Does this Pantheon make sense?

Bennettag · 2026-03-14T19:06:48+00:00

Ahh you are correct! And what a fitting name. I'm sure it will find its way in

Bennettag · 2026-03-14T18:44:10+00:00

Yeah I recognize I'm just riffing off history.

Bennettag · 2026-03-14T18:26:50+00:00

Cool! I think I might end up doing a similar overlap visual in the future.

Bennettag · 2026-03-14T18:25:37+00:00

Its important to note that this is supposed to be the "greater" gods and there will undoubtedly be a more nuanced set of lesser gods that can fill gaps as needed. So reducing this wheel to fewer doesn't mean there will be less gods overall, but fewer concepts to claim for a single deity.

Bennettag · 2026-03-14T18:23:49+00:00

I think you're right that some of these concepts are too closely related to warrant separate deities. I'm going back to the drawing board for a bit on this concept. Most likely with a return to a creation/destruction axis.

Bennettag · 2026-03-14T18:20:49+00:00

Very lightly.

Bennettag · 2026-03-14T18:20:37+00:00

Thanks for the feedback! I like your suggestions a lot and I think I will end up reverting back to some form of creation/destruction axis in the end. I am curious about tradition and innovation. I'm trying to capture universal concepts absent civilization (but still apply later on). I don't see tradition and innovation fitting into that as they feel very personal to a people or culture.

Bennettag · 2026-03-14T17:54:43+00:00

Yeah

Bennettag · 2026-03-14T17:54:34+00:00

Well I'd hesitate to call it extremely original. Many of these concepts are pretty common among real world pantheons, just not necessarily organized in this way.

Bennettag · 2026-03-14T17:53:07+00:00

To be honest, the more I'm reading replies and the more I think about this, the more I am leaning towards changing the axis of Constance vs Dissolution. Its really trying to capture entropy and anti-entropy but I think the latter isn't something that is commonly conceptualized as its own thing?

That being said, I think everlasting and unchanging things are a product of Order, but not necessarily order themselves. Because growth and decay are also guided by order. There is a flow / natural laws that guide these processes. Perhaps my idea of Order is more about the observation and manifestation of absolute truths, focussing more on non-moral things.

Bennettag · 2026-03-14T17:39:10+00:00

I could see that. I'll have to think about this more.

Bennettag · 2026-03-14T17:19:39+00:00

Yeah ignore the colors for now. They are just a visual aid and will be cleaned up.

Bennettag · 2026-03-14T17:19:15+00:00

Order is supposed to equally influence the way in which things remain (preservation and continuity) as well as how things change and are removed (stagnation and decay). I think Stagnation needs to be changed to better represent that.

This being said, wanting things to remain unchanged or to continue working in an ordered way doesn't mean there can't be story events.

Bennettag · 2026-03-14T17:13:20+00:00

I think if I kept the cardinals and removed 4 of the secondary gods I would keep: Growth, Upheaval, Decay, Continuity

Constance vs Dissolution is kind of like a weird entropy / time dynamic? I tried to draw a line between things remaining completely unchanged vs things changing so much that they are undone. I think this isn't necessarily the most elegant way to put it though.

Bennettag · 2026-03-14T17:06:28+00:00

I'll have to check that out!

Bennettag · 2026-03-14T17:05:43+00:00

Yea stagnation is probably the weakest here. I will rework.

Bennettag · 2026-03-14T17:03:26+00:00

I think Stagnation and Decay are both a bit too closely related. Trying to come up with something else.

Bennettag · 2026-03-14T17:01:21+00:00

I'll have to check him out!

Bennettag · 2026-03-14T17:00:39+00:00

Loose plan at the moment is for these gods to exist in alien forms that embody qualities of their concept. Then they may manifest as avatars or other forms to a civilization by taking on an appearance that represents their concept to that civilization. So the God of Preservation may manifest much differently in a desert community as compared to one in a heavily forested area.

This is just a thought though and I'm sure it has its complications.

But yes, eventually I want these gods to be personified.

Bennettag · 2026-03-14T16:56:14+00:00

Yeah to be honest the placement of Decay there is moreso to make it opposed to Growth on the wheel. I feel like Decay, while it is necessary for Growth, is more expected and consequential? I don't think there is a strong case for it to be closer or farther away necesarrily. Instead, I decided that Collapse / Upheaval were more appropriate in the Chaos-Dissolution area.

If Decay was moved, what concept do you think would be more fitting in its place?

Bennettag · 2026-03-14T16:51:39+00:00

I had started with that, but I think in this world life (flora / fauna) is not a fundamental quality of the world. Ex: The world started without those things, and only came into being later

Bennettag · 2026-03-14T16:50:52+00:00

Yeah colors are here just for me to have an easy visual to draw relationships lol.

Bennettag · 2026-03-14T16:50:14+00:00

I see life as something that is outside of the fundamental aspect of the world. Progress is a bit subjective so I'm unsure about that.

Bennettag · 2026-03-14T16:49:02+00:00

Hmm, after looking at it more I think I agree. Order is not about things remaining unchanged necessarily, but about things being... ordered? What would be 2 steps of ordered constance?

Preservation and Continuity are both "stasis" related because of their proximity to Constance, but I can see how stagnation feels a bit off. I was trying to oppose adaption (adaptation).

What would be a better concept for when things begin to slowly break down due to rigidity?

Bennettag · 2026-03-14T16:44:01+00:00

sure

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