I'd like some opinions on the following: There is little sense of community or common cause among the gods of Celandra. In their own little sections of the Dreaming each is supreme and independent, and that carries over into their dealings with each other in the world. Each cult is highly independent, and, while temporary alliances and distinct boundaries do exist, each cult competes with all others trying to make itself supreme and the only cult. This creates the situation where we have cults dedicated to single deities in an area dominant over many small cults. Thus, we cannot speak of the "pantheons" in the sense of related gods. The "gods of Parglug" are NOT a related set of gods, but simply those gods worshipped individually by the people who call themselves Parglug. HOWEVER, (and a big however it is), there are two factors currently in operation to reverse this attitude. First, upon the continent of Qaiyore, there is a strong current towards monotheism. Historically, every god would like to have itself seen as "the one true god." However the end of this tendency can be seen in a belief which ends up cutting out _all_ of the gods of the Dreaming in favor of a philosophical or impersonal unity. (And eventually identifying all the gods as demonic, though _that_ trend has barely started.) Second is the fact that powers from _outside_ Celandra's dreaming have begun to appear. (Juuso identified Feroze as being such an entity.) Many of these outsiders are both organized and hostile, and must be met with organization if the entities are to maintain their dominance. These two factors combine to create a situation where the deities need to change past practices. Those who can cooperate and find common ground will survive, while those who continue to act on their own will fall from power. (So, what do people think?) Jefferson (Exquaestio) http://www.picotech.net/~jeff_wilson63/rpg/ ---------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, send mail to celandra-off@phoenyx.net.
