Logs for ShadowRN and Associated Mailing Lists

From:	Kismet kismet_sr@*****.com
Subject:	Pantheism ideas
Date:	Tue, 11 May 1999 19:30:29 -0700 (PDT)

Message no. 1 Hi all,

I was very impressed by the idea of Pantheism in MITS.
A pantheist is a shaman who follows all of the totems.
However as a GM, I cannot imagine trying to role-play
all of the different categories of totems. The only
feasible way to Gm a pantheist is to limit them
somewhat. I have decided to limit the shaman to one
set of totems. For example the Shaman can follow North
American, Mythic, Nature, or idol totems. Thus will
the GM(namely me) remain sane.

So here comes Character creation.(We always start over
when we get a new rulebook). What kind of
background/ultimate goal would a pantheist have? A
Pantheist character would have to have been chosen for
a very specific reason for so many totems to be
guiding him/her right? Any ideas or suggestions are
appreciated.

Thanks,
Kismet

_________________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Free instant messaging and more at http://messenger.yahoo.com

From:	Nexx Many-Scars nexx@********.net
Subject:	Pantheism ideas
Date:	Tue, 11 May 1999 21:30:38 -0500

Message no. 2 ----- Original Message -----
From: Kismet <kismet_sr@*****.com>
>
> A pantheist is a shaman who follows all of the totems
>
> So here comes Character creation.(We always start over
> when we get a new rulebook). What kind of
> background/ultimate goal would a pantheist have

Speaking as something of a pantheist, think that anyone choosing a
pantheist character should definitely have an idea of a pantheon to work
with. A pantheist isn't necessarily going to be "all the gods" or "all the
totems". I could see several people using a Druid or Norse character, and
taking a pantheist option, choosing to honor all the gods of that pantheon,
or going the same route with Greeks.

If someone wants to play a pantheist, ask them what pantheon, and to
point you towards a couple places to look about that pantheon, especially
if they can give you children's or gamer's books on those pantheons, which
will give you a good enough overview to wing it. If they don't have an
idea, ask them about which gods/totems/etc in particular talk to them, and
try to keep those as something like their mait tete... they can work with
them all, but normally their magic will reflect those particular ones who
have chosen them in particular. And if they smile and effusively say "All
of them!" kill him right then, as he's either a munchkin or so fluffy a
bunny he's clogging up lint traps on the other end of the world.

*****
Nexx Many-Scars
aka Mark Hall
*
Three hateful things in speech: stiffness, obscurity, a bad delivery.
*
http://members.aol.com/nexx3/index.html
-Last Update: 2-5-99

From:	Graht Graht@**********.worldnet.att.net
Subject:	Pantheism ideas
Date:	Tue, 11 May 1999 20:49:43 -0500

Message no. 3 Kismet wrote:
/Hi all,
/
/I was very impressed by the idea of Pantheism in MITS.
/A pantheist is a shaman who follows all of the totems.
/However as a GM, I cannot imagine trying to role-play
/all of the different categories of totems. The only
/feasible way to Gm a pantheist is to limit them
/somewhat. I have decided to limit the shaman to one
/set of totems. For example the Shaman can follow North
/American, Mythic, Nature, or idol totems. Thus will
/the GM(namely me) remain sane.
/
/So here comes Character creation.(We always start over
/when we get a new rulebook). What kind of
/background/ultimate goal would a pantheist have?

...Politics :)

-Graht
--
"Earn what you have been given."
--
ShadowRN GridSec
The ShadowRN FAQ: http://shadowrun.html.com/hlair/
Geek Code: GCS d-( ) s++:->+ a@ C++>$ US P L >++ E? W++>+++ !N o-- K-
w+ o? M- VMS? PS+(++) PE+(++) Y+ !PGP t+(++) 5+(++) X++(+++) R+>$ tv+b++ DI++++
D+(++) G e+>+++ h--->---- r+++ y+++
http://home.att.net/~Graht

From:	Sommers sommers@*****.umich.edu
Subject:	Pantheism ideas
Date:	Tue, 11 May 1999 23:48:03 -0400

Message no. 4 At 10:30 PM 5/11/99 , Kismet wrote:
>Hi all,
>
>I was very impressed by the idea of Pantheism in MITS.
>A pantheist is a shaman who follows all of the totems.
>However as a GM, I cannot imagine trying to role-play
>all of the different categories of totems. The only
>feasible way to Gm a pantheist is to limit them
>somewhat. I have decided to limit the shaman to one
>set of totems. For example the Shaman can follow North
>American, Mythic, Nature, or idol totems. Thus will
>the GM(namely me) remain sane.

I think that you're mis-interpreting the book there. If you're a pantheist
shaman, you don't follow every single one in the book, you follow all of
the powers in one pantheon. So a North American shaman might follow all of
the NA animal totems, a Scandinavian might follow the Norse, etc. Pages
25-26 give 2 examples of pantheistic paths, Egyptian Magic and Norse Magic.
In both cases the shaman pays equal homage to all of the gods.

This is the way that most people worshipped the gods in Greece and Rome,
for example. Each power was believed to control his or her own sphere of
influence. When a Greek was going to war, he might pay special homage to
Ares, but would go back to Ceres when going back to his farm for planting.

>So here comes Character creation.(We always start over
>when we get a new rulebook). What kind of
>background/ultimate goal would a pantheist have? A
>Pantheist character would have to have been chosen for
>a very specific reason for so many totems to be
>guiding him/her right? Any ideas or suggestions are
>appreciated.

Its not so much that he follows so many of them but that he believes in the
power of all of them and only asks for specific power when he needs it.

Sommers
Insert witty quote here.

From:	Ereskanti@*.com Ereskanti@*.com
Subject:	Pantheism ideas
Date:	Wed, 12 May 1999 10:56:36 EDT

Message no. 5 In a message dated 5/11/1999 9:28:05 PM US Eastern Standard Time,
kismet_sr@*****.com writes:

> I was very impressed by the idea of Pantheism in MITS.
> A pantheist is a shaman who follows all of the totems.
> However as a GM, I cannot imagine trying to role-play
> all of the different categories of totems. The only
> feasible way to Gm a pantheist is to limit them
> somewhat. I have decided to limit the shaman to one
> set of totems. For example the Shaman can follow North
> American, Mythic, Nature, or idol totems. Thus will
> the GM(namely me) remain sane.

Actually, I've been done this now for a while. I made Padre' a "Pantheist" a
while back, as he's been trying to develop more spiritual ties for quite a
while. The Pantheist seemed a good idea.

As for the GM (or Player) remaining sane, oh that's easy. Just Role Play
with it and have some fun :)

> So here comes Character creation.(We always start over
> when we get a new rulebook). What kind of
> background/ultimate goal would a pantheist have? A
> Pantheist character would have to have been chosen for
> a very specific reason for so many totems to be
> guiding him/her right? Any ideas or suggestions are
> appreciated.

They can literally have any goal, just as any character can. Creating an
underlying goal, or a "Lifequest" is often something that would work in this
situation. Other options are to use the various totemic influences to guide
a given game scenario. Clues that randomly appear (might make for good
roleplay if the Divination Metamagic is being sought after and "Omens" is the
skill sought out later on down the road).

Additionally, IMO, the multiple totems options to me is a way to let the
character have some personality freedom as well. They can study many things,
in a manner *similar* to Coyote, but still have some restrictions to follow
(again, more role play).

IMO, the Pantheist is more like shamanism should be anyway...

-K

Mailing List Logs for

Further Reading

Disclaimer