A Crash Course in Worldbuilding: Deities and Portfolios

A Crash Course in Worldbuilding: Deities and Portfolios

    If you take nothing else from this post, remember: whether it's daily life, traumatic events, or the big questions of life, there are things that religious people go to their deities for time and time again. For example, even if no deity specializes in childbirth, expectant parents will still pray for safe childbirth and a healthy child. Keep this in mind when designing a pantheon or a religion for your game or book.

    I researched real-world religions and created a list of portfolios associated with deities. Some portfolios had to be split, for example, “cthonic” generally splits into earth and death. If this were a more scholarly list, I probably would have done things differently. As you build or review your list of deities, consider: do you have someone for people to look to when it comes to these portfolios?

    These portfolios are separated into three groups: The Big Seven, The Notable Seven, and the Seven Tertiaries. They are also listed in the order of how frequently the portfolio is associated with a deity.

THE BIG SEVEN

    The Big Seven (Sky, Childbirth, Fertility, Agriculture, Death, Sun, War) are the seven most common portfolios. They exist in nearly every pantheon. They are often the primary or only portfolio of a major deity.

SKY

Example deities: Nuit, Odin, Thor, Zeus

    Sky also covers air, wind, and storms. These inclusions helped put sky in the top spot. However, since nearly every mythos includes a sky deity, it's appropriate for this one to be high on the list. Sky deities often have a prominent place in the pantheon, and are often a parent deity with earth.

CHILDBIRTH

Example Deities: Bes, Diana, Frigg, Juno, Meskhenet, Terra

    If you think about it, it’s not surprising to see childbirth high on the list. Childbirth is a time when things can go very well or very bad, even in modern times. As linked as it is to happiness, social status, and the survival of the species, childbirth often has several deities in a pantheon watching over different aspects of the process.

FERTILITY

Example Deities: Amun, Brigid, Demeter, Freyr, Isis

    Another category in which a pantheon is likely to have several entrants, fertility can cover many things - a bountiful harvest, many children, or healthy domesticated animals. Fertility is related to survival, reproduction, and success, so is an understandably important portfolio.

AGRICULTURE

Example Deities: Demeter, Jarilo, Osiris

    Often associated with fertility, but also a separate thing, are agricultural deities. They are often associated with cycles of birth, death, and rebirth (Osiris), or more directly as a deity of the season (Demeter). The benefits of a good crop season are obvious, and the difficulties of a bad crop season can be devastating.

DEATH

Example Deities: Hades, Hel, Osiris

    It's no surprise that people turn to gods when it comes to death. Attempts to defeat death have been the subject of great works of literature, from Gilgamesh to Frankenstein. But death has historically been such a terrifying subject that people who overcame it were to be feared (Dracula) or held in awe (Hercules). As death has become less pressing and less terrifying, people who have overcome it...well, let’s just say they’re less terrifying. (*Cough*Angel*Cough*Edward*Cough*) 

SUN

Example Deities: Dazbog, Helios, Sol, Ra

    The sun is a source of both life and death. It simply cannot be ignored. We see and deal with it daily, barring thick clouds, extreme weather, or London fog. Deities of sun can be male or female and are often near the head of the pantheon without being in charge.

WAR

Example Deities: Ares, Athena, Horus, Kali, Set, Thor, Tyr

    Some might have expected war to be high on the list. After all, it deals with death and victory, and most pantheons have multiple war deities (E.g., Ares and Athena). Some pantheons seem to be built around battle (E.g., the Norse Pantheon). However, when you look at the portfolios that score higher, you can see how they would occur more in most people's lives.

THE NOTABLE SEVEN

    The Notable Seven (Earth, Moon, Water, Love, Motherhood, Knowledge, Creation) occur less often and are typically present in association with other portfolios or deities less central to the pantheon. Some of them may occur with major deities in one pantheon while playing lesser roles in others.

EARTH

Example Deities: Aranyani, Gaia, Veles, Zeme

    Earth deities may be the personification of the earth, deities of nature, or deities of death. They often have secondary portfolios such as fertility, wealth, and mountains. These secondary portfolios make sense: people are buried when they die, and many sources of wealth come from the ground: gems, metals, and crops, for example.

MOON

Example Deities: Artemis, Jarilo, Selene

    Deities of the moon often have a close relationship to a deity of the sun. It may be romantic, familial, or adversarial. As with solar deities, lunar deities may be male or female. Deities of the moon are commonly also deities of water, hunting, or magic.

WATER

Example Deities: Enki, Poseidon, Tiamat, Veles

    In some mythologies, one or two deities cover the entire water portfolio. Others separate lakes from rivers or salt water from fresh water. A deity of water may also be one of travel and trade, or of storms and chaos.

LOVE

Example Deities: Aphrodite, Bastet, Cupid. Freyja, Hera, Siebog

    The gods of love are many and varied. This portfolio may cover familial or romantic love; it may be obsession or passion. They may be deities of family and home or someone who cloaks secret love. In a small pantheon, the love portfolio could easily be split and attached to deities with other portfolios, such as moon, fertility, and childbirth.

MOTHERHOOD

Example Deities: Akna, Hathor, Hera, Rhea, Terra

    Great mother deities are often married to the head of their pantheon, even if the head shows himself to be a terrible husband. (I’m looking at you, Zeus.) Some deities are defined primarily as mothers, but many mother deities also have portfolios that include love, fertility, or childbirth.

KNOWLEDGE

Example Deities: Athena, Hermes, Ogma, Quetzalcoatl, Thoth

    Deities of knowledge are often credited with inventing or mastering, writing, astrology, and magic. They may be advisors to greater deities, or work more independently. If the society has a legendary library, the deity of knowledge may be the keeper of said library

CREATION

Example Deities: Athena, Enki, Ra, Ptah, Quetzalcoatl

    The creation portfolio is really two separate portfolios: the creation of the world, and crafts or smithing. That’s important to keep in mind when writing up a pantheon. However, when creating a pantheon for RPGs, it’s reasonable to have them in the same “Creation” portfolio.

THE SEVEN TERTIARIES

   The Seven Tertiaries (Fire, Trade, Magic, Youth, Medicine, Fate, Winter) occur less frequently than the Big and Notable Sevens. Some are rare enough that, if they were not common portfolios for roleplaying games, I might have left them off the list entirely.  

FIRE

Example Deities: Brigid, Hephaestus, Hestia, Perun, Svarog

    A fire deity might be a deity of smithing, of the hearth at home, or of divine fire. A deity with the fire domain might not even emphasize fire; it could be simply an expression of their personality or ability.

TRADE

Example Deities: Hermes, Minerva, Veles

    Deities of trade are not the most powerful of deities nor are they near the head of the pantheon. Indeed, they are more likely to appeal to a specific subset of people: merchants. Unless a Trade deity has other domains, they are likely to be a very minor god or goddess.

MAGIC

Example Deities: Apollo, Hecate, Hermes, Isis, Odin, Thoth

    Deities all have supernatural powers, but some are specifically associated with magic. Sometimes it is because they cast spells, other times because they grant or teach spellcasting. They are often also gods of knowledge or writing. They are often high in their pantheon, such as Isis, Odin, and Thoth. However, they may also be pushed to the edge of the pantheon or minimalized.

YOUTH

Example Deities: Hebe, Iounn (the Norse Goddess, not the D&D god)

    A deity of youth may be associated with beauty, adventure, and innocence. They may also have a relationship with another deity, such as one with the Mother portfolio.

MEDICINE

Example Deities: Apollo, Hermes, Panacea, Sekhmet

    This entry makes me think that, perhaps, I should recount these portfolios; most pantheons have at least one deity of health and/or medicine. There are even a few deities for which health, healing, and medicine are the primary portfolio. Still, it seems medicine was outweighed by the sheer number of other portfolios.

FATE

Example: The Greek Fates, Ishtar

    Deities are more often subject to fate than they are the dispensers of it. However, in a game or book which employs luck or fortune-telling, a deity of fate could play a central role.

WINTER

Example Deities: Skadi, Stribog

    Deities of winter are also associated with cold, snow, and ice. They may be gods of death, or they may be generous deities associated with gift-giving and winter festivals.

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    There they are, 21 deity portfolios for designing a pantheon for your RPG or fantasy world. How do you feel about this list? Are there other portfolios that should be included?