Skip to content
The Well of Daliath
Menu
Menu

World-Wide Deities

Posted on August 20, 2022

Most Gloranthan religions list hundreds, even thousands of gods. Some of these gods are clearly localized phenomena, deified rulers, or tribal ancestors. Others are alternative titles for gods already worshiped under a different name.

The early Theyalans began the process of identifying and defining the gods, spirits, and powers about them, and establishing unity despite differences of language and culture, however their work was largely confined to Genertela. Similarly in Peloria, the Dara Happans sought to locate any purported deity with the one hundred gods on the God Wall, those deities not identifiable on the wall were false or at least transitory. In the Second Age, the Mythical Synthesis Movement that sought to arrange the gods, spirits, and powers of the world in a coherent and knowable unity.

The God Learners theorized there were approximately two hundred deities of world-wide significance. Not all of these deities had cults. In addition, there were many thousands of minor divine entities of purely localized significance, such as the Racoon Guardians of the Gate of Dusk or the island gods of Vithela. Even the enemies of the God Learners accepted this structure, although they largely accepted those limitations imposed by the Great Mystery itself.

The Lhankor Mhy cult enthusiastically embraced the Mythical Synthesis Movement, and their Knowing Priests played a key role in the later God Learner movements. In the Third Age, Lunar philosophers have added another dozen or so deities (most importantly the Red Goddess and the Seven Mothers), but they too largely adopted the conclusions of the Mythical Synthesis Movement.

This is a really important issue in getting the setting – and something where we need to overcome our modern desacralised biases. We tend to assume that gods are complete cultural constructs – but in Glorantha that is not true. The God Time is real and tangible – our understanding of the gods is of course viewed through the lens of culture (but of course our interaction with the gods also changes and affects our culture), but the Gloranthan gods exist outside of us mortals.


Jeff Richard

Next
Previous
God Learners, Mythical Synthesis, Mythology

Sections

  • Search Tips
  • Current RuneQuest Glorantha Publications
  • RuneQuest Glorantha Corrections and Q&A
  • Catalogue
  • References for Glorantha
    • Gloranthan Canon
  • Gloranthan Documents
  • RPG Systems & Versions
  • Gallery
  • About This Site
  • Get involved!

Latest Posts

  • Treasure!
  • The Puzzle Canal
  • Solars, Orlanthi, and the Monomyth
  • Orlanth Rex is the God of Tribes
  • Tribe and Clan Structure
  • Some Notes on The Dragon Religion
  • Some Thoughts On Dragons And Jung
  • Adventurers in the Hero Wars
  • The Apotheosis of Mortals
  • Your Sartarite Adventurer and the Hero Wars

Links

  • Chaosium
  • Chaosium’s RuneQuest RPG Wiki
  • Glorantha on BRP Central
  • RuneQuest on BRP Central
  • RuneQuest on Discord
  • Prince of Sartar Webcomic
  • Glorantha G+ Archives on Tapatalk
  • Search mailing list archive

Latest from BRP Central

  • Extension
  • Update on the new RuneQuest
  • Tales of Slon: The Human factor
  • How often do you run or play Runequest?
  • The Shimmering Lake - Jonstown Compendium
  • Meaning of "False Sun"
  • Tales of Slon: The Human factor
  • What Music Do You Use When You Run a Game?
  • Hwarin Dalthippa in Sartar
  • Mournsea Cult? (MAYBE a Manirian Scratchpad?)

Popular Tags

Boldhome (large city) Chaosium Colymar (Sartar tribe) Contents Cult demographics Cults of Runequest (preview) Ernalda FRA Furthest (large city) G+ post Genealogies Gods Wall Greg Stafford Guide to Glorantha (preview) Humakt index Jar-eel Lunar Empire Lunar Pantheon Magazine Malkioni pantheon Map Michael O’Brien Mongoose MRQ1 New Pavis (small city) Old Glorantha Q&A Orlanth Orlanthi pantheon Photo reference Population demographics Prax (homeland) RQ3 RQG Sandy Petersen Sartar (homeland) Spirit Cult Star Subcult Tarsh (homeland & Lunar province) Troll Pantheon Yelm Yelmalio Yelm Pantheon Youtube
©2025 The Well of Daliath | Design: Newspaperly WordPress Theme