Re: Polygot Faiths & Planar Churches (Was: HeroSpace and Planar Churches)

> I'm afraid you are also incorrect about Planar Churches. And have
> also written something
> that is either a typo or wrong about the Polygots. I think it is
> worth looking at the
> original source material here.

"Pantheonic god" is a typo on my part.  A careful reading will show I
meant pantheonic cleric (I'd allow shamans, crusaders, mystics, and
monks as well, at least for some pantheons).  Thank you for catching
that. :)

> This can be compared with what the Concordance has to say about the
> Planar Churches on
> page 24:
>
> *****************
> PLANAR CHURCHES:
>
> A fractious merging of both the Path and the Polygots, the planar
> priests respect and
> venerate *all* the powers of a particular inner or outer plane. A
> planar priest venerates
> the Seven Heavens and *all* the Powers within regardless of
> portfolio, position, or
> attributes. A planar priest of Arvandor/Olympus would venerate both
> the Greek and elvish
> mythoi which live in that plane.
> *****************
>
> The *stress* in the above quotes is TSRs, not mine.
>
> As you can see from this your statement that a planar cleric "serves
> no deity/ies" is
> wrong. The planar cleric serves *all* the gods on one inner or outer
> plane.
>
> Both these clerics do the same thing: worship more than one god
> (something that is
> normally taboo in a groundling campaign). The difference between them
> is their "shopping
> list" of gods. The planar cleric looks at who lives in his chosen
> plane and prays to them
> and the polygot priest picks a pantheon from a culture they like and
> prays to them.

To catch your typo, that's "both these *types* of clerics", there are
more than one of each, after all.  I don't disagree that that is what
TSR wrote, I disagree that it makes sense.  Why would a Sumerian god
grant spells to a...dwarf (the Sumerian pantheon is clearly noted as
not allowing its priests to interact with nonhumans, see 1st Ed Legends
and Lore)?  Why would an elven god grant spells to a dwarf?  or a
half-orc?  In short, TSR's definition is pure ignorance based upon all
their other portayal of the gods.  The pantheonic cleric watches over
servants of an entire pantheon, which is linked to race and the joint
motives of the pantheon.  The motives of the powers of the Abyss (say
Orcus and Kiaransalee and Lolth, all Abyssal powers who are at odds
with each other) are entirely different.  Is Lolth going to grant
spells to gnolls warring with drow who worship her by name?  Not a
blooming chance in any of the lower planes.  Also, many planes have
gods of different alignments and cross purposes on the same plane
because some pantheons dwell together.  Will a LE goddess of the Greeks
grant spells to some pathetic CG elf?  I doubt it.  It makes far more
sense that the ideals of the plane itself are what's venerated and that
that's how the power is gained (much like 3e druids can "worship
nature" and paladins can "serve LG" without having a deity).  It's then
up to the DM if the planar priest actually gains any spells from some
god/god-level power on the plane or manages to access the plane
directly (just as the powers of a demon derive directly from the Abyss
itself without intervening powers/deities).



>
> Because both of these clerics (and clerics of The Path and The Way)
> serve multiple gods
> they are able to regain spells (above 2nd level) in any sphere where
> at least *one* of the
> gods they worship is also worshiped by the locals. However, in a
> sphere where none of
> their gods is present they are as helpless as a normal (single god)
> cleric who's deity
> doesn't live there. Both of them would have to cast a Contact Home
> Power (once a week) to
> gain spells above 2nd level.
>
> I've posted more about this (but without the Concordance quotes
> above) in another email.
> For more information about both of these faiths I would recommend
> looking at Legends and
> Lore (where you can see several pantheons) and the Manual of the
> Planes (where you can see
> which gods live on which planes).
>
> Alternatively you could put your feet up and wait for me to finish my
> research on this!
>
> ;-)
>
> David "Big Mac" Shepheard
>
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