Characters from On the Rocks come from 9 different pantheons. Each pantheon has anywhere from 5-6 characters. Characters that share a pantheon will all know one another and they will all share a Pantheon Goal. The characters in that pantheon, no matter how different or disparate they may seem, will set aside difference and problems in order to accomplish their Pantheon Goal. Normally, I tell players to pick and choose their goals and do what interests them. While that is still true, for On the Rocks, I need all players in a Pantheon together to cooperatively work towards achieving their Pantheon Goal. If one out of four players is missing and one chooses to ignore the goal- then two people are left to shoulder the work of an entire pantheon and that can be a tall order to fill.
Adrenalines
The Adrenalines are a pantheon of new gods. They were created by the men and women who charged into action when others fled. They are the gods that realized with a bold or courageous action- something great could be accomplished. They collectively believe that fear and inaction are the greatest detriments to mankind. They gain belief from individuals who face great obstacles and overcome them. They also gain belief from individuals who live life on the edge and take chances and risks.
Don’t accept for a moment that new god means the same as born yesterday. America was a country founded by brave people who had a thirst for something new and different. America is full of inventors and people willing to put their body at risk- just think of how many firefighters have died just to save people from burning buildings or how many men have died trying to walk across the ocean floor. These great gamblers and risk takers are out there and because of them- so are the Adrenalines.
Notable Events Adrenalines Claim
1777 Major Samuel McColloch: Mjr. McColloch was experiencing some difficulty with local natives in north Virginia. He was being pursued when he was driven to the edge of a cliff. When he was faced with a choice between combat or continuing his retreat- he stared over the cliff and the drop below and he drove his horse over the cliff. The locals expected to see his body broken and bleeding at the base of the drop, but the Adrenalines stepped in, and McColloch was not only well, but he was still seated upon his horse and continuing his retreat. The locals, in awe of the miracle they witnessed, gave up their chase.
1883 Harry Houdini: Some pantheons would love to claim Mr. Houdini as theirs. He was an immigrant who understood the value of hard work and the pangs of hunger. At the ripe age of 9, Harry took on the job of trapeze artist. The sport was still new and the young Houdini dubbed himself King of the Air and was ready to show off for the pennies that would buy his supper. He continued to test his body and take chances as he developed his talents later in life as an escape artist.
Celtic
Celtic gods in America have had a really rough run. The Scotch-Irish turned up back in the 1700s, but those guys already had muddled up their faith between Scottish myths and Anglican buffoonery along with some residual fear of faery and anything that even resembled nature magic. So…. the real Celtic gods hung back on the Emerald Isle until the timing was a bit better. In the 1820’s, America began to open up her western front, business was taking hold. On top of that the Great Famine in 1845 gave a bunch of plucky Irish men and women the push they needed to fight off the forces trying to exterminate them. They made the trip to America and settled in.
Some of the ‘big names’ in the Pantheon didn’t get hauled across the Atlantic. They didn’t want to desert the island in a time of great need. But other answered the call and they were there in the ghettos of New York. They were there when Irish were being treated as indentured servants to rail companies in Pennsylvania. They were there when the Irish armed themselves, ganged up, and fought back against the oppression that kept haunting them like Anglicans invading their island all over again.
Something that all of the Celtic gods share is fight- whether they are gods of war or not, the Celts will not go quietly into a night. They will not resolve themselves to a mandated seat in the back of a room.
Egyptian
As with many others, Egyptian gods first arrived in New York, but quickly dispersed to the cities and fields of their believers. Egyptians didn’t immigrate as frequently as others, so your hold on this land is tentative. Even the most recognizable of you faded away, only briefly remembered by scholars and archaeologists. You had a brief surge during the 1930s, when Hollywood took a liking to mummies, but this was short-lived.
It seems obvious that the Egyptian gods would flourish in America’s deserts, and currently Las Vegas is the last stronghold of your pantheon. The desert has always been your home, and transplanting to the American southwest was as close to home as could be found. Despite this relative comfort, few of your followers joined you in the new world, and those who did quickly found. The new gods, all flash and sparkle, pushed into realms that were once yours, and your brothers and sisters faded away. By the time the 1960s rolled around, only a few gods remained. There are museum exhibits with mummies, baubles, and faded murals of the underworld, but these reminders are not enough to regain past glory or new followers. Since most of the remaining family have ties to the underworld, there is still work to be done, caring for and protecting the dead, passing judgement on the souls of those who still believe, and keeping records of those who passed.
Mesoamerican
The population of America has swelled significantly over the years since the “white man” first arrived on their ships. With them, they brought their diseases, their feuds, and their gods. Some of these gods claim to be old; As old as you, but the truth of the matter is they are far from home and far away from their temples, their shrines, and the populations that born them into existence. They have created a struggle for power and energy (believers) between you and some of these far away gods. However, the biggest strain placed upon you comes from the new gods. These youthful gods are born from the exuberance and the innovation of a young nation full of new ideas and ideals.
Your pantheon is no longer vastly populated with gods from the Aztecs, the Mayans, the Incans, the Olmecs, the Mixtec, the Totonac, the Pipil and so many others who have already perished. Your pantheon has had to make peace across your own borders in order to survive the invasion from abroad and from the youth filled new gods. Thankfully, as a natives to these lands, you can sustain yourself on far less and many of your followers have kept their old beliefs and hidden them under the veneer of patronage to others.
Despite their civilization of origin, all of the Mesoamerican gods share a common bond- survival. It’s hard to kill a god with a home turf advantage.
Native American
If there were a set of gods with a ‘home turf’ advantage, it should be the members of this pantheon. However, the tribes of North America suffered greatly as others brought their gods to America. These people were thrust from their homes and made to live in foreign environments and some gods just couldn’t survive in those conditions. What’s left are the cobbled remains of disparate beliefs and people.
Some of the gods in this pantheon are ready to innovate and take advantage to businesses and opportunities arriving at their doorstep. There are just as many, if not more, who would rather keep all the foreigners and newcomers out as they try to cling on to their classic beliefs and practices. These gods will need to learn to work together before they can even think of slowing or stopping another pantheon.
Neoamerican
Welcome to America! A country started by refugees searching for a place to practice their beliefs freely. America, a country that enslaved a generation of men, women and children and kept those slaves for a hundred years. America, a country that has time and time again rounded up the people who’ve helped make her great just to toss them in a gutter, an ocean, or a shallow grave. Welcome to the American Dream, with promises of freedom for all to do as they please, to make yourself appear greater than you are (keeping up with the Jones’), even at the expense of others!
The Neoamerican gods are the most disparate pantheon in the bunch. The birth of each god in this group coincided with the occurrence of a new American phenomenon, quickly attracting the attention of followers seeking the freedoms American provides. Your swift rise to power caused waves among the older, more established gods to take notice and to be alarmed. As they should be, the American Dream is a powerful force to be reckoned with.
Building your base of believers in a way that has never been attempted before. Each of you are trapping your believers in a never ending cycle of inadvertent worship through the constant need for what you provide to them. By enabling them to find the American Dream or creating a distraction from the dullness of their mundane lives, you are solidifying your own power through their needs to impress those around them.
Nukes
Throughout history religious leaders have always warred with scientists branding even the most faithful as heretics and unbelievers. They insisted that the delving into the inner workings of the universe took away from the mystery of the divine spark that brought everything into being. While some scientists laughed at the idea of deities affecting the world at large there were those that felt their work actually elevated faith, proving that such perfect order in the world could only have come from divine planning. The Nukes are a pantheon of new gods that have sprung from the pursuit of science and the advancement of civilization into a new age unrestricted by blind faith. They were created by the men and women who refused to accept things as they were, but rather pressed to find the meaning and more importantly the cause behind all things. They collectively believe that progress is the key to the advancement of civilization and any who stand to impede social and scientific progress must be left behind to their outdated fears and reservations. They gain belief from individuals who question the very nature of the world and seek to explain or improve upon it.
While these gods have only stepped forth into the world in the last Don’t accept for a moment that new god means the same as born yesterday. Even in the Old World energy was being gathered to usher these new gods into existence as early as the Renaissance. During the creation of America men of learning and science insisted on the country having a separation of Church and State to prevent their old ways from stopping progress.
Romans
Rome wasn’t built in a day, but it has endured for centuries and that’s because Rome, as a civilization, has appropriated and assimilated like none other. Most of the Roman deities are, arguably, knock-offs of Greek deities. However, in America, the Italian immigrants outnumbered Greek immigrants by large factors and so when old gods found themselves alive and well in America- it wasn’t the Greek versions that arrived- it was the Roman.
The Roman gods have felt at home in America- trying to melt disparate tribes into a singular civilization. It’s just what they do. Their desire to see people come together to achieve goals and overcome obstacles is powerful. Sometimes they can be pushy or assertive, but they tend to mean well. Some of the Roman gods have been blocked from entering America though because existing Pantheons lie claim to a facet of belief the Roman god might take away.
Russian
The Russian gods first arrived in what would become Alaska in the early 1800s, which wasn’t much of a change from your homeland. During those early years in the new world, most of the pantheon choose to stay in the motherland. However, as Russian and Slavic immigrants began to stream into the lower states in the 1860s, their gods immigrated with them. With the power of the gods in the motherland on the decline due to idolization of political figures, you were fortunate enough to find a few safe havens across America. Despite these bastions, the recent Red Scare has spurred your sphere of influence into a decline.
Still, you have always been used to a certain amount of hardship, since they rose out of a harsh, unforgiving land. They know how to take care of themselves (and their followers) and get by on very little. Using the lessons learned from hundreds of years spent in a you gained a foothold in a few cities. You aren’t too worried about the new gods – you’ve survived this long and seen other gods come and go. Why would these be any different? Some among the pantheon think it would be a good idea to team up with some of these new gods to remind people about how powerful and resourceful Russians can be.
Tagalog
Religion in Asia is an interesting thing. Shintoism is still alive in Japan but it hasn’t traveled well to the United States. Many of the other faiths worship only a singular deity and these faiths have been around for so long that their old gods are so firmly rooted in place that they don’t move at all. The archipelago of the Philippines is one of the rare and distinct exceptions to this. Americans and Filipinos went to war with one another at the turn of the century. This led to cultural intermingling and it was at this time and in the following years when some of the Tagalog gods immigrated to the United States.
Most Tagalog deities have domains that focus on nature and the world around them, quite similarly to many of the Mesoamerican gods. These gods are more focused on making peace with the natural world and Tagalog gods have deities who are strongly influenced by lunar phases and cycles wherein some of the Mesoamerican gods are strongly influenced by the sun.