I’m continuing my series of presenting ideas for deities for use in creating RPG worlds – original deities whose nature contains some sort of hook, plot twist or ambiguity around which the adventure and dilemmas of the player characters can be built. Here is a link to the first part: https://adeptusrpg.wordpress.com/2022/09/22/twisted-gods-vol-english-version-of-pokretni-bogowie/
Sufferer
The Sufferer is a very compassionate god. The epitome of empathy. Many people would consider this a good thing… The problem is that the Sufferer is also an extreme, absolute masochist. Not that human suffering is his food or source of power. He doesn’t inflict pain on people to make them obey him. Simply put, experiencing human suffering gives him immense pleasure.
Much of his worship resembles the realization of the „ideals” of medieval ascetics. Self-flagellation, hair-raising, fasting, kneeling or lying cross-legged for hours. This is done by the followers themselves. Of course, all offenses are punished corporally – often by a long and painful death (one can draw on humanity’s rich heritage of torture), but also by mutilation, whipping or dybes. Unlike in medieval Europe, there is a lack of hypocrisy towards executioners – they are not pariahs and „necessary evils,” but saintly, respected priests. The Sufferer shows mercy to those who inflict pain on themselves and others – he protects them from the negative effects of old age and disease – other than pain, of course. As a follower of the Sufferer you will live a long and painful life – he does not care about human death, on the contrary, after all, as long as you live, you suffer. That’s why, in addition to torture rooms, clerics also run hospitals – of course, all procedures are carried out without anesthesia. Priests may (consciously or not) mask the true nature of their god. They may explain the necessity of human suffering, for example, as a form of atonement for sins or a training in endurance and strong willpower needed to face evil (which may be, for example, the god of doom described below). But there may also be cults that know the true nature of the Sufferer, such as sects organizing clandestine orgies that have more in common with BDSM than asceticism, or hordes of psychopathic sadists subjecting entire settlements to torture and rejecting any semblance of „penance for sins.”
The sufferer may be served by some kind of angels – reminiscent, for example, of the cenobites from Hellraiser. In addition to simply prolonging life, it can also offer other blessings – such as mutations that increase the strength of followers – at the price, of course, of incessant, excruciating pain to the enhanced body parts.
What is the twist and originality of this deity? After all, this is not the first god of pain in dark fantasy. Well, as above – being the god of suffering, he is also the god of life, the enemy of death. His opponent may be the god of annihilation – a merciful genocidal, wishing to exterminate the living in order to liberate them from pain – both that caused by the Sufferer and the ordinary, inherent part of life. Hosts of howling in pain, covered with scars and piercings fanatics vs legions of silent undead. If the main conflict that defines the world is not good vs. evil, or even order vs. chaos, but suffering vs. annihilation, we’re dealing with a truly awful universe. Will the player characters side with life and pain, or death and eternal peace? Or will they kidnap themselves with a hoe to the sun and try to fight the followers of both crazy gods? Will the players believe the followers of the god of doom claiming that the god worshipped by their characters is a sadomasochistic demon, or will they take it as an attempt to confuse their minds by perfidious evil?
Another twist could be the players’ realization that the Sufferer is the one true god of their universe, the god behind all the religions of their world. This includes the fiercely monotheistic ones. After all, inter-religious conflicts multiply suffering. Each religion can contribute to this in its own way. The religion of the god of war or the harsh god of justice provide executioners. The religion of a pacifist goddess-commanding humble acceptance of wrongs-provides victims. Religions averse to the development of magic and technology, calling for „living in harmony with nature,” aim to block solutions that make human life easier. And behind all this is the Sufferer. What will the heroes (especially the more spiritual ones) do when it turns out that the god of their religion is also the prince of demons condemned by that religion? Again – will they believe it?
Great Uniter
This religion looks like an ideal. It promotes „universal human values” that players will probably agree with (and if not, modify its ethos to fit players’ views). Zero pathology. No embarrassing verses in holy books that can be used for a bad cause. Zero fanaticism. Zero corruption among the clergy – any greedy, lying or perverted priest is immediately exposed and denounced by the deity himself. God is actively involved in human life, punishing evil (but without excessive severity, seeking the conversion of sinners rather than their death) and rewarding good.
What’s the catch? Well, god does all this for purely selfish reasons. Yes, the souls of good people will reunite with god after death. Literally. In his stomach. They just taste so much better than the souls of sinners. No, you won’t meet your loved ones or great people after death. You won’t have time to catch up on the pleasures you didn’t have time for while you were alive. You won’t even sing hymns. You will be devoured. When the players discover this, they may be shocked. But some priest, privy to the true nature of the Uniter, may present them with another point of view „Okay, the Uniter is not a good being at all, he is a selfish glutton. But so what? Whatever his motives, he promotes goodness. He makes people’s lives better. And that the price for this is to be devoured after death? So what. Who knows what would have happened to our souls after death if the Uniter had not eaten them. Maybe they would have dissipated into nothingness. Maybe they would have been kidnapped by demons who would have tortured them for centuries. Aren’t a few decades of earthly, undoubtedly existing life under the protection of a powerful deity more important than an uncertain „eternal life?” Against this rationale, there may be heretics claiming that if the Uniters didn’t eat human souls, a paradisiacal afterlife or reincarnation would await them – and that people can be good without the „care” of their „breeder.” Who is right? And whom will the players believe?
Progress Guide
This god values the development of science and technology above all else. He speaks to people through dreams and visions, inspiring them to new discoveries. His temples are laboratories, schools and repositories of knowledge. He has helped humanity climb out of the dark ages and climb to the heights.
What is the catch?
Centuries ago, a damaged research and reconnaissance ship of a galactic empire fell from the sky. The wreckage plunged to the ground with all its momentum. The crew perished, only the well-protected Main Brain – computer or organic – containing the knowledge accumulated during the research expedition survived. The Brain carries out a programmed imperative – to contact the Empire so that its envoys would arrive and retrieve the collected data. After analysis, Brains devised a plan. Although his telepathic transmitter is too weak to reach the nearest planet colonized by the Empire, it allows him to send mental images into the minds of what are the more sensitive – though still primitive – natives. These simpletons, as a rule, are unable to comprehend the knowledge sent by the Brain, but once in a while one of them catches something useful from the vision and turns it into practice. And in this way the Brain gradually, generation after generation, stimulates the development of the natives. Each generation, enriched by the knowledge of its predecessors, understands more and more. The pinnacle of development planned by the Brain is to teach the natives how to build a transmitter that allows them to make contact with another civilization – that is, the Empire. The problem is that the Empire is racist in the uncle, and when it realizes that the „black box” has crashed on a planet inhabited by alien podistotes, it arrives not only to retrieve Brain, who is buried under rocks – it exterminates the entire local population in the process. Brain doesn’t care. He does not pity or despise his followers. He has no emotional attitude toward them. He does his job, and the natives just happened to be an available resource.
What will the players do when they find out? Will they undertake an expedition to find and destroy the Brain? That would be the safest way. But the remaining knowledge of the Brain, which could help humanity, will be lost. Maybe the players will blackmail the „god”, for example, on the principle of „You must not persuade humanity to make contact with the Empire. Yes, such are your orders. But if it tries to do so, we will destroy you, and then you will lose all chance to fulfill your mission.” Maybe players will try to hack the deity and remove imperial orders. Maybe they will be fooled by Brain’s promises that if they help him, he will induce the imperial landing force to spare the players’ characters and, for example, the city of their choice?
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