Welcome to the Skellingcorner, tumblr home of a 27 yo weirdo from Luxembourg.
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Ye olde German architect: “ok, it’s time to put in the rainspouts and last night I was out with the lads and Hans had too much and the point is I had the FUNNIEST idea…” *Holds up drawing*
Ye olde German Architect Supervisor: * snorts beer out of his nose.* “YES. BUILD IT IMMEDIATELY.”
Sooooo I just came back from studying in Freiburg and went on a tour of the Münster with a historian who knew all of the insider secrets and the story is even better than you think.
It took more than 300 years to build the Freiburger Münster (1200s-1500s), so they went through a lot of architects and people who paid those architects. Some of the patrons were dicks and one of those dicks lived in a house right next to the Münster. The asshat kept demanding they work faster and changed his mind every five hours about what he wanted and THEN he refused to pay the architects because he wasn’t happy with what they’d done.
That really pissed the builders off so in retaliation, the head architect built the butt gargoyle facing his house so that every morning for the rest of his life, when the dick looked out his window at the Münster, he’d have to look at a gargoyle butt.
So, the defecating gargoyle is a big fat “fuck you” to someone’s dick of a boss that has survived 500 years and two world wars
"Darwin’s theory of evolution explains how lower lifeforms can evolve into higher ones, which in turn makes it entirely reasonable that a human should evolve into an orangutan (while remaining a librarian, since there is no higher life form than a librarian)."
Terry Pratchett, with Ian Stewart and Jack Cohen - The Science Of Discworld #1
Reminder that puffins are extremely social and like to fit in with their friends, so they will adopt mannerisms and interests of the group. So there is a good chance this little guy is trying to be friends with the photographer by showing his interest in the camera.
Reminds me of the time researchers were trying to get puffins to land in a specific area so the put decoys up to draw them in but the decoys only had 1 leg and
A deity has a certain realm that it lords over called a
divine portfolio. A portfolio contains one or more species, places, things, or
ideas that explain what the deity is all about. For instance, the Greek god
Poseidon’s divine portfolio would include the seas, storms, waterborne travel,
and horses.
Minor deities will only have one item in their portfolio,
but major ones could have many. Further, a major deity that wished to delegate
its power, perhaps to one of its children, could bestow one of the items in its
portfolio onto another deity. Perhaps one deity goes to war with another in an
attempt to seize an aspect of another deity’s portfolio for themselves.
New deities could even be created by filling a new role if a
divine idea is not currently in any other deity’s portfolio.
Generally, the more power a deity has, the more broad the
aspects in their portfolio will be. Likewise, lesser deities will have more
specific aspects in their portfolio. For instance, a god of nature will be more
powerful than a god of trees.
When creating your own pantheon of gods, try to divide up
aspects into deities’ divine portfolios bearing all of this in mind.
Holy Symbol
A deity should have some sort of holy symbol that clerics can use for a spellcasting focus, but a symbol is more than that. A symbol lets mortals rally beneath it and recognize the deity’s followers. It a deity’s free advertisement to their people.
The symbol of a deity should reflect their portfolio in some way, as well as their alignment. It should be something unique that is easy to recognize, but also easy to replicate.
Favored Weapon
Many deities have some sort of weapon that they use and favor more than others. The deity will almost always use this weapon when manifested as an avatar. Wielding the same weapon as one’s deity shows an extra step of devotion to them, even if you aren’t a cleric to that god.
Random Portfolios
When creating your own deities, roll on the Random Portfolio
Aspects table multiple times to find a random divine aspect to populate their
portfolio. Some aspects defer you to another table to find a more specific
aspect.
You can also use these tables as a jumping-off point to
create your own portfolios and aspects, as there is no way to have a complete
and exhaustive list.
Pantheons
Pantheons are groups of deities. Your setting could have one
or several pantheons. Perhaps you include pantheons from a variety of settings
and incorporate them all in one place. Maybe different kingdoms or countries
worship different pantheons, or just group the same deities in different ways.
Our own world has many religions, each with their own god or sets of gods, so
why can’t your setting?
While it is possible to have a monotheistic setting where
only one deity exists, polytheism tends to be more interesting and supportive.
Multiple deities allow for players to choose who their character believes in.
If they are a divine caster, they can choose where their powers come from. This
choice affects a player’s character and creates additional roleplaying
opportunities as they confer with folks of the same or different religion.
Types of Pantheons
Some settings may have multiple pantheons. Here are some
pantheons that can easily exist in the same setting.
Racial Pantheon. A race or species could have a whole group of
gods to worship that are unique to them. For instance, the elves of your
setting may worship their own set of deities. People might commonly refer to
the “elf gods” or “dwarf gods” in such a circumstance.
Aspect Pantheon. A broad aspect or domain normally placed in
divine portfolios may have its own pantheon. For instance, your setting may
have a pantheon of death gods who take on aspects like death, undeath,
afterlife, martyrdom, murder, plague, famine, and drought. All the minor
aspects should be related to one greater aspect.
Regional Pantheon. In your setting, a certain region like a
kingdom, country, or continent may worship different deities and have an
entirely different pantheon that hold sway in their lands. Each region could
have a pantheon all their own.
Religious Pantheon. Many religions exist in our own world, some
of which have their own pantheons of deities. Different pantheons could have arisen
in your setting from religions that developed separately. This works especially
well if your deities are created through mortal belief.
Creating
Pantheons
Myths.Deities in a pantheon often take on different
responsibilities in running the universe, or at least take part in its history
or its creation. Try to come up with myth surrounding each deity that explain
why that deity exists. A deity should have some significance or importance
within any pantheon you create, and your pantheon should cover a broad spectrum
of created things.
Deific Relations. Deities should have complex relationships with one another
to create a robust pantheon. Pick one or more from the Divine Relationships
table when deciding how two deities relate, or roll randomly. Trying to justify
how conflicting or unusual relationships occurred can create unique and
interesting ideas. Is one deity’s son also their lover? Don’t be afraid to
tread in the realm of mythological fantasy or dream-logic here.
Remember, existing myths are likely far stranger than
anything you can come up with. A Norse cow licked a god out of primordial ice.
In Greece, Athena was born of Zeus’s cracked skull after he tried to eat her.
The Egyptian ferry to the afterlife has a mast that is the phallus of a
fertility baboon-god. So you can get pretty unusual with your myths.
Pantheon Metagame.When designing a pantheon, you should also consider
satisfying different elements that exist in the game. Each player could very
well worship a different deity that supports their worldview in some way.
A good start is creating gods with various alignments, not
just good and evil. With nine possible alignments, you can create some
interesting deities. If you are making an entirely random deity, you can roll
from the Deity Alignment table to determine the deity’s alignment.
Another game-related thing to consider is creating deities
that will cater to existing character archetypes, such as mages, naturalists,
outcasts, spiritualists, and warriors. Many pantheons have deities that would
be worshiped by different classes. Try to provide deities that are tempting for
each archetype to believe in, or ensure that some of your deities are more
universal so many different classes would be interested in them. If you are creating
a random deity, you can roll from the Archetype Patron table.
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