| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Fellfire |
Posted - 28 Dec 2014 : 23:58:28
I am familiar with the popular published pantheon. I also know that the elves were given a few more in various Dragon mags. Were dwarven deities ever given a similar treatment? Specifically a dwarven god of snow, cold and ice. I'm aware of the Ingula-something-or-another, Ice Dwarves from the Great Glacier or the far north beyond the Spine. Do they, perhaps, have a deity of their own? If not, there needs to be one, anybody want to try there hand at the creation of one? I'd be happy to collaberate. Throw some ideas out there. |
| 10 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| sleyvas |
Posted - 31 Dec 2014 : 00:40:21
Daz has a good point there. They may not worship in the classical sense and that's what the 1st edition books would have portrayed. The humans of the great glaciers either worship Ulutiu (or in the rare cases Ilmater, Auril, or Chauntea) OR they follow something akin to an animist philosophy where they believe that humans and animals all share an energy representative of a soul.
I would bet that the arctic dwarves may have some druids amongst their numbers based on their philosophies. Now, whether they tie that worship to a deity unknowingly OR they somehow gain it from the power of nature itself (which, the great glacier may be a contested area that doesn't follow the Faerunian pantheon rules of requiring a deity to worship) |
| Gary Dallison |
Posted - 30 Dec 2014 : 19:06:33
Everyone worships/believes in something, be it science, ancestors, place spirits, gods, animal worship etc.
If it is stated they do not worship the gods then perhaps they worship that big icy dragon/remorhaz monster that lives in one of the icy crevasses (mentioned somewhere in the history).
They could worship the dragons, the remorhaz, the polar bears, any number of strange phenomenon.
That none of these things are actual gods matters not one bit. I have theorised that the real (FR) gods impart knowledge of rituals with aspects to it that ensure the power of worship from those rituals is sent to the god.
So the arctic dwarves worship some random ice creatures or long gone ancestors. They get no spells or aid in return (although in older editions all priests could cast up to 2nd level spells without a patron deity - or at least I have been led to believe by scribes on this forum) but the god that imparted the rituals in visions or manifestations receives the energy from the worship as though from a normal member of its clergy.
Just a thought of how to make them atheist and still worship something. |
| The Arcanamach |
Posted - 30 Dec 2014 : 17:01:20
I find that strange given that priests could use their magic to help their people survive. If anything, they should be even more dedicated in their faith for that fact. Do the real-world Inuit people tend to be atheists? I'm assuming that this parallel was drawn from the real-world (as so much of the setting is). I guess I'll go look it up for myself but I'm pretty sure my studies (now over 20 years old) of religion showed the Inuit people having a mythology of their own. |
| Hoondatha |
Posted - 30 Dec 2014 : 16:43:34
The Great Glacier states that the humans of the glacier don't worship gods because they are too concerned with surviving the harsh environment, and are very practical people who deal with the physical, not the metaphysical. They don't believe, or have time, for things they can't see and feel. While there are a few priests among them, the vast majority of the populace doesn't believe. It's as simple as that.
The dwarves appear to the exact same things, and have close relationships with the local humans. Then add in a large dose of laziness, and you have a people that don't bother with gods.
These are the established facts of the area. Some gods have obviously tried to spread their version of the word, but the simple truth is that most of the people don't care about gods, and they don't believe in life after death. |
| Fellfire |
Posted - 30 Dec 2014 : 01:11:54
If a deity truly cared about their people(not to mention more converts to support their own base of power) would it not be cruel to subject them the Fugue Plain and the Wall of the Faithless? Even if it were to entail, let's call it, forceful indoctrination. Drive a few prophets mad, and Boom! a whole new sect of worshippers. I do not think the gods above or below such means. |
| Ayrik |
Posted - 29 Dec 2014 : 22:35:04
No priests = no deities.
I suppose it is technically possible for any dwarf to choose a priest class. PCs are notorious for stressing implausible extremes of uniqueness, and adventurous sorts will naturally have more contact with foreign and exotic notions. But an atheist society will likely scorn priests, let alone produce any. It seems to me that the Realms is rather deity-infested, gods literally walk the world, their existence cannot be denied, their power is manifest on demand, and their meddling is hard to avoid - and if a group of stubborn dwarves willfully chooses to reject the gods then one would be hard pressed to change their ways. |
| AuldDragon |
Posted - 29 Dec 2014 : 01:57:16
I can't find a mention in FR14, but I could have sworn it mentioned the Inugaakalakurit were atheistic, and worshiped no deities. They can't be priests, though, that's in the Monstrous Compendium sheet for them in FR14.
Jeff |
| Hoondatha |
Posted - 29 Dec 2014 : 01:25:28
I... think we're going to agree to disagree on this one. I look at the sources and see that they say that they don't have a god, and are happy with it that way, and say, okay, they don't have a god.
You seem to look at the same thing and say, okay, they don't have a god, so we must create one, even though the lore says they don't worship gods.
I'm sort of scratching my head here. I mean, you're welcome to create a god for the Innugaakalikurit if you want. It might be interesting to see what a dwarven god/dess of leisure and laziness would look like. But there's nothing in the lore to suggest that the arctic dwarves have any gods.
It might be easier, since they're explicitly said to be shield dwarf offshoots, to just say they offer up the occasional lazy prayer to the Morndinsamman, and Moradin et al are content with it. |
| Fellfire |
Posted - 29 Dec 2014 : 00:24:47
Exactly why there needs to be one. |
| Hoondatha |
Posted - 29 Dec 2014 : 00:22:02
I don't think any deity needs to be created; The Great Glacier is pretty clear that none of the people of the glacier are much concerned with gods. Demihuman Deities, the definitive source for dwarves gods, mentions arctic dwarves once in passing and does not assign them to any god. So I think we can safely say that there are no gods of the arctic dwarves. |
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