Too Big to Fail

Question: I'm attempting to create a Cherokee pantheon and was wondering how I should tackle the issue of Unetlanvhi, the creator god who is worshiped above all others. Should I treat him/her the same way as Persia's Ahura Mazda, and just have him/her be the unplayable creator god?

To be totally honest, I'm pretty sure that Scion: Yazata's treatment of Ahura Mazda is waffling on the part of the writer. Ahura Mazda, being massively wise and all-powerful and predating everything else in the universe except Zrvan and his twin Ahriman, is pretty obviously in Titan territory when compared to most of the rest of Scion's setting. He's too all-powerful and cosmic to be playable or have hanging around, because theoretically he could just solve everyone's problems with a wave of his hand, and all the other Yazata are vastly subordinate and less powerful when compared to him. He's clearly not one of the Yazata, and equally clearly too powerful to just be running around doing things, and he's an ancient cosmic figure the universe is based on... all of which looks a lot like Titan.

But he's also the great Good Guy of Zoroastrianism, and I think the authors of the Yazata supplement didn't want to present him as a bad guy even in a general sense, so instead of installing him as a Titan or knocking his power level down to an even playing field with the other Yazata, they said, "Eh, you know what, fuck it, do whatever you want with him," and went on to do other things. Personally, I'd think Ahura Mazda would make a great Titan to include in a realm that has to do with Order - Sedeq's a pretty scary place, but if you use the original setting's Logos, he'd probably fit right in over there.

But anyway, Unetlanvhi is in a lot of the same boat; he's benevolent, so it's worrisome to set him up as a Titan, but he's also clearly way too powerful and ancient and just generally large to be in the normal mix of the pantheon. You have three options: you can nerf him down to be similar to the other Cherokee gods, but in doing so you're going to be basically declaring that a lot of the myth surrounding him isn't true while the myths of others are, so that's not a great option. You can also declare that he's a god, but he doesn't interfere with his pantheon, sire Scions, or have anything to do with the Titan war for some reason (it had probably better be a good reason, though, because the World that's getting blow up by them right now is kind of his baby).

Or you could just bite the bullet and make him a Titan, which is probably what I'd do. Titans don't always have to be evil and don't always have to oppose the gods; even in the first Titanomachy, some were specifically said to stay neutral and sit things out. Unetlanvhi might simply have disconnected from his pantheon at some point and wandered off to the Titanrealm that best suited his nature (Terra, perhaps, or Stvaranje), there to do his larger-than-life thing without bothering anyone who isn't stupid enough to come get in the middle of it. You might even be able to paint it as a consequence of the failing power of the gods over humanity; Cherokee religion was heavily concerned with ritual performance ensuring that Unetlanvhi's blessings didn't falter or cease, and the wholesale destruction of the Cherokee culture with the invasion of Europe stopped it from happening reliably almost overnight, which might have caused Unetlanvhi to sever his ties to a world that apparently didn't need or care about him anymore. It would be an interesting setup for a pantheon that might be able to get their father-god back but then again might not, and who also might be wondering if a similar fate lies in store for them if they don't figure out what to do about their depressing lack of representation in the World. (Answer: Scions.)

Or maybe you have yet another awesome idea I don't, and if so, run with it. You're obviously taking the gods and their roles in regards to the world seriously and with some thought, so trust your instincts and research. Every pantheon's a little bit different because every culture's different, so don't be afraid to do something that you haven't seen much anywhere else if it makes the most sense for your Cherokee gods.