Author Topic: Fleshing Out the Tortle Pantheon  (Read 2926 times)

Offline Maat Mons

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Fleshing Out the Tortle Pantheon
« on: October 02, 2013, 07:34:42 PM »
Heres what Dragon magazine had to say about tortle religion. 
Quote
Tortles are spiritual creatures. They worship Mother Ocean. the protector; Father Earth, the life-bringer; Brother Shell, the warrior; and Sister Grain. the patron of farmers and fertility. The typical tortle hut contains a seashell shrine dedicated to at least one of these deities.

DeityDomains
Mother OceanGood, Healing, Protection, Water
Father EarthAnimal, Earth, Good, Strength
Brother ShellDestruction, Fire, War
Sister GrainAir, Plant, Sun

Here's what 2e had to say about tortle religion. 
Quote
Tortle families are unusual, since parents do not live long enough to raise their children. Thus, a tortle family might consist of a small number of adult tortles and a number of their nieces and nephews of varying ages. The "family" is usually very close. Tortles never refer to fathers or mothers, except in reference to the Immortals, including Mother Ocean (Calitha, their protector) and Father Earth (Ka, the bringer of life). Within the last century, most tortles have added two more Immortals to their pantheon, both adopted from the lupins and considered the children of Mother Ocean and Father Earth: Brother Shell (Matin), the protector of families, and Sister Grain (Ralon), the patron of farmers and the bringer of food.

Favored Weapons:
Brother Shell's war domain doesn't work very well with no favored weapon defined.  And really, all deities are supposed to have a favored weapon anyway.  Dragon magazine described tortles as preferring tridents.  2e described tortles as preferring short bows, staves, long swords, and flails. 

Trident seems fitting for mother Ocean, what with water and all.  Short bow seems fitting for Father Earth, since Dragon pegs him as associated with animals, so a hunting implement suits him.  Longsword seems fitting for Brother Shell, since Dragon pegs him as associated with war, and swords are very iconic of battle.  Flail seems to suit Sister Grain, since it is literally a tool for harvesting grain. 

Of course, I wouldn't need to stick with weapons mentioned in earlier versions.  Any better choices? 

Domains:
I'd like to add domains from other sources as options, but I'd also like to revise the existing domains. 

I like how they gave each deity one of the elements, air, earth, fire, and water.  I'd like to keep that. 

I don't get why Dragon gave the healing domain to Mother Ocean when Father Earth "the bringer of life."  I know that water has been associated with healing, but it's not as strongly associated as life is.  Do you think this may have just been stereotyping?  If I move the various healing-related domains over to Father Earth, what should Mother Oceans domains be? 

Given he's called "protector of families," it seems like brother shell should have the family domain.  Should he also have community, or would that be more the province of Mother Ocean with he focus on tortles as a whole? 

Would feast be a good domain for Sister Grain?  Renewal could fit if she had a bit of a springtime theme, but would that be horning in on Father Earths territory?  Also, wouldn't fall be a better match for grain? 

What other domains should these guys have. 

Alignments:
What alignments should the deities be?  Dragon gave the good domain to two of them, but is goodness really such an integral part of their concept?  Do turtles seem like lawful sorts or neutral? 
« Last Edit: October 02, 2013, 07:36:38 PM by Maat Mons »

Offline bhu

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Re: Fleshing Out the Tortle Pantheon
« Reply #1 on: October 02, 2013, 08:25:15 PM »
Tortles go back to 1e or before I think.  Lemme see if I can find anything.

Edit: Creature catalog says they don't swim but can hold their breath for some time, prefer hose drawn wagons fro travel, and do not wear armor.  They rely on light crossbows for fighting.  No mention of religion, but I'd bet on Ka the Preserver.

Mystara suggests they prefer ranged weapons such as a short bow or light crossbow, and two handed melee weapons such as a greatsword or polearm. 

Both suggest they have strong ties to community, so as a Domain it goes quite well with their fluff.