This was one of the longest pantheon projects ever, but we hope you guys will think it was worth the wait. From the windswept tropical islands of the Polynesian triangle, we bring you the Atua, stormy gods of the natural elements and bringers of supernatural adventure on a cosmic scale. Brace yourselves, because they are out of control.
We've updated the master post for Atua-specific details, but if you have questions, by all means, hit us. We had a blast working with these guys, who are in the interesting position of being worshiped over a wide range of different islands but often in different ways, for different things or at differing degrees of importance, making them a jack-of-all-trades group of gods ready to leap into action in a dozen wildly varying ways.
I don't mind telling you guys that I'm going to take a little time off from pantheons (maybe a whole week!) to recuperate, but when we leap back into action it'll be with the Inuit gods of the far northern reaches of North America. We are way super excited to finally be adding a North American pantheon to our gameset, not to mention getting to flesh out several Inuit characters who have already made appearances in our games, and the unique (and scary, and awful) flavor of the arctic gods is going to be a whole new world of horrific fun.
Voting was really, really close this time; for a while there were three frontrunners that were neck and neck, and every week we wondered if the deciding factor was just going to be who was on top when we finally got the supplement out the door. If you were part of the very vocal factions who didn't quite come out ahead, don't despair; the next round of voting is up and both of the other heavyweight contenders from this time around are back again, as are some fresh new options for folks who have been looking for something different. As always, we're happy to talk about any of the pantheons up for voting if you have questions about them.
As always, thanks to all of you for reading and discussing and cheering us on. Go get yourselves some gods of the islands.
This is truly amazing! I've been waiting for this for weeks, and it came at just the right time because I'm about to start STing a game! Seriously, great work as always, and we look forward to future projects.
ReplyDeleteWe're so glad you like it! :)
DeleteAwesomesauce! Always love a new pantheon!
ReplyDeleteAnd the Inuit won the vote, great! Though, honestly, I'd be happy with any of the three frontrunners... now let's see who's on the poll now...
...The Guarani...
*clickclickclickclickclickCLICKSMASHSMASH!*
At first, I was going to vote Ashanti. You guys do realize it's Anansi's pantheon, right?
DeleteHowever, I can't vote on anything but the Guarani. My hands are tied here.
When we put it on the poll, John was like, "Griff's going to get a hernia from voting too hard." :)
DeleteYup. That just about sums it up.
DeleteAin't no party like a rainforest party, cause a rainforest party kills you dead
Let it be known, Anne, that at least for one moment, the Hittites commanded a full 20% of the vote. I've done all I can.
ReplyDelete/goes off to roll around in the new supplement like a Wilbur in mud.
Let's all vote Hittite, just this once, to give Anne a special present for all her hard work with these pantheons.
Delete/shameless
Shame is for the weak!
DeleteOkay, but this was a great read, and after going through it I really do think that the Polynesian pantheon should have been a shoe in for a core pantheon, or at least one of the later pantheons, though I also understand that this pantheon had some distinct challenges that would have made it difficult to do well on a deadline.
Anyway! Onto questions!
1. Are there any gods mentioned that you feel would have Artistry under your rules?
2. Does having Mana Tangata mean that as long as they aren't stealthing past your Perception + Awareness rolls and hiding completely from you, you can instantly identify anyone with Legend as having Legend without a roll? Does this boon rely on sight, or can it be perceived through other senses (can a blinded scion use it, for instance, or one wearing a blindfold)?
3. Violation of a taboo seems a little broad for Code of Heaven. I mean, isn't cannibalism a taboo anyway just on its own?
4. Less a question, more an observation that the Atua got six abilities listed under Vestiges, where pantheons usually only get five.
Seriously, they have 37% now!!! It won't last, but you guys are awesome, thanks for the sweet thank-you gift. :) For a few glorious hours, these Turkish deities are on a roll.
DeleteHmm, Artistry! Hi'iaka, the Legend 11 sister of Pele, probably definitely has it; she invented the hula dance (or, depending on the story, it was taught to her by Hopoe and she became it's patron goddess). Pele probably also has a lot of Artistry as the secondary hula patron, although I'd probably stop short of giving her the Avatar. You could also give hefty amounts to Tane and Tangaroa as the major creator gods among the Atua, although since different islands disagree on who was doing that, again I would probably say they have a lot of Artistry but maybe not all the Artistry. If you want to get wacky, Whiro might have some, too, for the creation of all that nasty stuff he's always making. Artistry gone bad.
Hmm, Mana Tangata... we've been talking about it and we're uncertain. Just knowing someone's Legend amounts and so on is only useful situationally (usually to determine whether your friends need a deed or Legend boost with your other Mana boons), so we made it free and roll-less to compensate for the fact that it's not one of the most useful level 1 boons. But it does have a side effect of automatically identifying Legendary beings with a glance, which is pretty powerful; the only other level 1 that does that is Brehon's Eye, which has a cost associated.
My suggestion was to say that you need to declare its use - the ST isn't in charge of always telling you the Legend of everything that wanders by, so you'll need to ask if you want to know about a particular person (players, don't use this as an excuse to spam the ST annoyingly). John suggests that if it's feeling too overpowered, add a cost of one Willpower for the scene.
Keep in mind that while Mana Tangata is very useful for helping you use your other Mana boons, it's prone to giving you bad information when used as an info-gathering tool. It only tells you how much Legend and how many Deeds someone has, not what their rating is, meaning that if someone is out of both they'll "read" as mortal or if they're just low on resources that day may look much less powerful than they actually are.
Oops. Off to fix Vestiges. Removed Occult.
Violation of a taboo in Code of Heaven refers specifically to the Atua system of tapu, which might include anything labeled "taboo" depending on how they interpret other customs. Cannibalism is sometimes taboo but not always tapu, if you get the drift, so they aren't necessarily under the same umbrella all the time.
DeleteYay! I got the Atua supplement for my birthday! Thanks! :D *does happy dance*
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday!
DeleteRegarding Manu Rakau: Does it give the bonus to anyone who uses the item? Does the bonus increase as your Legend does?
ReplyDeleteRegarding Tohunga: the 'fluff' seems to suggest you can only apply it against lessers, but the mechanics say nothing about that. Can I stop someone of higher Legend than me from using Legendary Deed on me?
Awesome stuff! Just a few days after my birthday too.
ReplyDeleteI also think that the storm titan is a much better match for the island-bound, hurricane-prone islanders than it was for the Aztecs, good job with that too.
FWIW: I'm throwing my support to the Hittites as well. The Elohim and Anunna are awesome with that Old Testament-era(s) feel to them, and I think the Hittites share that distinction.
The Navajo were a close second for me due to the dearth of North American stuff.
And happy birthday to you, too!
DeleteYeah, natural disasters are problem one for people who live in the islands, so we were excited about giving them some really meaty antagonists there. Some Avatars we've really wanted in the game, like Lir, are getting to make their debut. We may change a lot of it when we do the Titanrealms for our custom ruleset, but this way people using the RAW get to roll with them and can mix and match with Ehekatoyaatl as they choose.
It's true, the Hittites are definitely some of those old-school Middle Eastern gods. They are not shy.
What is the relationship between the Atua and the Orisha?
ReplyDeleteSomeone's already sent in a question-box request for a full writeup on the relations between the extra pantheons, but the Orisha are a bit of a special case. They're more hot-tempered and reactionary than the original line's Loa; like most pantheons that have things like Courage and Vengeance in common, they probably either love or hate one another depending on what's going on that day. People like Shango or Oshun are very similar to many of the Atua and probably make awesome best friends, but if someone pisses someone else off, it's all Vengeance all day.
DeleteA couple of questions on the PSP. It's really evocative, but still raises some questions.
ReplyDeleteMau Rakau: Does the bonus increase as you gain Legend? Is the bonus granted to anyone using the item? or just when the Scion is using it?
Tohunga: Does this affect beings of equal/higher Legend rating than you? The bit at the beginning seems to suggest no, but the text doesn't really say anything.
Mau Rakau: Hmm, should have said that the mana bonus only works for you, since you're basically making it an extension of yourself. Other people can still use it, since it's not a relic and won't bite them, but they won't get the additional dice when they do.
DeleteJohn and I talked over whether or not the Mau Rakau bonus on an item should automatically go up if you gain in Legend, and decided that might need to be an ST call for individual games. We prefer that it doesn't; something you invested with mana when you were Legend 4 would need to be released from this boon and reinvested later to get the bonus for Legend 8; it makes more sense for the boon's flavor and puts a slight check on its otherwise very powerful usage. But Mana already has a lot of bookkeeping going on, so if your group is finding it a headache to keep track of what items have what bonus, we wouldn't be mad at you for just deciding they automatically upgrade for ease of use.
You can still use Tohunga against creatures of higher Legend than yourself. Even if they're more powerful in Legend rating, you're more powerful in Mana. ;)
Thanks for the clarifications.
DeleteAwesome PSP!
And on a side note, am about to try playing a Bogovi, as per the downloadable supplement. Should be interesting to try their PSP.
Awesome, tell us how it goes. :) The Bogovi have become some of our favorite gods to show up and wreck things in game.
DeleteShould be a blast, since he's a Scion of Morena, and will invest in Death, Darkness, Frost, and Justice. And he's gonna be a total social guy, mainly focusing on Epic Charisma and Epic Appearance. They will fear him, and they will be drawn to him.
DeleteAnd he's gonna be the Leader/Face of his merry band...
Sounds awesome. Leader on the prowl!
DeleteSo.
ReplyDeleteLogos is still a thing, and Raijin is still a god?
The downloadable supplements are written to be compatible with the RAW, since not everybody who comes to our site uses our ruleset. You'll often see things in them that don't jibe with the way we use them for that reason.
DeleteWe use Sedeq as the Justice Titanrealm instead of Logos, and Raijin has been kicked off our god-roster and will probably become a Titan. :)
Ever since Terriblyuncreative brought it up ages ago, I've grown to love the idea of the Polynesians being opposed by a Storm Titan, and when they came up for pdfship, I was super excited for it, before I remembered that RAW already put storms under Sky as the opponent for the Aztecs, so the enthusiasm deflated a little (don't get me wrong, I look forward to and love your Pantheon writeups, but I absolutely ADORE your Titan writeups), because I know your pdfs are all RAW compatible.
ReplyDeleteI should have had a bit more faith in your writing Anne...you have done what I did not think was possible: You have created a Storm Titanrealm that is entirely distinct in character and atmosphere (pun intended) from any of the Titanrealms before it. I was worried they would either end up with an Ehekatoyaatl knockoff, or some minor Vritra like element that just doesn't feel Titanic enough. So, of course, the pdf comes along and all I can hear in my head is 'O ye of little faith'. Sky and Storm stand separate and distinct and the Atua can proudly stand up and say 'In Parori-Whenua we have an opposition worthy of our majesty'.
Because the pantheon is majestic, and every bit as amazing as I have come to expect. The Alihah are still my favourites, but I think these guys just knocked the Elohim off second place.
In short Anne and John, please take a bow. And the Hittites have another supporter. Iluyanka needs his day in the limelight.
You always make us blush, Samudra. :) I'm so glad you like it!
DeleteHmm. Surprised you didn't make Hi'iaka Legend 12. Any particular reason why?
ReplyDeleteYeah, we thought about that one long and hard. In the end, we didn't make her Legend 12 because she didn't feel like she was quite there; for one thing, she's a purely Hawaiian phenomenon, with no presence on any of the other Polynesian islands. That alone wouldn't disqualify her, but she also doesn't really have a large enough body of myth to make her Legend 12; the romance of her journeys for Pele and Lohiau is a major story, but it's her only one. We eventually went with her as Legend 11 - very powerful and popular in Hawaii, but not quite at the final push that would catapult her to major Legend 12 godhood.
DeleteNow that my gushing is done, questions.
ReplyDeleteI was expecting Poliahu amongst the playables. Does she not have enough legends for Legend 12?
I understand that you wanted to get him out there for the RAW crowd, but when the time comes to update the site, do you expect Gong Gong to stay in Paroro-Whenua or helm the Water Realm against the Shen?
I've been considering Titanic opposition for the Inuits, and I was considering an Air Titanrealm helmed by Sila. I know you will do your own research and this may or may not end up happening, but I was wondering about something related: you have often spoken of splitting Sky into Wind and Thunder; have you considered similarly making those two separate Titanrealms? Or will you be putting the skyfathers into Paroro-Whenua when the time comes to put it up on the site?
Finally, do you think Huracan would make a good Avatar for Paroro-Whenua?
Yeah, similar to Hi'iaka above - Poli'ahu only has a couple of myths as part of Pele's canon, so while we like her, she wasn't quite at the same level as the Legend 12 gods.
DeleteI'm not sure yet where Gong Gong will end up for us; he's a good person to have in Storms but also a heavy contender for Water. We'll just have to see when we get to those Titanrealms. :)
I don't know who the opposition will be yet for the Inuit! Sila definitely seems like a possible Titan, but I'm not sure if he's the opposition for the pantheon. I'm wondering if this is a good time to write a Titanrealm of Frost for the RAW set... but we won't know for a while. :)
Huracan, despite his name, doesn't actually do a lot of hurricanes (although he certainly could); he's more of a creator figure in Maya mythology. He's probably better off in a sky-oriented or creator-oriented Titanrealm.
Fun fact: there is a Huracan who is an angry storm god, but he's a deity of the Taino people of Cuba and the Bahamas. He wreaks his havoc along with his mother Guabancex in opposition to the benevolent fertility god Yucahu. He's probably originally the same figure as the Maya Huracan, shared from one of those groups to the other at some point in history, but his character in the Popol Vuh as a creator is very different frmo his Taino role as a stormbringer.
As much as i like that the Finnish and Tibetan pantheons are up (the Finns for their poetry and the Tibetans for their philosophies), i am still somewhat peeved that the northeastern US pantheons aren't up on the poll yet (the upcoming turkey day was sparked my revolutionary interest). Please come show yourself Algonquin pantheon (pretty please :))!
ReplyDeleteAww, I'm sorry! We thought about it, but were worried about splitting the North American vote too much by having more than one different people on the poll, like what happened with the Inuit and Navajo last time. (Not that all the North American pantheons are the same or anything, but for those who aren't real clear on the details.)
DeleteAlgonquin/Anishinaabe are definitely a big force I think should make it to the poll next time!
Oh bother, released when I have work and have to focus on a lit paper once home. Once I have time to read I'm positive I'll love it. And now to decide what next to vote on...
ReplyDeleteThe first few days of voting are so much fun!
DeleteMinor point, but doesn't Kaminokaze mean something along the lines of "Wind of God" rather than "God of Wind" since "Kami" is preceding "Kaze" rather than the other way around?
ReplyDeleteI'd be surprised if canon was aiming for "Wind of God" rather than "God of Wind," but it is as it is.
Yes... yes, it does. It's the origin term of "kamikazi", who is the shortened version American soldiers brought back from WWII. The original RAW Titan is named "wind of the gods", but often misinterpreted as "god of the winds".
DeleteSo... why did the Tuatha not try and just let the guys children go?
ReplyDeleteSeems like that would've saved them some headache - maybe hand over the one who did it to them as well.
According to the myth, none of the Tuatha were able to break the curse placed on the children; they were very sorry about the situation and would have loved to set things right, but the kids were stuck being swans and furthermore couldn't leave their particular set of lakes if they ever wanted a chance to escape on that faraway day that the spell ended. Lir probably would have calmed down if the children had been restored, but the Tuatha couldn't do it and it was one of their own who caused the problem in the first place, so he ended up blaming them for the whole mess.
DeleteAoife, the Tuatha goddess who cursed the children, was turned into a formless air creature in punishment for her crime. The myth doesn't specify, but it's likely that the Tuatha wanted her punished but weren't willing to hand over one of their kind to Lir and let him hurt a member of their family.
What does the word Paroro-Whenua mean by the way?
ReplyDeleteAlso, what are it's favoured and banned Purviews? I'm guessing it's the Elemental Purviews and/or Chaos favoured and Guardian and Psychopomp banned, but I'm having trouble understanding why a Titanrealm that is the crossroads of so many others would ban the Purview of travel.
"Land of storms", literally.
DeleteDarn, I can't believe I forgot the favored/banned purviews! Yes, Earth/Fire/Frost/Sky/Water are the favored purviews, and Guardian/Psychopomp are the banned ones. Psychopomp is kicked out of play because there would be no point whatsoever in storms if you could just teleport past them; the Titanrealm demands you be subjected to its miserable weather and natural disasters for every gruelling minute.
So i noticed that the Micronesian Pantheon isn't on your little pantheon map. is this because...
ReplyDelete...1. They were absorbed by the Polynesian Pantheon.
2. They're too minor to have their own pantheon.
3. Or some other reason (bad sourcing, it's made up because ethnographers felt they "needed" a pantheon, etc.)
Actually, Micronesia's not nearly as unified as Polynesia in terms of religious. There's less cultural commerce between islands, so it's more like the Amazon rainforest, where there are tons of small groups with their own small religions but no large overarching one to speak of.
DeleteI really can't wait to see how your revised Titanrealms work for this, as opposed to the RAW-compatible stuff that includes a lot of nonsense like Ehekatoyaatl and Soku-no-kumi.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, while this is an awesome Sky-Titan, at the core, I'm trying and failing to find much appreciable difference between this and Pakiy.
(I feel like I should make a reference to Thor Heyerdaal and the Kon-Tiki, but I can't think of the right phrasing)
Yeah, Kon could totally have been at home here, too. Pakiy's meant to have more of a general destruction vibe so it includes things that aren't natural disaster-style stuff (like Ammit), but it's definitely got crossovers.
DeleteI do think it's likely that we'll probably have more unified Titanrealms when we do them for the site - we don't necessarily need the one pantheon/one Titanrealm model to stay around for us all the time. I think it's likely that Sky and Storm may be separate Titanrealms, but not exactly what they'll look like yet.
Heeeeey, where'd the Welsh go?
ReplyDeleteWe're trying to keep the poll down to eight options maximum, so we rotated them out this time to make room for the Guarani. They'll be back, though. They need their day in the sun, too!
DeleteWas pulling for the Navajo but just glad North America is getting some love! I was so excited for the Atua that for the last couple of days I couldn't concentrate on any of your posts because my eyes kept wandering to that full progress bar.
ReplyDeleteGo go North America!
DeleteOut of curiosity, what would each of the pantheons on the poll plus the Inuit pantheon be called? And I can't help but notice that just over half of the pantheons that you've fleshed out have their pantheon's name begin with the letter A. Coincidence?
ReplyDeleteHeh, it is coincidence, although there are theories about it. One is that "ah" is one of the first sounds humanity learned to make and therefore a natural thing to call their gods, or that it's the default sound of awe, or various things like that. Really, though, no particular confirmed reason.
DeleteWe haven't done the research to figure out the best name for all those pantheons. Some of them probably have more than one (the Australians have several different languages in play, after all), and it'll need some time to look at.
Awesome work as always you guys! I just finished reading it and I love it. :) And although I knew going in that Pele was awesome, I was pleasantly surprised to find a couple of new favorites in Hine and Hina.
ReplyDeleteYour realm of storms totally blows away Ehekatoyaatl.
And Anne, I voted for the Hittites. I have little to no idea who the Hittities are, but you deliver such awesome to us it felt right to vote for something on your wish list. :) Sorry for the deletion above. Ran into the God of Typos.
I'm so glad you like it! Man, those Hittites have never felt so loved.
DeleteI was going for Australia before, because I'd love to see them written up [and I still would], but now I've done a little checking on the Hittites, and discovered I knew them as "Hurrians", I'm on the train as well. I used Sarruma, Shaushka and Inara in a game fairly recently, but didn't have a lot to go on, so more data would be cool. So - another Hittite Vote!
ReplyDelete