The Grippli Pantheon

by James O'Rance

Grippli respect a pantheon of beings which they believe to be the ultimate empaths. These gods do not manifest themselves on the Prime Material Plane as individuals, but exist within an entire species; each animal and plant has a portion of divinity within it. An exceptional member of a species is often regarded by the grippli as a representative of one of the gods.

Grippli do not have the same concept of the afterlife that many intelligent beings share. Rather than images of paradise or hell which some races look forward to when they die, the grippli believe that they become part of a spiritual web of life called the cr'ohkala, or Forever Tree. Upon dying, the grippli believe, the spirit travels to meet the gods, who help it become part of the Forever Tree. Whatever role the grippli took in life, there is a part of the Forever Tree that will accept him; there is a branch for warriors, a branch for nurturers, a branch for gatherers, a branch for craftsmen. Even mute animals and plants become a part of the Forever Tree, often becoming one with the branch that represents their unique role in the world. In grippli theology, the gods are simply branches of the Forever Tree that have become unusually powerful and actively influence grippli life.


There are thousands of gods that the grippli respect, but here are the most widely recognised and powerful:


Father Fish

Lesser Power, "He Who Swims Slowly"


Old Mother Spider

Demipower, "She Who Devours Her Young"


Deep One

Demipower, "She Who Is"


The Scorpion

Demipower, "He Who Strikes Himself"


Young Warrior Lizard

Demipower, "He Who Loves the Sun"


Old Master Snake

Lesser Power, "He Who is Known Only to Himself"


The Swarm

Lesser Power, "He/She Who is Multitude, The Many Together"


The Flower

Lesser Power, "He Who Finds a Mate, Scented Call"


The Centipede

Demipower, "Wearer of Many Legs, She Who Finds Food"


The Worm

Lesser Power, "The One That Sleeps"


Grippli Petitioners

Grippli do not have the concept of petitioners, or spirits of the dead who dwell in some kind of afterlife. They believe that, upon death, grippli spirits become one with the Forever Tree, and continue to influence the tribe. Are the grippli wrong? Actually, no, although the truth is not quite as they might imagine. Upon death, almost all grippli travel to their most favoured god, and become one with it almost immediately. thus, there are very few grippli petitioners on the planes; the only ones that exist are the rare proxies of the grippli gods. These gods seem to be maintained by a relatively small population of mortal grippli; perhaps they are supported to a greater degree by each grippli soul than the typical power. There is also evidence of a symbiotic relationship between each of the grippli gods, another aspect of the Forever Tree that the grippli priests speak of.