Pantheon Generator for Obsidian

A randomized deity generator designed for worldbuilders, game masters, and TTRPG storytellers. This script dynamically assembles an original pantheon with rich detail using Templater inside Obsidian.

New Features & Updates

Deity Count Options: You can now choose how many deities to generate by selecting Random, Balanced, or Reference Values Below (i.e., a specified amount).
Expanded Deity Names List: The pool of available names has been significantly expanded, ensuring more variety and flavor for each species.
Species-Linked Names: Generated deity names are now tied directly to the selected species (e.g., Drawn from names-human.md, names-dwarf.md, etc.).
Refactored genPantheon.md: The main generator template has been reorganized for better readability and easier maintenance (utility functions, name handling, deity creation, and file-creation logic are now clearly separated).
Automatic Overview Naming: When you generate a pantheon, the overview note is now automatically renamed to match the species (e.g., “Human Pantheon”, “Dwarf Pantheon 2”, etc.).
Improved Folder Structure: Pantheon overviews are now organized under 2-World/Cosmology/Deities.
- This subfolder must be preserved; recreate it if deleted.
Callout & Search Styles: Optional CSS snippets in .obsidian/snippets/ color the tier callouts and style the search dashboard.
Search and Index Dashboards: overview/Divine Search.md offers filtering by name, aspect, alignment, domain, tier, and pantheon, while overview/Divine Index.md lists every pantheon with its deities.

Overview

This generator creates deities across a structured divine hierarchy, assigning each one:

Name & Epithet
Divine Tier (True God, Demigod, Angel, etc.)
Domain, Alignment, and Pantheon
Mythic Aspects (tenets, holy days, myths, etc.)
Relationships (parent of, lover of, rival to, etc.)
Symbols, Realms, Ruins, Missions, Martyrdom

It also outputs:

A visual family tree using Mermaid.js
A collapsible summary table of all gods
Individual deity .md files auto-saved by tier (nested under a folder named for the pantheon)

Divine Hierarchy

This project uses a custom cosmological framework inspired by comparative mythology. The ten tiers include:

Prime Source – The unknowable origin
True Gods – Realm-holding supreme deities
Lesser Gods – Regional or narrower in domain
Demigods – Mortal-divine hybrids
Angels – Created servants of higher gods
Saints – Mortals exalted through martyrdom
Champions – Mortal agents on divine missions
False Gods – Belief-born, unstable deities
Shattered Gods – Dead, fragmented, or forgotten deities
Conceptualism – Worship of abstract forces

See Hierarchy.md for full descriptions and examples.

How It Works

Tools Required

Input Data

Each .md file in z_Generators/Pantheon Generator/data contains word banks (e.g., colors.md, myths.md, tenets.md, plus separate names-[species].md files) used to construct gods.

Species Names Files (e.g., names-human.md, names-dwarf.md, names-high-elf.md, etc.) ensure that each pantheon’s deity names are drawn from the correct cultural pool.
All other language files (nouns.md, verbs.md, adjectives.md, etc.) remain in data/language/.

Config Settings

The generator reads your preferences from settings.md, including:

Pantheon: Choose a specific species (e.g., Human, Dwarf, High Elf, etc.) or Random.
Deity Count: Select one of:
- Random: Each tier’s count is picked randomly between 0 and 20.
- Balanced: Uses predefined “balanced” ranges (e.g., 8–12 True Gods, 4–6 Lesser Gods, etc.).
- Reference Values Below: Manually enter exact counts for each tier in the frontmatter fields (amtTrueGod, amtLesserGod, etc.).

Core Script (`pantheon-generator.md`)

Utility Functions: Loading word-bank files, random picks, pluralization, and template rendering.
Frontmatter Loader: Reads settings.md to determine which species to use and how many gods in each tier.
Name Management:
1. Load the appropriate names-[species].md file (e.g., names-dwarf.md if “Dwarf” is selected).
2. Check existing deity notes under 2-World/Cosmology/Deities/ to avoid duplicates.
3. Pick a unique name for each new deity.
Deity Generation:
1. For each tier (True God, Lesser God, Demigod, Angel, Saint, Champion, False God, Shattered God), generate the desired number of gods.
2. Assign properties: epithet, domain, alignment, aspects, colors, patrons, holy day, tenet, myth, and any tier-specific fields (e.g., realm for True Gods, ambition for Demigods, etc.).
3. Randomly create relationships (parent/child, siblings, rivals, etc.) between the generated gods.
Rendering:
1. Build a Mermaid.js graph illustrating parent/child clusters and sibling links.
2. Build a collapsible summary table (Deity | Tier | Domain | Alignment | Aspects | Patrons | Symbols | Realm | Serves | Created By | Martyrdom | Ruin Site | Relationships).
3. For each deity, generate an individual callout block (for the overview note) and create a separate .md note under:
```
2-World/Cosmology/Deities/{Pantheon}/
  ├── 1. True Gods/{Name}.md
  ├── 2. Lesser Gods/{Name}.md
  ├── 3. Demigods/{Name}.md
  ├── 4. Angels/{Name}.md
  ├── 5. Saints/{Name}.md
  ├── 6. Champions/{Name}.md
  ├── 7. False Gods/{Name}.md
  └── 8. Shattered Gods/{Name}.md
```
Automatic Note Renaming: The overview file (initially created under 2-World/Cosmology/Deities/Generated Overview.md) is automatically renamed to <Pantheon> Pantheon, or <Pantheon> Pantheon N if duplicates already exist (e.g., Elf Pantheon 2).

Output Example

Mermaid.js Family Tree (auto-clustered by parents/siblings)
Scrollable Summary Table of all gods and traits
Unique Icons & Tier-Color Callouts for each deity in the overview note
Auto-Generated Relationships (e.g., “Sibling of [[Vorthak]]”)
Separate Deity Notes by tier, nested under a folder named for the pantheon

License

This project is open source under the MIT License.
Creative elements (e.g., myths, tenets, names) are shared under CC BY-NC 4.0.
Feel free to fork, adapt, and expand—just don’t sell it without permission.

Credits

Made by @Gulgrot as a hobby project.
Powered by storytelling, mythography, and procedural love.

pantheon-generator.md – Main logic file (refactored for clarity)
settings.md – User controls and pantheon configuration (now supports Random, Balanced, or Specific counts)
Hierarchy.md – Divine tier structure
/data/ – Word banks (language files, expanded name lists, etc.)
overview/Divine Search.md – Dataview dashboard with filters and search
overview/Divine Index.md – Quick table of each pantheon by tier
.obsidian/snippets/ – CSS snippets for callouts and the search layout

Pantheon Generator