I'm calling this the favorite deity complex, because this is how it applied to me, but it could just as well be a kingdom, a city, an organization, a race, or anything else where there is a category of background elements in which one item can be picked out. In my example, one deity out of a list of 17 deities for my D&D setting.
It started out when I was making up the basics for Ethel, back then goddess of purification and rain. She was a complete newcomer who I had added in the most recent version of a deity list (the 4th or 5th). The name came from a tombstone in a burned-down cathedral in Coventry, UK. The idea behind her domain was that rain is cleansing, so she could send down rain to purify the world. Pretty basic. She wasn't even my favorite, or too dominant in the pantheon. Back then, my favorite deity was the moon goddess.
But for some reason, I fell in love. It was probably partly inspired by me having just finished watching Fate/Stay Night, and Saber was both a very nice visual design I could adapt for Ethel, as well as a character that went in the right direction (knight, honor-bound, wrathful and powerful warrior). And then the idea just took off.
I really got into the mindset of what this deity would be like, what being her follower might be like, what kind of people would worship her, her significance in the setting, her powers, her limits (yes, limits, since I dislike Mary-Sues both in fiction and other creative works).
Ethel acquired the title "the Lady", and became this badass goddess who could use light rain to bless and cleanse, or use a heavy storm to "cleanse" by destroying whole countrysides. Mild to her followers and good folk, wrathful to those who are evil. Her clerics and paladins follow the same two extremes - heal the good, flush out the wicked. Ethel, even with her two extremes, was not one with temper tantrums - strict with herself as well as with others, she could simply become very destructive when angered. Spinning all this further, she also became the goddess of war, and storms became her primary aspect.
During this phase, Ethel was fleshed out with a personality and bits of background, like I had wanted the deities in my setting to be. The downside was that all the other 16 deities were neglegted. I had no good ideas for them. Eventually, after I had written up plenty, I forced myself to let go and look at the other gods again. And it worked.
There are two things I learned from this: First, when something in your setting strikes your fancy, go for it. If it becomes your favorite, write, design, and come up with good stuff. You'll end up with something full and detailed, which you can then later tie in with other parts of the setting, adapt, or perhaps raid for ideas if it ends up not fitting. Don't worry about balance too much, pour your creativity into it. It might make a good focal point for a campaign or story.
Second, when enough is enough, turn away. Force yourself to write things for other entries in that category (such as other deities or cities or such). In my quest to create one-page entries for all my deities with the same basic information, I was able to look at them one at a time, see what sorts of things can come up by comparing them to Ethel, and then write away.
What about you guys, did you ever have a phase during setting creation where one aspect just jumped out at you?
Qi
It started out when I was making up the basics for Ethel, back then goddess of purification and rain. She was a complete newcomer who I had added in the most recent version of a deity list (the 4th or 5th). The name came from a tombstone in a burned-down cathedral in Coventry, UK. The idea behind her domain was that rain is cleansing, so she could send down rain to purify the world. Pretty basic. She wasn't even my favorite, or too dominant in the pantheon. Back then, my favorite deity was the moon goddess.
But for some reason, I fell in love. It was probably partly inspired by me having just finished watching Fate/Stay Night, and Saber was both a very nice visual design I could adapt for Ethel, as well as a character that went in the right direction (knight, honor-bound, wrathful and powerful warrior). And then the idea just took off.
I really got into the mindset of what this deity would be like, what being her follower might be like, what kind of people would worship her, her significance in the setting, her powers, her limits (yes, limits, since I dislike Mary-Sues both in fiction and other creative works).
Ethel acquired the title "the Lady", and became this badass goddess who could use light rain to bless and cleanse, or use a heavy storm to "cleanse" by destroying whole countrysides. Mild to her followers and good folk, wrathful to those who are evil. Her clerics and paladins follow the same two extremes - heal the good, flush out the wicked. Ethel, even with her two extremes, was not one with temper tantrums - strict with herself as well as with others, she could simply become very destructive when angered. Spinning all this further, she also became the goddess of war, and storms became her primary aspect.
During this phase, Ethel was fleshed out with a personality and bits of background, like I had wanted the deities in my setting to be. The downside was that all the other 16 deities were neglegted. I had no good ideas for them. Eventually, after I had written up plenty, I forced myself to let go and look at the other gods again. And it worked.
There are two things I learned from this: First, when something in your setting strikes your fancy, go for it. If it becomes your favorite, write, design, and come up with good stuff. You'll end up with something full and detailed, which you can then later tie in with other parts of the setting, adapt, or perhaps raid for ideas if it ends up not fitting. Don't worry about balance too much, pour your creativity into it. It might make a good focal point for a campaign or story.
Second, when enough is enough, turn away. Force yourself to write things for other entries in that category (such as other deities or cities or such). In my quest to create one-page entries for all my deities with the same basic information, I was able to look at them one at a time, see what sorts of things can come up by comparing them to Ethel, and then write away.
What about you guys, did you ever have a phase during setting creation where one aspect just jumped out at you?
Qi
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