The 100 Gods

[Avery Moore]

So, I have come up with a lot of different cultures and religions for the world in which my novel is set, but there’s one religion that needs a lot more work than others and that is “The Balance” where the people pray to “The Hundred Gods”.

The actual religion itself is a relatively small part of the story, but there is a scene within the story where a ceremony takes place, in which sacrifices are made to each of the 100 Gods.

Every God is unique and every God is offered a different sacrifice depending on what it is they value/represent. I have come up with a few ideas and had a few suggested to me, but 100 Gods is a lot to come up with, so I figured I would post on here and try to make a definitive list of Gods.

I am looking for suggestions of what the Gods represent (God of Death, God of Life, God of Fire etc) along with a suggestion of what kind of sacrifice can be made to them (A human killed at the altar, a pregnant woman giving birth at the altar, a huge bonfire built on the altar etc).

I am going to try for a sort of Yin/Yang balance where each God has an opposing Goddess (God of Life + Goddess of Death. God of Fire + Goddess of Water) but may give up on this idea, as some Gods will be more difficult to find appropriate opposites for than others. (People would pray to a God of Prosperity, but I can’t picture anybody praying to a Goddess of Famine).

Anyway, here is a list of ideas I have so far. Feel free to come up with any ideas that I can add to it! Either ideas for Gods or ideas for sacrifices that can be offered to them, or both! Any help would be much appreciated!

The following is not a definitive list, but a list of Gods that I’ve thought of or been suggested. I will post a definite list when it’s done.

Gods who have opposing Goddesses:
1. God of Life: Offering is a pregnant woman giving birth on the alter
2. Goddess of Death: Offering is a man/woman willingly killed at the alter
3. God of Peace: Offering undecided
4. Goddess of War: Two young men wrestle, trying to push each other off the altar
5. God of Fire: A huge bonfire is built on the altar
6. Goddess of Water: People bathing at the altar?
7. God of Air: Offering undecided
8. Goddess of Earth: Perhaps a tree is planted on the altar?
9. God of Luck: People playing some kind of game of chance
10. Goddess of Fate: Offering undecided
11. God of Mercy: A criminal is pardoned for their crimes
12. Goddess of Justice: Another criminal is punished for their crimes
13. God of Folly: People getting drunk at the altar
14: Goddess of Wisdom: Two people playing a game of strategy at the altar
15. God of Light: Offering undecided
16. Goddess of Darkness: Somebody willingly blinds themselves
17: God of Joy: Laughter and merrymaking at the altar
18. Goddess of Sorrow: Weeping at the altar
19: God of Order: Offering undecided
20: Goddess of Chaos: Offering undecided

Gods who don’t have opposing Goddesses yet:
1. God of Prosperity: Livestock and crops
2. God of Fertility: … Something R rated?
3. God of Music: People playing and singing at the altar
4. God of Dance: Somebody dancing on the altar
4. God of Craftsmanship: Talented craftsmen leave offerings of their work at the altar
5. God of Love: People getting married at the altar
6. God of Secrets: Offering undecided
7. God of Mischief: Offering undecided
8. God of Time: Offering undecided

Offering suggestions that don't yet have a God to be sacrificed to:
1. A feast prepared on the altar
2. A man must lift a heavy stone above his head for the duration of the ceremony
3. A man fasts for several days and nights

 

[pmmg]

but there is a scene within the story where a ceremony takes place, in which sacrifices are made to each of the 100 Gods.

Probably not what your looking for, but....I dont think I am going to need to read what sacrifice each god gets. Maybe pick a few, and allow them to make the illusion that all got something.

I would think having sex on the alter would to better for life (look up the meaning of an ankh), and for fertility, I might think some bodily fluids....and I will leave it at that.

If you want chaos, drop a swarm of bees in the room...or ants...or cats....

 

[Rexenm]

You should include every sort of animal in it, that way there would be more than 100.

 

[pmmg]

^I'm quite sure, I don't want to see that.

At least, not all listed out.

 

[Avery Moore]

Probably not what your looking for, but....I dont think I am going to need to read what sacrifice each god gets. Maybe pick a few, and allow them to make the illusion that all got something.

Oh, don't worry, I don't plan on listing every single God and every single offering in that one scene. That would be a headache to read. But I would like to have a definitive list of who all the Gods are for future reference, as the religion will probably come up again at some point.

If you want chaos, drop a swarm of bees in the room...or ants...or cats....

Love this idea! But worry that the ceremony might end early if they tried that... That said, having people torment a dangerous animal like a snake or a bear could potentially work as an offering to the God of Mischief... Or maybe a God of Daring or something.

You should include every sort of animal in it, that way there would be more than 100.

I don't think they'd have enough altars to make a sacrifice to every single animal God. Plus I'd feel really bad for whoever needs to drag their offering to the altar of the God of whales.

 

[Prince of Spires]

I'm not much help in coming up with ideas for gods. And I don't think you need a complete list when starting out. Having a few that are relevant to the story completely fleshed out tends to be more beneficial than having a list of 100 names with no substance.

Also, you could have a metaforical 100 instead of a literal. Maybe the 100 simply means "there are a lot of them, and we haven't really counted" and not "there are exactly 100 of them".

As for worshiping them, with 100 gods there is bound to be a god for everything. Their worship then just is a matter of perspective. Take the god of famine for instance. Perhaps people wouldn't pray at his altar. However, I can definitely see people appeasing him to prevent a famine from occuring. Maybe they fast for a week to make sure that the god of famine is happy and ignores them the rest of the year. Or maybe they pray to him to send a famine to their enemies. After all, causing a famine in the enemy army camped outside your walls is a very powerful thing.

 

[Avery Moore]

Take the god of famine for instance. Perhaps people wouldn't pray at his altar. However, I can definitely see people appeasing him to prevent a famine from occuring. Maybe they fast for a week to make sure that the god of famine is happy and ignores them the rest of the year. Or maybe they pray to him to send a famine to their enemies. After all, causing a famine in the enemy army camped outside your walls is a very powerful thing.

That's a good point. I suppose people pray for something to be taken away as often as they pray for something to be given.

 

[Gurkhal]

So, I have come up with a lot of different cultures and religions for the world in which my novel is set, but there’s one religion that needs a lot more work than others and that is “The Balance” where the people pray to “The Hundred Gods”.

The actual religion itself is a relatively small part of the story, but there is a scene within the story where a ceremony takes place, in which sacrifices are made to each of the 100 Gods.

Every God is unique and every God is offered a different sacrifice depending on what it is they value/represent. I have come up with a few ideas and had a few suggested to me, but 100 Gods is a lot to come up with, so I figured I would post on here and try to make a definitive list of Gods.

I am looking for suggestions of what the Gods represent (God of Death, God of Life, God of Fire etc) along with a suggestion of what kind of sacrifice can be made to them (A human killed at the altar, a pregnant woman giving birth at the altar, a huge bonfire built on the altar etc).

I am going to try for a sort of Yin/Yang balance where each God has an opposing Goddess (God of Life + Goddess of Death. God of Fire + Goddess of Water) but may give up on this idea, as some Gods will be more difficult to find appropriate opposites for than others. (People would pray to a God of Prosperity, but I can’t picture anybody praying to a Goddess of Famine).

Anyway, here is a list of ideas I have so far. Feel free to come up with any ideas that I can add to it! Either ideas for Gods or ideas for sacrifices that can be offered to them, or both! Any help would be much appreciated!

The following is not a definitive list, but a list of Gods that I’ve thought of or been suggested. I will post a definite list when it’s done.

Gods who have opposing Goddesses:
1. God of Life: Offering is a pregnant woman giving birth on the alter
2. Goddess of Death: Offering is a man/woman willingly killed at the alter
3. God of Peace: Offering undecided
4. Goddess of War: Two young men wrestle, trying to push each other off the altar
5. God of Fire: A huge bonfire is built on the altar
6. Goddess of Water: People bathing at the altar?
7. God of Air: Offering undecided
8. Goddess of Earth: Perhaps a tree is planted on the altar?
9. God of Luck: People playing some kind of game of chance
10. Goddess of Fate: Offering undecided
11. God of Mercy: A criminal is pardoned for their crimes
12. Goddess of Justice: Another criminal is punished for their crimes
13. God of Folly: People getting drunk at the altar
14: Goddess of Wisdom: Two people playing a game of strategy at the altar
15. God of Light: Offering undecided
16. Goddess of Darkness: Somebody willingly blinds themselves
17: God of Joy: Laughter and merrymaking at the altar
18. Goddess of Sorrow: Weeping at the altar
19: God of Order: Offering undecided
20: Goddess of Chaos: Offering undecided

Gods who don’t have opposing Goddesses yet:
1. God of Prosperity: Livestock and crops
2. God of Fertility: … Something R rated?
3. God of Music: People playing and singing at the altar
4. God of Dance: Somebody dancing on the altar
4. God of Craftsmanship: Talented craftsmen leave offerings of their work at the altar
5. God of Love: People getting married at the altar
6. God of Secrets: Offering undecided
7. God of Mischief: Offering undecided
8. God of Time: Offering undecided

Offering suggestions that don't yet have a God to be sacrificed to:
1. A feast prepared on the altar
2. A man must lift a heavy stone above his head for the duration of the ceremony
3. A man fasts for several days and nights

I'll take a shot to find an offering for those who lack one

Gods with undecided offerings

3. Maybe breaking a weapon or a weapon re-forged into a peaceful tool?
7. Maybe someone with a fan at the altar?
10. Ten (or whatever number) of animals are brought in and its decided by lot which of them will be sacrificed? Could be done with something else than an animal.
15. Maybe a prism or some action involving a prism?
19. A bunch of random or "random" items are arranged according to some rules on the altar?
20. Ritually put up a systemized set of items on the altar before these are disordered and then left there for a short while?

Gods without an opposing goddess

2. The first yield of the year? Be it an animal, a part of the crops or what it may be. Possibly the priests could have a special farm from where these things are picked and everything on the farm is considered sacred and belonging to the god? Gods owinig material things in the world where not very rare in ancient polytheistic socities.
6. Someone writes a secret down on a piece of material before that is burned on the altar? Or someone finds out a secret, writes it down, and then burns the text.
7. A layman person is invited to the altar and is subject to a prank
8. An hour glass?

 

[Rexenm]

Who would be at the right hand of god, if there is one hundred?

That's a good point. I suppose people pray for something to be taken away as often as they pray for something to be given.

Also there are unbalanced jobs, would that mean more of the same, leading to unbalanced power, as a result?

Someone writes a secret down on a piece of material before that is burned on the altar? Or someone finds out a secret, writes it down, and then burns the text.

Also, are they comparatively good or bad?

 

[Gurkhal]

Also, are they comparatively good or bad?

I'm not sure I understand what you mean.

 

[Avery Moore]

I'll take a shot to find an offering for those who lack one

Gods with undecided offerings

3. Maybe breaking a weapon or a weapon re-forged into a peaceful tool?
7. Maybe someone with a fan at the altar?
10. Ten (or whatever number) of animals are brought in and its decided by lot which of them will be sacrificed? Could be done with something else than an animal.
15. Maybe a prism or some action involving a prism?
19. A bunch of random or "random" items are arranged according to some rules on the altar?
20. Ritually put up a systemized set of items on the altar before these are disordered and then left there for a short while?

Gods without an opposing goddess

2. The first yield of the year? Be it an animal, a part of the crops or what it may be. Possibly the priests could have a special farm from where these things are picked and everything on the farm is considered sacred and belonging to the god? Gods owinig material things in the world where not very rare in ancient polytheistic socities.
6. Someone writes a secret down on a piece of material before that is burned on the altar? Or someone finds out a secret, writes it down, and then burns the text.
7. A layman person is invited to the altar and is subject to a prank
8. An hour glass?

These are all really good ideas! Thank you!

3. For peace I'm thinking I might just do children dancing around in a circle or something equally dumb, but the idea of an object being destroyed at an alter is definitely something I will consider for one of the other offerings.
7. Or a bellows! Or a kite! Yes! Great idea! Thank you!
10. I don't think I'll use the drawing of lots for Fate, as things like the drawing of lots or rolling of dice would be considered the domain of the God of Luck, which is supposed to be the opposing force of Fate. The idea being that Luck is left to chance, whereas Fate is predetermined. Tricky concept to think of an offering for.
15. This is a very clever idea! They can cast a rainbow upon the alter!
19. It's an interesting idea. I can play around with that.
20. Kind of like the opposite of 19. That's clever. I'll have a think about how this can work.

2. This God already has an offering. I was deliberately vague about what the offering was.
6. I really like this idea! Maybe everybody in the village can leave a secret on the altar.
7. A prank played on someone would be perfect. I think maybe it should be a villager who knows that a prank is going to be played on them, but doesn't know what the prank is going to be.
8. Yes! Perfect! Something might happen when the hour glass runs out, but an hourglass will definitely be included.

 

[Avery Moore]

Who would be at the right hand of god, if there is one hundred?

Uhh... No one, I guess?

Also there are unbalanced jobs, would that mean more of the same, leading to unbalanced power, as a result?

The people believe that it is their responsibility to maintain "The Balance" but honestly, I haven't decided yet if any of the Gods in this world even exist, so... No. Probably not.

I'm not sure I understand what you mean.

I think he means, "Are they good secrets or bad secrets" ... And I don't think it really matters. Just secrets in general.

 

[Fidel]

So, I have come up with a lot of different cultures and religions for the world in which my novel is set, but there’s one religion that needs a lot more work than others and that is “The Balance” where the people pray to “The Hundred Gods”.

The actual religion itself is a relatively small part of the story, but there is a scene within the story where a ceremony takes place, in which sacrifices are made to each of the 100 Gods.

Every God is unique and every God is offered a different sacrifice depending on what it is they value/represent. I have come up with a few ideas and had a few suggested to me, but 100 Gods is a lot to come up with, so I figured I would post on here and try to make a definitive list of Gods.

I am looking for suggestions of what the Gods represent (God of Death, God of Life, God of Fire etc) along with a suggestion of what kind of sacrifice can be made to them (A human killed at the altar, a pregnant woman giving birth at the altar, a huge bonfire built on the altar etc).

I am going to try for a sort of Yin/Yang balance where each God has an opposing Goddess (God of Life + Goddess of Death. God of Fire + Goddess of Water) but may give up on this idea, as some Gods will be more difficult to find appropriate opposites for than others. (People would pray to a God of Prosperity, but I can’t picture anybody praying to a Goddess of Famine).

Anyway, here is a list of ideas I have so far. Feel free to come up with any ideas that I can add to it! Either ideas for Gods or ideas for sacrifices that can be offered to them, or both! Any help would be much appreciated!

The following is not a definitive list, but a list of Gods that I’ve thought of or been suggested. I will post a definite list when it’s done.

Gods who have opposing Goddesses:
1. God of Life: Offering is a pregnant woman giving birth on the alter
2. Goddess of Death: Offering is a man/woman willingly killed at the alter
3. God of Peace: Offering undecided
4. Goddess of War: Two young men wrestle, trying to push each other off the altar
5. God of Fire: A huge bonfire is built on the altar
6. Goddess of Water: People bathing at the altar?
7. God of Air: Offering undecided
8. Goddess of Earth: Perhaps a tree is planted on the altar?
9. God of Luck: People playing some kind of game of chance
10. Goddess of Fate: Offering undecided
11. God of Mercy: A criminal is pardoned for their crimes
12. Goddess of Justice: Another criminal is punished for their crimes
13. God of Folly: People getting drunk at the altar
14: Goddess of Wisdom: Two people playing a game of strategy at the altar
15. God of Light: Offering undecided
16. Goddess of Darkness: Somebody willingly blinds themselves
17: God of Joy: Laughter and merrymaking at the altar
18. Goddess of Sorrow: Weeping at the altar
19: God of Order: Offering undecided
20: Goddess of Chaos: Offering undecided

Gods who don’t have opposing Goddesses yet:
1. God of Prosperity: Livestock and crops
2. God of Fertility: … Something R rated?
3. God of Music: People playing and singing at the altar
4. God of Dance: Somebody dancing on the altar
4. God of Craftsmanship: Talented craftsmen leave offerings of their work at the altar
5. God of Love: People getting married at the altar
6. God of Secrets: Offering undecided
7. God of Mischief: Offering undecided
8. God of Time: Offering undecided

Offering suggestions that don't yet have a God to be sacrificed to:
1. A feast prepared on the altar
2. A man must lift a heavy stone above his head for the duration of the ceremony
3. A man fasts for several days and nights

You've got a fascinating world with "The Balance" and "The Hundred Gods"! For the God of Peace, maybe break a weapon or transform it into a peaceful tool. For the God of Air, release birds or fly kites. The Goddess of Fate could involve a ritual with lots or dice. For the God of Secrets, burn written secrets at the altar. For the God of Mischief, play a prank on an unsuspecting villager. Keep up the great work! Your world is shaping up to be incredibly immersive and detailed.

 

[Avery Moore]

You've got a fascinating world with "The Balance" and "The Hundred Gods"! For the God of Peace, maybe break a weapon or transform it into a peaceful tool. For the God of Air, release birds or fly kites. The Goddess of Fate could involve a ritual with lots or dice. For the God of Secrets, burn written secrets at the altar. For the God of Mischief, play a prank on an unsuspecting villager. Keep up the great work! Your world is shaping up to be incredibly immersive and detailed.

Oh my God, thank you so much! The Balance isn't actually my favourite religion in the world. My favourite one is called the "Disciples of the Moons" where the people believe that the Sun is the Father, the World is the Mother and the three Moons that orbit the World are their three children. Their belief is that all forms of life were created by "The Mother" as a source of amusement for "The Children". And all forms of entertainment are considered to be prayers. The Blue Moon is the Goddess of music and song. The Red Moon is the God of performance and showmanship and the Yellow Moon is the Goddess of art and craftmanship. Raindrops are the tears of the Gods and means they are unhappy and need to be cheered up with music and dancing. But a thunderstorm means that the children are crying with laughter and clapping with joy over a particularly impressive performance. So, if a bard finishes his song and then hears thunder clapping, it is considered extremely good fortune and suggests that he is favoured by "The Children"... It's a very wholesome religion.

 

[Rexenm]

Raindrops are the tears of the Gods and means they are unhappy and need to be cheered up with music and dancing. A thunderstorm means that the children are crying with laughter and clapping with joy over a particularly impressive performance.

What is lightning?

 

[Avery Moore]

What is lightning?

... Uhh... Disco party?

 

[Fidel]

Oh my God, thank you so much! The Balance isn't actually my favourite religion in the world. My favourite one is called the "Disciples of the Moons" where the people believe that the Sun is the Father, the World is the Mother and the three Moons that orbit the World are their three children. Their belief is that all forms of life were created by "The Mother" as a source of amusement for "The Children". And all forms of entertainment are considered to be prayers. The Blue Moon is the Goddess of music and song. The Red Moon is the God of performance and showmanship and the Yellow Moon is the Goddess of art and craftmanship. Raindrops are the tears of the Gods and means they are unhappy and need to be cheered up with music and dancing. But a thunderstorm means that the children are crying with laughter and clapping with joy over a particularly impressive performance. So, if a bard finishes his song and then hears thunder clapping, it is considered extremely good fortune and suggests that he is favoured by "The Children"... It's a very wholesome religion.

The Disciples of the Moons? Actually, really good. Thunder as applause and rain as tears that need cheering up? That’s next-level wholesome. I’m ready to join this religion just for the vibes, imagine the bard life, serenading the moons and getting a thunderous encore.

 

[Lead=Dragon]

You could also tier your gods and goddesses. For example, your Goddess of War, could be supported by a God of Swords, God of Battle, Goddess of Victory, etc. And an Unknown God, is also a useful addition.

 

[Avery Moore]

You could also tier your gods and goddesses. For example, your Goddess of War, could be supported by a God of Swords, God of Battle, Goddess of Victory, etc. And an Unknown God, is also a useful addition.

That's an interesting idea but I'm not sure if it'd work for this particular religion as The Balance believes that all the Gods are equal. So for some of the Gods to have lesser Gods beneath them would kind of counteract that belief. An Unknown God would be cool, but not sure who their opposing Goddess would be or what his offering would be.

I'm trying not to focus too much on the story behind the Gods at the moment, since the Gods don't actually play a role in the novel. It's actually unlikely that the Gods even exist. The people just believe that they do.

 

[Rexenm]

That's an interesting idea but I'm not sure if it'd work for this particular religion as The Balance believes that all the Gods are equal. So for some of the Gods to have lesser Gods beneath them would kind of counteract that belief. An Unknown God would be cool, but not sure who their opposing Goddess would be or what his offering would be.

I'm trying not to focus too much on the story behind the Gods at the moment, since the Gods don't actually play a role in the novel. It's actually unlikely that the Gods even exist. The people just believe that they do.

That’s an interesting idea, that the gods are somehow invested, one with the people. I think that it is personal preference, on how powerful gods are, when they become invested with people, and the balance may just be a gray area.