…and other RPGs of course! Being pagan I love reading and researching mythology. A year ago I started looking into my own countries history. I knew we worshipped the Germanic Gods here, but were there a few Gods of our own? This curiosity led to a year of study and research and, up to now, 37 Dutch Gods, and my study is far from over.
In August I needed a new character for our Pathfinder campaign after my beloved Aasimar Oracle perished. I decided on a Human Warpriest, called Noor. For her deity I chose the Dutch Goddess Baduhenna, a Frisian Goddess closely connected to Badh and the Morrigan. She is amazingly fun to play! We’re looking into D&D 5th edition, which is just amazing, and in the back of the Player Handbook there are lists of real Gods and Goddesses converted to a format usable for D&D and other RPGs. So I figured, I have all this info on Dutch Deities, why not do the same and share it with the rest of the geeks?
So here is a short list of Deities that are usable in RPG. In part 2 {coming next week find it here!} I’ll give short backgrounds on each deity’s myth and how I came to their lore. Thing is, on a lot of Dutch Deities we don’t have a lot more than the name. Take Arcanua, of Her we only found a bronze statuette of a rooster with Her name on it. In the back you can set a candle. We know Her name means ‘the mysterious’ or ‘the hidden’. Furthermore, roosters are a symbol of the dawn. Hence the Light and Trickery domains. I included two sets of domains, the first set is for D&D 5e, the second for Pathfinder. Of course you can mix and match as you please, that’s the beauty of these systems. So here you go and please, let me know what you think!
|
Deity |
Alignment |
Domains |
Symbol |
|
Arcanua, Goddess of mystery and light |
CN |
Light, Trickery Animal (Feather), Sun, Trickery |
A bronze rooster and golden sun |
|
Arduinna, Goddess of woodlands |
N |
Nature, Life Animal (Fur), Plant |
A silver boar |
|
Aulrinia, minor Elven Goddess of magic and prophecy |
LN |
Arcana, Knowledge Knowledge, Magic, Travel |
A root in the shape of a human |
|
Baduhenna, Goddess of freedom and madness |
CN |
Trickery, War Liberation, Madness |
A red raven and silver moon |
|
Fosite, both God and Goddess of peace and justice |
LG |
Knowledge, Life Law, Protection |
A clear drop of water |
|
Hesus, God of vegetation and sacrifice |
NE |
Death, Nature Plant, Decay |
A humanoid figure hanging on a tree |
|
Hludana, Goddess of fishing and rivers |
NG |
Nature Water |
A fish above a woven basket |
|
Irmin, God of war and strength |
LG |
War Strength, War (Tactics) |
An Irminsul |
|
Jecha, Goddess of woodlands and the hunt |
N |
Nature, Life Animal, Luck |
A simple bow and arrow |
|
Lady Holle, Goddess of magic, winter and weaving |
CG |
Arcana, Tempest Magic, Water, Weather |
Three snowflakes in a triangle |
|
Meda, Maiden Goddess of purity and light |
LG |
Life, Light Healing, Sun |
Three golden rays angling down |
|
Nehalennia, Goddess of the sea and travel |
N |
Nature, Tempest Protection, Travel, Water |
A ship’s wheel |
|
Sandraudiga, Goddess of prosperity and abundance |
NG |
Nature, Life Healing, Luck, Plant (Growth) |
A red apple with green leafy vines |
|
Tamfana, Goddess of joy and prophecy |
CG |
Arcana, Knowledge Knowledge, Magic |
A golden chalice |
|
Viradectis, Goddess of trade |
N |
Knowledge Knowledge, Travel (Trade) |
Three falling golden coins |
As I stated before, here in the Netherlands we also worshipped the Germanic Gods, as well as some of the Norse ones. There are several names we Dutchies used for these Gods and I listed them below. So if you do decide to use the Dutch Pantheon, you can easily include the Germanic Gods for some extra flavour!
Austrōn = Ostara, Goddess of spring
Donar = Thor, God of thunder
Frea = Freya, Goddess of beauty and love
Freke = Frigg, Goddess of love and marriage
Frija = Freya, Goddess of beauty and love
Ing = Freyr, God of male virility and prosperity
Saxnot = Tiwaz/Tyr, God of law and heroic glory
Thunar = Thor, God of thunder
Weda = Odin, God of magic, prophecy and healing
Wōdanaz = Odin, God of magic, prophecy and healing
Wotan = Odin, God of magic, prophecy and healing
A note on Frigg/Freya, in myths they are so often interchangeable that scholars now believe they might be the same Goddess. They call Her Frijjō for this purpose.
So that’s it for now, see you next week for part 2!
marjolijnmakes.com 