Random Deities:

        A Madness Divine

            By Patrick “Stanley” Bryant and Paul M. Melroy. 13 Pages, with printer-friendly version.

            Just the facts Ma’am. Can you give us any more details on the thief?

            He was eight feet tall, had a spear made of flame and a face covered with living tattoos, and was carrying the ruby chalice you use to pour out the colors of the sunset?

            Sounds like Eranith, the Rendathian god of Twilight. Probably trying to expand his range of influence a bit.

            Get him in the lineup and let’s see if she can pick him out.

            Most established settings have the major deities laid out.

            The minor ones rarely get a mention.

            Everybody knows about Neptune - but how many remember Oceanus and Tethys, Pontus, Nereus, Phorcys, Ceto, Panope, Galatea, Thetis, Amphitrite, Triton, Proteus, Iapetus, Scylla, Glaucus, Leucothea, and Melicertes? What about the Nereids (Goddesses of the waves), Naiads (Goddesses of brooks and fountians), and Oceanids (Goddesses of bays and regions)?

            For every mighty god, there are a hundred tiny ones. Nobody has time to detail them all, but it’s always fun to have a few local cults, shrines, or secret societies devoted to a god none of the players has ever heard of.

            So here’s a quick way to make them. Just make a few rolls on the:

                        Random Deity Name Table - Be completely random, or pick a cultural subtable.

                                    You must not forget! The name is Klatu - Barada - Nicto!

                        Random Portfolios and Domains Table - The god of WHAT?

                        Small God Portfolios Table - For when a full-sized god just won’t do.

                        Divine Functionaries Table - For deities who have a job to do.

                        Random Domains Table - For rounding out your deities’ aspect.

                        Favored Weapons Table - How will your deity - or its priests - strike back?

Relationship With Priests/Divine Personalities Table - What’s this god like, and how do its priests see it?

                        Deity Sex Table - To add a pronoun other than “it” to what you’ve already rolled.

                        Divine Attributes Table - What will you swear by? Charel’s Flaming Talons, Elgar’s Radiant Mercy, or Kadim’s Iron Serpents?

                        Favored Followers Table - Who does this god particularly approve of?

            Random Deities.

                        Because sometimes, you just need to pull a miracle out of your hat.