Please forgive naive question: if undead are both/neither alive and/nor dead, why are they worshipping a god of the Dead? Why is there no god of the Undead, constantly in tension with Kelemvor & Isis or Apollo? Or could they worship Celtic Arawn?
— Pataphor (@Pataphor1) April 6, 2020
1)
Your question arises out of mortal confusion as to who the gods really are, as individuals, and what they do.
Portfolios are our way of trying to understand what genres/fields of endeavour/concepts/professions/topics they seek to dominate, bolstered by titles 2)
…bestowed on the gods by their clergy, by bards and general rumor, and occasionally by the gods themselves. "Lord of the Dead" is one of these. All deities compete, and Myrkul, Kelemvor, Velsharoon, and Bhaal are all "fighting for turf" here. So too, could…#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) April 6, 2020
3)
…Jergal be, if he was interested in fighting. Remember, only fanatics, paladins, and clerics in the Realms worship one god. Everyone “believes in” them all, and most folk worship them all. Some beholders worship other beholders, and there are beholder cults who. 4)
…worship undead beholders. There are vampires who worship powerful undead they don't really understand, because that undead being helped them once (in hopes that said being will help them again). And I've not even mentioned other pantheons of gods worshipped in..#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) April 6, 2020
5)
… the Realms in my mini-catalogue of who's vying for death and undeath. So the constant tension you mentioned is always there.#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) April 6, 2020
Perfectly congruent explanation, many thanks.
Please explain Master, how Elminster has so long prevented a Toril-wide assemblage of clerics and adventurers worshipping both him and his Pipe…?
(he asked and backed out of range…) That's easy. He just slips behind Azuth, who's standing there fulfilling that role. And is about twice as tall.
The Eversmoking Pipe (officially statted up in published lore, long ago) floating around by itself too closely resembles bad spy beasties to attract worship#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) April 7, 2020
Beholders worshipping beholders is something I’ve never thought of! I love this! Although this was downplayed in the published Realmslore of the time, there's a Beholder Cultist depicted in the clergy groups in the 2e FORGOTTEN REALMS ADVENTURES tome. I had beholder cults written up in some detail, incl. beholder worshipping beholders.#Realmslore
— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) April 6, 2020