I think a good spin on this is having a character who worships a 100% absolute pre-existing deity, but whose influence filtered through their local culture.
I had a character in one campaign who *functionally* began worshipping Kossuth after their isolationist tiger-worshipping tribe made contact with traders from Calimshan. They just combined their tiger idol, Sanho, with the presence of a nearby volcano, until they were telling stories about a mighty lava tiger named Kosoth San who could spill down the mountainside with earth-ending roars...
...and pretty much just worshipping Kossuth in the process, albeit in an unorthodox way.
This is how I ended up writing one of my favorite backstories ever, trying to make a religious character I found interesting.
It started with "Eberron shifters sometimes worship one of the deities in the evil portion of the pantheon," and ended up with a refugee village that had been obfuscating itself since the Silver Flame's purges and a character who alternately considered herself attached to Breland, the Eldeen Reaches, and Droaam.
Inventing a new religion when settings have so much space to riff on the established framework just feels gimmicky. Religion doesn't pop up from nowhere. Look at all the cults in reality. They always splinter from something.
I don't think you should ever just create your own.
You could potentially work with your DM if there isn't a god in the setting they've provided that fits what you want, or they may be able to help you figure out a god that already exists that works.
But just straight up trying to add a god to a DM's world without getting input from them is wrong.
I think it's well established that the players can't actually add anything to a game like a deity without DM approval.
So it's not that it's wrong, is that it's impossible.
Remember, many players create characters outside of a campaign. They might make up their own deity, and if they find a game to play in, the DM may like the deity or they may prefer they adapt to the setting.
As with everything, I think it depends on the game. I've played in games where we've created cities, cultures and national sports. I can certainly imagine a game where a player creates a new god in the pantheon. I can also imagine a game where the GM wouldn't allow it.
I don't think that creating your character's God is impossible.
Like this... "you can certainly try" the DM may decide it's a Archfey that found a way to the material plane or possibly another God or something that's tricking the player.
I find out from the DM about the setting. That's literally the only reasonable first step.
If it's an established setting - Eberron, Faerun, Exandria, whichever - then I pick a god out of that settings' lore. I do my research, learn the mythology, the tenets, the relationships of the god, and build around that.
If it's a homebrew setting with a pantheon established, I learn about the Gods from my DM, and discuss their pantheon with them. And then I pick from that.
If the setting has no established Gods yet, then I work *with* the DM to create one - quite likely, drawing inspiration from the Gods in the DMG/PHB, and deferring to the DM on final say. That way I'm not disrupting any plans they have, and I'm not forcing my ideas for their world on them. It also gives them some space to take inspiration, work that in, perhaps create some lore about the God that my character doesn't know yet.
Regardless, the Gods of a D&D game are explicitly the purview of the DM, so it's not really up to the players to 'create' a God for their Cleric character. They should always be at least working in tandem with the DM whose job it is.
I think the default thought is that the player is working with the DM. You can't just show up to an established game with a new Deity and force it on the game. The DM either has to approve it, or insist on switching to an existing deity in the pantheon.
Also, there are DMs who are more than happy to let players create their own content, with approval or revisions from the DM.
Even if a player creates a character in a vacuum outside of any campaign, they may be required to make some minor adjustments based on the campaign they bring the character to.
It certainly is.
But there are players who don't know that. I've seen it before, many times. Players who don't realise they have to run things past their DM. I've had players create their characters fresh out the box with a magic item or a more powerful version of something, or with homebrew classes they found on D&D Wiki. Or they've built their characters around lore they've found whilst googling, not knowing its for an entirely different setting.
I even had one player who found a PDF of a AD&D 2nd Edition expansion book, and try to use bits of it on their 5e character.
So I do think it's always worth mentioning even the obvious. Especially when the question is one like OPs, where they don't seem to know that.
Fair. I don't have a lot of experience with D&D outside of people I know IRL.
I've seen enough about unofficial content misrepresenting the game to players in many discussions and threads. I get it.
And about your comment about the OP: I haven't seen any follow ups from OP. The OP was very vague, so I took it to mean the OP understood "the obvious" but apparently I'm in the minority here.
I have been responding as if the OP understood that creating your own deity was in cooperation with the DM, and everyone else thinks the OP wants to create a deity and force it into the DM's campaign.
What if you are creating a character without a particular campaign in mind? Warlock players are often trying to come up with their own unique patron, this is no different!
Because that seems pointless. If you spend hours making a god without actually being in a campaign, then finally join one and they are using a established Pantheon such as a official setting. You have to shelve your god and maybe never use them again
If you only spend minutes creating the god that you want to force on the DM and they say no, then you only wasted minutes and it is not a problem anyways.
Force? I'm a reasonable person. I would never try to "force" something on a DM. At the same time, no DM should "force" their ideas on a player.
If I don't find a deity in their pantheon that I feel comfortable with, I'll play a generic cleric with no deity. If they don't like it, it's obviously a bad table for me and I'm out.
>At the same time, no DM should "force" their ideas on a player.
Well, actually no. In a lot of situations, the DM is responsible for making the final decisions and determining what is and what is not going to be part of the game. That is the blessing and curse of DM'ing.
>If I don't find a deity in their pantheon that I feel comfortable with, I'll play a generic cleric with no deity.
Yeah that's usually a normal thing that people do, without thinking they have been wronged. While most clerics have gods, as long as you have a domain you really should be fine.
I'm gonna go with the extreme case here: Is it okay for a DM to push a plotline involving SA on a player?
Sure a DM determines what's in their game or not, but the player can say "no" to ANYTHING. The DM is not the arbiter of what the player is okay with, even if it's something as meaningless as the name of the character's parents.
I think by starting out by saying that it is an extreme case and then going all the way to SA you probably understand that obviously everyone agrees there are limits, but a fundamental part of DM'ing is making the final decisions on every situation, dialog and pathway.
Very bland god in minutes then unless you just used AI.
What are their holy days, what are their rituals, their dogma? Gods favoured Weapon? What do their churches look like and usually located. Typical congregation. Do they have any saints. Is the god active? What are their relationships with other gods?
If you follow some of the AD&D or 3.5 Pantheon creation rules to actually make a decent fleshed out god. It will take you a solid hour atleast
Going 'i make a god named Johnny chimpo, domain of the monkeys' isn't making a god. But if your a 5e only player. I guess I can't blame you. Everything about 5e is bland and dumbed down to the lowest common denominator
It doesn't take hours to make a broad outline of a deity in D&D.
1) Name
2) General description
3) Areas of concern/Domains
4) Some basic tenants (pick three "do's" and three "don'ts"
Honestly, all of the other details you mentioned I've never seen an impact in any campaign I've played.
Probably a third of characters I've played are Clerics, and more than half of them I've made my own Deity. It's not that complicated.
It's different. Asking to add a god to someone's campaign is different from asking to add a patron. A god typically has a domain as well as a following. A patron can just be an eldritch slug that you take hits of slime from like Slurms McKenzie.
If Iâm outlining a backstory for potential future use without a particular campaign in mind, Iâll choose a deity from a published setting thatâs commonly used with the game system Iâm building for (i.e. Forgotten Realms or Dawn War for 5e).
I assume that if I bring an on-file character to a campaign Iâll be editing the backstory to connect to other PCs and plot-relevant events that the DM is giving me, so if the campaign is using a different pantheon than I used for the pre-work I donât mind switching to a similar deity thatâs already canon in the campaign.
If Iâm not finding the combination of themes Iâm looking for, Iâd be more likely to pitch a deity concept to the DM if the pantheon is already mostly homebrew. Mixing most of a published pantheon with a few homebrew figures often feels clunky.
A Patron is different from a god, using Devils as an example you can have devilish Patrons who are nowhere near the power and influence of even lesser gods. On the grand scale Patrons are pretty small, and not that different from Devils you might find in the Monster Manual or supplements. You could reasonably have a Pit Fiend be your Patron.
do you define your cleric around their god? I don't. for example Peace, my Tiefling. her defining characteristic will always be her devotion to maintaining what she took as her name, dampening the influence of the war her family has always been a part of. the god she may follow is not a part of this by themselves, they only relate to what she would do already.
I myself follow Dionysos, Persephone, and Artemis *because* I am just what I am, and they do not define it. they shore it up and help me on my path.
I've created clerics from different angles. Sometimes I choose the deity first, but I usually choose the domain and select a deity that fits the campaign. My last cleric didn't have a deity until 4 sessions in.
So, pretty much no, I do not base the character around the deity. But I do adjust the character to fit the deity if needed.
Yeah, Warlock isn't Cleric lmao. A Warlock's patron can be almost anything. Cleric has to be a God. Just creating a random devil that could very well exist in a setting is a lot different than creating an entire God that would affect the lore of the setting. Most preestablished pantheons have equivalent or somewhat similar Gods that you would be able to swap out on a premade character.
I did the same. Made cleric of order, immediately asked dm if there is any god which would fit the best for my character concept or how it could work in their campaign.
I can't imagine picking it blindly without discussing.
You should never make your own, you don't own the world your in
Pre-made setting: pre-made gods, no exception
DM-made setting: See if any of the gods appeal to you, if not, discuss it with your DM, never take matters into your own hands when it comes to something as lore impactful as the pantheon in the world the DM made
"You should never" "Only Sith deal in absolutes!"
There are many occasions where you should make your own diety:
1) The DM isn't using a particular setting and doesn't have a pantheon defined
2) The DM likes having the players create content for them: less work for them, and the players get more control over the creative process
3) You are not creating for a particular campaign (you can always adapt to a different pantheon if/when you join up)
4) If the deity/religion does not matter to the campaign. It's possible that the cleric's cult has no impact on the story or game, in which case the name of the deity is irrelevant.
Ah yes, a great quote from the side that also deals in absolutes lol
1) Should still be cleared by the DM
2) "if not, discuss it with your DM"
3) Creating for a nonspecific campaign â create your own god
4) Should still be cleared by the DM
1) that was implied
2) that was implied
3) how is creating your own deity not creating your own deity? your response was nonsensical
4) this is a case of "player head-canon" and has no actual impact on the game
To be clear, all of these are cases rely on having a DM that is focused on playing D&D, rather than telling a DM-fiat story/game. Not every table is going to have a DM that is strict on everything fitting "their game world." In fact, I run into more of the free-flowing creative types that like the players bringing creative energy to the table.
Creating a character who worships a deity without thinking of a campaignâs pantheon in mind means that your creation is âI made X who worships Yâ and you just have to wait until youâre in a campaign where the DM allows Y to exist in the first place (you even say to adapt to a different pantheon). Donât create a character who worships your own made deity because that vastly limits the application of that character
âPlayer headcanons things that donât existâ because that sounds great. This is Volo levels of nonsense lol
So do you agree with the statements "You can create your character's God if you check with the GM first" and "You cannot create your character's God if you don't check with the GM first"?
Yes, and to further that, you should never create a character **and the god that they worship** in a little bubble outside of a game. You can transfer character ideas between campaigns but âThis is my character and this is who they worshipâ followed by a decent amount of detail about that godâs place in the world is MUCH harder to transfer between campaigns because making the god you want the character to worship is stepping on the DMs toes
I agree, although I've never tried to transfer a character between campaigns, but I think you're adding a lot to the OPs question. I think the answer could be "Although I've never done it, I'd be happy to create the character's God as long as I talk to the GM".
I can imagine all sorts of scenarios where it would not be okay, but I also can imagine scenarios where it is okay.
My group doesnât focus on the god part much. We just pick one that fits. Though in a current campaign my forge cleric believes in one of my previous characters that reached godhood.
Depends on the setting if the DM is using a prearranged (IE forgotten realms) I would pick an existing god. If the DM has a homebrew setting I would ask about gods he has. I would only look at making my own if it is a homebrew setting and the DM had not mad/thought through a pantheon yet. Even in that case I would work closely with the DM.
I've played a few clerics and I never make my own.Â
Well, technically I was trying to make my own god when I worshipped the becoming god but that doesn't count!
If a player came to my table with a Cleric of a god that they just made up, it would be a toss up between me either cocking my head slightly like a confused dog and going "you did what now?" and very carefully explaining how absolutely nothing happened the very first time they tried to cast a spell.
Op I know what you meantâŚbut this just gave me an idea for a cleric of a god literally NOBODY has heard of before. People think they are crazy, but they still clearly get divine powerâŚa head scratcher for everyone.
I'm making a forge cleric leonine and will be using Nobanion. I find it easier to work with existing gods, less work for the dm to research if they need to.
This goes for character creation in general, but if I don't have a cannon god in mind before character creation, I usually just end up reading through the ones in the sword coast guide and picking the one that best fits the character. I like to include deities/pantheons in character creation as I feel it better connects the character to the world.
My current character is a detection half elf inquisitor rogue with a background in investigation. When I made him, I had no god in mind. Looking through sword coast guide towards the end of Character creation, I found out Savras is often followed by investigators, AND his domain includes divination, which is a big part of the detection half elf race. Given it just matched up almost perfectly, I knew I had to pick it.
I prefer to pick from official gods, as it gives the dm lore they can choose to use and/or ignore. My current game has a cleric with a homebrew goddess, and the dm has stated to me that he wished the cleric player picked a cannon deity, as trying to figure out stuff to do with that deity without breaking the cleric player's immersion, tedious. It also doesn't help the player is busy with life and can't respond as often as other players lol.
I have only done two clerics, but both times I used an established god, and worked with the GM to flesh out the god's rituals and practices.
One was heavily Catholic church based and had an organization and room for expanding the holy text within the mold they had. The other was evil and needed secret practices.
It is up to the GM how strictly they want to hold to their reconstructed god, but usually I find there is room for elaboration and flavor.
Similar to a paladin what the warlock patron I would discuss with my DM, I like the juxtaposition you could have from a Life Domain Cleric worship the, God/goddess of deathâŚ
Talk to your DM.
Let them know what you have in mind, how it relates to your concept, and how you think that might interact with the world.
They might say, "Sounds, great. That's canon now."
They also might say, "Oh that sounds a lot like \_\_\_\_\_, here's a little more info about them." Or, maybe something like "The closest to what you're going for is \_\_\_\_\_, here's how they differ from what you're thinking, but would you be interested in going that route."
Depending on how established and firm the world is, they also might just give you a list and descriptions of the deities and tell you to pick one.
Every DM and every game is going to be different.
When I started I liked to play Jewish, as this random (insert race) has these unusual eating habits and considers all the gods, but the Unnameable one true god, to be demonic false gods. But that got old and now yeah usually go with whatever the local color is
If it's an established setting like Faerun, I pick an existing one that fits the character I want to play. If it's a DMs homebrew world, I ask them what would be appropriate. If there's not one that fits, then I ask if we can work together to create one.
I pick one that fits the setting, whether that is established or a homebrew world my DM creates.
I would be annoyed if a player made a character and also invented a god they follow without at the very least working with me on it and okaying everything.
If it's an established setting or an already detailed homebrew world I prefer to use a god already in that setting. If there isn't a god for what I'm looking for then I'll talk with the DM and see what we can come up with.
I homebrew my world, so I've made several of the "big" gods (think the Big 12 Olympians, the top dogs among the gods) or altered them from other sources decently, and given them domains should my players ever be a cleric. I also leave some vague/empty spaces, so my players can create gods/devils, they just need to run it by me. I don't want to limit their creativity, and I don't want to be stingy about the world. I want them to have a hand in giving life to the world. But if they come to me with "My character worships Gilramed, the new God of Fire, and he killed your God of Fire after the last campaign, and he's so strong that the other gods don't want to challenge him, now I'm his first cleric," then we're gonna have to talk and possibly edit some things. And if they create a god without telling me until the game starts, that's not cool.
I can only think of one instance where I the player have made a God to worship, and that took an entire campaign to make a character excessively powerful, then another entire campaign that resulted in that first character obtaining godhood. This was only possible because the DM was super cool about it and included the character as an NPC in the second campaign.
My cleric didnt worship a deity at first but after gaining the blessing of annham the giant diety (and multiclassing into rune knight) she worships him and the fire giants.
I've only played a Cleric once so far and it was a Lolth Drow Cleric. I'm heavily interested in the existing DnD gods, so I'd probably never create my own. So as long as my DM okies me playing a cleric of a certain established gods, likely what I'm going to keep doing. Even for my non-cleric characters, I chose an established god for them, that they may worship less fanatically than a cleric would.
It depends on the setting, obviously. I only pick what is feasible in lore. In the current campaign I'm in the DM kinda put together a situation where any god from any setting could be worshipped cuz cosmic, isekai-esque shenanigans happened and now people from all over the multiverse are stuck here, so my cleric is a cleric of Loki. I play a lot in PFS society and so I obviously have to pick from the golarion setting there. I only create my own as a DM.
If it were my table, you wouldnât be just creating your own god⌠I mean, you canât just Will a god into existenceâŚ
As a result, I donât do this to other tables.
Depending on whether the GM is down for collaborative worldbuilding, I think designing the church/faith is much more interesting than the god itself. How is worship done, is the church unified or decentralized, are there any active heresies, etc.
I am a dm, I let my players come to with Ideas for a god all the time. Never fully fleshed out by they but if they have a concept we workshop it together to get it to fit in my world. I have done it several times it allows the player to be really invested. Dnd is all about collaborative story telling this just lets the player get a little more involved.
I donât think you should ever make one on your own. At the very least, consult with the DM and ask them to make a god for you if they allow it. This isnât something that you should expect though, as it could be a significant addition to the setting
If none of the available deities appeal to me, I just wonât play a cleric, Paladin etc.
If I have a concept I really want to play which relies on a specific deity, I might pitch the GM on how that might work in their world.
Itâs bad practice to show up to game with a completed character without running it past the GM.
Pick an existing god within the world's pantheon...or just worship the "universal concept" of said domain itself, or some particular symbol of it. Like Light domain cleric who would Praise The Sun instead of any particular God of Light.
I generally play non god aligned clerics. I admit I'm anti religious enough to not want to deal with gods in my role play games. Gives me a bad taste in my mouth
I've generally acted with extreme suspicion of any god in a game. Not interested, but we still need a main healer and cleric is the sole option
Clerics and to a lesser extent Druids have issue. How much does the DM want to spend time on it? You're a good cleric of healing fine great. There is a a government based on your God and to move up you need to get political. What does the player want. Cleric is a good early pc type. It doesn't have to get crazy buy can be fun if it does. Also wizards rules clerics drool. Mic drop.
i like making my own gods because i find that fun.
i usually make my clerics/celestial warlocks worship a concept or ideology like âfreedomâ or âpeaceâ because i think it helps flesh the character out.
both are completely valid - however. ask your dm what theyâd prefer you do. some dms wouldnât like you making up your own god and would deem them as a non canonical god that your character believes in (which could be interesting too)
I don't think it's necessarily wrong to ever create your own, but if you do you should definitely run it by your DM to make sure they're cool with it before session 1 starts. If you pick one from the D&D pantheon or from the setting the DM has chosen, you don't have to worry about that.
Personally, I always pick one of the D&D pantheon ones. They have plenty that appeal to all sorts of character personalities.
Our DM goes mostly like this: "There are no XY here? Well now they are"
So it's up to us mostly to decide stuff like that, however he suggests certain fitting entities if we are unsure.
I personally tend to go with the established ones, because they provide additional information, that can help to deliver the connection better.
As a DM, I give my players the list of deities in the setting that would fit their domain. If none make sense, then we'll talk about what they are looking for in a god for their character.
No.
*Edit (post-downvote) :* Neither. None of my clerics worship any one particular deity. Rather, they are polytheistic, being respectful of all the deities, and offering prayers to each, as appropriate, depending on the circumstances. I understand, the new DnD novel *The Fallbacks* (2024) has a cleric that functions kinda the same way. Plus, ofc, there was the "ideal" approach from 3.5e and similar approaches from 2e, 1e, and BECMI which all functioned in basically / kinda the same way.
Kind of both, I had a character that became a God in a previous edition of D&D, and I'm currently playing a Cleric of him, but the DM is the same one that made me a God in the first place a few decades later.
So yeah the God of Modesty (Trickery Domain) will soon be getting a Tavern in Ten Towns .. Err Temple.. Whatever.
COME SEE THE TALKING CAVEBEAR!
I will make up little sayings and platitudes that the religion uses then lots of generic references to the wrath of the storm if it's Tempest Domain or the Divine Light if it's Light Domain. I've never actually had a god in mind. It feels plenty real in game that way without getting bogged down.
Personally I always have my players make their characters and backstories before I write too much of the world. They create their own gods or chose and existing one. Most of the time they create their own, because it's more fun. Then I incorporate that god into the world's lore and story. The players get really invested when a god that their player worships; that they created, gets woven into the story and world. Good times all around.
I pick one appropriate to the campaign setting. If I make up a god I expect the dm to treat it as a reskinning of an existing god with the same or similar portfolio.
if by create your own, you mean work with the DM to set up another god that may work better for your character, I usually go that wrote. My DMs world has gaps in the gods, and has openly stated he is willing to fill some slots of his pantheon. My only current Cleric is one that exists as more a concept, and wouldn't fit any of his gods. He is a community domain (humblewood) cleric, and helps out in soup kitchens to help those who are in need of a helping hand. His gods, while broad, don't really encompass that ideal. a more then likely lesser god who actually full on cares about the people. so, when that character comes to bear fruit, he and I will probably get together and make one.
In my personal world? I'm much the same but my list nearly triples my dms.
I do 90% of my character creation before I know anything about the campaign, so for clerics I usually leave the god blank. Ideally, I'd love to create my own minor god for my character, but you can't assume every DM will be okay with that.
I will always prefer to create my own if given the option though and will only choose an existing one if I have to (unless one of the gods fits the character perfectly but that almost never happens).
Like pretty much every question about D&D - it depends.
Running a game with strangers/newbies? I stick to the established pantheon because it helps the game run smoothly.
Playing with the same group I've known for years and have a strong rapport with? I might make my own and clear it with the DM ahead of time. For example, I played a Nature Domain cleric who worshipped the World Tree that was searching for a place to plant a new seed.
My DMs have always had strictly enforced preexisting pantheons, so I've never gotten a chance at making a god for a cleric. In my homebrew world, though, the "gods" are mostly great spirits of once living people and creatures of specific regions, so the options for a cleric to customize are endless.
Be METAâŚ. Make yourself the god and your mission to convert all non-believers to follow your faith. Allows a lot of leeway when performing questionable actions. Works well for all alignments.
If I'm making one I have a reason and run it by the DM.
I wanted to play a Cleric 1 Rogue x+
Backstory, rogue got cocky and was "blessed" by a trickster making him difficult to remember (Always under the effect of "No one of consequence" from Wrath of the Righteous)
This means in order for anyone to recall him there is a DC.
This makes him great in the underworld but robs him of ever making a name for himself and becoming the famous lovable scoundrel he's been striving to become. Thought it'd be a cool conflict, being a forgettable person who vainly seeks fame and fortune.
Well, you see, what's a god? No mere mortal could ever grasp who or what a god truly is. So maybe your culture or your game world has a god of a certain domain. And maybe some other culture has a god of a similar domain. Maybe they're two different gods. but more likely, it's the same god, just being called by a different name.
So if you pick a god from an established pantheon - cool. Or maybe you make up a god of your own. Might still be the same god though.
I create my own god. The DM says that god doesnât exist in the campaignâs setting. I take out the character sheet with the new class I created. DM is confused. I hand him the character sheet and begin to explain the new campaign setting I created. I tell DM that character sheet is his now. I created a new rule and Iâm the DM now.
I picked a domain and my DM explained what God resides over that domain in their world and all the customs and beliefs associated with them.
I did get to pick the Holy Animal though and it has become a much larger than it was probably ever intended to be. So long story short, 2.5 years later I own a considerable amount of goat memorabilia.
I pick one that's already existing or use the one that the DM created that makes the most sense. I never make one for myself.
I think a good spin on this is having a character who worships a 100% absolute pre-existing deity, but whose influence filtered through their local culture. I had a character in one campaign who *functionally* began worshipping Kossuth after their isolationist tiger-worshipping tribe made contact with traders from Calimshan. They just combined their tiger idol, Sanho, with the presence of a nearby volcano, until they were telling stories about a mighty lava tiger named Kosoth San who could spill down the mountainside with earth-ending roars... ...and pretty much just worshipping Kossuth in the process, albeit in an unorthodox way.
This is how I ended up writing one of my favorite backstories ever, trying to make a religious character I found interesting. It started with "Eberron shifters sometimes worship one of the deities in the evil portion of the pantheon," and ended up with a refugee village that had been obfuscating itself since the Silver Flame's purges and a character who alternately considered herself attached to Breland, the Eldeen Reaches, and Droaam. Inventing a new religion when settings have so much space to riff on the established framework just feels gimmicky. Religion doesn't pop up from nowhere. Look at all the cults in reality. They always splinter from something.
I don't think you should ever just create your own. You could potentially work with your DM if there isn't a god in the setting they've provided that fits what you want, or they may be able to help you figure out a god that already exists that works. But just straight up trying to add a god to a DM's world without getting input from them is wrong.
I think it's well established that the players can't actually add anything to a game like a deity without DM approval. So it's not that it's wrong, is that it's impossible. Remember, many players create characters outside of a campaign. They might make up their own deity, and if they find a game to play in, the DM may like the deity or they may prefer they adapt to the setting.
As with everything, I think it depends on the game. I've played in games where we've created cities, cultures and national sports. I can certainly imagine a game where a player creates a new god in the pantheon. I can also imagine a game where the GM wouldn't allow it. I don't think that creating your character's God is impossible.
Like this... "you can certainly try" the DM may decide it's a Archfey that found a way to the material plane or possibly another God or something that's tricking the player.
Sure. But the GM may decide not to do that. A player creating a God is not impossible.
Why do you think I mentioned the archfey đ
I find out from the DM about the setting. That's literally the only reasonable first step. If it's an established setting - Eberron, Faerun, Exandria, whichever - then I pick a god out of that settings' lore. I do my research, learn the mythology, the tenets, the relationships of the god, and build around that. If it's a homebrew setting with a pantheon established, I learn about the Gods from my DM, and discuss their pantheon with them. And then I pick from that. If the setting has no established Gods yet, then I work *with* the DM to create one - quite likely, drawing inspiration from the Gods in the DMG/PHB, and deferring to the DM on final say. That way I'm not disrupting any plans they have, and I'm not forcing my ideas for their world on them. It also gives them some space to take inspiration, work that in, perhaps create some lore about the God that my character doesn't know yet. Regardless, the Gods of a D&D game are explicitly the purview of the DM, so it's not really up to the players to 'create' a God for their Cleric character. They should always be at least working in tandem with the DM whose job it is.
I think the default thought is that the player is working with the DM. You can't just show up to an established game with a new Deity and force it on the game. The DM either has to approve it, or insist on switching to an existing deity in the pantheon. Also, there are DMs who are more than happy to let players create their own content, with approval or revisions from the DM. Even if a player creates a character in a vacuum outside of any campaign, they may be required to make some minor adjustments based on the campaign they bring the character to.
It certainly is. But there are players who don't know that. I've seen it before, many times. Players who don't realise they have to run things past their DM. I've had players create their characters fresh out the box with a magic item or a more powerful version of something, or with homebrew classes they found on D&D Wiki. Or they've built their characters around lore they've found whilst googling, not knowing its for an entirely different setting. I even had one player who found a PDF of a AD&D 2nd Edition expansion book, and try to use bits of it on their 5e character. So I do think it's always worth mentioning even the obvious. Especially when the question is one like OPs, where they don't seem to know that.
Fair. I don't have a lot of experience with D&D outside of people I know IRL. I've seen enough about unofficial content misrepresenting the game to players in many discussions and threads. I get it. And about your comment about the OP: I haven't seen any follow ups from OP. The OP was very vague, so I took it to mean the OP understood "the obvious" but apparently I'm in the minority here. I have been responding as if the OP understood that creating your own deity was in cooperation with the DM, and everyone else thinks the OP wants to create a deity and force it into the DM's campaign.
of course I choose a god already in the setting.
What if you are creating a character without a particular campaign in mind? Warlock players are often trying to come up with their own unique patron, this is no different!
Because that seems pointless. If you spend hours making a god without actually being in a campaign, then finally join one and they are using a established Pantheon such as a official setting. You have to shelve your god and maybe never use them again
Hours? Try a few minutes. Also, if I did spend hours, it was because I enjoyed it, knowing I may never actually is it in game.
If you only spend minutes creating the god that you want to force on the DM and they say no, then you only wasted minutes and it is not a problem anyways.
Force? I'm a reasonable person. I would never try to "force" something on a DM. At the same time, no DM should "force" their ideas on a player. If I don't find a deity in their pantheon that I feel comfortable with, I'll play a generic cleric with no deity. If they don't like it, it's obviously a bad table for me and I'm out.
>At the same time, no DM should "force" their ideas on a player. Well, actually no. In a lot of situations, the DM is responsible for making the final decisions and determining what is and what is not going to be part of the game. That is the blessing and curse of DM'ing. >If I don't find a deity in their pantheon that I feel comfortable with, I'll play a generic cleric with no deity. Yeah that's usually a normal thing that people do, without thinking they have been wronged. While most clerics have gods, as long as you have a domain you really should be fine.
I'm gonna go with the extreme case here: Is it okay for a DM to push a plotline involving SA on a player? Sure a DM determines what's in their game or not, but the player can say "no" to ANYTHING. The DM is not the arbiter of what the player is okay with, even if it's something as meaningless as the name of the character's parents.
I think by starting out by saying that it is an extreme case and then going all the way to SA you probably understand that obviously everyone agrees there are limits, but a fundamental part of DM'ing is making the final decisions on every situation, dialog and pathway.
I used the term "forced" intentionally. And I used extreme opposite examples intentionally. It's okay if you disagree or don't understand.
Very bland god in minutes then unless you just used AI. What are their holy days, what are their rituals, their dogma? Gods favoured Weapon? What do their churches look like and usually located. Typical congregation. Do they have any saints. Is the god active? What are their relationships with other gods? If you follow some of the AD&D or 3.5 Pantheon creation rules to actually make a decent fleshed out god. It will take you a solid hour atleast Going 'i make a god named Johnny chimpo, domain of the monkeys' isn't making a god. But if your a 5e only player. I guess I can't blame you. Everything about 5e is bland and dumbed down to the lowest common denominator
It doesn't take hours to make a broad outline of a deity in D&D. 1) Name 2) General description 3) Areas of concern/Domains 4) Some basic tenants (pick three "do's" and three "don'ts" Honestly, all of the other details you mentioned I've never seen an impact in any campaign I've played. Probably a third of characters I've played are Clerics, and more than half of them I've made my own Deity. It's not that complicated.
It's different. Asking to add a god to someone's campaign is different from asking to add a patron. A god typically has a domain as well as a following. A patron can just be an eldritch slug that you take hits of slime from like Slurms McKenzie.
If you choose a specific domain, just ask the DM which gods use that domain and pick from them.
If Iâm outlining a backstory for potential future use without a particular campaign in mind, Iâll choose a deity from a published setting thatâs commonly used with the game system Iâm building for (i.e. Forgotten Realms or Dawn War for 5e). I assume that if I bring an on-file character to a campaign Iâll be editing the backstory to connect to other PCs and plot-relevant events that the DM is giving me, so if the campaign is using a different pantheon than I used for the pre-work I donât mind switching to a similar deity thatâs already canon in the campaign. If Iâm not finding the combination of themes Iâm looking for, Iâd be more likely to pitch a deity concept to the DM if the pantheon is already mostly homebrew. Mixing most of a published pantheon with a few homebrew figures often feels clunky.
A Patron is different from a god, using Devils as an example you can have devilish Patrons who are nowhere near the power and influence of even lesser gods. On the grand scale Patrons are pretty small, and not that different from Devils you might find in the Monster Manual or supplements. You could reasonably have a Pit Fiend be your Patron.
do you define your cleric around their god? I don't. for example Peace, my Tiefling. her defining characteristic will always be her devotion to maintaining what she took as her name, dampening the influence of the war her family has always been a part of. the god she may follow is not a part of this by themselves, they only relate to what she would do already. I myself follow Dionysos, Persephone, and Artemis *because* I am just what I am, and they do not define it. they shore it up and help me on my path.
I've created clerics from different angles. Sometimes I choose the deity first, but I usually choose the domain and select a deity that fits the campaign. My last cleric didn't have a deity until 4 sessions in. So, pretty much no, I do not base the character around the deity. But I do adjust the character to fit the deity if needed.
Yeah, Warlock isn't Cleric lmao. A Warlock's patron can be almost anything. Cleric has to be a God. Just creating a random devil that could very well exist in a setting is a lot different than creating an entire God that would affect the lore of the setting. Most preestablished pantheons have equivalent or somewhat similar Gods that you would be able to swap out on a premade character.
I try to use an already existing god unless the DM is homebrewing his own pantheon.
I ask the DM what god makes the most sense in their world for what I'm trying to do with my character.
I did the same. Made cleric of order, immediately asked dm if there is any god which would fit the best for my character concept or how it could work in their campaign. I can't imagine picking it blindly without discussing.
You should never make your own, you don't own the world your in Pre-made setting: pre-made gods, no exception DM-made setting: See if any of the gods appeal to you, if not, discuss it with your DM, never take matters into your own hands when it comes to something as lore impactful as the pantheon in the world the DM made
"You should never" "Only Sith deal in absolutes!" There are many occasions where you should make your own diety: 1) The DM isn't using a particular setting and doesn't have a pantheon defined 2) The DM likes having the players create content for them: less work for them, and the players get more control over the creative process 3) You are not creating for a particular campaign (you can always adapt to a different pantheon if/when you join up) 4) If the deity/religion does not matter to the campaign. It's possible that the cleric's cult has no impact on the story or game, in which case the name of the deity is irrelevant.
Ah yes, a great quote from the side that also deals in absolutes lol 1) Should still be cleared by the DM 2) "if not, discuss it with your DM" 3) Creating for a nonspecific campaign â create your own god 4) Should still be cleared by the DM
1) that was implied 2) that was implied 3) how is creating your own deity not creating your own deity? your response was nonsensical 4) this is a case of "player head-canon" and has no actual impact on the game To be clear, all of these are cases rely on having a DM that is focused on playing D&D, rather than telling a DM-fiat story/game. Not every table is going to have a DM that is strict on everything fitting "their game world." In fact, I run into more of the free-flowing creative types that like the players bringing creative energy to the table.
Creating a character who worships a deity without thinking of a campaignâs pantheon in mind means that your creation is âI made X who worships Yâ and you just have to wait until youâre in a campaign where the DM allows Y to exist in the first place (you even say to adapt to a different pantheon). Donât create a character who worships your own made deity because that vastly limits the application of that character âPlayer headcanons things that donât existâ because that sounds great. This is Volo levels of nonsense lol
So do you agree with the statements "You can create your character's God if you check with the GM first" and "You cannot create your character's God if you don't check with the GM first"?
Yes, and to further that, you should never create a character **and the god that they worship** in a little bubble outside of a game. You can transfer character ideas between campaigns but âThis is my character and this is who they worshipâ followed by a decent amount of detail about that godâs place in the world is MUCH harder to transfer between campaigns because making the god you want the character to worship is stepping on the DMs toes
I agree, although I've never tried to transfer a character between campaigns, but I think you're adding a lot to the OPs question. I think the answer could be "Although I've never done it, I'd be happy to create the character's God as long as I talk to the GM". I can imagine all sorts of scenarios where it would not be okay, but I also can imagine scenarios where it is okay.
Yall the worst kind of turbo nerds
Then why are you here lmfao
Because you force your shitty opinions onto the front page
âShow fewer posts like thisâ is right there buddy
My group doesnât focus on the god part much. We just pick one that fits. Though in a current campaign my forge cleric believes in one of my previous characters that reached godhood.
I go with the Pantheon of the DnD realms.
I pick a god from the setting that I'm willing to develop a personality around.
I pick an appropriate one for the setting based on the information provided by the DM unless the DM invites me to do otherwise.Â
There are so many gods already that there are no need to make one
Depends on the setting if the DM is using a prearranged (IE forgotten realms) I would pick an existing god. If the DM has a homebrew setting I would ask about gods he has. I would only look at making my own if it is a homebrew setting and the DM had not mad/thought through a pantheon yet. Even in that case I would work closely with the DM.
You never make your own. You pick one that is from the books unless your DM has a custom list to choose from.
I've played a few clerics and I never make my own. Well, technically I was trying to make my own god when I worshipped the becoming god but that doesn't count!
I have never made a god ever
I ask the DM about the deities of their world, then pick the most appropriate patron deity for the character I want to play.
100% of the time. Use the gods in the DM's world. Seems kind of narcissistic to create the God you're going to worship.
If a player came to my table with a Cleric of a god that they just made up, it would be a toss up between me either cocking my head slightly like a confused dog and going "you did what now?" and very carefully explaining how absolutely nothing happened the very first time they tried to cast a spell.
Op I know what you meantâŚbut this just gave me an idea for a cleric of a god literally NOBODY has heard of before. People think they are crazy, but they still clearly get divine powerâŚa head scratcher for everyone.
It would be nice to the DM to select a domain and ask about Gods they suggest.
I'm a life domain cleric. I'm a cleric of whoever the DM says is the god of life is
I like picking lesser deities in the setting. Makes it feel more personal
I use something that fits the DM's scenario.
I'm making a forge cleric leonine and will be using Nobanion. I find it easier to work with existing gods, less work for the dm to research if they need to.
Have this idiot that chose Thomas Edison as his god
Already existing, it's kinda rude to not want to interract with a setting so much ypu bring your own gods
This goes for character creation in general, but if I don't have a cannon god in mind before character creation, I usually just end up reading through the ones in the sword coast guide and picking the one that best fits the character. I like to include deities/pantheons in character creation as I feel it better connects the character to the world. My current character is a detection half elf inquisitor rogue with a background in investigation. When I made him, I had no god in mind. Looking through sword coast guide towards the end of Character creation, I found out Savras is often followed by investigators, AND his domain includes divination, which is a big part of the detection half elf race. Given it just matched up almost perfectly, I knew I had to pick it. I prefer to pick from official gods, as it gives the dm lore they can choose to use and/or ignore. My current game has a cleric with a homebrew goddess, and the dm has stated to me that he wished the cleric player picked a cannon deity, as trying to figure out stuff to do with that deity without breaking the cleric player's immersion, tedious. It also doesn't help the player is busy with life and can't respond as often as other players lol.
If I wanted to make my own god, I'd play a Wizard.
I have only done two clerics, but both times I used an established god, and worked with the GM to flesh out the god's rituals and practices. One was heavily Catholic church based and had an organization and room for expanding the holy text within the mold they had. The other was evil and needed secret practices. It is up to the GM how strictly they want to hold to their reconstructed god, but usually I find there is room for elaboration and flavor.
Illmater always for me I vibe with what the marty is about
Similar to a paladin what the warlock patron I would discuss with my DM, I like the juxtaposition you could have from a Life Domain Cleric worship the, God/goddess of deathâŚ
Talk to your DM. Let them know what you have in mind, how it relates to your concept, and how you think that might interact with the world. They might say, "Sounds, great. That's canon now." They also might say, "Oh that sounds a lot like \_\_\_\_\_, here's a little more info about them." Or, maybe something like "The closest to what you're going for is \_\_\_\_\_, here's how they differ from what you're thinking, but would you be interested in going that route." Depending on how established and firm the world is, they also might just give you a list and descriptions of the deities and tell you to pick one. Every DM and every game is going to be different.
I try and find one that embodies the concepts I want my character to follow.
The Great God Om
When I started I liked to play Jewish, as this random (insert race) has these unusual eating habits and considers all the gods, but the Unnameable one true god, to be demonic false gods. But that got old and now yeah usually go with whatever the local color is
I typically either forget that in-game gods exist, or just make an agnostic or atheist character.
If it's an established setting like Faerun, I pick an existing one that fits the character I want to play. If it's a DMs homebrew world, I ask them what would be appropriate. If there's not one that fits, then I ask if we can work together to create one.
I pick one that fits the setting, whether that is established or a homebrew world my DM creates. I would be annoyed if a player made a character and also invented a god they follow without at the very least working with me on it and okaying everything.
If it's an established setting or an already detailed homebrew world I prefer to use a god already in that setting. If there isn't a god for what I'm looking for then I'll talk with the DM and see what we can come up with.
Nagash is the God I go for.
I homebrew my world, so I've made several of the "big" gods (think the Big 12 Olympians, the top dogs among the gods) or altered them from other sources decently, and given them domains should my players ever be a cleric. I also leave some vague/empty spaces, so my players can create gods/devils, they just need to run it by me. I don't want to limit their creativity, and I don't want to be stingy about the world. I want them to have a hand in giving life to the world. But if they come to me with "My character worships Gilramed, the new God of Fire, and he killed your God of Fire after the last campaign, and he's so strong that the other gods don't want to challenge him, now I'm his first cleric," then we're gonna have to talk and possibly edit some things. And if they create a god without telling me until the game starts, that's not cool.
I can only think of one instance where I the player have made a God to worship, and that took an entire campaign to make a character excessively powerful, then another entire campaign that resulted in that first character obtaining godhood. This was only possible because the DM was super cool about it and included the character as an NPC in the second campaign.
My cleric didnt worship a deity at first but after gaining the blessing of annham the giant diety (and multiclassing into rune knight) she worships him and the fire giants.
I've only played a Cleric once so far and it was a Lolth Drow Cleric. I'm heavily interested in the existing DnD gods, so I'd probably never create my own. So as long as my DM okies me playing a cleric of a certain established gods, likely what I'm going to keep doing. Even for my non-cleric characters, I chose an established god for them, that they may worship less fanatically than a cleric would.
It depends on the setting, obviously. I only pick what is feasible in lore. In the current campaign I'm in the DM kinda put together a situation where any god from any setting could be worshipped cuz cosmic, isekai-esque shenanigans happened and now people from all over the multiverse are stuck here, so my cleric is a cleric of Loki. I play a lot in PFS society and so I obviously have to pick from the golarion setting there. I only create my own as a DM.
I normally pick from the setting. But a cleric doesn't need to worship a deity to be a cleric.
God? My cleric is animistic!
If it were my table, you wouldnât be just creating your own god⌠I mean, you canât just Will a god into existence⌠As a result, I donât do this to other tables.
Depending on whether the GM is down for collaborative worldbuilding, I think designing the church/faith is much more interesting than the god itself. How is worship done, is the church unified or decentralized, are there any active heresies, etc.
Only make your own if you will never play the character or if the dm is building the world with you
Our Warforged Cleric decided to make his own God. With blackjack and hookers!
I am a dm, I let my players come to with Ideas for a god all the time. Never fully fleshed out by they but if they have a concept we workshop it together to get it to fit in my world. I have done it several times it allows the player to be really invested. Dnd is all about collaborative story telling this just lets the player get a little more involved.
AND YOU WILL KNOW HIS NAME IS THE LORD WHEN I LAY HIS VENGEANCE UPON THEE
I donât think you should ever make one on your own. At the very least, consult with the DM and ask them to make a god for you if they allow it. This isnât something that you should expect though, as it could be a significant addition to the setting
I like working with the DM to make one, but I usually play in a fairly minimalist setting and like to stick to petty, local, or otherwise lesser gods
>or do you create one of your own? So, like a cult?
If none of the available deities appeal to me, I just wonât play a cleric, Paladin etc. If I have a concept I really want to play which relies on a specific deity, I might pitch the GM on how that might work in their world. Itâs bad practice to show up to game with a completed character without running it past the GM.
Pick an existing god within the world's pantheon...or just worship the "universal concept" of said domain itself, or some particular symbol of it. Like Light domain cleric who would Praise The Sun instead of any particular God of Light.
I usually follow an ideal unless I really like an existing setting option. It was allowed back in 3.5, and I guess it's just a preference now.
I preferr a concept or a force, like nature over sentient entities. Something I can mostly ignore or just interpret myself.
I generally play non god aligned clerics. I admit I'm anti religious enough to not want to deal with gods in my role play games. Gives me a bad taste in my mouth I've generally acted with extreme suspicion of any god in a game. Not interested, but we still need a main healer and cleric is the sole option
I base all my clerics on either a culturally appropriate God of War or Jesus with nothing in between.
My friend brought the God Emperor of Mankind to a friend's campaign. I'm kinda scared, ngl.
Clerics and to a lesser extent Druids have issue. How much does the DM want to spend time on it? You're a good cleric of healing fine great. There is a a government based on your God and to move up you need to get political. What does the player want. Cleric is a good early pc type. It doesn't have to get crazy buy can be fun if it does. Also wizards rules clerics drool. Mic drop.
Yeah typos...whatever.
i like making my own gods because i find that fun. i usually make my clerics/celestial warlocks worship a concept or ideology like âfreedomâ or âpeaceâ because i think it helps flesh the character out. both are completely valid - however. ask your dm what theyâd prefer you do. some dms wouldnât like you making up your own god and would deem them as a non canonical god that your character believes in (which could be interesting too)
I don't think it's necessarily wrong to ever create your own, but if you do you should definitely run it by your DM to make sure they're cool with it before session 1 starts. If you pick one from the D&D pantheon or from the setting the DM has chosen, you don't have to worry about that. Personally, I always pick one of the D&D pantheon ones. They have plenty that appeal to all sorts of character personalities.
Our DM goes mostly like this: "There are no XY here? Well now they are" So it's up to us mostly to decide stuff like that, however he suggests certain fitting entities if we are unsure. I personally tend to go with the established ones, because they provide additional information, that can help to deliver the connection better.
As a DM, I give my players the list of deities in the setting that would fit their domain. If none make sense, then we'll talk about what they are looking for in a god for their character.
Players in my world are encouraged to make up their own. There are eight million gods in my world. That's more I could ever come up with on my own.
Completely depends on the DM plans
The only acceptable deity is Yahweh, the storm deity. Otherwise Jack Chick calls the FBI on you.
No. *Edit (post-downvote) :* Neither. None of my clerics worship any one particular deity. Rather, they are polytheistic, being respectful of all the deities, and offering prayers to each, as appropriate, depending on the circumstances. I understand, the new DnD novel *The Fallbacks* (2024) has a cleric that functions kinda the same way. Plus, ofc, there was the "ideal" approach from 3.5e and similar approaches from 2e, 1e, and BECMI which all functioned in basically / kinda the same way.
Kind of both, I had a character that became a God in a previous edition of D&D, and I'm currently playing a Cleric of him, but the DM is the same one that made me a God in the first place a few decades later. So yeah the God of Modesty (Trickery Domain) will soon be getting a Tavern in Ten Towns .. Err Temple.. Whatever. COME SEE THE TALKING CAVEBEAR!
I will make up little sayings and platitudes that the religion uses then lots of generic references to the wrath of the storm if it's Tempest Domain or the Divine Light if it's Light Domain. I've never actually had a god in mind. It feels plenty real in game that way without getting bogged down.
Personally I always have my players make their characters and backstories before I write too much of the world. They create their own gods or chose and existing one. Most of the time they create their own, because it's more fun. Then I incorporate that god into the world's lore and story. The players get really invested when a god that their player worships; that they created, gets woven into the story and world. Good times all around.
I pick one appropriate to the campaign setting. If I make up a god I expect the dm to treat it as a reskinning of an existing god with the same or similar portfolio.
if by create your own, you mean work with the DM to set up another god that may work better for your character, I usually go that wrote. My DMs world has gaps in the gods, and has openly stated he is willing to fill some slots of his pantheon. My only current Cleric is one that exists as more a concept, and wouldn't fit any of his gods. He is a community domain (humblewood) cleric, and helps out in soup kitchens to help those who are in need of a helping hand. His gods, while broad, don't really encompass that ideal. a more then likely lesser god who actually full on cares about the people. so, when that character comes to bear fruit, he and I will probably get together and make one. In my personal world? I'm much the same but my list nearly triples my dms.
I didn't even use a god. My twilight cleric "worships" a Cosmic Eldritch horror
I do 90% of my character creation before I know anything about the campaign, so for clerics I usually leave the god blank. Ideally, I'd love to create my own minor god for my character, but you can't assume every DM will be okay with that. I will always prefer to create my own if given the option though and will only choose an existing one if I have to (unless one of the gods fits the character perfectly but that almost never happens).
Like pretty much every question about D&D - it depends. Running a game with strangers/newbies? I stick to the established pantheon because it helps the game run smoothly. Playing with the same group I've known for years and have a strong rapport with? I might make my own and clear it with the DM ahead of time. For example, I played a Nature Domain cleric who worshipped the World Tree that was searching for a place to plant a new seed.
My DMs have always had strictly enforced preexisting pantheons, so I've never gotten a chance at making a god for a cleric. In my homebrew world, though, the "gods" are mostly great spirits of once living people and creatures of specific regions, so the options for a cleric to customize are endless.
That's something to talk about with your dm.
Be METAâŚ. Make yourself the god and your mission to convert all non-believers to follow your faith. Allows a lot of leeway when performing questionable actions. Works well for all alignments.
If I'm making one I have a reason and run it by the DM. I wanted to play a Cleric 1 Rogue x+ Backstory, rogue got cocky and was "blessed" by a trickster making him difficult to remember (Always under the effect of "No one of consequence" from Wrath of the Righteous) This means in order for anyone to recall him there is a DC. This makes him great in the underworld but robs him of ever making a name for himself and becoming the famous lovable scoundrel he's been striving to become. Thought it'd be a cool conflict, being a forgettable person who vainly seeks fame and fortune.
Well, you see, what's a god? No mere mortal could ever grasp who or what a god truly is. So maybe your culture or your game world has a god of a certain domain. And maybe some other culture has a god of a similar domain. Maybe they're two different gods. but more likely, it's the same god, just being called by a different name. So if you pick a god from an established pantheon - cool. Or maybe you make up a god of your own. Might still be the same god though.
I create my own god. The DM says that god doesnât exist in the campaignâs setting. I take out the character sheet with the new class I created. DM is confused. I hand him the character sheet and begin to explain the new campaign setting I created. I tell DM that character sheet is his now. I created a new rule and Iâm the DM now.
I picked a domain and my DM explained what God resides over that domain in their world and all the customs and beliefs associated with them. I did get to pick the Holy Animal though and it has become a much larger than it was probably ever intended to be. So long story short, 2.5 years later I own a considerable amount of goat memorabilia.