't just a matter of faith. Their existence is fact. This adds complexity to a setting, in my opinion, rather than keeping it ambiguous. Since fantasy is fantasy, and the perfect place to explore concepts, it's fun when it differs from real life, at least, of course, to a degree.

[@heathenpride7931]

I think Eberron is a good example of a D&D world where this is definitely not the case. I don’t think anyone who’s familiar with Eberron would call it lacking in richness.

[@NonLogicUser]

So now my head is filled with the idea of having Great Spirit/Minor Deities for each of the planes. Triplets of the material (mother earth), faewild and shadowfell for example.

[@Thedungeoncast]

+NonLogicUser Fantastic!

[@maniakal24]

once again, very informative! thanks guys.

[@Atlas-pn6jv]

I try to keep the gods' actions in my homebrew pretty inconsistent, just b/c I want them to be "unknowable." "Why don't the gods just come and help" is a pretty common question at my table. The real answer is basically what God tells Bender. Helping outright in all circumstances wouldn't actually be helpful. But helping people in such small ways that they think you didn't do anything at all helps move society along. And there's a reason for that, but it's a long story.

[@usedport100s]

That disclaimer is clever as fuck. As is the rest of the video. Appreciate the upload

[@Parker8752]

One thing that's worth pointing out is that in real life polytheistic religions tended not to involve people only worshipping one god, but all of them, preying to different gods for different reasons. The one D&D setting I made involved there being two main religions and one underground cult - a creator god with a religion, but who doesn't directly interfere and doesn't have any actual Clerics, a destroyer god who is imprisoned, who has a cult; again, no Clerics, but his agents do empower some Warlocks. The pantheon actually do involve themselves in the world, and do empower some Clerics. That said, the setting in question only had one landmass (because that one landmass was the only landmass I actually cared about), so I could theoretically add other gods - or even just have the same gods be worshipped differently or have the fey be worshipped as gods.

[@Thedungeoncast]

That's a great point! I tried to touch on that a bit in my talk on loose vs tight pantheons and such. That sounds like an awesome setting! I like the idea of a dichotomy of 2 separate tight pantheons and the idea of one being more geared to clerics and such while the other have warlock agents. Awesome stuff!

[@blakebrockhaus347]

HectorGrey I've always seen it as a bunch of monotheisms that can't disprove one another, and the competition isn't whether your god is real, it's whether your god is right.

[@ShamanCore23]

I just wan't to had something that I think is important in all aspect of wordbuilding, the difference between what is and what is known by the people of the world. The " there is a third continent but nobody knows about" concept. For gods, it may mean that different gods worshipped by different people are in fact the same divinity with different names and form. Another concept. Hinduism is a religion of many gods but they are all avatar (form/aspect) of three main god and even those gods are really the three sides of a single cosmic entity. So you can have a cult of a fire god, a cult of earth, one of air and one of water where those four elemental god are in reality aspect of a single god who is worshipped as a storm god in the next village and has been adopted as a part of polytheistic pantheon in another culture. Maybe the elven god of nature and the halfling god of crop are the same with different name and representation. But yeah, obviously things are very different if gods are a just a piece of the background or if they are part of the story. And I would also push for originality, there is other model than the greek-roman-norse polytheistic combo kind of pantheon.

[@Thedungeoncast]

These are all really good points and a great way to approach "Pantheon" building. Thank you for the insightful comment!

[@quintoncraig9299]

this is a possibility, but it brings to question what local deity's are in this system. (Local Deity; A divine entity whom exists purely in the material plain, usually in a set location that rarely changes, often worshiped by the people living in that area.)

[@HenriFaust]

You can do more with this concept besides: for instance, you could make a world where no one is a spellcaster above, say, 3rd level and a 7th level wizard PC is unraveling brand new mysteries of magic, or perhaps no one in the world knows that other planes exist, etc. Personally I love stories like this, as they lend a greater sense of exploration and adventure when the characters "go where no man has gone before" than visiting some boring old crypt. Not that there's anything wrong with crypts.

[@arcanavoresmanavault2637]

I give this episode 7 out of 7 dead gods.

[@RedLightning306]

man, you guys are destined to blow up soon!

[@Artemisthemp]

I don't recall their being Demi gods in Norse Myth.

[@phoenixjm83]

I'm building a sorcerer who has a very Neutral alignment possibly even with a slightly Chaotic bent. Does my character need to have a closer alignment to that of Tiamat to be considered a follower or worshiper of her? There's nothing statistically significant about his worship of Tiamat. She's just my favorite Goddess and so I want her to be my character's favourite Goddess as well.

[@panm2906]

By the rules only clerics have that rule. Followers can worship aspect of god and by that choose what is best for that character.

[@arcanavoresmanavault2637]

I thought this episode would touch on the conflation of fictional religion and real religion as well as the satanic panic in the 80's.

[@davidpeacock8276]

This is paramount

[@maggintons]

Im considering the Nasuverse approach to spirits and gods where there is no god or heaven but there is The Root and the earth and various conceptual forces of nature which manifests itself as whatever necessary to complete a task. For instance in the Nasuverse what Joan Of Arc thought was god is actually a spiritual collective from the earth known as the counter force which exists to protect the planet from forces which would harm it too much. I've probaly made some mistakes because Im thinking about this on the spot but you get the point..

[@quintoncraig9299]

The actual effect of the ?Asmodius card would be (guide: /= as or, |= as and; separator for individual effects.) (balancing) this isn't the whole thing, just a taste. Rank:10 Attribute: Dark Xyz Type;Fiend Effect Atk:(????) Def:(????) sacrifice (2000/4000) life points to summon (1/2) Pit-Fiend monsters /when destroyed by battle summon a Pit-Fiend |this monster can't be destroyed by spell, trap, or monster effect.

[@covenawhite4855]

The 7 God's are aspect of the main God. The 7 are 1 but worshipped individually for different purposes.

[@charliescheirmann2926]

Wait... entities that get their power from belief... is Santa Clause a deity???

[@gelatinous_rube]

👍

[@paintnate222]

I have a little crush on both of these dudes. Love this podcast.

[@fobsessedcam890]

I like the idea of world where the god's existence is left ambiguous and unclear to the players. That way you can institute a variety of religions or cults that all seem equally possible which is more like real life.

[@feylights166]

Regardless of real world belief, the existence of gods within a fantasy setting can also enrich a setting. Fantasy doesn't always have to match real life, after all. It's an escape, and the petfect place to explore things. And you can still have heretics and cults (such as people worshiping demons). I am not religious, but I love settings that have deities as real and active. Adds an extra dimension. Establishing things like deities and an afterlife can add flavor. Plus, mulitple deities allows for players to have a variety to choose from, so you get that variety of religion. Having their existence be a fact doesn't limit options--it enhances them, imho, at least. But I also love the gods of the Realms.

[@MisterTutor2010]

Gods getting their power from followers? I call that Twitter Theology :)

[@Aarongorn]

Is there a core book on the deities for D&D 5e?

[@Shador013]

The game of thrones analogy is a little off. Each of the "seven gods" are actually all the same god, just with a different face. but they are all the same being.

[@chara2038]

The screen is a bit shaky,

[@sakisaotome6753]

You bring up a good point. If you go to your deities plane when you die why would you worship an evil deity the only thing I can think of is short term reward. Ie the ever famous sell your should to the devil for power in this world. Which of you think of it, is a test bad deal. Maybe 30 years of a good life life in exchange for an eternity in hell? No thanks! I mean I can see why the stereotypical idiot villain might go for that but you need need an 18 intelligence to realize that the deal is very one sided. Also as a petioner i don't think you get to climb the ladder of the doomed for a better position. Not to mention of that is possible, is likely only going to happen in the nine hells all of the other evil plains are not likely going to be that great for anyone.

[@paulcoy9060]

I always imagined that if you are going to a specific Plane after death, your form becomes adapted to that specific Plane. If you worship a water god, you can become a Water Elemental, because it would be a great waste of time if you drown for eternity as a Human in the Water Plane. If you worship a Nature deity, perhaps you become a satyr, or even a unicorn. So, going to Hell means you can withstand the temperatures, smells, and general hideousness, but there are still bigger and tougher things that can make you miserable.

[@sakisaotome6753]

paul coy well that is sort of true for examples the souls of those that go to the 9 heels become lemurs

[@feylights166]

I have always thought that the afterlife can affect your choice of deity. Obviously, people still follow evil deities, and this can come down to a hope/desire of reward. And, if that deity's portfolio aligns with your ideology, you are more likely to follow that god.

[@ericolson4621]

you butchered the language part boys