Tiefling Pantheon

[gyor]

Okay Elves, Humans, Dwarves, Duegar, Dragons, Halflings, Gnomes, Orcs, Gobliniods, Kobolds, Drow, all have their pantheon and I'm been thinking based partly on MTOF previews and partly on the SCAG that perhaps a Tiefling Pantheon is involving.

In 4e the Archdevils are considered a part of the Faerun Pantheon, although except for Asmodeaus are not true full Gods, although they had a limited ability to grant divine magic via dark rites (the boss man as a true deity didn't need these rites to grant magic).

As if that wasn't enough some Mulhorandi Gods took Tieflings as hosts and all seem to have a mix of Aasimar, Tiefling, and Human blood relatives from interbreeding.

And in the SCAG it's mentioned some deities are appearing to Tieflings in their dreams in Tiefling forms with Tiefling names and titles.

Could this be the beginning of a Tiefling Pantheon?

 

[Kobold Avenger]

Tieflings are a hybrid people of mixed blood, throwing out the entire 4e Bael Tarathi stuff, and whether or not they're exclusively from Devil bloodlines or not. Tieflings just worship Human Gods if they are religious, most of them are from Human societies so Human religions is generally what Tieflings follow, even if in many cases they are essentially a marginalized minority group and might be more likely non-religious as a result.

 

[MechaTarrasque]

It is kind of chicken and the egg stuff: it seems like you would need a critical mass of tieflings to justify a pantheon. If your campaign world has a city or country where tieflings make up a large percent of the population, then a pantheon makes sense. It seems like there could be a lot of entities eager to claim tiefling souls beyond just the devils: Grazzt would be a good choice (particularly if you used his 4e origin), and if there was a god(dess) of redemption like Nusemnee in 4e or Sarenrae from Pathfinder, that deity could be particularly eager to redeem them.

Hmm, actually Nusemnee brings up an interesting idea if you don't have a big tiefling population: maybe a lesser (or proto) deity could be looking to redeem them and increase his/her/its stature (possibly with support from some more powerful god who is looking to tweak Asmodeus' nose [or maybe Asmodeus is secretly the power behind the lesser deity and has plans for the tieflings after they gain "respectability"]). In this scenario, tieflings might be few in number today, but that could change in the future....

 

[Eltab]

Nusemnee in 4e

Eliastree (sp?) is branching out from Drow to another people who have a hard time finding a society where they can fit in?

 

[Greenstone.Walker]

That depends on the core design of where gods come from.

Do the gods exists independent of worshippers or is it a critical mass or worshippers that creates a god? Does a god with no worshippers continue to exist or do they fade into nothingness?

If "man creates god" then a pantheon for tieflings can't exist unless there are a large number of tieflings who all believe in the same set of gods.

 

[Kobold Avenger]

That depends on the core design of where gods come from.

Do the gods exists independent of worshippers or is it a critical mass or worshippers that creates a god? Does a god with no worshippers continue to exist or do they fade into nothingness?

If "man creates god" then a pantheon for tieflings can't exist unless there are a large number of tieflings who all believe in the same set of gods.

The original setting from where Tieflings came from asserts that Gods die or at least weaken when they don't have any followers.

 

[cbwjm]

Many gods wear different masks. In FR this was common after the time of troubles where some gods killed others and took over their portfolio. In dragonlance, different races perceived their gods differently and called them by different names. I think it might be possible that a god taking the form of a tiefling, might come to create a unique pantheon. A tiefling goddess of magic might still be mystra but the tieflings she interacts with might portray her as a tiefling woman and with a different name. You'd probably need a significant number of tieflings in one place though since myths, legends, and even gods are based around a shared culture.

 

[gyor]

Many gods wear different masks. In FR this was common after the time of troubles where some gods killed others and took over their portfolio. In dragonlance, different races perceived their gods differently and called them by different names. I think it might be possible that a god taking the form of a tiefling, might come to create a unique pantheon. A tiefling goddess of magic might still be mystra but the tieflings she interacts with might portray her as a tiefling woman and with a different name. You'd probably need a significant number of tieflings in one place though since myths, legends, and even gods are based around a shared culture.

There are places with large Tiefling populations, Mulhorand for one, partly because of Set, Sebek, and to a lesser extent Sharess (use while Good has an odd foundness for none evil fiends and Tieflings), as well as possibly close proximity to Thay and its fiend summoning.

Thay is also responsible for the large Tiefling population in Aglarond, although some Tieflings from Narfell are likely.

Which brings us to the homeland for fiend summoning Narfell, large Tieflings population there. Still Tiefling culture among the Nar likely leans more towards Narfell culture then other Nar Nomads beause Tieflings are inheriantly literate in Infernal, perhaps a race memory gift from Asmodeaus.

Genasi and Genies actively recruited Tieflings in Calimshan and so a unique Calimshan Tiefling culture, which appears to be delibrately recruited there as mercanaries for their fire resistance, so they perhaps higher status as group then in all, but Mulhorand and Narfell.

All major large cities like Baldur's Gate and Waterdeep have a sizable Tiefling minority population because its easier for something weird like Tieflings to fit in there.

Oh and villages of outcasts like Ten Towns, and the Village like the one Faridiah came from tend to have larger Tiefling populations then other small villages.

So it seems like Tieflings are developing a group of Tiefling cultures, which is understandable given their racially isolating circumstances and their ability thanks to Asmodeaus for breeding true (as well as their large presence in the sex trade according to Erin M. Evans novels).

 

[Carlsen Chris]

If Tieflings get a pantheon, I demand pantheons for Half-Orcs and Half-Elves. Gnomelings as well.

 

[gyor]

If Tieflings get a pantheon, I demand pantheons for Half-Orcs and Half-Elves. Gnomelings as well.

Gnomes have a Pantheon. Half Elves sort of do have a Pantheon, the Yuirwood Pantheon. Simbul Goddess of Fate and Time, Zandilar the Dancer Goddess of Lust, Relkath of the Infinite Branches God of Plants and Nature, Magnar the Bear God of Strength and Warfare, and four more lost to the ages (one a God of Sky/Weather, another a God of Darkness and evil, another of Familial/tribal connections, another the God of Hearth and Home). Plus Selvatarm would argueable be more half drow then full drow. And Mieliki has a half elven aspect, I forget the name.

Half Orcs have a patron deity at least.