Pantheon (Game)

A portrait of the character

A card game based around the deities, spirits, and religious figures of Pelted (and later human) religions. Renya is an expert at this game, through petitioning Kajentarel and the Angels; so to is Kerov.

Originally the deck only included Pelted divine beings, but eventually an extension came out that included human ones. The deck was "ten years in the research and creation" as there are far more human divine beings than Pelted ones.

More expensive versions of the cards come with info-films; less expensive ones have a booklet.

The game is played by drawing a random condition card; if a player has a card they can play to match it, they do so. If one player can play a card and another can't, the first player gets the point. If neither or both players can, the round is a draw. If the round is a draw due to both players having relevant cards, the draw can be broken by playing a second relevant card from the hand, though this is risky as it more rapidly depletes the player's hand.

If the game is at a draw when the round ends, a second condition card will be drawn at random, and whichever player's already-played card matches best wins the round.

Rounds can be played "blind," where the condition card in play isn't known until after the deity cards have been chosen.

Sample divine beings from the Pelted deck:

• Iley, god of the Tam-illee, depicted smirking
• Naem-fili, avatar of the Malarai, depicted with tears in her eyes
• "winged catlike women in pale robes"
• "fierce nude griffins all golden with loincloths of lake and gemstones" (Battleangels)
• "sinuous hexapedal half-ghost creatures in blue and rime-white."
• Jesus (Hinichi version, surrounded by wolves)

Sample divine beings from the human deck:

• Kali
• St Francis of Assisi
• Athena
• "A man in tights with a harp and an open mouth" (can't place this one)
• Kitsune
• Quetzalcoatl
• Chac
• Demeter
• Morrigan
• "a fierce-looking man in a helmet, bearing a round shield" (Ares?)
• Thor
• Venus
• Hestia
• Jesus Jesus (human rather than Hinichi depiction)

Sample conditioni cards:

• Send of humor
• Esteemed for trickery
• Historically recorded as an actual human being
• Tied to the seasons
• Presides over battle
• Heart-guardian
• Preached love
• Popular with other races