Losing my Religion

Clerics in DnD imply pantheons of higher beings to believe in, beings which provide the gift of miracles to their most fervent champions, all through the power of faith.  A vast array of deities also means a vast array of temples and tombs to raid or defend, or at least visit and try to cajole healing from.  Such temples and tombs are a staple of most fantasy rpgs.

Erol Otus, cover of Deities & Demigods, 1980

The quick and easy fix is to use the default pantheons from Forgotten Realms or Greyhawk, both leaning heavily into purely fictional gods, although at least a few Forgotten Realms deities started life as members of real world belief systems.  

An easier fix is to use real world pantheons, likely cribbed in part from Deities and Demigods (with or without the Chthulu Mythos) or GodChecker.  I'll admit that Deities and Demigods certainly expanded my knowledge of other faiths, and not just because of the awesome art that made up much of the book.

Jeff Dee, Bast, Deities and Demigods, 1980 - a titillating image, indeed!

After about 50 years of fantasy rpgs, there are collections of deities available, statted up for your favorite DnD ruleset.  Some are heavily tied to the setting, like those of the Scarred Lands, while others like the Book of the Righteous and Petty Gods (link goes to legitimate free pdf) are just collections of deities looking for believers anywhere.

At some point, DMs and GMs decide to craft their own pantheons, either by mixing and matching the above or through some dedicated creation out of whole cloth.  I've tried the latter, I really have, and Lord, is it a waste of time for how little actual use it sees at the table.  Never again.

My new world is fully accepting of the fact that it is a game for the players.  This isn't to say that it is full of 5th-wall-breaking nonsense, merely that background events will exist for the benefits of the players as much as for the PCs.

This includes the new religions, modeled after US College and University Football Teams.

I'll just hand this picture to prospective Cleric players and say, 'pick yer deity.'

Before rolling your eyes in disdain, consider that each team has its own colors, own slogans and symbols, and its own top coaches and players, as well as a colorful inhuman mascot.  They even host holy days and have their own ring- and cup-based artifacts.

Really, those are all the trappings a fantasy religion needs.  

High priest, chief paladin, or superfan?

Picture clerics draped in crimson and hounds tooth, praying to an elephant man statue, invoking the names of St. Saban and St. Bryant, punctuating their prayers with the phrases 'roll tide roll' and 'rammer, jammer, yellowhammer!' while holding aloft an oversized rhinestone-encrusted stylized A.  It could be a college football game or it could be the faithful at a typical DnD-style temple - it just depends on the context.

Townsfolk at a DnD temple or fans at a football game?  Who's to say?

I haven't decided yet if specific mascot-deities provide access to unique spells or if they are more like RAW clerics, where if its on the list, it can be prayed for.  Clerics are such powerhouses because RAW they have access to too many spells, and should DMs play the role of the deity and provide only what is deserved by the Cleric or decided upon by the deity, players are likely to be .... upset.

All that said, a gameworld where the worship of Avrae, Goddess of Chance and Ikea, Goddess of Creation is common is a tempting one.  It's just that I cannot think of any more clever references AND I lost the list I crowdsourced in one of the DnD FB groups.  While I will likely try for a second list, I think that I will stick with college football faiths for the foreseeable future.  

After all, college football IS the state religion of Alabama, and several other of the United States, besides.

EDIT: I began the FB crowdsource - it will need to be its own post.  Off to collect ideas into a word document for later.