So, when people start getting together into villages and cities, building civilization and whatnot, one finds that there are tons of people running around with extra magic that they can't use, or at least can't use safely. What's more, there's a bunch of dangerous monsters that want to kill everyone. What's a village to do?
They make a god. They pool all their magic together, and they give it somehow to a magical creature that they found or made. Now their magic is in the hands of something that knows how to use it. Even better, they never have to risk doom using it themselves. Even betterer, they might've gotten one of those dangerous monsters that want to kill everyone on their side. Efficient!
It's risky of course. If you make a god, he might turn on you. A magic-rich creature like that might also lure in worse monsters. But there are safeguards. The humans could refuse to tribute their magic. Even a really bloodthirsty monster might not want to eat his power base (See: Demon Cults). Sometimes the ritual for offering magic also includes an effect making the monster more intelligent and humane, at least towards his villagers.
The god would probably use the magic he's given in a way that fits with his own nature. A dryad probably would be more inclined to miracles of fertility than hitting foes with a fireball, for instance. The god could probably give some magic back to the people in a more directed form as priestly spells. He could also probably deputize other minor gods, giving them magic just as he was given magic.
(Replace magic with food and money, monsters with bandits, and priests with lords, and gods with kings and you have a pretty good description of how palace economies are made)
(Of course, you could also use a wizard instead of a monster. Results vary.)
(One can make a fun analogy of monster-god:wizard-god::regular-king:philosopher-king. Insert that Lewis quote about Robber Barons and Omnipotent Moral Busybodies.)
(See my Previous Post for more cult ideas)
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| Angelarium |
Example: Virs, The Serpent of Usan
Usan was a small village in an area plagued by demons. They were reasonable in number, but desperate for protection. Luckily, like many other villages, they knew a rite to infuse food with worship. Eating this food would bind a creature to the village and give them the power to serve as gods. Unluckily, all of the magical creatures around were to smart and hateful to accept. However, there was one hope.
An ancient, magical snake of subsapient intelligence and sluggish disposition laired in a cave to the north of the village. It was known to eat humans occasionally, but it was better than the demons who ate humans often. The villagers of Usan brought a whole cow to the mouth of the cave, and ritually slaughtered it, each partaking a small amount and leaving the rest for their (hopefully) soon-to-be god.
It worked. The serpent ate the cow whole and was suffused with the worship and magic of the village. With this power came intelligence, and something rather like gratefulness. Virs, as he was now called, emerged from his cave for the protection of Usan. His sluggishness remained, but he was enough of a deterrent that even without much activity his status as a guardian was secure.
One unintended fact was that, because Virs was basically just an animal with no distinctive powers before, as a god he was able to be rather generalist, granting blessings in war, rain, and fertility with equal power. Being a lazy and moody god, he passed a great deal of power onto priests to carry out miracles for him.
Virs, the Serpent God has stats as a Basilisk with 6 MD, or 10 MD when not supporting priests. He can shapechange into a human. He knows the spells Control Rain, Mighty Thews, Serpents of the Earth, Scorching Ray, Stoneskin, Extract Venom, Cure Wounds, and Monsterize. His priests each know 1-3 of these spells and have 1-2 MD.
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| This has been my advertisement for having villages worship dragons and ghosts |
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