As long as you take the time to build your world and religion in a way that makes sense to its denizens, I don't suppose there's any rules regarding how many or what types of gods you should put in. As long as it adds to the story and doesn't confuse/detract from it!
Gods in fantasy
- Thread starter Azurose
- Start date
"Pottermore" is proof Rowling had plenty of material that didn't make it into the books. Tolkien developed entire languages for Middle Earth, much of which didn't make it into the books he wrote, but it was enough for entire societies to exist, dedicated to translation, if only for the grins and giggles. You can develop your world as completely as you want, and your story may be stronger for it, but my guiding light as a writer is, "Above all, write a good story."
So, write a good story. If mentioning your multiple deities makes the cut, fine. If not, then it becomes an interesting bit of trivia, perhaps stored away for future books or other projects akin to "Pottermore." Don't go out of your way to include deities that won't ultimately serve the story. Only you can decide how and why to include your deities, and it may only be a single sentence in which they are vaguely mentioned. A tad bit of dialog. You might have an entire chapter mentioning the gods in detail (unlikely, to my imagining, but it's your book).
Above all, write a good story.
So, write a good story. If mentioning your multiple deities makes the cut, fine. If not, then it becomes an interesting bit of trivia, perhaps stored away for future books or other projects akin to "Pottermore." Don't go out of your way to include deities that won't ultimately serve the story. Only you can decide how and why to include your deities, and it may only be a single sentence in which they are vaguely mentioned. A tad bit of dialog. You might have an entire chapter mentioning the gods in detail (unlikely, to my imagining, but it's your book).
Above all, write a good story.
Yeah, there's a big difference between using the Hindu pantheon with hundreds of millions of devotees and using the Norse, which only has a few revival followers. And even with the Norse you will probably piss someone off somehow.
This is not to say you absolutely can't use Hinduism in a story if you're not Hindu, but you'd better properly and respectfully invest yourself in the religion and culture instead of deploying naive caricatures of gods for fun and profit.
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I don't suppose there is a god limit. The only hesitation I have from what you have shared is you brought it up. That implies that something made you think you may have too many. What made you ask the question? I'm discovering that those things that nag at us often do so for a reason. Finding that reason, too often, comes after a lot of seemingly wasted effort. I suppose that is how we learn. I'd suggest that you explore what made you suspect you have too many gods. Be intellectually honest with yourself and never keep anything because of sunk-cost. If they need to go...send them off to purgatory. You can always go back and get them if they behave or you can send the to hell if they just create chaos for your story.
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Unless they are "main characters" in a way, I think the number is fine. That said, consider what you are expecting your readers to remember.
Yes a lot of minor deities will not show up more than just a brief word when the story warrants it. They all have their roles in the world itself but not necessarily the story line, like Pennguin explained.
JGRouse, I thought that the amount I have so far would become tedious for me to figure out where they fit in to the story, but the world and denizens can have a history of their own too. Like stated before that doesn't always need to be part of the writing, just a little background to their own lives and beliefs I suppose.
CrastersBabies, only one so far would be used in a main character way for a short period of time. There are a few main gods and the rest are in the lower ranks. I do agree that it may be a bit much to remember though.
JGRouse, I thought that the amount I have so far would become tedious for me to figure out where they fit in to the story, but the world and denizens can have a history of their own too. Like stated before that doesn't always need to be part of the writing, just a little background to their own lives and beliefs I suppose.
CrastersBabies, only one so far would be used in a main character way for a short period of time. There are a few main gods and the rest are in the lower ranks. I do agree that it may be a bit much to remember though.
Speak of the "devil..." The upcoming sequel to Treasure Of The Umbrunna is called Gods Of The Blue Mountains. They're not necessarily what you might think.