Lore for my next game(Help needed)

[LAYF]

Hay guys, So Im planning for a game Im going to make (much) later. And It need a lot of planning. Some of the planning is lore, And for some of it I need some help.

What I need is the names of Good and Bad sites and/or characters in religion..
Lets say Christianity have the heavenly host and the armies of hell, they have Michael and Asmodeus, and they have the prophet and the false prophet.. Now, Im not sure on any of this, its just quick net search for now.

So how and why do I need your help?

Well, properly in may ways... But for now...

IÔÇÖd love if you guys would be so kind as to tell me about the name and characteristics of ÔÇ£sidesÔÇØ, ÔÇ£personsÔÇØ or ÔÇ£HappeningsÔÇØ in religion you know of. So that I can use that lore. Say:

Yama:
Hinduism
Neitehr good or bad.
lord of death. In some interpretations of Hindu sacred texts, regarded as the first mortal to die, and chart his way to heaven. Depicted in classical Hindu icons as a large man astride an enormous black buffalo, carrying a coil of rope. He is accompanied by a pair of tremendous hounds, with four eyes, and gaping nostrils. He is considered, in Hindu consciousness to be the harbinger of death, as well as the companion who guides the soul to its ultimate destination


Samael
Christianity
Evil(But part of the heavenly host)
king of the wicked, Evil Archangel of death. Is both a seducer and a destroyer.



That kind of thing.. Would any of you help me?

So.. Yea this will be your chance to affect one of my coming games.
I do not care what religion the good/bad things come from but I need it.

Ill also use this Thread if I need other things later Thanks in advance guys

[M0rtimer]

Moved as requested.

[LAYF]

Thanks

[WearsHats]

Hmm. loggia.com seems to have disappeared, but does pantheon.org give you what you need?

[LAYF]

Nice link.. It sure gives me alot of info to work with... Thank you

[ThroughTheWell]

I have an opinion. If you don't know religions well enough, you will get some things wrong and offend some people. If, OTOH, you are going to make stuff up (being wrong), you might as well go whole hog and NOT use the names that do mean things to people. Make up your stuff from scratch. It will be better for not obviously borrowing.

[LAYF]

Hmm... That is true... I'll have to give that thought...

[Zambee]

There's a list of numerous Gods from all over the world and History by name, although that's just about all the info supplied about them http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Gods_Chris ... believe_in
MOst of those names aren't linked to other pages but for those you'd just need to google them for decent info.

Otherwise, there's a link to a WIki article that lists Deities here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_deities that you can follow to look for names of Gods and such by like classification and Cultural sphere.

[Arydra]

Do you only want actual historic gods or would some created ones do? Because I have a few gods I have formulated for DnD that I could give you.

[LAYF]

Fictional is just as good if not better

[LAYF]

Hay all, I just wanted to give you a small sample of what this game is really about.
So.. IÔÇÖve read up on a big pile of religious stuff, taking it, molted it, changed it and then taken some things from it again, so if you find passages from or things that reminds you of other religions, please donÔÇÖt take offend, it is all meant as a game.
You├©ll be able to find a PDF HERE which contains some information on stats, an introduction and a quick sample of how the supernatural powers work in this game.

Now, if you donÔÇÖt want to open a PDF, or cannot read the Introduction text (itÔÇÖs in a different font) IÔÇÖve copied the Introduction into the spoiler below.

What IÔÇÖd love is for people to come with input, ideas and such. So that I/we can make a game with a rich lore and many possibilities. Any ways... Hope you enjoy the read.

Best regards -LAYF-

► Show Spoiler

Introduction.


Good, Evil! Hell, heaven! Angels and Devils!
These are human words, human labels! Before humans there were no good and evil, heaven and hell was just two sides of the same, and angels and Devils walked side by side, trying to do their best to guard the world made by and for them.
Then came man, and then came cruelty and love, inventions and destruction, war and please, all concepts that had never crossed our minds.

Hate and fear!
It was hate and fear that ignited the first fires, the first kills, and the first war to ever have been between the devoted.

And it all happened so fast.
Some of us, angels and Devils, started to slip into the minds of humans, telling stories of worlds greater than that of earth, about the forges in hell, the palaces of heaven, for we all knew, that the devotion of humans, could strengthen us greatly.
But the human mind did not understand!
And so man made his own twisted version of our visions, creating names and labels for the beings they had seen in their minds eye.
And so we watched, bathed in the power that came from the human prayers, but along with the power came the feelings of men;

Hate and fear!
Greed, fear, love, corruption!
And still we watched! The feelings growing inside us, without us understanding them, without us wanting to understand them!

And it all happened so fast!
One man sailed across a great ocean, and on the other side he met a man like him! Like him but different! For this manÔÇÖs labels and visions of us was different from the first mans, and they drew weapons!
Just as the first red drop was cut from the skin of the first man, yet before it had hit the dry ground, angels and Devils of hell stormed to earth, ready to fight for the power they felt was theirs, and the angels and Devils of heaven responded, for the first time ever, the devoted fought each other. Son slain by father, brother by brother, sister by sister!

Hate and fear!
We donÔÇÖt know who did it! We donÔÇÖt even know how, but suddenly a great rumble was heard from the skies and the earth, then the crackle of lightning and then sun went red, then black, seas flooded much of earth, and men was nearly destroyed, and all angels and Devils retreated back to heaven and hell!
A great meeting was held, and we all agreed to newer interfere with humans again, only stand back, watching, enjoy the power that came from their prayers when directed at us, ignoring that witch was directed at others.
And so we did, for a long time we did, but jealousy and greed had struck our hearths, and one day, someone betrayed the pact was broken, this time, not only had thoughts, ideas and visions been planted in the minds of men, but power two, the power to create, to change and to destroy.

And it all happened so fast.
Seeing the power this man gathered for only a select few of us, others did the same, religion was born, and so was the war it brings!
Even in heaven and hell, the Angels and Devils of various groups began to battle each other! Soon the earth felt the effect of the celestial war, blood rained from the skies, swarms of insects prayed on the land, and children of men died without a cause.
A great rumble, greater than that of the flood sounded, and heaven was broken, more than two thirds of all angels and devils fell towards the earth, half of these landed in the world of men, the other half continued to fall all the way to hell, and where they landed, hell as heaven broke into many layers!

Hate and fear!
That is the emotion that all of us, trapped on earth feels, for we know not of the state of our brothers and sisters in hell and heaven! Do they still exist? Do they still wage war? Is there even any hell and heaven left?
We do not know, all we do now is walk the earth, banded together in small groups, guided by few laws and even fewer morals we walk.
We walk and pray upon the devotion of men, we try to fit into their world, we try to find a way home! Any yet, we still fight each other!

And it all happened so fast!

[gamecreator]

You mixed up intelligence and wisdom.

[SamWiser]

This won't affect the game that much, but you didn't capitalize Heaven and Angel. The main reason I am mentioning it is that you capitalized Hell and Devil, so the others should be too. It was one of those things, I kept seeing it, and it bothered me. Took me out of the reading.

[ThroughTheWell]

You do have a couple of misspellings, but you probably suspected as much.

Also, your scheme could be summarized:
1, good and evil were together.
2, there are 6 kinds of outsiders: angels and demons in 3 disconnected realms: heaven, hell, and this place.
3, they feed off of prayer.
4, men now have power.

1 is problematic. I'd probably cut it entirely, particularly since it seems mostly backstory.

[LAYF]

You do have a couple of misspellings, but you probably suspected as much.

Also, your scheme could be summarized:
1, good and evil were together.
2, there are 6 kinds of outsiders: angels and demons in 3 disconnected realms: heaven, hell, and this place.
3, they feed off of prayer.
4, men now have power.

1 is problematic. I'd probably cut it entirely, particularly since it seems mostly backstory.

Spelling.. Yea... I Know (or guessed as much) but wont fix this yet... not before i'm more done...

Ah well.. yes, mostly to 2-4... but 1 no.. not exactly....

There were no good and evil, simply two diffrent kind of outsiders with features we as humans now define as angels and devils, they had no consept of good and evil, these were made by man, and trough mans prayers, "infected" angels and devils... devils, who were mostly from hell, got most of teh negative enegies, since man found the "images" of hell's forges and heat to be a place of "evil" and the palaces and light of heaven sounded "good" to man, and so the angels, who were mostly from heaven godt most positive energies...

2. Yes... But only the angels and devils of this realm will be playable.... each grouped into varius "houses" defined by a basic sets of belives and traditions... But players will be able to be a group of mixed angels and devils from varius houses (Think world of darkness here)

3. Prayer, fear, worship and other human emotions directed at them, but mostly those willingly directed at them....

4.Some, few, it was long time ago that men was given this power (It draws inspiration from moses powers in egypt and similar characters through time) but most men are without power, and do not belive in it.. (A little dependend on hte time, as I'll write the setting to fit as bot medieval, renasance and modern i think...)

This won't affect the game that much, but you didn't capitalize Heaven and Angel. The main reason I am mentioning it is that you capitalized Hell and Devil, so the others should be too. It was one of those things, I kept seeing it, and it bothered me. Took me out of the reading.

Will fix that.. they are all supposed to be capitalized... Thanks

You mixed up intelligence and wisdom.

Hmm.. I guess i know what yo mean, but no... Intelligence, is in most cases still and undefined trate, thet even modern scientists disagree on. put in most games it is conected with knowledge.
Wisdom on the other hand has a clear definition: To see past the obvius, to decipher truth from stories and puzzles and see lie's in scheams... so... Nope.. did not mix those up...


Thanks for the quick response all... and sorry if there are even more spelling errors in this than normal... but im on my phone....

[gamecreator]

man found the "images" of hell's forges and heat to be a place of "evil" and the palaces and light of heaven sounded "good" to man

Those hell and heaven seem like technological and ecological society to me.

You mixed up intelligence and wisdom.

Hmm.. I guess i know what yo mean, but no... Intelligence, is in most cases still and undefined trate, thet even modern scientists disagree on. put in most games it is conected with knowledge.
Wisdom on the other hand has a clear definition: To see past the obvius, to decipher truth from stories and puzzles and see lie's in scheams... so... Nope.. did not mix those up...

Huh, I haven't expected languagegaming culture making difference here.

[ThroughTheWell]

1 is STILL problematic. Now, you can handwave and babble it all away, but it does not make sense if you do. Lets take a simple example. A man murders another. Is that evil? The answer is yes, and it is yes whether or not you say 'good and evil were once 2 sides of the same coin' or 'man invented evil. Evil did not really exist before man.' Murder was evil before, and murder remains evil. And if you try to quibble away from that, then all I have to do is amp the example up until you either agree that some things are always evil, or you come off sounding quite depraved yourself.

So ask yourself, do I really need an origin story for evil? Because right now, that origin story, and most any other you wil come up with, will be flawed. I suggested earlier that your 'out' is to ignore 1. Assume evil exist now, as we know it, and have fun populating your world with fantasy monsters. Another 'out' is to avoid the good evil conflict entirely and postulate that the main conflict is on a different axis. Law chaos was well done in the Elric books. I've even seen a funny square versus funk axis.

[gamecreator]

Lets take a simple example. A man murders another. Is that evil? The answer is yes, and it is yes whether or not you say 'good and evil were once 2 sides of the same coin' or 'man invented evil. Evil did not really exist before man.' Murder was evil before, and murder remains evil.

Obvious answer is that murder came with man.

And if you try to quibble away from that, then all I have to do is amp the example up until you either agree that some things are always evil, or you come off sounding quite depraved yourself.

Let's go to Controversy? Or, at least, PM.

Assume evil exist now, as we know it

Isn't this implied by introduction?

[LAYF]

1 is STILL problematic. Now, you can handwave and babble it all away, but it does not make sense if you do. Lets take a simple example. A man murders another. Is that evil? The answer is yes, and it is yes whether or not you say 'good and evil were once 2 sides of the same coin' or 'man invented evil. Evil did not really exist before man.' Murder was evil before, and murder remains evil. And if you try to quibble away from that, then all I have to do is amp the example up until you either agree that some things are always evil, or you come off sounding quite depraved yourself.

So ask yourself, do I really need an origin story for evil? Because right now, that origin story, and most any other you wil come up with, will be flawed. I suggested earlier that your 'out' is to ignore 1. Assume evil exist now, as we know it, and have fun populating your world with fantasy monsters. Another 'out' is to avoid the good evil conflict entirely and postulate that the main conflict is on a different axis. Law chaos was well done in the Elric books. I've even seen a funny square versus funk axis.

Sorry--- but... I cannot agree with you... A wolf killing a hare, or even anorther wolf in the battel for dominance is not evil, it is simply an animal. In this world, Angels and devils did not, at any time even battled each other before humans came around, Hell and heaven was two diffrent sides of one great world, hell a "forge" wher ethings were created and changed. heaven a "place" where ideas and rules were made.. .but nothing was evil or good...

Today (in game) Evil and good truely exists, and fight each other violently.. evils numbers are greates amon devils and in hell, as well as good has most soldiers among heaven and angels.. but good devils exists in hell, and evil angels exists in heaven... and both on earth... because the ideas of men has "infected" angels and devils... and since most humans (but not all) finds the images of a devil and hell to be evil, hell and devils are mostly evil, and most humans finds the visage of angels and heaven good, and thus, most angels and heaven is good.... but not all...

Lets take a simple example. A man murders another. Is that evil? The answer is yes, and it is yes whether or not you say 'good and evil were once 2 sides of the same coin' or 'man invented evil. Evil did not really exist before man.' Murder was evil before, and murder remains evil.

Obvious answer is that murder came with man.

And if you try to quibble away from that, then all I have to do is amp the example up until you either agree that some things are always evil, or you come off sounding quite depraved yourself.

Let's go to Controversy? Or, at least, PM.

Assume evil exist now, as we know it

Isn't this implied by introduction?

Thanks GC.. and in most sittuations I'd agree with you that this belongs in hte controvercy forum.. but... Its nice to have here... as it can be used in the game that i desing.... but I agree with you.. and if the Admins (or game mods) want it moved to controvercy.. I'll take it there... but until then.. I'll accep arguments for both here...

[ThroughTheWell]

PM sent. You will probably disagree with me. I think it is time for me to go. Have fun telling another story. I look forward to continuing to read your other works.

[LooksAndSmiles]

Erm, LAYF, have you ever read the webcomic called "Avengelyne" ? I didn't read through your documents but this heaven and hell fight reminded me of the first impression I got from this thread.

[LAYF]

Erm, LAYF, have you ever read the webcomic called "Avengelyne" ? I didn't read through your documents but this heaven and hell fight reminded me of the first impression I got from this thread.

Nope.. but I'll look it up

[WhirdCheese]

Do you take homebrew for this. Cause my group came up with a god that's been a major player in most of our Pantheons. I'll post it here if you like.

[LAYF]

Sure the more the better....