| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| unseenmage |
Posted - 21 Jul 2025 : 08:10:31
Player has the opportunity to have the deity Gond accompany them as an adventuring companion.
The power disparity is being handled with the power of plot.
That said I am not very familiar with the character of Gond as a person outside of what I have read in 3.x sourcebooks.
Could someone more familiar with the lore and fiction appearances of the character she'd some light on what sort of traveling companion they'd likely shape up to be? |
| 22 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Falcon |
Posted - 23 Aug 2025 : 09:17:56
Play Gond as Gandalf. For advice, lore and some help. But very diminished in power as not upset the other gods. |
| sleyvas |
Posted - 15 Aug 2025 : 14:50:33
quote:
Originally posted by Ayrik
quote:
Originally posted by Dalor Darden
Maybe the "Adventuring Gond" is a limited in power Avatar that "broke free" from the High Gond because of something that happened?
I could see a minor Avatar being an adventurer because something severed it from its home plane...
But again the questions ... what happened, how and why?
And the new question ... why wouldn't Gond or Gond's servants come looking for his lost avatar?
On the new question "because the god and his servants are specifically blinded to this "being" " . For instance if its because an AI servitor cast him out, he's somehow cloaked his presence so that said AI can't just find him and wipe him out. However, this also blinds him to all his worshippers, etc... |
| Ayrik |
Posted - 14 Aug 2025 : 22:46:11
quote:
Originally posted by Dalor Darden
Maybe the "Adventuring Gond" is a limited in power Avatar that "broke free" from the High Gond because of something that happened?
I could see a minor Avatar being an adventurer because something severed it from its home plane...
But again the questions ... what happened, how and why?
And the new question ... why wouldn't Gond or Gond's servants come looking for his lost avatar? |
| Dalor Darden |
Posted - 14 Aug 2025 : 20:19:47
Maybe the "Adventuring Gond" is a limited in power Avatar that "broke free" from the High Gond because of something that happened?
I could see a minor Avatar being an adventurer because something severed it from its home plane... |
| sleyvas |
Posted - 13 Aug 2025 : 19:16:33
quote:
Originally posted by Athreeren
quote:
Originally posted by sleyvas
A) somehow someone ENTRAPPED an avatar of Gond into a "vessel". In other words, say a suit of armor or a golem or even something less fantastical like a wagon. So, then the goal of this entrapped avatar would be to somehow rejoin "The Gond Collective".
or
B) somehow someone had ejected Gond from the heavens, and he was being forced into a "lesser avatar" form by sharing the body of a mortal (or walking around in regular avatar form). This implies that there is no longer a Gond in the heavens.... and possibly someone ELSE has taken control of his portfolios (perhaps to steal them, or perhaps just to protect the world until he can return). This then becomes a storyline of "who would have done this and why?".
I can see Gond creating an AI to take care of the day to day operations so he can focus on creating new machines, and the AI logically coming to the conclusion that it would do a better job fulfilling its functions if it had the full divine power of Gond and finding ways to get rid of him.
Now, that's an interesting story plot. Especially if it doesn't get his full divine powers, BUT finds some way to eject him from the heavens so that it can try to take over with no "admin" in the way. It could have even have somehow limited his access to "divine knowledge" when it ejected him, making this "mortal" Gond more fallible. |
| Athreeren |
Posted - 12 Aug 2025 : 15:45:30
quote:
Originally posted by sleyvas
A) somehow someone ENTRAPPED an avatar of Gond into a "vessel". In other words, say a suit of armor or a golem or even something less fantastical like a wagon. So, then the goal of this entrapped avatar would be to somehow rejoin "The Gond Collective".
or
B) somehow someone had ejected Gond from the heavens, and he was being forced into a "lesser avatar" form by sharing the body of a mortal (or walking around in regular avatar form). This implies that there is no longer a Gond in the heavens.... and possibly someone ELSE has taken control of his portfolios (perhaps to steal them, or perhaps just to protect the world until he can return). This then becomes a storyline of "who would have done this and why?".
I can see Gond creating an AI to take care of the day to day operations so he can focus on creating new machines, and the AI logically coming to the conclusion that it would do a better job fulfilling its functions if it had the full divine power of Gond and finding ways to get rid of him. |
| sleyvas |
Posted - 12 Aug 2025 : 12:49:32
quote:
Originally posted by Ayrik
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
Finder's Bane and Tymora's Luck
But I admit that extremely unusual events are not impossible events. It is indeed possible that Gond would join an adventuring party.
But why?
This is indeed perhaps the best question I've seen in this thread, and if one were to pursue this avenue of game play, THIS is what needs to be answered.
Now, during the "Time of Troubles" this could absolutely make sense. The only other "believable to me" reason I could see this happening is if
A) somehow someone ENTRAPPED an avatar of Gond into a "vessel". In other words, say a suit of armor or a golem or even something less fantastical like a wagon. So, then the goal of this entrapped avatar would be to somehow rejoin "The Gond Collective".
or
B) somehow someone had ejected Gond from the heavens, and he was being forced into a "lesser avatar" form by sharing the body of a mortal (or walking around in regular avatar form). This implies that there is no longer a Gond in the heavens.... and possibly someone ELSE has taken control of his portfolios (perhaps to steal them, or perhaps just to protect the world until he can return). This then becomes a storyline of "who would have done this and why?". |
| Storyteller Hero |
Posted - 09 Aug 2025 : 10:22:49
quote:
Originally posted by unseenmage
quote:
Originally posted by Storyteller Hero
It's worth noting that Gond once built a set of cybernetic power armors that shocked Mystra because they were superhumanly powerful without using any magic.
With access to knowledge and technology from other worlds and planes and unlimited time to develop his engineering skills, it wouldn't be surprising to see a giant Gundam-style mecha in Gond's workshop.
IF Gond is your adventuring companion, imo one could reasonably expect lasers and repulser blasts like Iron Man.
When did this happen and how can I read it! This sounds awesome!
IIRC it was in Prince of Lies, book 4 of the Avatar Crisis series
|
| Ayrik |
Posted - 08 Aug 2025 : 04:45:21
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
Finder's Bane and Tymora's Luck
Those novels depict extremely unusual events. And they involve plenty of meddling and mucking around by other gods who attempt to manipulate and frustrate (and remove) the lowly mortals below. In the second novel there's also meddling by an interloper power from elsewhere.
But I admit that extremely unusual events are not impossible events. It is indeed possible that Gond would join an adventuring party.
But why?
Exactly what would Gond accomplish in the adventuring party that he cannot accomplish elsewhere?
Why would Gond attend to a matter personally, why would he divert one of his precious avatars away from importantly godly tasks?
He could easily apply the eager services of a hundred paladins, a thousand priests, and a million "ordinary" followers. Armies of smokepowder-burning gnomes (and not a few dwarves) would happily serve Gond if he should ever call upon them in need. Countless inventors and artisans and engineers would volunteer their wondrous machines to aid Gond's quests as he is the divine wellspring of their technical creativity. As a power of some stature Gond could also command various outer planar minions and proxies and chosens to do his bidding. What could a particular party of adventurers offer or accomplish that all these other servants could not?
Gond is a god who likes to stay near an anvil, a work table, a workshop. He is not a god of travelling, adventuring, (mis)fortune, and happenstance.
He is a god of precision tools and crafts and technologies. He is not a god who would be happy if those precious things got battered around in combat, got blasted by fireballs and dragonsbreath, fell from a damaging height, fell into a lake, or just got wet in the rain. In fact, it seems like adventuring would be unacceptably risky and distasteful for Gond ... unless his need were truly great, his reasons truly important, and his other options severely limited.
So what are these great needs, important reasons, and limiting factors? It seems to me that they all need to be outlined to provide a plausible reason for Gond to go adventuring ... otherwise it's just too far outside what the character would ever do.
|
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 07 Aug 2025 : 22:37:23
quote:
Originally posted by Ayrik
The only instance I can recall of a deity joining an adventuring party (or even directly interacting with adventurers for more than a few scenes) was in the Dragonlance novels.
And in that instance, it was for the specific purpose of furthering the narrative which ultimately led to confrontation against another deity who had directly interacted with the lowly mortals.
Well, there's admittedly other instances. Many of them. In Planescape lore. Where interactions with deities served very different functions than what would ever occur in worlds like Faerun. But even there, deities do not tag along with adventuring parties. They have plenty of other things to do with their time and plenty of worshippers, servants, proxies, and champions to handle details for them.
Finder's Bane and Tymora's Luck |
| Ayrik |
Posted - 07 Aug 2025 : 16:06:55
The only instance I can recall of a deity joining an adventuring party (or even directly interacting with adventurers for more than a few scenes) was in the Dragonlance novels.
And in that instance, it was for the specific purpose of furthering the narrative which ultimately led to confrontation against another deity who had directly interacted with the lowly mortals.
Well, there's admittedly other instances. Many of them. In Planescape lore. Where interactions with deities served very different functions than what would ever occur in worlds like Faerun. But even there, deities do not tag along with adventuring parties. They have plenty of other things to do with their time and plenty of worshippers, servants, proxies, and champions to handle details for them. |
| unseenmage |
Posted - 07 Aug 2025 : 15:55:53
quote:
Originally posted by Storyteller Hero
It's worth noting that Gond once built a set of cybernetic power armors that shocked Mystra because they were superhumanly powerful without using any magic.
With access to knowledge and technology from other worlds and planes and unlimited time to develop his engineering skills, it wouldn't be surprising to see a giant Gundam-style mecha in Gond's workshop.
IF Gond is your adventuring companion, imo one could reasonably expect lasers and repulser blasts like Iron Man.
When did this happen and how can I read it! This sounds awesome! |
| Storyteller Hero |
Posted - 04 Aug 2025 : 10:10:37
It's worth noting that Gond once built a set of cybernetic power armors that shocked Mystra because they were superhumanly powerful without using any magic.
With access to knowledge and technology from other worlds and planes and unlimited time to develop his engineering skills, it wouldn't be surprising to see a giant Gundam-style mecha in Gond's workshop.
IF Gond is your adventuring companion, imo one could reasonably expect lasers and repulser blasts like Iron Man.
|
| Klack of the Soul |
Posted - 28 Jul 2025 : 21:49:35
The Kara Tur books reference the use of Shou rocket artillery. I suppose that might be out of Gond's influence. |
| Diffan |
Posted - 28 Jul 2025 : 18:46:42
quote:
Originally posted by unseenmage
What sort of dude to keep night watch with is he? How does he prefer his morning beverage? How does a more mortal Gond handle themselves in a skirmish? That sort of thing.
Most likely, (s)he's a thinker, an inventor, and a problem solver. So they'll not keep night-watch, but tinker with an automation to do the task for you. They might have basic tastes, often preferring the quick assuredness of simplicity (black tea/coffee) as its direct and not a distraction from their work or creativity.
Think analytical and practical temperament, not giving into great bouts of emotion except when either the plan or toy or project works wonderfully or fails dreadfully. Heck, you might even say they're excited when it fails because then they get to dissect why it failed.
I'd also say that they might even be slightly easy to distract with theoretical ideas and applications of them - sort of get them going where they wander off in their and not being in the 'now and present'.
At least, that's what I'd do because that sounds fun and endearing than a mildly grumpy Blacksmith churning out mechanisms and gizmos or the often crazied scientists archetype. |
| Dalor Darden |
Posted - 28 Jul 2025 : 18:42:44
The greatest "tech" I see Gond ever using is what is already available within the Realms.
I don't see rockets and such. |
| Klack of the Soul |
Posted - 28 Jul 2025 : 18:01:31
I have only read his entries in "Faith and Avatars" and "Ed Greenwood Presents the Forgotten Realms" This is my impression based on those books.
I think of Gond as a Tech startup CEO type. He would constantly be hyping up his new ideas and developing inventions to solve problems that no one really considers problems. I imagine after one shift standing watch, he would come up with some overly complicated device that would replace the need of watch duty, but in practice is expensive and time consuming to use. He would try to befriend spellcasters to convince them the merits of technology over spellcraft. I feel like he would become spiteful towards anyone that rejected technology as the one solution for everything. I could see him trying to one up spellcasters during adventures, possible even sabotage them to make his inventions seem more effective by comparison.
During a fight, I picture Gond whipping out pistol after pistol from beneath his coat. He never needs to reload because there is always another loaded pistol hidden on his person. If a spellcaster casts magic missile on an enemy, Gond unloads a Pepperbox pistol on another. If the mage casts Fireball, Gonds chucks a grenade. A meteor swarm is met with a barrage of rockets from a device Gond rolls out from behind a bush.
So, my image of Gond overall is that he is kind of a dick.
Edited Book title |
| unseenmage |
Posted - 28 Jul 2025 : 14:33:04
I'm more looking for what sort of person they'd be than advice on their deific traits.
It's not as serious but think Time of Troubles Gond more than godly Gond.
What sort of dude to keep night watch with is he? How does he prefer his morning beverage? How does a more mortal Gond handle themselves in a skirmish? That sort of thing. |
| Irennan |
Posted - 23 Jul 2025 : 01:11:19
At most, Gond could have made himself a mechanical or mortal body that is about as powerful as the people in your party, because he wanted to experience a different perspective on the world, in order to find out about new ares where innovation is needed and/or can thrive. After all, often innovations come from looking at things from a different perspective, and Gond is the deity of innovation. Be careful to not turn him into a DMPC, though. Ask yourself: what narrative and gameplay function does this NPC have for my players? He can have his own story, growth, etc... but that needs to serve a purpose in facilitating your players' narrative. |
| sleyvas |
Posted - 21 Jul 2025 : 23:36:34
Let me think on it a second.... yeah... Gond would take the PC that they're travelling with, and then at the first opportunity he'd change them into a cyborg to attack something that annoyed him. Then if he had an itch, he might turn the PC into solid metal and smith him into the shape of a back scratcher (or maybe a butt scratcher). Then he'd realize that was maybe probably wrong, shapechange him back into a mortal being... but probably looking nothing like his original self (because that doesn't matter.... functionally he's the same). All that to say... Gods have become out of touch with mortality to a degree. |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 21 Jul 2025 : 22:51:24
I think it would be easier to balance out a party consisting of John Wick, Superman, Ghost Rider, and a level 1 pixie cleric than it would be to handle a deity being a party member.
That said, I'd look at the 2E book Faiths & Avatars. It's not going to give a great idea of what an adventuring deity would do, but it's got more information than just about any source aside from Ed. |
| ElfBane |
Posted - 21 Jul 2025 : 09:01:31
If you intend to play, AND follow accepted Lore about Divine Beings and the way they do things, you will NEVER actually have the Divinity "in" your party. He/She/It will provide an Avatar, or "maybe" one of their Chosens. Divinities are WAY to exposed when they are out of their Divine Element. But it's your game,,, pays your money and take your pick. |
