The Pantheon War (Project 2)

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Road to War

When a special Divine Gathering between pantheons is called for, each divine community typically sends its High-up. For the Egyptians, this posed a unique problem. Thanks to Fimbulwinter, the Sun God Ra was seriously weakened. Not wanting to take the risk of going to the Spire in such a state, Ra ordered that Isis go in his stead. Having the most contacts outside of the Pantheon after Ra him self, the goddess of magic was the logical choice to go to the Divine Gathering.

There was one Egyptian power that was uncomfortable with sending Isis: her son Horus. The god of Vengence knew all too well of Zeus' penchant for adulterous affairs. If the Thunderer couldn't control his desire for mortal females, he would surely try to take a foreign goddess-especially when his watchful Queen can't keep him in line. Horus knew better than to openly dispute the edict of the Sun King of Heliopolis. He was not about to allow Zeus to bring dishonor to the powers of the Nile, though. In secret, the Son of Isis went to the Spire ahead of his mother and set up a hiding spot to watch over the Divine Gathering.

The Defiler's Record: During the Pantheon War, the opposing sides adopted their own interpretation of the events at the Divine Gathering. Fortunately for truth-seekers, a community of Athar lived at the Spire's base at that time. Equal in their contempt for all the participants, the writen record preserved by the Lost (first written in the journal of a factotum whose name is now forgotten) is generally accepted as the definitive version of what transpired. Below is an abbreviated version that lacks the long-winded rants he makes against the powers:

"...We saw six beings approach the Spire: two Celestia-ward, two Elysium-ward, and two Arborea-ward. Even from afar, we could tell that these were powers. The enclave quickly moved to the other side of the Spire-though their ability to mimick divinity was greatly reduced here, we were not eager to test those limits! Even as my family evacuated the house we built not long ago, however, my curiosity bade me to stay-when else in my short life was I going to get the opportunity to witness a meeting of powers? Under the pretense of stubbornly protecting my home (laughable in this particular circumstance), I remained behind to bear witness to this secret cabal...I wasn't alone in my foolishness, though of all the barmies that stayed to see it, they agreed that I saw more than anyone else...

"...If luck truely existed (beyond the parroting of scatter-brained 'gods'), I had it today. The six powers gathered at the corner right outside of my dwelling! Peeking from a curtain, I was able to identify the six attendents: the haughty Corellon, Daghda the meddlesome, Glittergold the jester, manipulative Isis, Moradin the grouch, and unfaithful Zeus. From what I could tell, they had no interest in the empty town at the base of the Spire...Their discussion was Ragnorak, and how to rescue those about to throw their lives away for a bunch of powers who are doomed anyway. Not surprising-if a gang of cross-traders gets put in the dead-book, why let their duped marks drift away? Corellon, Glittergold, and Zeus appeared to be on one side of the issue, Daghda, Isis, and Moradin on the other...

"...I wasn't surprised to notice that the Thunderer had something else on his mind at the meeting. From the start, he looked very interested in Isis. Like a feline (what a perfect metaphor for Egyptian powers!), Isis toyed with the lust-filled Zeus, sensing a point of leverage ready to be exploited. As the other powers became engrossed in debate, my eyes were fastened on the strange contest between the Heliopolitan and the Olympian-the former looking for political advantage, the later seeking sexual conquest...Just as this battle was about to reach a tipping point, the meeting was interrupted the sound of wooden boards splintering. When my eyes shifted to the source of the sound, my jaw dropped: bursting through the wall of the house across from my was a seventh power-Horus, son of Isis! The hawk-headed hothead took an impressive leap and landed between right beside Zeus, his eyes demanding vengence."

"Time moved slowly as I soaked in the details of the moment unfurling before me-Horus pulling his right fist back; the punch slamming into Zeus' jaw; blood spilling from the Thunderer's mouth; gravel flying everywhere as his body crashed to the ground. I couldn't believe it; with hundreds of millions of souls at stake, these so-called 'gods' were behaving no better than a gang of bubbers...

"...Corellon had his blade out almost as soon as his colleague Zeus was down. He leveled it at Horus as he accused the three he had been arguing with of betraying himself and Zeus. The hot-head responded with a nasty comment regarding the Spider Queen. Right when it looked that Corellon was going to deliver a rebuttal at sword point, a horn was sounded. Across the Outer Planes and perhaps the entire Multiverse. Heimdall's horn.

"Ragnorak had begun.

"With the help of Corellon (and even Glittergold), Zeus was lifted to his feet. His pearly-white beard was now stained by his own blood. As the two groups departed, promises of revenge were shouted between the parties. Mabye they will follow the lead being set by the Asgard...Overall, this was the fifth-best day of my life, after my marriage and the birth of my three children."

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The Pantheon War (Project 2)

So how were Sphere-specific gods, like the Oerthian & Faerunian pantheons in on this?

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And what of Vecna? In a war between gods, you would think that both sides would scramble to be on good terms with the god of secrets. After all, the battle plans of your enemy are secrets, so they are under his jurisdiction.Or, Vecna could be a third party. Releasing information to suit his own needs. Like a guy playing solitair.

or we can csay that the screts of Gods are under a protection that Vecna has trouble breaching, but thats not as interesting.

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Sphere-specific: In many cases, including Oerth and Toril, powers from both warring sides are present among the gods unique to that sphere. The presense of enough warring powers can force the single-sphere powers to choose sides in the conflict. The more that are already involved, the greater the number of single-sphere gods that are dragged in. A few sphere-by-sphere examples will be given later on.

Vecna: The god of secrets plays his cards cautiously in this epoch. Compared to other deities, he lacks both raw power and trusted allies. Knowing the secrets of both sides makes him an obvious threat to both, and he can't expect either group to defend him should he give his support to one of them. Nevertheless, he does subtley influence the conflict at important moments.

If fact, I may even give him a part in the opening battle of the war: The Battle of Clangeddin Fields.

EDIT: I should have asked this earlier: to keep clutter on this thread down, please post all comments and criticism on the main Project 2 thread. Thank you.

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The Battle of Clangeddin Fields, pt 1

Even after the collapse of the Divine Gathering, most bloods did not expect a full-blown war to erupt between the pantheons. It was well known that petitioners that died away from the Power of their power were lost forever to the deity. Because no power wanted to lose large numbers of petitioners, they were never sent on multi-planar campaigns against the god's enemies.

A few days after the Gathering, though, Hecate, Greek goddess of magic, arrived at Olympus with an incredible discovery-one that would break the final obstacle to an age of devastation.

The Word of Clangeddin: Unlike other powers, the dwarven god Clangeddin Silverbeard had discovered a means to maintain a connection with his petitioner beyond the Plane of Arcadia. This enable him to send armies of einheriar on campaigns across the Great Wheel. Many fellow powers war were eager to learn Clangeddin's secret.

Hecate told the Court of Olympus that she discovered, through infernal contacts in Baator and her own divinations, that Clangeddin employed part of The Word known only to him to create the Spiritual Channel with his einheriar. To maximize the number of connections he can form, the Silverbeard had a group of proxies stationed in his realm who had special foci that allowed them to use The Word on their god's behalf.

As Zeus listened to the wayward Sorceress of Aeana, his jaw was still swollen from Horus' blow. The implications of Hecate's findings were clear to him-learning the Word of Clangeddin was just a matter of kidnapping one of these proxies. Once he did, justice for the insult he suffered at the Spire would be achievable. All he needed to do was find a way to infiltrate Mount Clangeddin.

Only after the war was it discovered that Hecate's source was in fact the lich-god Vecna. Many historians still wonder if Zeus would have been more cautious had he known this fact, for the God of Secrets profitted greatly from the turmoil that followed.

Ultimatum: Zeus met with Corellon Larethian to share Hecate's findings. The Lord of Arvandor was still fuming from the apparent betrayal of Daghda, Isis, and Moradin, and the remark Horus made about his relation with Lolth hit a raw nerve. The two powers swore a divine alliance to bring the offending parties to justice.

Across the multiverse, the most famed of the Greek proxies were recalled back to Mount Olympus. There, Zeus formed them into an elite force of Heroes named the Order of Helen, under the personnal command of the Hero-God Heracles. At the same time, his brother Hades met secretly with Abbathor, the Dwarven god of Greed. Thanks to his dominion over wealth, the Dour One easily bribed Abbathor into betraying the defenses of Mount Clangeddin. Meanwhile, Corellon instructed the war goddess Vandria Gilmadrith, whose realm was hidden on Arcadia's first layer, to assemble her einheriar for battle. When all was ready, Zeus gave an Ultimatum to the Celtic, Dwarven, and Egyptian pantheons. Among other points, the Ultimatum demanded that the three communities sign unconditionally a new Divine Compact (which the Elves and Greeks wrote to elicit the harshest reactions), and that Horus surrender himself to Olympus in order to stand trial for breaking the Peace of the Spire.

The Celts, Dwarves, and Egyptians were infuriated by Zeus' demands. In their view, the Thunderer's attempt to seduce a power from a seperate pantheon was another symptom of the imperial ambitions of Olympus. What was worse, it looked as though the Elves were now a willing partner in the designs of the Greeks. The Ultimatum was the last straw, for itessentially demanded that all Powers accept the hegemony of Mount Olympus. The three pantheons decided that Zeus needed a lesson in humility. Clangeddin Silverbeard sent out a large army of einheriar to march on the Arborean Gate-town of Sylvania.

As Clangeddin's army reach reached the halfway point of its march, a host of elven eiheriar emerged from the forests of Abellio and set camp on the plains before Mount Clangeddin. Vandria challenged the Silverbeard to either halt his advance on her native-home of Arvandor, or meet her army in battle. A snap effort to organize a peace settlement by the Storm Kings, the Archons, and even the Harmonium were all for naught. Unwilling to be besieged by the Elven power (a clear humiliation for a god of valor), Clangeddin assembled his remaining einheriar and sent them out to meet their opponents. When they reached the fields around the mountain, they were greeted by a hail of elven arrows. The Pantheon War had begun.

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The Pantheon War (Project 2)

Any chance that the Lords of Law and the Lords of Chaos from the Ortho project might wind up involved?

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'nick012000' wrote:
Any chance that the Lords of Law and the Lords of Chaos from the Ortho project might wind up involved?

Sadly, I don't know anything about the above figures (first time I heard of them, unless the Lords of Law are the same as the Wind Dukes of the Rod of 7 Parts fame).

If you can enlighten me, I would be very appreciative. Smiling

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It's in the Ortho document the PW people have somewhere...

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Total War: Meanwhile, the warring pantheons moved quickly to mobilize their worsphippers behind the effort. Even as they marshalled their forces and sought to recruit more allies, the two sides kept an eye on the Battle of Ragnorak. What they saw had a profound influence on the shape of their own war.

On the Primes, Norse clerics began to preach an apocalyptic message and beseeched the laity to perform deeds of courage in a time of trouble. Wherever the Norse had a pessence, this message led to a surge in belief for the entrenched Asgardians. As a result, the Norse Pantheon managed to hold its own against not only Loki, Hel, and the Giants, but also the host of fiends that joined the fight. The participants of the Pantheon War, recognizing the similarities between their struggle and that of the Asgard, adopted the Norse message to their own cause. While it wasn't certain if the balance of power between the sides shifted (since it was adopted universally), the increased zealotry from mortal worshippers anchored the divine realms to their respective planes, even as the toll of the war grew.

One important consequence of the doomsday message spread by the warring powers was to spread the Pantheon War to nearly every corner of the Prime. Their followers were often filled with a religious fervor that inspired them to emulate the war in the Outer Planes. Should the god's prescribed enemies not be close at hand, then a different faith was targeted. Anyone that questioned the sudden change in attitude was soon ostracized by his community.

Although the Pantheon War is recorded to have lasted 701 years by Planar scholars, fighting on the Primes would last for milennia afterwards in some cases (By comparison, the Battle of Ragnorak was 252 years from start to finish). Even today, there is still a deep-seated animosity from Prime-born followers of the warring powers.

NOTE: That concludes the opening of the Pantheon War. Post comments now, if you like, while I explain how the other powers, cosmic entities, and factions were involved in this great conflict.

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For some reason I thought you wrote 'Oerth'! I'll give it a read.

Meanwhile, lets wrap up this battle...

Abbathor's Betrayal: The Silverbeard failed to realize was that the battle outside of his realm was a diversion from the real mission. Using a portal revealed by Abbathor, the Children of Helen infiltrated Mount Clangeddin, now almost completely deserted. Heracles and his companions moved quickly through the networks of tunnels and found several of Clangeddin's proxies maintaining the divine connection with his army in the Outlands. They were quickly subdued, at which point the enchantress Circe bound them within specially prepared soul crystals.

The disruption in the connection made Clangeddin aware of the ruse he fell for. Knowing what was at stake, he personally went to stop the Children of Helen from escaping. With his focus turned away from the battle, the dwarven armies faltered. Vandria knew that was her signal-with a divine blast, the war goddess blew a gaping hole into the mountain-side. Heracles held back Clangeddin long enough for the rest of the Grecians to escape from his realm and teleport to safety. The elven army retreated back into the forests of Abellio just as a vanguard of Eqyptian chariots arrived to reinforce their allies. Despite the capture of Heracles, the battle was an important victory for the Greeks and Elves.

The Children of Helen wasted no time in returning to Olympus. Zeus stripped the Word right from the minds of the captive proxies and revealed it to each Greek and Elf power. Meanwhile, Clangeddin felt his proxy's minds being violated and knew that he had no choice but to reveal the Word to Moradin. The Dwarf-father in turn shared it with Daghda and Ra, for he had lost all hope that violence could be avoided.

Massacre of the Emissary: Garl Glittergold still believed that war could be avoided, and sent an emisarry lead by his lead proxy, Keeten Gearfinger, to the Dwarven realm of Erackinor. Unfortunately an contingency measure taken by Hera, Queen of Olympus, doomed the effort. Anticipating that one of the heroes being sent to Mount Clangeddin might be captured, Hera suggested that they be given the impression that the intelligence on the realm came not from Abbathor, but from the gnomes. Not only would they protect a potentially valuable mole, but the animosity generated between the dwarves and gnomes could be enough to secure an alliance with Garl.

Clangeddin sent Heracles to Erackinor for interrogation. When he gave the identity of the 'traitors', the dwarven powers were stunned. The gnomes had been as close to kin as non-dwarves come. And yet it made all too much sense, for Garl had sided with Zeus and Corellon at the Divine Gathering. At the same time, Abbathor had done too good a job at covering his treachery. When word that a "peace emissary" was coming to Erackinor, Moradin ordered that no chances were to be taken. As soon as the emissary entered the halls of Erackinor, they were surrounded by a company of Einheriar, lead by a proxy who was clansmen of one of the proxies captured by the Greeks. Caught off guard by the accusations of treason, Keeten's attempt to defuse the situation only angered the dwarven proxy further. Unwilling to suffer the gnome's "lies" any further, he ordered that the entire emisarry be dispatched for espionage.

The proxy was heavily rebuked for his handling of the situation, but the damage had been done. Garl Glittergold made an alliance with the Elves and Greeks, resigned to the fact that a horrific era was about to begin for the multiverse.

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It lasted that long? What would they do, fire off a Divine Blast and run off with their tails between their legs?

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'nick012000' wrote:
It lasted that long? What would they do, fire off a Divine Blast and run off with their tails between their legs?

Laughing out loud

To answer your question-most of the fighting was done between the armies of petitioners that could now march across the planes without risk of being lost forever. The Blood War doesn't consist of Asmodeus and Demogorgon slugging in out, does it? Same principle here-in every war, there are leaders and there are commanders*. These einheriar sought to establish shrines to their deities in close proximity to their opponent's Realms. This usually entailed laying siege to their realm. If the shrines can be established, then a power begins to lose control of their own Divine Realm. Enough shrines open him or her up to a fight with a rival power that has none of the benefits of fighting on home turf, but all its risks. In practice, this "Shrine Siege" was typically executed on solitary divine realms, not the "mega realms" like Mt. Olympus or Heliopolis.

*cookie for anyone who guesses correctly which book I lifted that quote from.

Here's some more vocabulary to keep in mind:

The Divine Triumvirate: The name of the alliance between the Elven, Gnomish, and Greek Pantheons. Also called 'The Triumvirate' for short. The name also refers to the others powers that sided with the Divine Triumvirate. These powers include the Fey, Centaur, and Finnish pantheons.

The Blessed Alliance: The name of the alliance between the Celtic, Dwarven, and Egyptian Pantheons, as well as the other powers that would join their cause. Also called 'The Alliance' for short. The Babylonian, Kobold, and Mongolian pantheons, among others, are also a part of this alliance.

Next post, I'll try to get more specific on the major 'fronts' of the war.

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CAMPAIGNS OF THE EARLY WAR

These are the campaigns that distinguished the early periods of the war, which most Planar historians mark as concluding with the end of Ragnorak (when the final two casualties-Heimdall and Loki-fell fighting each other). During this time, the Triumvirate and the Alliance have only a few other powers allied to their cause, while the various Exemplar want nothing to do with the fighting (either seeing it as wrong in general, or because they're too deeply caught up in Ragnorak).

The early campaigns are as follows:

-The Tir Na Og/Sylvania Campaign: The area of the Outlands between Sylvania and Tir Na Og was a battle-zone for the entire duration of the war. Einheriar from all Pantheons participated in this campaign-Dwarven regiments against Greek phalanxes, Celtic raiders against Elven bladesingers, and Egyptian Chariots against Gnomish engineers. The gods frequently used their avatars in this campaign. In particular, Ares and Morrigan fought time and again on these battlefields.

-The Dothion/Lunia Campaign: The lands between Erackinor and the Golden Hills were contested by the Dwarves and Gnomes for the entire war. Early on, the majority of battles were fought in Dothion. The Gnomes suffered a number stinging losses in this time period, including the destruction of Callarduran Smoothhands. As the fortunes of war ebbed and flowed, battles between the two sides were fought as much in Lunia as they were in Dothion. Fighting in this campaign was as much above ground as it was below. Often, the Gnomes fielded fantastic tools of war against the Dwarves.

-The Armoria Campaign: The early losses suffered by the Gnomes owed largely to the pressence of several Egyptian and Celtic realms (either primary or secondary) on the Plane of Elysium. These powers, though not considerably militeristic, managed to secure Elysium's first layer as well as the Gate-town of Ecstacy. The Elves and Greeks, knowing that they couldn't afford to lose the Gnomes, fought a desperate battle to get reinforcements to the Golden Hills. After Ecstacy changed hands 200 years into the war, the Triumvirate could securely send troops between all their primary realms. Nevertheless, the War would continue to mar this idellic Plane. Additionally, the Greeks effectively wiped out the Sumerian Pantheon in the Siege of The Mountain of the East. This helped drive the Babylonian gods, who would have otherwise been natural allies of the Triumvirate, onto the side of the Alliance.

-The Grey Wastes Campaign: Both sides saw early on the advantage of controlling the Plane of Ultimate Despair. Hades and Hecate made a steady push against Arwan of the Celts and Rokar of the Dwarves. Aiding them early on was Abbathor, but the Dwarven god of Greed outed himself accidentally and was banished to Carceri for his betrayal. Despite the aid of Math Mathonwy, the Alliance was unable to recover from Abbathor's treachery. Meanwhile, Hades decided to take Anthraxus as a proxy, boosting his side considerably. By the time Ragnorak was over, the Greeks had driven out or destroyed the gods of the Alliance in the Grey Wastes.

-The Amun-thys Campaign: Nephystus' realm was attacked in short order by elven and greek petitioner armies led by Athena's proxy-generals. Cut off from the rest of her Pantheon, the Egyptian goddess stood no chance. It was here that the first Shrine-Siege was laid. After only a few years, Nephystus was slain by Athena and Solonor Thelandira (elven god of hunting).

-The Ossa Campaign: a similar effort was made against Nun, the Egyptian god of water and the ocean depths. Posidon and Deep Sashelas launched an assault on Nun's secondary realm, called the Primeval Abyss. This campaign was short-lived, as Nun was quick to abandoned the Primeval Abyss for his primary realm-Hermopolis (Heliopolis' dark twin, on Muspelheim)

-The Arcadia Campaign: The Dwarves and Egyptians also picked off a couple emeny powers on their end of the Great Wheel. Vandria Gilmadrith, Astraea of the Greeks, and Rill Cleverthrush of the Gnomes were all destroyed in the early periods of the war. Because their realms were obscure, the three lasted much longer than Nun and Nephystus-it was a full century before they were destroyed.

-The Nidavellir Campaign: Several Alliance powers who had realms in Ysgard were cut off from the rest of the Great Ring thanks to Ragnorak. Anxious to partake in the War, but confined to the sidelines, these Alliance powers went after the nearest target of opportunity-the Drow moon Goddess Eilistraee. This campaign was instrumental in aligning the Fairy Court, which aided the Drow Maiden, with the gods of the Triumvirate. After Ragnorak ended, the Alliance powers in Ysgard were able to partake in the war at large.

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It's Ragnarok. Just to clarify Smiling

__________________

Pants of the North!

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Hades got the Loths on his side?

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'Bob the Efreet' wrote:
It's Ragnarok. Just to clarify Smiling

"you say po-tA-to, I say po-tah-to..." I'm not going to worry about spelling just yet.

CRITICAL BATTLES
"Not all battles are created equal." -Athena.

Toward the end of the early period of the war, it looked as though the Triumvirate had the upper hand. They appeared to be in firm control of 4 of the Outer Planes (Arborea, Beastlands, Bytopia, and the Grey Wastes), and were preparing to march on Erackinor. Two battles changed the momemtum of the war, while simultaneously expanding its scope.

The Battle of the Silver Sea: With the aid of reinforcements from the Greeks and Elves, the Gnomish pantheon finally succeeded in driving the Dwarves from Dothion. Looking to take the fight to the enemy, the Gnomes built a fleet of Gadget-ships to establish a beach-head on the shores of Lunia. Assisted by Hoplites commanded by Menelaus, the Fleet believed it stood a good chance of victory.

The Dwarves, seeing the growing fleet, brought the matter to the Archons. While the Archons did not want to get involved in the conflict, they knew it was their responsibility to protect Mount Celestia from "all hostile attacks." Bound to this responsibility, the Archons pledge to aid in the defense of Lunia. Not sure this would be enough, however, the Dwarves also invoked the Heavenly Agreement, an agreement between the powers of Celestia calling on them assist each other from outside attacks. Their call was answered by the Oerthian power Heironious, the Japanese sun-goddess Amaterasu, and the Draconic power Bahamut.

When the Gnomish armada appeared on the Silver Sea, they were greeted by a diverse fleet of ships backed by Archons and Dragons. Within a few hours, every Gadget-Ship had been blasted apart by holy light. Menelaus was killed in the battle. Sailors and hoplites that survived onslaught washed up on the shore of Lunia, where they were quickly captured by the Archons.

The battle halted the Triumvirate's march across the Upper Planes. Powers that were not initially a part of the conflict, especially single-sphere powers, began entering the fray. It also opened the gates to the involvement of Exemplar races. Through diplomacy, intrigue, sorcery, or plain whimsy, the races of the Outer Planes were drawn into the War of the Gods.

Battle of Gilded Hall: When Ragnorak ended, the Dwarven and Egyptian powers that dwelled in Ysgard were eager to contribute to the war. Because fighting was concentrated in the Outlands, Eronia, and the Bytopia/Celestia border, the Alliance gods in Ysgard saw this as an opportunity for them to rush into Olympus and win the war. The Triumvirate was warned of their intentions thanks to the observations of the Fairy Court. The war powers Athena and Corellon led the Triumvirate's auxillary forces against the Alliance army, which included the powers Amon, Bast, Hanseath, Kek, and Marthamor Duin. The armies met at the Sensate fortress of Gilded Hall.

Unlike the Battle of the Silver Sea, the Eladrians refused to involve themselves in the battle-they had no legal bound to defend Arborea. The Oerthian powers Trithereon and Olidammara did join the Triumvirate, as did the Sensates. After a weeklong battle, the Alliance was driven out of Arborea. It was a costly victory-Athena was sorely wounded-and Olidammara took the opportunity to peel the Sensates and the Olympians.

The battle opened up a new front for the Triumvirate. The factions, once only minimally involved, now began to take sides. Only the Athar, who were still hiding the dark of the War's beginnings, stayed out. It also generated serious dissapointment towards the Eladrins from the Triumvirate. If the Alliance can have an exemplar ally, they felt, so should they. This feeling would lead to the War's most momentous development.

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'nick012000' wrote:
Hades got the Loths on his side?

Well, nothing is ever that simple, especially where 'loths are concerned-but one of the PS books mentioned that Anthraxus was trying to become his Proxy. Also, Many of the Loths are working for Hel during the war's early period. When they return, things get more complicated.

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What? The Baernoloths got involved?

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'nick012000' wrote:
What? The Baernoloths got involved?

Well, they are 'loths, aren't they? (muwahahahahaha!!)

Anyway, this might be a good opportunity to lead into the mid-period of the Pantheon War. This point lasted from the end of Ragnorak to about a century before the War's conclusion. During this time period, the involvement of the Prime Material Plane was at its height. To use a familiar example, on the Sphere of Toril, Oghma's sanctuary of Candlekeep was sacked by Elves from Evermeet; the Mulhorand gods (ie Egyptian) supported the Shadow-weave (suspecting Azuth, and thus Mystra, of favoring the elves) and openly persecuted Elves and Gnomes; and Powers unique to that realm were ensnared in a complex web of alliances and dual identities. Selune-worship, for example was barred in Dwarven lands thanks to her friendship with Tymora (one aspect of the Greek goddess Tyche). From the streets of Waterdeep to the deserts of Anarouch, and in lands beyond the continent of Fareun, heroes took sides-often against old companions-and unleashed terrible power not since the days of Netheril.

Ultimately, Toril was saved from destruction by the most unlikely hero: Cyric, the Prince of Lies. Thanks to his machinations, the destructive zealotry of the warring sides was checked before it could go critical-casting a spells of ultimate destruction is never easy when you're looking over your shoulder every minute. Other Spheres were not so fortunate. Scholars are unsure how many Primes were destroyed as a result of the Pantheon, but there are at least a dozen confirmed cases. Refugees from the Pantheon War are scattered across the Multiverse, their homes forever lost to them.

During this period, the number of participating Pantheons increased dramatically. Often, a Pantheon was divided on which side to support (as were the Japanese). In other cases, they started on one side, and then ended on another (the Baltic and Slavic, for example). Also, the factions and the exemplar races were drawn into the War-though like the newly involved pantheons, their loyalties were not always monolithic nor constant.

Finally, a new wild-card appeared during the mid-period of the War: the Veterans of Ragnorak. More on them will be said later...

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The Exemplar Races and the Pantheon War

"O, divine arrogance! As you make the stars dim,
so will you set forests ablaze and tear mountains apart!
May the Wife embrace her Husband anew,
and May the Son follow his Father's trail."

-Morwel's Death-curse

"I miss the Blood War..."
-Overheard at the Stygian Oarsman

It's important not to confuse the exemplar races with Cosmic Entities. Exemplars-which include the Archons, Baatezu, Eladrin, Guardinals, Modron, Rimilani, Slaadi, Tanar'ri, and Yugoloths-are the physical manifestation of universal ideals as a group of individuals. While a single Exemplar is powerful compared to your average mortal, their real strength comes when acting as a group, whether consiously (lawful), subconsiously (neutral) or unconsiously (chaotic). This also includes paragon members of each race, like Talisid's Companions, the Dark Eight, and the Court of Stars. While they had unusual abilities, their influence came more from their social status than raw power. (other Exemplars, such as the Asura and Night Hags, won't be explored unless there is interest expressed)

Cosmic Entities, also called Planar Lords, represent a universal ideal manifested in a single being. The power of such beings rivals that of deities. The most powerful Cosmic Entities are broken into 9 groups:

-The Stewards of Balance (N)
-The Scions of Anarchy (CN)
-The Demiurges (CE)
-The Nether Fiends (NE)
-The Lords of the Nine (LE)
-The Axioms of Law (LN)
-The Virtues of Celestia (LG)
-The Heralds of Holiness (NG)
-The Defenders of Freedom (CG)

In most of Planar history, the Exemplar were guided, commanded, and/or strongarmed by the Cosmic Entities. During the Pantheon War, the gods of the Alliance and Triumvirate grew in power relative to the Planar Lords, and one way or another forced the Exemplar races to march to their tune-or be destroyed.

In the War's early period, each Exemplar Race had a its own agenda with regards to the conflict. The Archons and Guardinals tried to halt the fighting. The Baatezu found ways to exploit the conflict without actually becoming involved. The Eladrin wanted nothing to do with the fighting. The Modron were mostly concerned with completing their Great March across an Outer Planes that was more hostile than previous Marches took account for. The Rimilani intervened on occasion in order to ensure the War stood at a stalemate. Finally, the Slaadi, Tanar'ri, and Yugoloths were all happy to become involved in the Pantheon War...as soon as they were done with Ragnorak.

This all changed after the Battle of the Silver Sea. With the Archons no longer a neutral party in the War, each side quickly sought to secure the loyalties of as many Exemplars as they could manage. They accomplished this through a combination of divine force and political maneuvering. The most revealing example is how the Eladrin were forced to join sides with the Triumvirate, as it clearly demonstrates the new division of power in the Multiverse. Using both treachery and powerful divine magic, the Elven and Greek Gods destroyed the Court of Stars and magically bound the Eladrin to their will, both directly and via their Priests. Even though this action was nakedly tyrannical, the fever-pitched belief being generated on the Primes meant that the Defenders of Freedom could not oust the offending pantheons from Arborea.

Similar stories played out across the Planes. On Baator, political divisions amongst the Baatezu were being exploited by the warring sides. Minaurous and Stygia became just more contested ground for the Alliance and Triumvirate. Well-laid plots were compromised as the Devils devoted their energies towards doing the dirty work of the two sides while still trying to preserve Baator's sovereignty. The Yugoloths found their penchant for treachery actually strengthening the position of their targets. Anthraxus, for example, abandoned Hades and took over Hel's recently-abandoned Underworld in Nifleheim. The 'loth generals who were returning from Ragnorak, though, were furious-Hel's Underworld was the price of their participation in that conflict! As a result, Anthraxus was besieged almost immediately, while his former patron was left with a free hand in the Grey Wastes. Meanwhile, the Gehennan 'loths were forced to make an alliance of necessity with the Celtic God Math Mathonwy. In the Abyss, the gods Ares and Morrigan established secondary realms. Both sides also seized a couple of the Ships of Chaos (destroying Twelvetrees in the process). Tanar'ri flocked to their banners as the Pantheon War eclipsed every other division on the Plane. Some of these Demons continued the fighting in the Abyss, while others were sent to fight throughout the Multiverse.

The Modron (as well as other Exemplar of Mechanus) had their missions tampered with by mechanically-inclined deities (the Gnomes in particular). As a result, their patrons did not realize they 'went rouge' even as they served new masters. On the Outlands, the Rimilani increasingly began to accept the Celtic interpretation of where "balance" ought to be. Obviously, it was the Triumvirate that overstepped its bounds; shouldn't they be the ones that need to be contained? Meanwhile, chaotic deities on both sides rounded up powerful Death Slaadi and made them proxies. These Slaadi in turn creating marauding war-bands that raided across the Multiverse.

The Guardinals were the only race that did not take sides, and even continued to press for peace. They paid dearly for their neutrality however. Both Alliance and Triumvirate forces in Elysium attacked Guardinals on sight. On the Prime, the summoning or calling of Guardinals was widely outlawed as they were branded as 'troublemakers' and 'ill-wishers' by the embattled faiths. Facing unprecedented hostility, the Guardinals were forced to retreat to the remote corners of their home plane.

The Exemplar bore the brunt of the shock in adjusting to the new reality of the Pantheon War. In addition, a few of the Planar Lords got caught up in the conflict as well. Cosmic Entities that strove to create their personal followings on the Prime found their noteriety coming back to haunt them. This included 6 of the 9 Lords of Baator, as well as several Demiurges and Abyssmal Lords. Some Planar lords, including Grazz't and Mammon, tried to play both sides. Others, such as Dispater and Baphomet, joined one side or another. These beings eventually found their participation to be costly.

Most of Cosmic Entities were not pulled into the War. Instead, they patiently watched the conflict unfold while remaining hidden from view. They were either too obscure or careful to operate behind careful disguises. Much more ancient than the gods, they realized that the War was being driven not by any fundamental change in the reality of the Cosmos. Instead it was fueled by deities encouraging zealotry and fanaticism amongst their followers. While the belief generated in the short-term was tremendous, it could not be sustained. It was only a matter of time before the power of the Alliance and Triumvirate faltered. When it did, the Planar Lords would be ready.

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Hmm...

When did this occur relative to the Earth beating back the githyanki in the Astral War?

It would influence how Shadow Primes regard neo-pagans, if it occurred in modern times. If it occurred in the Middle Ages, I don't think it would matter much- the Celtic and Norse pantheons were the only ones still worshipped by then.

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Earth is not officially included in UPS. Please see the F.A.Q. for more information. There will be plenty of planets similar to Earth (limited magic that only recently became available, information age, mix of monotheistic and polytheistic faiths). But not Earth itself. Officially.

As for the Astral War (with Ortho now fighting the Githyanki), that occurs long after the dust of this conflict settles.

Also, the Pantheon War is the catalyst for the blossuming of monotheism in the Prime Material Plane. Thanks to the trauma of the War, quite a few of these faiths are even more hostile towards the 'old gods' than even the Athar.

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Factions in the Pantheon War

If the Pantheon War was a catastrophe for the Exemplars, it was an incredible opportunity for the Factions. Some factions saw the War as a chance to affirm their philosophy to the rest of the multiverse. Other believed that it would bring them a great deal of power-which amounts to the same thing on the Great Wheel. In either case, all they had to do was to present a unified front in making their case-and not draw too much attention from the two warring behemoths entrenched across all of existence. Neither were easy, of course, and the end result for each faction varied tremendously.

The Athar
"A precious gift must be handled with great care-and what gift could be more precious than from the 'gods'?" --Factol Hennar, 1st year of the War

The Bleak Cabal
"If you seriously believed the sacking of the Madhouse by Morrigan's Marauders would get the Cabal to join you berks, then you obviously have never dealt with a bleaker before" --Pointless Payl, 192nd year of the War

The Doomguard
"Go forth, fellow sinkers: both Alliance and Triumvirate want to learn the subtleties of Entropy, and who is better than us to instruct them?" --Doomlord Nagual, 260th year of the War

The Dustmen

The Fated

The Fraternity of Order

The Free League

The Harmonium
"As far as you should be concerned, this war ended the minute you became a hardhead!" --Factol Akenwold, 40th year of the War, a week before he was assasinated.

The Mind's Eye

The Revolutionary League

The Ring-Givers

The Society of Sensation

The Sodkillers

The Sons of Mercy

The Transcendent Order

The Xaositects
"I'm a chicken fiend!" --unnamed Xaositect being questioned about the conflict, 520th year of the War

NOTE: This is just a placeholder for now. I'll fill in the descriptive text throughout the week.

EDIT1: Starting to add flavorable quotes

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The End...For Now

Editor's note: In order to focus better on the setting that the PCs will be inhabitting, I'm going to jump right to the aftermath of the Pantheon War. One day, hopefully, I will lay out what happened during this tumultuous time period. For now, though, I'll just give a summary of what changed

WINNERS: Ironically, the "winners" tended to be groups or individuals that remained neutral in the conflict. That said, there are relatively few winners of the Pantheon War
--The Planar Lords: At the War's end, the Cosmic Entities, from Chronais to the Gaping Maw, established their primacy over Creation.
--The Chinese Pantheon: By remaining totally uninvolved in the War, the Celestial Empire was more powerful than any other Pantheon.
--The Baltic and Slavic Pantheons: Relatively unknown before the war, the two pantheons played the politics of the conflict brilliantly, and eventually merged to form the 'Russian' pantheon.
--Anthraxus: Holding off his rivals, the Altroloth succeeded in solidifying his grip on the realm of Hel, and he became the new Norse god of the underworld.
--The Veterans of Ragnorak: This motley gang of Norse proxies earned enough renown during the Pantheon War to ultimately replace their deceased masters in the new Asgard.
--Cyric: The Prince of Lies' mastery of the conflict on Toril made him a lengend among planewalkers interested in a power of chaos and evil. His Shattered Castle relocated to the Abyss, where he could better promote the dogma of strife.
--The Athar: The Defilers succeeded in getting the most for their secret chronicle of the War's beginnings. The 'gods' had been discredited, and on hundreds of Primes, the Athar's beliefs on divinity had taken root-paving the way for a theological revolution.
--The Githyanki: Thanks to the large numbers of powers placed in the Dead Book during this time, there was a massive increase in livable areas on the Astral Plane. The Githyanki populations boomed, and the Witch Queen's power grew along with it.

Losers-Displaced: The list below is of powers (and other groups) that were driven from the kip they had at the beginning of the war or a shift in alignment. The "home front" strategy of emboldening their followers allowed the gods to avoid for a time the ideological consequences of the conflict. As the war drew to a close, however, the time came for even the gods to pay the music. (format=name(new home/new alignment)) Please note that this list is not meant to be official, but some decisions are fixed.
--Abbathor (Canceri/CE)
--Ares (--/NE)
--Artemis (Beastlands/--)
--Bast (Arborea/--) eventually shifted back into Ysgard
--Bargrivyek (Mechanus/LN)
--Celtic Pantheon (Abyss; Arborea; Bytopia; Elysium; Outlands; Ysgard/--)-Most of Tir Na Og destroyed or transported elsewhere
--Clangeddin Silverbeard (--/LN)
--Deep Duerra (--/LN)
--Demeter (Elysium/NG)
--Elven Pantheon (Beastlans; Limbo; Ysgard/var)-Arvandor is destroyed
--Fiernna (Outlands/N)
--Grazz't (Pandemonium/--)-The Dark Prince would eventually reclaim most of his realm
--Hachiman (--/CN)
--Hades (--/NE)
--Halfling Pantheon (Abyss; Elysium/var)-though the halflings never picked sides in the conflicts, they were persecuted throughout on both the Prime and the Great Wheel as potential enemies and spies.
--Hecate (Grey Wastes/--)-lost secondary realm in Baator
--Hephaestus (Elysium/--)
--Hermopolis (Egyptian) (Pandemonium/--)
--Imhotep (Baator/LE)-Destroyed, then restored by Set
--Ishtar (Outlands/N)
--Joramy (Outlands/--)
--Mammon (Gehenna/--)-Replaced by Geryon as Archduke of Minarous
--Nola (Celestia/LG)
--Pholtus (--/LN)
--Raiden (Ysgard/CN)
--Ralishaz (Pandemonium/CE)
--Soma (Limbo/CN)
--Zeus (Gehenna/LE)

Losers-Deaders: The gods listed below were writen into the dead book at some point during the conflict.
--Baphomet (Replaced by Posiedon's proxy Minos)
--CELTIC: Arwan; Ceridwen; Cian; Diancecht; Math Mathonwy; Nemhain;
--The Court of Stars
--Druaga
--DWARVEN: Berronar Truesilver; Gorm Gulthryn; Hanseath; Rokar; Tharmekhul
--EGYPTIAN: Amon; Hathor; Horus (Ra later absorbed his essence, becoming Horus-Ra); Nephystus; Tefnut
--ELVEN: Alobar Lorfiril; Alathrien Druanna; Corellon Larethian; Kirith Sotheril; Mythrien Sarath; Rillifane Rallathil; Vandria Gilmadrith; Ye'Cind
--GNOMISH: Callarduran Smoothhands; Gelf Darkhearth; The Glutton; Rill Cleverthrush
--GREEK: Ananke; Astraea; Epimetheus; Hebe; Heracles; Hestia; Prometheus; Rhea;
--Kereska
--Lakshmi
--Lolth
--OERTH: Beltar; Boccob; Fortubo; Phyton; Ralishaz; Rao; Syrul; Vara; Zilchus; Zodal
--Semuanya
--the Sons of Mercy
--the Sumerian Pantheon
--TORIL: Azuth; Deneir; Finder Wyvernspur; Gond; Mask; Gwaeron Windstrom; Malyk; the Red Knight; Sarvas; Talona; Teylas; Velsharoon;
--Yondalla

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What's odd is that any of them stayed dead. Raise Outsider is only a sixth level spell, and doesn't require any of the body (though it does require a peice of their home plane). Sure, they'll lose a level, but still. The only way to permanently kill a power would be to kill it over and over and over, until it runs out of levels, hit dice, and points of Constitution.

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Number 1 rule of writing background: Don't let mechanics get in the way of a good story.

Also, what I failed to mention was that magic became very limited during this time period, so by the end of it, magic was at best reduced to a max of 5th level.

More on this later.

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'nick012000' wrote:
What's odd is that any of them stayed dead. Raise Outsider is only a sixth level spell, and doesn't require any of the body (though it does require a peice of their home plane). Sure, they'll lose a level, but still. The only way to permanently kill a power would be to kill it over and over and over, until it runs out of levels, hit dice, and points of Constitution.

It's a lot harder to resurrect a god than that, or no god would ever die for long - and we have any number of examples of gods that have died in the past and never came back. Raise Outsider might, strictly by the rules, resurrect the deader, but it would bring it back as a mortal (nothing in the spell description says it can restore divine ranks!). There are, in fact, no rules for how gods gain divine ranks, so there's no way for a single spell to bring them back.

Personally, I wouldn't allow Raise Outsider to affect a god at all (not True Resurrection either). It's not intended for gods - it was designed for planetouched and bariaurs.

Regardless of your interpretation, it's at least as hard to resurrect a god as it is to become a god in the first place. Whatever rituals and so forth are required to become a god, you need to do much the same thing if you're going to bring one back to life.

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'nick012000' wrote:
What's odd is that any of them stayed dead. Raise Outsider is only a sixth level spell, and doesn't require any of the body (though it does require a peice of their home plane). Sure, they'll lose a level, but still. The only way to permanently kill a power would be to kill it over and over and over, until it runs out of levels, hit dice, and points of Constitution.

1. I don't like this spell.
2. If I was cajoled into its usage, I would insist that it doesn't work on deities. Divine rank makes a big difference; I cannot think of them as just outsiders.

__________________

Pants of the North!

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'Ulden Throatbane' wrote:
'nick012000' wrote:
Any chance that the Lords of Law and the Lords of Chaos from the Ortho project might wind up involved?

Sadly, I don't know anything about the above figures (first time I heard of them, unless the Lords of Law are the same as the Wind Dukes of the Rod of 7 Parts fame).

If you can enlighten me, I would be very appreciative. Smiling

I'd say this was the perfect opporotunity for Ina to go clean a little bit of the family fued business up. Chances are she grabbed the extended family by the scruffs of the neck - tossed them all into the same pit she tossed one of them into before - and played guidance councellor for a few hundred years and laid the smackdown on the Lord of Watchers. Essentially - I would have them still around afterwards, only b/c they were busy taking care of their personal troubles.

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And yeah - what rip said. Just as killing a god is harder than it is for mortals... raising one is too. There's entire story and module arcs otherwise that don't make much sense (Dead Gods for example). So no. "Raise Outsider" does *not* work on deities.

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The Aftermath, Cont.

Magic is diminished: As alluded to earlier, magic was a much less potent force in the Multiverse after the Pantheon War. With the exception of Powers (both Deities and Planar Lords), spells and spell-like abilities above 5th level could no longer be cast (same went for psionic powers). This decrease in magic did not happen at once, and it was very uneven, especially on the Primes. Magic items that produced or emulated high-level magic were still usable, but they became increasingly rare.

Theories abound as to why magic weakened in this time period. The only thing these theories have in common was that the Pantheon War had something to do with it. Today, many cutters doubt that magic was really as strong as all the greybeards say it is.

The Barring of the Primes: In reaction to the destruction of dozens of prime spheres during the War, many Prime OverPowers decided to tighten the barriers between their Sphere and the rest of existence. The particulars of each sphere varied, but they all limited the further influence of the gods on the sphere, and made travel to and from the Prime a lot harder. On some primes, magic was further restricted, to the point of prohibiting it. Already weakened by the conflict, the gods were in a poor position to resist the emergence of monotheism on the Primes.

Of course, many of the better known Spheres (Oerth, Toril, Krynn, and Ortho, for example) were still connected to the rest of the Multiverse. And in recent times, it appears that these once isolated Primes are now reconnecting to the Cosmic Community.

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Out of curiosity, how did the Dragonfall War between Tiamat and Bahamut get affected by this?

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The gods were always my least favorite part of Planescape. The sheer number of them and the fact they were all significant players. Reading about them is like being in Myth class back in college and remembering all those names... I prefer mortals and spirits much more.

Pettiness aside, you've done a good job. I'm pretty happy that most of them are dead so I don't have to worry about them.

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