What's up with Forgotten Realms and old Finnish deities? I'm a bit confused, because I don't see Zeus or Athe or Thor (okay, there is Baldur) running around, but there are Mielikki and Loviatar (and Ilmater - Ilmatar, anyone?). Are there any other gods whose names have roots in various mythologies and sagas?
The Planescape book 'On Hollowed Ground' goes in to this further. On the planes, there are the Finnish Pantheon, the Norse Pantheon, the Japanese Pantheon, all the real life Pantheons, basically (in Kara-Tur, for example, basically the Chinese gods are worshiped). Some members of those pantheons took interest in the Forgotten Realms, and got themselves worshipers in the Toril crystal spear. So Mielikki is a member of both the Finnish Pantheon and the Forgotten Realms pantheon.
Of the other gods, Tyr's obviously from the Norse. All the Mulhorandi pantheon is basically the Egyptian pantheon without Ra. Oghma and Silvanus are both Celtic gods. The now dead god Tyche (mother of Tymora and Beshaba) was Greek. I... think that's it.
@Twani , Sharess is Bastet, from the Egyptian. Or is she included in the Mulhorandi you mention that has all the Egyptian gods minus Ra? (So, Isis, Osiris, Set, and Anubis are in the Mulhorandi FR list of deities?)
Are there any other gods whose names have roots in various mythologies and sagas?
Azothet sounds like Azathot in the Cthulhu mythos.
Why does Tazok or any of the Throne guys never recognize you when you first meet them? They send countless bounty hunters who always recognize you immediately, but when you join their camp nobody notices that you are the very group they are are trying to assassinate.
Are there any other gods whose names have roots in various mythologies and sagas?
Azothet sounds like Azathot in the Cthulhu mythos.
Why does Tazok or any of the Throne guys never recognize you when you first meet them? They send countless bounty hunters who always recognize you immediately, but when you join their camp nobody notices that you are the very group they are are trying to assassinate.
Honestly I always felt like they were double bluffing you. They *pretend* not to know who you are to lure you into the middle of their camp, into Tazoks tent and then spring the trap with their strongest warriors.
...Why no one else fights you when you leave the tent pokes a big hole in this, but I still like the theory.
@Twani , Sharess is Bastet, from the Egyptian. Or is she included in the Mulhorandi you mention that has all the Egyptian gods minus Ra? (So, Isis, Osiris, Set, and Anubis are in the Mulhorandi FR list of deities?)
She used to be the real Bast, then she hung out too much with Shar, I think it was, and it changed her. Rather permanently. So she isn't exactly Bast any more and there's no other version of the goddess being worshiped in Mulhorand either.
Apart from the Egyptian deities in the Mulhorandi Pantheon there was also the Untheric pantheon, which literally was the deities from Sumerian/Mesopotamian mythology. Both of these pantheons had been brought to Faerun in the same way - the Imaskar Empire opened magical portals between FR and ancient Earth and brought in slaves from these areas. The beliefs of the slaves then caused the gods to follow them through the portals. Only Tiamat and Assuran - now under the name of Hoar, god of revenge, retribution and poetic justice - still exist of the Sumerian/Untheric pantheon, the others have all been slain or left the world out of their own choice.
I believe these are the only cases where it's supposed to be literally the same gods as the gods in the old mythologies, at least in the Forgotten Realms setting. Though there are obviously a lot of cases where they were clearly "inspired" by real life mythologies, as brought up above..
Who, in all the Hells, thinks it's a good idea to build a city over so many liches' lairs?! Honestly, there might as well be an entrance to a 56-layer dungeon in the middle of Athkatla. Just, you know, stick it in the middle of the city. Right underneath Borinall's house.
Wouldn't a town set up around a huge dungeon be pretty prosperous? You know, someone has to sell equipment and provide a place to sleep. It's like those seaside villages which thrive on tourist season, except the whole year.
I believe these are the only cases where it's supposed to be literally the same gods as the gods in the old mythologies, at least in the Forgotten Realms setting. Though there are obviously a lot of cases where they were clearly "inspired" by real life mythologies, as brought up above..
The Giant pantheon is another case where real life gods were directly copied. Namely Surtr and Thrym from the Norse mythology. Then we have the Maztican pantheon with Eha being pretty much the same deity as the Aztec god Ehecatl. Same goes for Qotal and the Mesoamerican deity Quetzalcoatl. Tezca and Tezcatlipoca. Et cetera. They got really lazy with all the name shortening going on here. And while not deities themselves, a good bunch of demon lords also has a real life deity counterpart as well. Abraxas and Baphomet being some of the more famous examples on top of my head.
Anyway... am I the only one who has always wondered as to why none of the pantaloons are actually wearable?
Are there any other gods whose names have roots in various mythologies and sagas?
Azothet sounds like Azathot in the Cthulhu mythos.
Why does Tazok or any of the Throne guys never recognize you when you first meet them? They send countless bounty hunters who always recognize you immediately, but when you join their camp nobody notices that you are the very group they are are trying to assassinate.
Honestly I always felt like they were double bluffing you. They *pretend* not to know who you are to lure you into the middle of their camp, into Tazoks tent and then spring the trap with their strongest warriors.
...Why no one else fights you when you leave the tent pokes a big hole in this, but I still like the theory.
You answered your own question. Their best warriors were in that tent ready to ambush you. Your party walks out, covered in blood with smug looks on their faces.
You, mr. "I'm wearing basic leather armor and carry non-magical weapons" bandit do *not* want to mess with those guys. So you whistle a merry tune, let them walk away, and tell Tazok that you were just following orders.
Because of a wild surge, I once had my clothes changed into a set of five aquatic birds. So for a while I was wearing penta-loons but that's not quite the same.
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I'm a bit confused, because I don't see Zeus or Athe or Thor (okay, there is Baldur) running around, but there are Mielikki and Loviatar (and Ilmater - Ilmatar, anyone?).
Are there any other gods whose names have roots in various mythologies and sagas?
Of the other gods, Tyr's obviously from the Norse. All the Mulhorandi pantheon is basically the Egyptian pantheon without Ra. Oghma and Silvanus are both Celtic gods. The now dead god Tyche (mother of Tymora and Beshaba) was Greek. I... think that's it.
Why does Tazok or any of the Throne guys never recognize you when you first meet them? They send countless bounty hunters who always recognize you immediately, but when you join their camp nobody notices that you are the very group they are are trying to assassinate.
...Why no one else fights you when you leave the tent pokes a big hole in this, but I still like the theory.
Apart from the Egyptian deities in the Mulhorandi Pantheon there was also the Untheric pantheon, which literally was the deities from Sumerian/Mesopotamian mythology. Both of these pantheons had been brought to Faerun in the same way - the Imaskar Empire opened magical portals between FR and ancient Earth and brought in slaves from these areas. The beliefs of the slaves then caused the gods to follow them through the portals. Only Tiamat and Assuran - now under the name of Hoar, god of revenge, retribution and poetic justice - still exist of the Sumerian/Untheric pantheon, the others have all been slain or left the world out of their own choice.
I believe these are the only cases where it's supposed to be literally the same gods as the gods in the old mythologies, at least in the Forgotten Realms setting. Though there are obviously a lot of cases where they were clearly "inspired" by real life mythologies, as brought up above..
Anyway... am I the only one who has always wondered as to why none of the pantaloons are actually wearable?
You, mr. "I'm wearing basic leather armor and carry non-magical weapons" bandit do *not* want to mess with those guys. So you whistle a merry tune, let them walk away, and tell Tazok that you were just following orders.