Lore Question: Gods of the Undead?

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Skibbles
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Lore Question: Gods of the Undead?

Post by Skibbles » Sat Sep 04, 2021 6:04 am

It seems like just about every race, subrace, element, outsider, and inanimate object has a divine representative of some kind, but I can't quite seem to find a Diety that represents the 'Undead' in general.

So the Question is: Is there a God(dess) that represents all Undead? As in that is the core part of the portfolio. As in Corelon Larethian represents all elves but for Undead instead.

I don't own any books, magazines, etc, and the peril of Google pulls up all sorts of different editions and whatnot that muddies up the water when trying to figure this stuff out.

I am hemming and hawing about so many deities who seem to get close to the idea, like Velsharoon, but they always seem to be centered on mortal perceptions of undeath, such as the pursuit or control of it, rather than representing it generally.

Any insight is helpful!
Irongron wrote: [...] the super-secret Arelith development roadmap is a post apocalyptic wasteland populated with competing tribes of hand-bombard wielding techno-giants, and strewn with the bones of long dead elves.

So we're very much on track.

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Re: Lore Question: Gods of the Undead?

Post by Exordius » Sat Sep 04, 2021 6:11 am

Closest would probably be Orcus but he is not a god... or at least not yet.

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Re: Lore Question: Gods of the Undead?

Post by Tyrantos » Sat Sep 04, 2021 7:04 am

Velsharoon mights still fitting, depending how you decide to interpret his dogma? I know Myrkul was kinda.. A god of undeath and death before, if Im not wrong. Or there is Orcus. But he is a demonlord, not a god really.

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Re: Lore Question: Gods of the Undead?

Post by fading » Sat Sep 04, 2021 8:05 am

All your options tend to be pretty specific in some way or another, whether it's an aspect of undeath (Velsharoon for necromancy/liches) or a racial deity. Shargaas is the orc deity of darkness, thievery and undeath, Kiaransalee is the drow goddess of revenge and undeath.

As people mentioned, Orcus tends to embody undeath, in a wider sense, but he's not a deity. Still, a very fitting option for worship, if that's what you were looking for?

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Re: Lore Question: Gods of the Undead?

Post by Skibbles » Sat Sep 04, 2021 8:20 am

I'm not really looking for anything in particular but trying to broaden my understanding surrounding it all for a project I'm mulling over IG, and these answers were helpful!

I didn't know about Orcus but this is very helpful and applicable as I realize I wasn't looking for dieties specifically but bigly powers more like.

Myrkul was mentioned, and something I found online, but I think they're not a power in Arelith?
Irongron wrote: [...] the super-secret Arelith development roadmap is a post apocalyptic wasteland populated with competing tribes of hand-bombard wielding techno-giants, and strewn with the bones of long dead elves.

So we're very much on track.

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Re: Lore Question: Gods of the Undead?

Post by fading » Sat Sep 04, 2021 8:54 am

Myrkul isn't mechanically supported, but you can still worship him just fine. He is very much dead, so I dunno how a cleric would work, if at all, maybe Cyric pretending to be Myrkul. I don't know how acceptable that is. If you're not looking for a cleric, then a jaded faithful of Myrkul, still holding on to some stupid hope, might be kinda cool.

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Re: Lore Question: Gods of the Undead?

Post by Skibbles » Sat Sep 04, 2021 9:29 am

fading wrote:
Sat Sep 04, 2021 8:54 am
Myrkul isn't mechanically supported, but you can still worship him just fine. He is very much dead, so I dunno how a cleric would work, if at all, maybe Cyric pretending to be Myrkul. I don't know how acceptable that is. If you're not looking for a cleric, then a jaded faithful of Myrkul, still holding on to some stupid hope, might be kinda cool.
I'm interested in following up on this, insofar as delusional Myrkul worship goes. Last I checked I think it's 'okay' to RP this provided one accepts the ramifications of being considered delusional IG.

Would you happen to know a good place to read accurately about Myrkul? Would the FR wiki work as long as I just ignore the part where he's still alive?

I had a page bookmarked from a thread a while ago for this stuff but it seems the website is down.
Irongron wrote: [...] the super-secret Arelith development roadmap is a post apocalyptic wasteland populated with competing tribes of hand-bombard wielding techno-giants, and strewn with the bones of long dead elves.

So we're very much on track.

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Re: Lore Question: Gods of the Undead?

Post by Nitro » Sat Sep 04, 2021 9:41 am

There are extremely few sentient undead that are even capable of active worship, and those that are capable of it often don't, liches and vampires and the like tend to be rather self-centered. So it stands to reason why there isn't a general broad-sweeping "God of the undead" lying around somewhere, there just aren't enough undead worshippers to sustain their divinity unless they branch out with other portfolio, like velsharoon with necromancy.

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Re: Lore Question: Gods of the Undead?

Post by Skibbles » Sat Sep 04, 2021 9:56 am

Oooh that's a bit of a lynchpin that I totally forgot about. That makes a ton of sense.
Irongron wrote: [...] the super-secret Arelith development roadmap is a post apocalyptic wasteland populated with competing tribes of hand-bombard wielding techno-giants, and strewn with the bones of long dead elves.

So we're very much on track.

fading
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Re: Lore Question: Gods of the Undead?

Post by fading » Sat Sep 04, 2021 10:42 am

Skibbles wrote:
Sat Sep 04, 2021 9:29 am
fading wrote:
Sat Sep 04, 2021 8:54 am
Myrkul isn't mechanically supported, but you can still worship him just fine. He is very much dead, so I dunno how a cleric would work, if at all, maybe Cyric pretending to be Myrkul. I don't know how acceptable that is. If you're not looking for a cleric, then a jaded faithful of Myrkul, still holding on to some stupid hope, might be kinda cool.
I'm interested in following up on this, insofar as delusional Myrkul worship goes. Last I checked I think it's 'okay' to RP this provided one accepts the ramifications of being considered delusional IG.

Would you happen to know a good place to read accurately about Myrkul? Would the FR wiki work as long as I just ignore the part where he's still alive?

I had a page bookmarked from a thread a while ago for this stuff but it seems the website is down.
Faiths and Avatars has a section on Myrkul. The book itself is the most extensive source of information on the main deities and their churches, I find it very useful for cleric characters. It's 2nd edition, however, most of the information doesn't contradict 3rd edition canon.

If you can't find a copy of the book, give me a message and I'll help you out.

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Re: Lore Question: Gods of the Undead?

Post by Itikar » Sat Sep 04, 2021 3:30 pm

There are also the generic D&d deities Mellifleur and Kanchelsis, who are focused on liches and vampires respectively. I don't think they are mechanically implemented, but as they are not tied to a specific setting they can reasonably be known in many of them.

And then there is, while not strictly a deity, Orcus. He might be slighty problematic for Lawful characters though.

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Re: Lore Question: Gods of the Undead?

Post by Flower Power » Fri Sep 10, 2021 8:11 am

Myrkul, religiously, isn't especially linked to undeath. He's the old God of the Dead, and he's definitely more chill w/necromancy than Kelemvor is, but his portfolio doesn't include Undeath at all in any way, shape or form. He's just a god of Death & the Dead that happens to be chill with necromancers and animation.

Velsharoon, similarly, isn't often strictly billed as the God of Undeath (although he possesses the Portfolio of Undeath in the Realms' main pantheon,) but of Necromancy - it's a pedantic distinction, but it's there. If you're looking for a God of Undeath, though, he's the closest you're going to get.

Orcus, while just a Power and not a God, fits the bill the best, though. He doesn't dilly-dally around with fancy distinctions about this and that, about being really focused more on necromancy than its outcomes or on specifically being the keeper of the dead - he just wants to end all life and replace it with an undead mockery of itself.
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