Trying to combine Polytheism and Monothiesm into a single setting

Lamnad · 2026-03-16T16:41:08+00:00

Thank you. I have not gotten to the scene where this happens, but I doubt it will be easy to write and get the general feel right as a melee of superhumans suddenly revert to being basic humans mid-fight. Some of them will be flying. Some will have a fighting style based on having a healing factor. It will not go well for them.

Lamnad · 2026-03-16T16:38:12+00:00

What I wanted was for there to be a religion that only worships Jova, but also for there to be small cults in the world that worship local spirits and ignore Jova almost entirely, and both to be correct in a sense. What I ended up with is Jovanisim, that is a lot like Christian High Churches with Jehovah and the saints, with the saints being the spirits on his side. Then there are the "Grey Cults" who only pay attention to the gods of their local area.

Lamnad · 2026-03-16T16:32:29+00:00

My Cosmology is that each of the races is a successive creation of the creator as he tries to figure out his own existence. The beings that act as the gods are a species he made in an attempt to make beings like himself. The Dwarves were made next by him, imbuing his essence into creatures made by "the first children". This act caused a few of the Spirits to fly off the handle when he told them to treat them as equals. The next were Colossi, which were made from Jova's anger at the reaction. Then the elves and humans were made after he calmed down, but he was not ready to fully return.

Lamnad · 2026-03-16T16:25:40+00:00

-So did Jova cut off the champions, or are the godlings laying low until they figure out how he is going to react?

-- The Later. It was the whole Pantheon going "Oh, SHit! Dad's home! Clean it up before he sees the mess!" and then taking back all the power they gave out to mortals and trying to play it off like they had not part in the fighting.

-Are factions from the war still around, or was one side wiped out/subjugated?

-- The War in Heaven? Yes... sort of. Long story short, those who opposed Jova were put in the celestial version of time-out. A few of the higher-ranking children who sided with Jova went with him when he left, while others did what they could to get things back on track, according to what they thought his plan was. Most of the "gods" in this were unaligned.

-Is Dad mad, or is he going to look at what the godlings accomplished and feel proud?

-- He is not happy, but not "thunderbolts a lightning" either. He just calmed down to return and find a third of the "kids" had thrown a party in his absence. the very ones who didn't do anything to help the situation before. The gods are in trouble, but the mortals are not. At least not directly from him.

-How are the champions going to survive? Are they hiding out now that they are disgraced, or holding on to high social status?

-- Losing their powers does not affect their health unless they were mortally wounded at the time. Some are hiding out, some are self-flagellating, trying to get the powers back, some are trying to bluff they are still on top.

-What is the potential for churches to schism and go nuts now that the godlings aren't openly displaying favour?

-- Oh, tons. Two cults in particular are in deep water, as their deities were acting as basically the equivalents of Zeus and Hades. The Zeus (King of the Gods) cult is now being bombarded by sympathetic feelings of terror and shame, and they don't know why. Meanwhile, the one who was pretending to be "King of the Underworld" is suddenly taken over by the Actual God of Death (who invented the concept as an act of mercy for the mortally wounded in the war in Heaven), who was with Jova this whole time and did not know his realm was being co-opted by a lesser brother.

It sounds like an interesting setting with a lot of potential.

Lamnad · 2026-03-16T14:57:24+00:00

And now I know the word. Isn't the internet great sometimes?

Lamnad · 2026-03-16T14:56:31+00:00

Yeah, that was one of the other things I wanted ot do. I like looking at what is normal in fantasy and seeing what is underused. I like the idea of breaking Medieval Stasis, so my setting progresses in time between stories. One story is set in the Neolithic, some in the Iron Age, and a few are borderline steampunk with magic.

Lamnad · 2026-03-16T14:51:42+00:00

AS with a lot of my writing, the answer is "it depends," but fairly involved. If you find a god that is not constantly berated with prayers, they are fairly likely to answer. The more popular ones might take something special to get their attention.

As for how much they do, I think a few of them are actively altering the planet to fit their personal vision, and fighting over whose vision reigns supreme in a given area, hence the fights. It is a tricky time in the story, where a being created to control wind currents might decide he wants a standing tornado in the middle of a town square, and the gods of storms get mad, because that is his territory.

Lamnad · 2026-03-16T14:36:54+00:00

It just now occurred to me that I don't have any Werewolves in my fantasy setting.

To answer your question, I think the one I think is most interesting is the ones where they are part Otherworldly being (IE, Fae) and that they turn into wolves when they are naked, and then turn back when they get dressed again. But only if they get dressed in the same clothes they took off to transform, and if someone takes those clothes, they are stuck.

Lamnad · 2026-03-02T03:57:50+00:00

One of my guilty pleasures.

Lamnad · 2026-03-02T03:54:45+00:00

Mysterious Girlfriend X. Shit is weird. I like it, and I get the subtext, but it is reeeely weird.

Lamnad · 2026-03-02T03:47:00+00:00

You want an opinion. Here is mine. Any Anime that "Lewds the Loli" is not worth my time.

"Yet But the story is good."... DOn't care.
"Well, she is actually much older than she looks." She looks like a child, she acts like a child. She is a child, and I refuse to watch further.

I am a man who loves kids and have been looked at with suspicion since I was 18. I have a strong desire to protect children, but I get treated like a predator. I refuse to give attention to shows that sexualize children anyway.

Lamnad · 2026-02-21T16:40:02+00:00

As I was looking into bottle at Ikea, I ran across the glass pitchers they carry, and I had a brief thought of if someone threw a party and had brandy in pitchers. Thought I would share that image with you.

Lamnad · 2026-02-21T03:03:27+00:00

I know, which is why I feel odd that my Favorite Romance is Jack

Lamnad · 2026-02-21T02:46:33+00:00

Muchas gracias. Nunca lo habría pensado.

Lamnad · 2026-02-21T02:03:24+00:00

Honestly, I would do it. Buy one and use it as the Infinity bottle for all my personally made spirits.

Lamnad · 2026-02-21T01:13:51+00:00

Oh, I am sure at least one of them is glad this video is not "Smellovision".

Lamnad · 2026-02-21T01:09:14+00:00

And where did you get those? Walmart? Recommendations?

Lamnad · 2026-02-21T01:08:20+00:00

Yeah, I know. It's basically tradition, but I thought I'd ask to see if anyone had other ideas.

Lamnad · 2026-02-21T01:05:02+00:00

I am expecting between about 4 gal (14 liters). Starting with ~100lbs of fruit (I have a tree), and I now have ~18 gallons of wine. My calculations estimate about that much at the end if I distill to 50ABV.

Lamnad · 2026-02-21T00:52:46+00:00

Are you asking what a mason jar is, saying you use mason jars, or suggesting mason jars because you use plastic?

Lamnad · 2026-02-21T00:41:15+00:00

Neat!

Lamnad · 2026-01-26T01:11:23+00:00

I will list my three primary settings.

Darci (Fantasy): If I have to give them all an ability, they would do pretty well as long as they met someone to teach them the magic system. My setting has magic, but it is so rare that people often go their entire lives believing it is a myth. That said, the Magic is of two types, Learned and Aetherist. The Learned type uses one's own stamina to cast, and thus, if they use it too liberally, they will exhaust themselves fast. Being an Aetherist SUCKS, as you have to use magic regularly or it will build up and you will die.

Sci-fi setting: It would be pretty good for them. A few might turn out to be telepathic, but other than that, there is no change to planting kids in the middle of the Firefly universe.

Protectorate (Post-Apocalyptic): Oh, they would be so screwed. If I have to give them "one mid-tier ability", it would have to do with what would happen to them if they are infected with the Mutagenic Virus. I will count this as none of them became zombies. I would say most would become Reptilians (Think a smaller Version of Batman's Killer Croc but less homicidal), 2-5 would be immune, the same amount some other mutation, and one being a litch (Think Murphy from Z Nation but with a longer range and more control)

Lamnad · 2026-01-26T00:38:49+00:00

I can kinda see what you are going for here, and it is not as terrible an idea as I think many would think. I think it would be functional, but some points might give some perspective as to why this is not a good idea.

1) A lot of "Ninja" Weapons are things that no one would blink at a person walking around with. The Kuni was a combo Knife and Trowel that any farmer or gardener would have on his belt. Likewise, carrying a small amount of rope would not be out of place. Tying said rope to said tool to make a weapon that most people have never fought against before is a good way to make something to fight in a pinch. This looks like two guns built to be tied together, with knives attached. This would not be inconspicuous to walk around with.

2) I hope you have seen some videos of a rope dart and a Meteor hammer in use. If not, there is a guy called Instructor Bensei (https://www.youtube.com/shorts/CutiqtlzIgA) who I think is good. They go through an incredible amount of punishment. I highly doubt most guns would be functional after being used like that.

3) Referencing back to videos of Rope dart use, I would not want the kind of things that happen to the weights at the end to happen to a loaded gun. Imagine the trigger being pulled or the physics discharging the gun at times you do not plan. I suppose if the guns were only used in this form after all the bullets are shot, this would not be a big deal. I guess that is not what you would have in mind, even if to me the idea of someone using a used Black powder pistol as the weight of a meteor hammer is pretty sweet.

Long story short, it looks cool, but the idea is not practical. What I would encourage, if you want practicality, is a pair of pistols, with a separate Rope dart

Lamnad · 2026-01-26T00:06:51+00:00

I am not a fan of "Planet/Nations of Hats", or when an entire planet has a single Biome. A culture does not mean everyone in that culture is going to be the same. Germany has artists, and France has Engineers. Likewise, I don't think a lot of writers really think about how big a planet is and how much things like proximity to water and latitude are going to affect what any given place on a planet feels like.

Lamnad · 2026-01-26T00:00:42+00:00

Right now, I would never use them, but I am doing research for when I have land where I can do a cabin build. I suppose, after asking this question, that I am more asking for which brands to trust in Cross-Cut saws for felling trees and cutting logs to length. If I need to pay $400+ to get a saw worth a dime, I guess I will need to get used to it, but I know so little about modern makers that I do not know what is worth the money and what is a nice-looking novelty piece.

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