Interesting. I'd never heard all that explained before.
Working independently, I came up with a simplified theology for my campaign that explained the Blood War along with other aspects of the epic fantasy setting. I managed to get it down to 8 deities.
Departing from traditional mythology, the original two creator deities were the ones who fell into evil and it was their good former servants who rebelled to save mortals.
The universe was created when two very old and powerful souls found one another. They became the mother and father of all of creation. Along with the universe were born three deities, Creative One, Maintainer and Recycler. As the universe developed and life became more complex, two new deities came to be, The Wild and Enlightenment. The latter two were primarily concerned with the new developing mortal life, one helping it to grow and survive and the other to encourage community, civilization and innovation.
Things went sour for the divine family when the Mother and Father began to fight over their creation (cribbing a bit from Bab5). The Mother insisted the only way for the mortals to attain their full potential was through strict order and obedience. Her wisdom would be their guide. She became known as Baateza, the supreme devil. The Father felt that advancement comes only though conflict and culling the weak. He became known as Tanaros, the supreme demon.
Hence, the "Blood War" that rages between the demons and devils is essentially the nastiest divorce ever.
The Creative One became known as Draconis, the supreme dragon. She was neutral in the struggle and a force for raw chaos. Think "Q" from Star Trek. She also serves as the great muse and creator of arcane magic. Mortals who can become wizards or sorcerers, be they good or evil, gain their power from dragon blood somewhere in their ancestry.
The Maintainer started a conflict of his own with the Recycler. Normally the Recycler, who came to be known as "Death", would take souls when they die to their rest in his plane of Oblivion. No one knows what awaits the mortal souls who cross over into this undiscovered country, for no one has ever ventured into Oblivion and returned to tell the tale. Apparently "new" souls (with no memory) emerge from Oblivion and are carried by Death to the wombs of expecting mothers and release into life ("first kick" is the sign). Essentially, Death isn't bad (Lawful Neutral) and he doesn't kill people. He's the caretaker of souls and the natural order.
The Maintainer, who became Necron, the lord of the undead, started a war with Death to keep the dead in the realm of the living. The undead are their own faction in my world and only clerics of Necron can create undead.
The Wild One came to be known as Gaia and the Bringer of Enlightenment came to be known as Sol. They rebelled against the demons and devils, taking advantage of the chaos of the Blood War. Angels of Sol are redeemed devils while the nature spirits of Gaia are redeemed demons. The seven layers of Paradise are divided into the "Deep" (chaotic) part run by Gaia and the "High" (lawful) part run by Sol.
Druids get their power from either Gaia or Tanaros and thus are divided into warring Chaotic Good and Chaotic Evil factions. Monks gain their teachings from either Baateza or Sol, thus divided into warring Lawful Evil and Lawful Good factions.
Just to add to the fun, an eighth deity, Kulthox, has invaded from another universe, The Far Realm. She's the mother of aberrations. The Anti-Druids that serve her seek to corrupt the natural order to eventually make this universe like her own.
There are only four outer planes, Paradise, Hell, Oblivion and Draconis' "Dreamscape", a place of pure arcane magic where imagination rules supreme. In the center of all four is the Mortal Plane.
This seems to cover all the bases and explain the D&D universe while involving the fewest gods possible.
Working independently, I came up with a simplified theology for my campaign that explained the Blood War along with other aspects of the epic fantasy setting. I managed to get it down to 8 deities.
Departing from traditional mythology, the original two creator deities were the ones who fell into evil and it was their good former servants who rebelled to save mortals.
The universe was created when two very old and powerful souls found one another. They became the mother and father of all of creation. Along with the universe were born three deities, Creative One, Maintainer and Recycler. As the universe developed and life became more complex, two new deities came to be, The Wild and Enlightenment. The latter two were primarily concerned with the new developing mortal life, one helping it to grow and survive and the other to encourage community, civilization and innovation.
Things went sour for the divine family when the Mother and Father began to fight over their creation (cribbing a bit from Bab5). The Mother insisted the only way for the mortals to attain their full potential was through strict order and obedience. Her wisdom would be their guide. She became known as Baateza, the supreme devil. The Father felt that advancement comes only though conflict and culling the weak. He became known as Tanaros, the supreme demon.
Hence, the "Blood War" that rages between the demons and devils is essentially the nastiest divorce ever.
The Creative One became known as Draconis, the supreme dragon. She was neutral in the struggle and a force for raw chaos. Think "Q" from Star Trek. She also serves as the great muse and creator of arcane magic. Mortals who can become wizards or sorcerers, be they good or evil, gain their power from dragon blood somewhere in their ancestry.
The Maintainer started a conflict of his own with the Recycler. Normally the Recycler, who came to be known as "Death", would take souls when they die to their rest in his plane of Oblivion. No one knows what awaits the mortal souls who cross over into this undiscovered country, for no one has ever ventured into Oblivion and returned to tell the tale. Apparently "new" souls (with no memory) emerge from Oblivion and are carried by Death to the wombs of expecting mothers and release into life ("first kick" is the sign). Essentially, Death isn't bad (Lawful Neutral) and he doesn't kill people. He's the caretaker of souls and the natural order.
The Maintainer, who became Necron, the lord of the undead, started a war with Death to keep the dead in the realm of the living. The undead are their own faction in my world and only clerics of Necron can create undead.
The Wild One came to be known as Gaia and the Bringer of Enlightenment came to be known as Sol. They rebelled against the demons and devils, taking advantage of the chaos of the Blood War. Angels of Sol are redeemed devils while the nature spirits of Gaia are redeemed demons. The seven layers of Paradise are divided into the "Deep" (chaotic) part run by Gaia and the "High" (lawful) part run by Sol.
Druids get their power from either Gaia or Tanaros and thus are divided into warring Chaotic Good and Chaotic Evil factions. Monks gain their teachings from either Baateza or Sol, thus divided into warring Lawful Evil and Lawful Good factions.
Just to add to the fun, an eighth deity, Kulthox, has invaded from another universe, The Far Realm. She's the mother of aberrations. The Anti-Druids that serve her seek to corrupt the natural order to eventually make this universe like her own.
There are only four outer planes, Paradise, Hell, Oblivion and Draconis' "Dreamscape", a place of pure arcane magic where imagination rules supreme. In the center of all four is the Mortal Plane.
This seems to cover all the bases and explain the D&D universe while involving the fewest gods possible.
Atheist Forums Hall of Shame:
"The trinity can be equated to having your cake and eating it too."
... -Lucent, trying to defend the Trinity concept
"(Yahweh's) actions are good because (Yahweh) is the ultimate standard of goodness. That’s not begging the question"
... -Statler Waldorf, Christian apologist
"The trinity can be equated to having your cake and eating it too."
... -Lucent, trying to defend the Trinity concept
"(Yahweh's) actions are good because (Yahweh) is the ultimate standard of goodness. That’s not begging the question"
... -Statler Waldorf, Christian apologist
