| 1 | %% Image selected per Image Pickin' thread https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1316233165043213900 |
| 2 | %% Image kept on page per IP thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1600607120001704300 |
| 3 | %% Please do not replace or remove without starting a new thread. |
| 4 | %% |
| 5 | [[quoteright:220:[[Myth/NorseMythology https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/220px-Skadi_Hunting_in_the_Mountains_by_H__L__M_9296.jpg]]]] |
| 6 | [[caption-width-right:220:Meet Skadi, goddess of skiing.[[note]]image: ''Skadi Hunting in the Mountains'' by "H. L. M"[[/note]]]] |
| 7 | %% |
| 8 | ->''"They invaded Greece and conquered them and and stole all their gods and renamed them with Roman names. Cause the Roman gods before that were kind of crap, you know, Jeff, the god of biscuits. And Simon, the god of hairdos. And uh, you know, they had the god of war, the god of thunder, the god of running around and jumping and stuff."'' |
| 9 | -->-- '''Creator/SuzyEddieIzzard''', ''Dress to Kill'' |
| 10 | |
| 11 | It is good to be [[PhysicalGod a god, isn't it?]] You can [[OurGodsAreDifferent rule whatever you want]] inside your area of expertise, [[FluffyCloudHeaven spend all day floating around the clouds]] or [[PalsWithJesus hang around with your followers]]. As long as [[GodsNeedPrayerBadly people believe in you, everything is fine...]] |
| 12 | |
| 13 | As cool as it is to be [[AnthropomorphicPersonification patron saint of soldiers, the god of thunder or the demonic representation of lust]], not everyone in the CelestialBureaucracy [[DivineRanks can be bosses]]. Some mythologies decide to tie up the loose ends and lump in minor responsibilities with the major, producing gods with an [[ComboPlatterPowers oddly erratic remit]]. |
| 14 | |
| 15 | That is when the Odd Job Gods start to act. |
| 16 | |
| 17 | Sometimes averted by giving your existing gods [[ComboPlatterPowers additional domains]], though that way you end up with gods of, say, mountains, earthquakes, and [[FlightStrengthHeart apples]]. Also, while most of these domains may seem unimpressive when taken at face value (and sometimes are painted as the divine equivalent of WhatKindOfLamePowerIsHeartAnyway), it could be [[RuleOfSymbolism highly symbolic]] or [[HeartIsAnAwesomePower more complex]]. Regardless of the complexities of their powers, it still would not be a good idea to [[DoNotTauntCthulhu tease them about it]]. A ModernizedGod may become one of these as its influence extends far beyond the original myths. Not to be confused with, though sometimes goes with, GodJob. See also PaintingTheFrostOnWindows and MagicalUnderpinningsOfReality. |
| 18 | |
| 19 | Note also that, in historic mythologies, it was very common for major deities to have multiple and often internally inconsistent lists of associations and domains. In part this was because people tended to assume that the mighty rulers and creators of the world would have been involved in many different things rather than being one-trick ponies. Additionally, it was common for a primary association to influence secondary ones related to it in theme -- for instance, a thunder god could also become a fertility god, since rain fosters crops, or a war god, since both storms and war are destructive calamities. Finally, religious practices are as prone to evolving over time as any other aspect of culture, and a god could accrue a lot of different stories and concepts as a mythology changed, split, remerged, and syncretized with other faiths over centuries or millennia. |
| 20 | |
| 21 | You can find several of TV Tropes' very own Odd Job Gods at Pantheon/TropePantheons. |
| 22 | ---- |
| 23 | !!Examples: |
| 24 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 25 | [[folder:Advertising]] |
| 26 | * There's a Capital One ad currently making the rounds featuring Cashios, the [[{{AncientGrome}} Greek / Roman]][[note]]Which one isn't specified.[[/note]] god of cash-back. |
| 27 | [[/folder]] |
| 28 | |
| 29 | [[folder:Anime & Manga]] |
| 30 | * In ''Manga/AhMyGoddess'', goddesses run help-lines for the purpose of granting wishes to [[NiceGuy nice guys]] [[UnluckyEverydude to whom the world has not been kind]]. |
| 31 | * In ''Manga/ChainsawMan'', [[OurDemonsAreDifferent Devils]] act as {{Anthropomorphic Personification}}s of just about every conceivable concept, with their level of strength [[ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve scaling to how much people fear them]]. This means that while the most dangerous devils embody concepts like control, the future, darkness, knowledge, and various weapons, others get things like mold, tomatoes, sea cucumbers, and skin. There are even devils for otherwise ''fictional'' concepts like zombies, though it's a major limit when their power is tied to something that doesn't naturally exist. [[spoiler:What truly makes them akin to gods is that the very existence of the concepts they embody is tied to their own, as ChainsawMan is able to use his RetGone power on Devils representing [[TokenHeroicOrc threats to human survival]] [[RealityWarping to rewrite reality]].]] |
| 32 | * The title character of ''Manga/GoodLuckGirl'' is the goddess of poverty and misfortune. |
| 33 | * In ''Anime/{{Kamichu}}'', a very Shinto-inspired series, you even see gods for empty aluminum cans, ice cream bars, and cheap grocery store mascots. |
| 34 | * Discussed in ''Manga/OnePiece''. [[ChefOfIron Sanji]] brings up this phenomenon in order to encourage [[LovableCoward Usopp]] since they're on their way to defy and confront "God Enel" of Skypeia. A rough quote: |
| 35 | -->'''Sanji:''' Not all gods are powerful and dangerous, you know. Like the god of being poor.[[note]]Yes, there is such a thing in Japanese folklore. It's called a "binbougami".[[/note]] |
| 36 | * ''Anime/TheNightIsShortWalkOnGirl'' features the God of the Used Book Market, who helps people find books they're looking for and punishes unscrupulous collectors who are OnlyInItForTheMoney by stealing their rare books to put them back into circulation. |
| 37 | * ''Manga/{{Noragami}}'': |
| 38 | ** The main character Yato probably counts, being a god of calamity. He seems to have been a lot more busy and important in the past but nowadays has to survive by literally doing odd jobs around town that mortals call him for, like finding their lost pet. He works his ass off getting his number out there so people don't forget about him entirely and he [[CriticalExistenceFailure dies/disappears]] as a result. |
| 39 | ** The series also has an example of a ''binbogami'' (god of misfortune) in Kofuku, an acquaintance of Yato's. Real Life Odd Jobs God Ebisu also appears and becomes important toward the end of the second season. |
| 40 | ** Later in the series we get a popularity contest among the gods, Yato gets beaten in popularity by a cat, a literal house cat whose only job in life was being a mascot of a train station. [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tama_(cat) Believe it or not, such a cat god really does exist.]] |
| 41 | * There are some of these in ''Literature/TheDeathMageWhoDoesntWantAFourthTime'', being mostly lesser deities that serve major gods, like the god of records, goddess of maps, god of battle flags, and god of degenerate corpulence. Surprisingly the last one is rather easygoing. |
| 42 | [[/folder]] |
| 43 | |
| 44 | [[folder:Comedy]] |
| 45 | * Creator/SuzyEddieIzzard has a bit about this which provides the page quote. |
| 46 | [[/folder]] |
| 47 | |
| 48 | [[folder:Comic Books]] |
| 49 | * A WesternAnimation/DonaldDuck comic featured a bored nephew of Zeus making him, at his request, the god of cars, television, and rock music. At the beginning of the comic he had been rather fed up with these things and planned to go completely over the top with them, so, when the inevitable request for a reset happened, he could sneak in changing the things that were already there before into other, in his opinion, less obnoxious things (such as a radio into a banjo). He managed to botch the job so ''well'' he sent Duckburg's technical prowess back to the 17th century. The only thing he didn't count on was that [[TarAndFeathers tar and feathers]] still existed, which the rather angry Ducksburg population were more than happy to remind him of after being BroughtDownToNormal again. |
| 50 | * In ''ComicBook/{{Lucifer}}'' we are given Mona, Angel of Hedgehogs (a job she chose in order to avoid taking on too much responsibility). The only other god in her universe is Elaine, Angel of everything ''except'' hedgehogs. Apparently this encourages [[FearlessFool the hedgehogs in this universe to take unnecessary risks]] since they know Mona is there to look out for them, something she complains about in a throwaway line near the end of the series. |
| 51 | * In ''ComicBook/PS238'', the reincarnation of the Hestia, Greek goddess of the hearth, is in the Rainmaker Program, where superkids whose powers don't lend themselves to crime-fighting [[HeartIsAnAwesomePower learn other uses for them]]. They're thinking she could be the world's best advice columnist, fertility clinician, or marriage counselor. She's also the goddess of SacredHospitality, though, and can actually [[LetsGetDangerous become dangerous]] if people violate those rules. |
| 52 | * ''ComicBook/TheMightyThor'' has Shadrak, an alien god of the Diamond Moons of Oghogho (driven mad by being forced to witness the butchering of his pantheon). Shadrak variously claimed to be the God of Wine and Waterfalls, the God of Songs and Somersaults, the God of Baubles and Ballerinas, the God of Kittens and Coconuts, and the God of Pancakes and Tambourines. As it turns out, he was [[spoiler:hiding his guilt in designing a god-destroying device by lying about being Shadrak, God of Bombs and Fireballs]]. After his sanity is (partially) restored, he takes on a new role assisting the Lord Librarian (God of Recorded Knowledge) as Shadrak, God of Daffodils and Documentation. |
| 53 | * In ''ComicBook/TheSandman1989'', we meet Pharamond, from the Babylonian pantheon, who is now "in charge of transportation." He appears to be more or less a travel agent for the puissant. He, in fact, manages a massive transportation firm. With the fringe benefit of being able to count road traffic deaths as [[HumanSacrifice sacrifices]] in his name. He is quite happy with his new place in the order of things. |
| 54 | * ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vext Vext]]'' was a short-lived series from Creator/DCComics about the god of mishap and misfortune. It included a number of other small-time godlings, including the deities of uninvited guests, relationships gone hellishly wrong, incessant nagging, and ill-timed flatulence. |
| 55 | [[/folder]] |
| 56 | |
| 57 | [[folder:Comic Strips]] |
| 58 | * ''ComicStrip/{{Dilbert}}'': |
| 59 | ** The Demon of Demos. |
| 60 | ** Phil, the Prince of Insufficient Light, the ruler of Lower Heck. Instead of damning you to hell, he darns you to heck. He punishes people (usually Dilbert) for minor infractions not worthy of damnation in hell, such as using copier paper for the printer, stealing a chair from another cubicle, or taking the last cup of coffee and not making more. |
| 61 | ** Thor appears to Dogbert offering him a job as one of these, promising further career advancement (Thor himself claims to have started out as the God of Static Cling). Dogbert then accepts the position of "God of Velcro". And he signed Dilbert up for the God of Mayonnaise. |
| 62 | * One arc of ''ComicStrip/OverTheHedge'' has RJ deciding to worship the Roman gods, though he discovers there are quite a few of them such as [[https://www.gocomics.com/overthehedge/2018/06/12?ct=v&cti=1790252 "Larry, god of comfort insoles."]] |
| 63 | [[/folder]] |
| 64 | |
| 65 | [[folder:Fan Works]] |
| 66 | * In the Literature/{{Discworld}} of Creator/AAPessimal, nobody, especially in Ankh-Morpork, believes in Justice very much. not any more. Diké, Goddess of Justice, is on her way to small god status. Then a [[LesYay special interest group]] latches onto her and decides a Goddess with that name is too good to waste. Diké is all in favour of this, as stumbling around in a blindfold and a long dress with a sword in one hand and a set of scales in the other was no fun at all. Becoming Goddess of Alternate Female Gender-Expression means she can ditch the sword ''and'' she gets to wear more interesting clothes ''and'' meet more interesting people than bloody lawyers. Although... Diké [[BerserkButton is pronounced with TWO syllables, right?]] |
| 67 | * In ''Fanfic/CodexEquus'', there are a lot of deities with rare, extremely specialized domains |
| 68 | ** Cultura is the Draconequi Goddess of Popular Culture. While certainly a weird thing to be based on, [[HeartIsAnAwesomePower it has some impressive powers]], such as being able to copy the powers of fictional characters, summon puppets of them to do her bidding and trap her enemies in fictional scenarios. She also possesses an encyclopedic knowledge of popular culture, all of it, which makes her a pretty skilled manipulator. |
| 69 | ** Vehere is the Griffon Goddess of Modern Transportation and Travel. As with Cultura, this is more impressive than it sounds. She's incapable of getting lost (unless he wants to), has an encyclopedic knowledge of vehicles, a photographic memory, and can recreate any vehicle she's cataloged in her scrapbook from thin air, as well as create the means for them to travel wherever she likes. This includes things like tanks. She also can teleport, but she prefers to take the long route. |
| 70 | ** Downplayed with Entasi, who is the Minotaur God of Strength and Victory on top of being the God of Sports. He gets unlimited stamina and incredible agility out of that part of his portfolio. |
| 71 | ** Munditia is the goddess of Hygiene and Sanitation, who has the power to clean literally anything, including the body of toxins and poisons, pollution, and even the soul. |
| 72 | ** Prince Sermo's domain of Newscasters doesn't seem like much compared to other common concepts like Integrity, Research, and Knowledge, but it's actually [[HeartIsAnAwesomePower more powerful than it appears]]. Being a god of Newscasters grants him telepathic and telekinetic abilities, some degree of [[MakeSomeNoise Sound magic]], the ability to create holographic projections, and the ability to [[{{Omniglot}} instantly understand and speak any language]]. Sermo's domain also grants him a degree of technopathic ability that allows him to control technology associated with newscasters, such as computers, cameras, and so on, with his powers changing and adapting as technology changes according to the standards of each Age. |
| 73 | ** Sultana Sahra's domain of Exploration doesn't seem like much, but it prevents her from getting lost no matter where she is, and she can create maps from magic alone, which is a very useful power to have for avid explorers like her. Her PhotographicMemory also allows her to remember places she previously visited so she can go back to them whenever she wants. |
| 74 | ** Prince Crystal Clear's domain of Stage Crews doesn't seem as common or impressive as Sound or Technology, yet as is the case with Sermo's domain of Newscasters, it's actually more powerful than it looks. he possesses telepathic, empathic, and telekinetic powers for communication/coordination and multitasking, respectively, and he has precognitive abilities that allow him to protect his stage crews from accidents. He can also heal his co-workers and grant them various boons that allow them to do their jobs more effectively, such as enhanced stamina and endurance. |
| 75 | * In ''The Endless Pantheon'', a ''Literature/DresdenFiles''/''Series/StargateSG1'' FusionFic, Harry is at first bemused to learn his pantheon includes deities ruling domains such as dance, beer, and weaving. It's explained that this plays a vital role in reducing conflict within pantheons. Not only does separating domains prevent friction over who governs certain aspects of life, it also prevents casual murder of one's fellow gods as they're the only ones who know how to run a vital industry. |
| 76 | * In ''Fanfic/OneThousandTearzOrDeth'' (a ''Literature/HarryPotter'' fanfic... you can see where this is going), there's a talking tree who is the patron demon of the [[EmoTeen emos]]. |
| 77 | * Due of the wide array of tropes (and non-tropes) in the Fanfic/TropePantheons, some of the gods might gain some odd positions to cover. |
| 78 | [[/folder]] |
| 79 | |
| 80 | [[folder:Films -- Animation]] |
| 81 | * In another Shinto-inspired example, ''Anime/SpiritedAway'' includes entities such as the alleged stench spirit and the radish spirit. |
| 82 | [[/folder]] |
| 83 | |
| 84 | [[folder:Films -- Live-Action]] |
| 85 | * In the short film ''Film/ACaseOfSpringFever'', our protagonist encounters Coily the Spring Sprite, a seemingly omnipotent being (or at least a high-powered RealityWarper) that has an odd preoccupation with springs. |
| 86 | -->'''Coily:''' [[NoIndoorVoice Noooo]] [[LargeHam Spriiiings!]] |
| 87 | * Fellow ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000'' subject ''Film/OutOfThisWorld'' is about a bored angel and devil who work in an office tracking the sales figures of bread salesmen. |
| 88 | * In ''Film/MyNameIsBruce'', the town of Gold Lick is menaced by the Chinese warrior-god of bean curd. This is a [[https://www.britannica.com/topic/Guandi real Chinese god]] incidentally, although he's portrayed as highly benevolent in real life. |
| 89 | * ''Film/ThisIsSpinalTap'''s David St. Hubbins' surname is derived from the patron saint of quality footwear. Note that the actual saints of footwear are the duo [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crispin_and_Crispinian Crispin and Crispinian.]] Yeah, there are patron saints for everything, see below. |
| 90 | [[/folder]] |
| 91 | |
| 92 | [[folder:Literature]] |
| 93 | * Creator/NeilGaiman's ''Literature/AmericanGods'': |
| 94 | ** Such "modern deities" as television, the Internet, consumer culture, cancer, and the car gods (the recipients of the largest mass HumanSacrifice since the Aztecs). |
| 95 | ** The Spookshow, those [[TheMenInBlack anonymous suit-wearing government agents]] who everyone believes exist... [[ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve so they do]]. |
| 96 | * ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'': A blink-and-you'll-miss-it explanation for why many gods end up with weird coverage areas tacked on: Old gods do new jobs. The verse has among other things: |
| 97 | ** Aniger, the minor goddess of squashed animals (growing in power as carts get faster and roads get smoother and more people cry out, "Oh gods, what was that I hit?!"), possibly connected to Herne the Hunte''d'', God of things destined to live short lives ending in a crunch. |
| 98 | ** Anoia, minor goddess of Things That Get Stuck in Drawers [[spoiler:(formerly a volcano goddess)]]... who is heading up; in ''Literature/MakingMoney'' she's said to be tapped to be the new Goddess of Lost Causes, a growth industry on a world where "{{Million to One Chance}}s crop up nine times out of ten". Note that Anoia's revival was pretty much fortuitous, derived from events she had no control over or any part in; but people believed she did, and belief is everything... |
| 99 | ** Bilious, the ''oh God'' of Hangovers, whose newfound existence allows the God of Wine to drink as much as he likes and never get a hangover (and incidentally allows humans with the same trait to do it too). The reverse applies for {{Hideous Hangover Cure}}s and their "humorous effects", which lets him have some measure of catharsis. [[spoiler:He eventually decides to do freelance godding for any gods that want to take a break.]] |
| 100 | ** Errata, the Goddess of Misunderstandings (from ''VideoGame/DiscworldNoir''), famous for having the largest number of followers who, by mistake, follow a different god. |
| 101 | ** The heroic dog who stole the [[MacGuffin Tsortian Falchion]] and became the god of Unnecessary Subplots in Legends. |
| 102 | ** Nuggan, the [[spoiler:recently deceased]] God of Paperclips, Correct Things in the Right Place in Small Desk Stationery Sets, and Unnecessary Paperwork. His main purpose in Borogrovia appears to be just forbidding things because he's convinced prohibitions should have an actual ''effect'' on peoples' lives, so convinced [[spoiler:the disembodied voice that remains from him post-mortem keeps doling them out, which is why no one noticed his passing]]. |
| 103 | ** The God of Evolution. [[LogicBomb Who is an atheist]]. |
| 104 | ** Bastet, god of things left on the doorstep, things half-digested under the bed, and [[TheComputerIsACheatingBastard computers that cheat]] at ''VideoGame/{{Tetris}}''. |
| 105 | ** The Hogfather, the god of [[YouMeanXMas Hogswatch]]. Oh, and the sunrise (more Spring than sunrise, as he is a Winter Solstice god). |
| 106 | ** All of the above is just in the mainstream pantheon. There's also oddballs like P'Tang-P'Tang and Quetzovercoatl... or even ''think'' about Djelibeybi, which has a InUniverse ContinuitySnarl of a pantheon. |
| 107 | ** Lampshaded in ''Literature/{{Mort}}'', when Cutwell, trying to get the [[AwesomeMomentOfCrowning coronation]] done as fast as possible before reality collapses in on itself, realizes to his horror that the officiating priest is going to name all 900 known gods. He gets as far as Steikhegel, God of Isolated Cow Byres before someone stops him. |
| 108 | ** Another Lampshading in ''Literature/SmallGods'', where Om mentions there's a God of Cabbage. Thunder gods may come and go, but when there's an attack of caterpillars, whom does everyone turn to? |
| 109 | ** In ''Literature/ReaperMan'', when we get Hughnon Ridcully's delightful summation of events in Cori Celesti... |
| 110 | ** Small gods are what are created when random events occur (e.g. two snails crossing paths, or someone catching a dropped pen, etc.) or as in ''Literature/WitchesAbroad'', when a practitioner of the voodoo style of witchcraft sets out to ''make'' a few gods to order. A little headology to get people to believe in them is all you really need to do so; heck, C.M.O.T. Dibbler may have created the Black Dragon of Unhappiness ''by accident'' when he convinced a feng shui customer it existed! |
| 111 | ** In a variation of this trope, Discworld also has multiple [[GrimReaper Deaths]]. Like a Death of Rats. (This wasn't always the case; the extra Deaths were created during the events of ''Literature/ReaperMan''; by the end of the story, all but the Death of Rats and Death of Fleas were reabsorbed into one Death. It's strongly implied in the same work, however, that the Death we know only covers the Discworld; other Deaths exist in other places, and all are aspects of Azrael, the Death of the Universe.) |
| 112 | ** ''Literature/UnseenAcademicals'' features Pedestriana, the Goddess of Football. |
| 113 | * In ''Literature/KrampusTheYuleLord'', TheKrampus is the God of Yuletide. |
| 114 | * Saint Vidicon of Cathode in the ''Literature/WarlockOfGramarye'' series by Christopher Stasheff. The patron saint of technicians and engineers. Saint Vidicon's symbol is a yellow screwdriver worn in the shirt pocket. In a later book, his history was revealed -- he was martyred when he used his body to close an electrical circuit, allowing a speech by the Pope to make it to air and save the Catholic Church from obsolescence. |
| 115 | --> "Blessed Saint Vidicon, protect us from Finagle!" |
| 116 | * In ''Literature/TheAtomicBloodStainedBus'', all the gods seen have huge remits in their portfolio (Spring, Plague, Sleep) but due to human modernisation, they have had to adopt other things alongside (Ten Pin Bowling, Post Offices, Reality TV Contestants) |
| 117 | * Creator/LSpragueDeCamp's short story "The Hardwood Pile" features Aceria, one of the Tree Nymphs of Norway Maples. After all the Norway Maples in the area are cut down she becomes the Nymph of Piles of Wooden Boards that Used to Be Norway Maples. At the end of the story, she becomes the Nymph of Nightclub Dance Floors Made of Wood From Norway Maples. |
| 118 | * The Bastard from the ''Literature/{{Chalion}}'' series. The only god not associated with a season, his domain is all things out of place: demons, children born out of wedlock (obviously), [[HoYay odd loves]], disasters, and unorthodox justice. He also takes the souls of those not devoted to any of the other gods. He's not all bad news, though: his domain also includes unexpected windfalls, and when a ContrivedCoincidence is wanted, he's often the one to provide it. |
| 119 | * In the ''Literature/ForgottenRealms'' crossover ''Finder's Bane,'' a god residing outside the Realms (which has, or used to have, tons of gods) comments that "We wouldn't be surprised to find they have a god there with dominion over the tableware and ale mugs." |
| 120 | * ''Literature/TortallUniverse'': Tamora Pierce's series of books set in-universe has the big gods, like Mithros (war and justice), and the Goddess (fertility, women, agriculture), but it also has minor gods like Weiryn (god of the hunt for a small mountainous area), and rather hilariously a god of [[AtTheCrossroads crossroads]]. |
| 121 | * Glen Cook's ''Literature/GarrettPI'', while he doesn't believe in gods [[spoiler:until he's actually hired by some of them]], is a DeadpanSnarker with a personal RunningGag about how the ButtMonkey Odd Job godling who passes out towels in the heavenly loo has a secondary job: messing with Garrett's life. He's also hypothesized that the reason so many shady people in [=TunFaire=] have really stupid nicknames is that some mentally challenged micro-deity thinks it's a hoot to slip ideas for them into people's heads while they're squatting over a chamber pot. |
| 122 | * In ''Literature/JourneyToTheWest'', Son Wukong (who regularly trounces the gods in hand-to-hand combat) gets the job of Celestial Stable Boy to placate his ambitions, but that just ends up kicking off an even worse RageAgainstTheHeavens when he discovers he’s on the absolute bottom rung of the divine hierarchy. (It does end up being a useful item in his resume later on, though, as all horses, regular and supernatural, hold him in awe as a result.) |
| 123 | * The ''Literature/{{Liavek}}'' anthologies had Bree Amal, Goddess of Keepers of Disorderly Houses, and Ghologhosh, god of unmeant curses. |
| 124 | * ''Split Heirs'' by Lawrence Watt-Evans give us a God of Misused Things. Which might be extremely influential nowadays. |
| 125 | * In Barry Hughart's ''[[Literature/BridgeOfBirds The Chronicles of Master Li and Number Ten Ox]]'', Master Li has to appeal to Heaven to replace the lost patroness of prostitutes; a prostitute discusses the possibilities with him. |
| 126 | * Mentioned in passing to convey Aerin's experience climbing the apparently perpetual tower to the FinalBoss battle toward the end of ''Literature/TheHeroAndTheCrown''; she concludes she has been climbing forever, and will be climbing forever, and might become a sort of minor god, the God Who Climbs, comparable apparently to the 'God Who Isn't There,' which is the shadow god at noon. |
| 127 | * Lord Dunsany's ''Literature/TheGodsOfPegana'' includes many of these; indeed, nearly the entire Pegana pantheon qualifies! |
| 128 | --> "These be the gods of the hearth: Pitsu, who stroketh the cat; Hobit who calms the dog; and Habaniah, the lord of glowing embers; and little Zumbiboo, the lord of dust; and old Gribaun, who sits in the heart of the fire to turn the wood to ash -- all these be home gods, and live not in Pegana and be lesser than Roon." |
| 129 | * In the ''Literature/RainbowMagic'' series, pretty much ''every fairy'' is this. There are fairies responsible for colors and the weather, as well as princesses, parties, the days of the week, sports, and fashion, among ''many'' others. |
| 130 | * The ''Literature/GentlemanBastard'' series takes place in a world with twelve gods (thirteen if you count the heretical god of thieves) with flourished and sometimes funny titles. For example, Gandolo the god of trade is also known as the "Heavenly Father of Business Transactions", and the god of thieves (simply known as the Nameless Thirteenth) is nicknamed the "Father of Necessary Pretexts". |
| 131 | * In ''[[Literature/TheShadowCampaigns The Thousand Names]]'', the leaders of the Redemption rename themselves after various angels. The leader of their military idly wonders what would happen when they ran out of angels with impressive portfolios like Vengeance and Victory and have to start using the names of lesser angels like the Angel of Sisterly Affection or the Angel of Small Crafts. |
| 132 | * In Jennifer Fallon's ''Demon Child Trilogy'', the Primal gods are natural deities (War, Love, Fertility, Music, etc.) and the Incidental gods are this. They are demons that gained enough followers to become a god. There are Incidental gods of Poets and Artists. |
| 133 | * Grumble, the god of the minions in ''Literature/SpellsSwordsAndStealth'' is an Odd Job God by choice. When he ascended to godhood, rather than become a big name god he chose to watch over the lowliest of the low as he himself had once been. The protagonist Thistle the gnome is a devout follower of his instead of the more traditional gnomish god for precisely this reason and this devotion allows Thistle to become one of Grumble's paladins. |
| 134 | * The main religion in the World of the ''Literature/FlyByNightSeries'' has an emphasis on "odd." There are hundreds of Gods, called Beloveds, for every possible job. Some are responsible for glorious tasks, like raising the Sun, delivering messages to dead loved ones, or protecting boats from sinking. Further down the ladder are Beloveds for keeping vegetables fresh and protecting jams and butter from pesky flies. |
| 135 | * Creator/DaveBarry wrote a Greek myth parody that featured Bruno, the god of gardens, Vito, the god of fabric, and Denise, the goddess of municipal water supply, all of them being JerkassGods. |
| 136 | * The short story ''400 Rabbits'' by Alice "Huskyteer" Dryen, published in the {{Anthology}} ''Gods with Fur (and Feathers and Scales)'', features the Centzon Totochtin from Myth/AztecMythology, 400 rabbit gods of drunken parties. In the story, each of the 400 rabbits is the personification of a different aspect of drunkenness. The protagonist is Eighty-Six-Rabbit, the god of attempting to chat up your best friend's betrothed. Fifty-Five-Rabbit is the goddess of attempting to chat up your best friend. Three-Twenty-Three-Rabbit is the god of inability to tie your shoelaces (even though shoelaces don't exist in Mesoamerica yet). Twenty-Rabbit is the deity of risky showing off. At one point, Two-Rabbit threatens to demote Eighty-Six-Rabbit to being god of being projectile vomited on. The plot of the story is kicked off by Eighty-Six-Rabbit getting sick of waking up with a hangover every morning with no memory of the party the night before and deciding to try being sober. In the end, he realized that he and the rest of his siblings should drink and party because they want to and not because they have to. |
| 137 | * Creator/NKJemisin's ''Literature/InheritanceTrilogy'' has a huge number of gods, each with an "affinity" for some element(s) of the universe. Some of these are less than glamorous, such as Dump, Lord of Discards, who quite happily lives DownInTheDumps with a posse of {{Street Urchin}}s. This can sometimes result in MundaneMadeAwesome since gods who "live true" to their affinities can become tremendously powerful. |
| 138 | * ''Literature/TheRavenTower'': A god's RealityWarping power isn't limited in this way, but some gods choose to {{Invoke|dTrope}} this to gain worship. One unnamed deity cornered the market on miracles related to flint-knapping in its region, then branched out into metallurgy. {{Justified|Trope}} in that some miracles, like MiracleFood, require specialized knowledge to perform safely, so expertise is sometimes needed. |
| 139 | [[/folder]] |
| 140 | |
| 141 | [[folder:Live-Action TV]] |
| 142 | * The ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000'' sketch inspired by ''A Case of Spring Fever'' (see Films above) goes even further, implying that not only is there a tiny sprite that governs Mike's existence and can erase him from reality if someone wishes it, but there's a different sprite just for ''his socks''. |
| 143 | * In one episode of ''Series/BabylonFive'' [[{{ItMakesSenseInContext}} G'Kar asked Zack Allan if Garibaldi's painting of]] WesternAnimation/DaffyDuck was [[{{AllHailTheGreatGodMickey}} one of his household gods]]. Zack called him the "Egyptian god of Frustration." |
| 144 | * ''Series/HerculesTheLegendaryJourneys'': The Goddess of Fortune mentions that if word gets out about how badly she screwed up she could be made the Goddess of Dirt. |
| 145 | * ''Series/PerfectStrangers'' mentions the Mypiot god of windows cleaning. |
| 146 | * In the first episode of ''Series/{{Rome}}'', Titus Pulio is locked up in a cell and prays to Forculus to release him. Forculus is related to Janus, the god of gates and doors, though the DVD commentary notes he should have prayed to Cardea as well, the goddess of hinges. |
| 147 | [[/folder]] |
| 148 | |
| 149 | [[folder:Music]] |
| 150 | * In the Star Bomb song "[[VideoGame/GodOfWar God of No More]]", a number of these are sent out to fight against Kratos, since he's already finished off all the major ones and they're all that's left. Included on this list are the gods of smores, baked potatoes, chairs, and twerking. |
| 151 | [[/folder]] |
| 152 | |
| 153 | [[folder:Myths & Religion]] |
| 154 | * AncientEgypt and their household gods. Given the sheer size of their pantheon, it's no wonder that the {{ancient Egypt}}ians had a lot of these, including: |
| 155 | ** Nefertem, god of the first sunlight, perfumes, and blue lilies. |
| 156 | ** Iabet, goddess of the east. |
| 157 | ** Sopdu, god of the sky and eastern border regions. |
| 158 | ** Sah and Sopdet, god of the constellation Orion and goddess of the star Sirius respectively |
| 159 | ** Mafdet, goddess who protects people from snakes and scorpions; also a deification of justice or capital punishment |
| 160 | ** Tayt, goddess of weaving, textiles, and mummy bandages. Justified, given how much attention they gave to preparation of the dead and funerals. |
| 161 | ** Ihy, god of the ecstasy of playing the sistrum. |
| 162 | ** Qadesh, goddess of sacred ecstasy and sexual pleasure. Originally a Syrian fertility goddess. |
| 163 | ** Hatmehit, goddess of fish. |
| 164 | ** Qehbet, goddess who provided cool drinking water to deceased souls waiting for judgement before entering the afterlife. |
| 165 | ** Neith, goddess of conflict resolution and the nurturing maternal figure. |
| 166 | ** Anqet, goddess of the Aswan cataract of the Nile. |
| 167 | ** Wadj-wer, fertility-god of the lagoons of the northern Nile Delta. |
| 168 | ** Sepa, god of protection from snakebites. |
| 169 | ** Ash, god of the Libyan desert. |
| 170 | ** Dedun, god of Nubian trade goods. |
| 171 | ** Fetket, god of bartenders. |
| 172 | ** Harpocrates, the god of secrets and confidentiality; a later Greek version of Horus. |
| 173 | * AncientRome: |
| 174 | ** It had household gods called lares and most houses had a small shrine called a lararium. For ordinary Romans, they were typically the most important gods as they were more involved in daily life. After all, you don't want to bother Jupiter Optimus Maximus when cooking dinner. |
| 175 | ** Mike Judge didn't make up the Sterculius character mentioned in Western Animation. There really was a Roman god called Sterquilinus who was god of manure. |
| 176 | ** Cloacina was the goddess of sewers and sexual intercourse in marriage. [[UnfortunateImplications Wait a]] [[AssShove minute...]] |
| 177 | ** Cardea, goddess of doorways, hinges, and thresholds. |
| 178 | ** Just about every step of agricultural production had its own minor god: Sator for sowing, Messor for harvesting, Conditor for storing the harvested grain, etc. [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Roman_agricultural_deities Wikipedia has a full list.]] |
| 179 | ** Likewise the Romans had a lot of minor birth and [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Roman_birth_and_childhood_deities childhood deities.]] |
| 180 | ** Mars was an agriculture god as well as a war god. One scholar even thinks he has characteristics of a thunder god. |
| 181 | ** Mercury, Minerva, and Vesta were similar to their Greek counterparts with some minor differences. Mercury seemed to focus more heavily on commerce/business (his name is thought to be related to merchandise); Minerva's warlike aspects weren't emphasized as much by the Romans and she had additional control over medicine; and Vesta was heavily connected to the well being of the Roman state, so much so it's the reason why chastity was a requirement for Vestal Virgins. They were considered married to the state for the duration of their service and breaking their vow of chastity was tantamount to cheating. |
| 182 | ** Juno had a ''lot'' of epithets and was overall more respected and important to the Romans than Hera was to most Greek city-states. She was the goddess of women, marriage, childbirth, youth, war, the Roman state (along with Vesta), and probably other things. |
| 183 | ** Pomona, goddess of fruit trees, gardens, and orchards. |
| 184 | * Catholicism has a long tradition of appointing {{Patron Saint}}s with job descriptions often based on what they did in real life or what happened to them in their martyrdom; also you can generally expect them to be the patron saint of the place where their remains are kept. It should be pointed out that saints are not gods and are not worshiped by mainstream Catholics, but in some cultures, local deities have been known to assume the personality of saints and vice versa. |
| 185 | ** St. Clare of Assisi, the Patron Saint of [[Website/TVTropes Television]]. Supposedly when she was too ill to attend Mass, she could see and hear the ceremonies on the wall of her bedroom. |
| 186 | ** St. Nicholas is the patron saint of basically everyone. (The list includes children, sailors, fishermen, merchants, the falsely accused, prostitutes, repentant thieves, pharmacists, archers, and pawnbrokers). This is quite probably the main reason that his story was used to create SantaClaus. |
| 187 | ** Saint Isidore of Seville, the (unofficial) patron saint of TheInternet, computer users, and computer programmers. He was a scholar in life, and the internet and computers ''were'' originally intended for use by universities and other research institutions. |
| 188 | ** Ava, saint of children learning to walk. |
| 189 | ** Saint Brigid of Kildare, the patron of poets, healers, blacksmiths, livestock, and dairy workers, who curiously shares the name with a pre-Christian Celtic goddess (or three), associated with poetry, healing, protection, smithing, and domesticated animals. |
| 190 | ** Saint Lawrence of Rome is, among other things, the patron saint of cooks. This attribution is due to the fact that [[BlackComedy he was martyred by being roasted alive]]. He's also the patron saint of comedians, as he supposedly joked during his execution, "[[GallowsHumor Turn me over, I'm done on this side!]]" A more mundane explanation of his patronage of comedians is that, while serving as a deacon in Rome, he would entertain houseguests by reading from his vast collection of joke books. |
| 191 | ** Mother Frances Xavier Cabrini, the first U.S. citizen to be canonized (a New Yorker, natch) is, according to this humorous [[http://www.bustedhalo.com/features/saint-finder-of-keys/ site]], "official" patron saint of parking spaces. However, St. Therese of Lisieux is listed as a rival there, and [[http://www.friscovista.com/news/2006/12/28/dont-follow-leaders-and-watch-your-parking-meters/ this site]] lists yet others. |
| 192 | ** The Catholic Church has a habit of adding to a popular saint's portfolio if they could justify the connection. Thus, you have St. Joseph (Jesus' adopted dad) being the patron saint of fathers and social justice (among others), St. Matthew (writer of the first book of the New Testament and a former tax collector) being the patron saint of tax collectors and stockbrokers, St. Isidore of Seville (he wrote an encyclopedia in the seventh century) now patron saint of computers and the Internet[[note]]Not "officially" (the Holy See has not spoken on the issue), but he was voted as such in an Italian poll[[/note]] and St. Thomas Aquinas (noted Catholic theologian) standing for learning but somehow against lightning. |
| 193 | ** Sometimes the connection is a little laboured. For instance, the martyrdom of Saint Agatha (of Catania) involved having her breasts cut off, so somewhat unsurprisingly she is invoked against illnesses of the breast. But she is also patron saint of bronze-founders, which is said to originate in the passing resemblance between church bells and female breasts. She was also promoted to patron saint of the fictitious island of Catan from the board game ''[[TabletopGame/SettlersOfCatan Die Siedler von Catan]]'', but this last job was not recognized by the Catholic church. |
| 194 | ** St. Jude (mentioned in the bible as "the apostle called Jude who was NOT Iscariot") who is, by this sad naming coincidence, now the patron saint of hopeless causes (as people were afraid to pray to him for fear of it being interpreted as a prayer to Judas who ''was'' Iscariot). |
| 195 | ** St. Anthony the Hermit, also known as the Father of Monks, Anthony the Abbot, and Anthony the Great, is often depicted with a pig (because the 11th-century Antonite order had the right to let a so-called Antonius pig run free through a village to fend for itself). Proceeding from that pig, St. Anthony became patron saint not just of pigs and swineherds, but eventually of all domestic animals and against their diseases, of butchers and brushmakers, and also against various human diseases. |
| 196 | ** St. Anthony of Padua, the patron saint of finding lost things. Known in his lifetime for his phenomenal memory (so he's patron saint of that, too), public speaking ability (so he's patron saint of that, too), and for pretty casually doing miracles (so he's... you guessed it) along with poor people, women who can't have kids, social justice and saints on the fast track (the Pope took only six months to canonize him, saying he knew him personally). |
| 197 | ** In Brazil, St. Longinus (the Roman soldier that stabbed Jesus' side in the cross with a spear and became a Christian afterwards) is also venerated as the patron saint of finding lost things, though he is known as "São Longuinho". A common folk prayer is "St. Longinus, St. Longinus, if I find [lost thing] I jump three times." |
| 198 | ** St. Sebastian is the patron saint of archers, athletes, and protection against the plague. He was commonly depicted as a good-looking, half-naked young man pierced with arrows,[[note]]Despite this ''not'' being his actual cause of martyrdom - according to legend, he was nursed back to health by Saint Irene, then only later clubbed to death by the Romans[[/note]] and his fit body brought in mind athletic preparation. As for the plague, he was apparently associated with Apollo, the Greek archer god who protected against epidemics too. The traditional representation of Sebastian also made him an unofficial patron saint for the homosexual community. |
| 199 | ** The winner of this unfortunate competition is probably St. Drogo, patron saint of bodily ills, broken bones, hernias, sick people, insane people, ugly people, orphans, shepherds, and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking coffee shop owners]]. No, [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Drogo we're not making that one up.]] |
| 200 | ** Or perhaps it's St. Julian the Hospitaller, patron of carnies, childless people, clowns, ferrymen, fiddle players, hunters, innkeepers, knights, pilgrims, shepherds, wandering musicians, and murderers. |
| 201 | ** In fact, the syncretistic aspect of the Catholic Church's patron saints is what made Vodun and Santeria possible as viable religions -- by equating their native pantheon with the saints of the Church, it was possible for Caribbean slaves to keep aspects of their native religions alive in the New World with minimal risk of reprisal from slaveholders. |
| 202 | ** Not a saint recognized by the Catholic Church, but [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesús_Malverde Jesús Malverde]] is known as the patron saint of drug trafficking. |
| 203 | ** A [[http://www.snopes.com/religion/chad.asp joke]] has named [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chad_of_Mercia St. Chad]] a patron saint of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chad_(paper)#History disputed elections.]] Another refers to [[UsefulNotes/ThePope Pope John Paul I]] as the patron saint of temps. |
| 204 | * The Eastern Orthodox church: |
| 205 | ** St. Athanasius as the herald of spring (he's celebrated at the end of January and while there's plenty of winter cold ahead, by this time the days have gotten noticeably longer since the winter solstice). |
| 206 | ** St. Elias as the [[ThunderboltsAndLightning personification of storm and thunder]]. |
| 207 | ** In Bulgaria, St. Tryphon "the cut" is the patron of wine, since on his holiday (February 1st or 14th) vineyards are cut for the first time. Legend tells that he was so eager to do the job that he cut off his own nose. He's celebrated by... getting drunk. |
| 208 | * Russian Orthodox Church in particular: |
| 209 | ** It has patron saints of nuclear missiles, strategic bombers, and other weapons of mass destruction. St. Barbara is the heavenly patron of the Strategic Missile Forces of Russia. This is actually a much older and widespread tradition throughout Europe: St. Barbara has been recognized as the patron saint of artillery, fireworks, and other gunpowder objects since the invention of the European gunpowder, in Catholicism as well as in Orthodoxy. Indeed, she is also the heavenly patron of U.S. Army and Marine artillery as well as artillery arms of many other countries. |
| 210 | ** Admiral Fyodor Ushakov (an actual admiral who was canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church) is the patron saint of long-range nuclear bombers. |
| 211 | ** And St. Seraphim of Sarov is the patron of all Russian nukes, both tactical and strategic. |
| 212 | * Shinto believes that essentially all things have a spirit called a kami (it translates better as spirit than god) as is typical of animism. This also explains why there are so few major Shinto deities compared to other major civilizations like Egypt, Rome, and Greece. |
| 213 | ** Shinto deity Inari, god of fertility, industry, success, agriculture, rice, and foxes. [[AmbiguousGender They]] were the patron kami of blacksmiths and warriors; currently accepted by cosmetics company Shiseido as their patron kami. |
| 214 | ** Ebisu. Not only did he have a lot of domains, but most of them overlapped with those of Inari. They included fishing, fishermen, luck, wealth, and business/commerce. |
| 215 | * Myth/AztecMythology has a few gods like this. One quite unusual one was a frost god (yes in ''Mexico'') named Itztlacoliuhqui. |
| 216 | * Myth/ChineseMythology, being a CelestialBureaucracy, has plenty of these, too, including: |
| 217 | ** The god of oil lamps, who nearly caused TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt because he wasn't being well cared for or worshipped. |
| 218 | ** The god of ovens, who has the secondary job of spying on the household to report good and bad deeds (and would thus have to be bribed often with sweeties to keep his mouth shut). This is the Chinese kitchen god made well-known in the West through several literary works (such as the Amy Tan novel, ''Kitchen God's Wife'') and other media. He is somewhat of a Santa Claus figure, as he is supposed to bring gifts for good families (or good children) on the night before Chinese New Year's Day. |
| 219 | ** The god(s) of doorways, occasionally said to be the spirits of ancient fearsome warriors. Specifically, the tradition started with two famous generals of the Tang Dynasty, Weichi Jingde and Qin Qiong, who served as physical gate guardians for Emperor Taizong. Supposedly, when the actual generals could not serve as the guardians for whatever reason, the emperor put up their pictures instead, which started the tradition. |
| 220 | ** Guan Yu, the god of war, legendary hero, protector of all of China, champion against demons, and once one of the most popular gods among all the classes. He is also the patron god of bean curd (tofu) since before he became a warrior he was a bean curd merchant. It's more important than it sounds since bean curd has traditionally been an important food in China. Another interesting aspect of Guan Yu is the fact that he is the patron of both law enforcement and organised crime since both are activities that emphasize loyalty and being a badass. |
| 221 | ** Wenchang, Taoist god of literature, writing, and education and the god you pray to for help passing your exams. Given the importance of the imperial examinations, which determined who got a government job and basically were the only means of social mobility most of the time, it's not that surprising that there was a specific god for it. (In modern times, where he is invoked respecting the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Higher_Education_Entrance_Examination National Higher Education Entrance Examination]]--a.k.a. "the Big Test," as it decides which university, if any, you will attend--scallions seem to be a popular offering.) |
| 222 | ** The god of rice scoops is often cited as an example of extremely minor and extremely unimportant Chinese deities. |
| 223 | * Pre-Islamic Arabia had Wadd, a god of snakes, the moon, and friendship. |
| 224 | * Myth/ClassicalMythology: |
| 225 | ** The Greeks liked to append random attributes to Apollo, which eventually made him god of light, the sun, prophecy and oracles, healing, plague, music, cattle herding, archery, and poetry. |
| 226 | ** Hermes was nearly as versatile, being the god of travelers, merchants, thieves, sports/athletes (a role that he shared with Heracles and to a lesser extent, the Dioscuri), commerce, roads, boundaries, shepherds, and flocks. [[SmallReferencePools Though he's mostly known today as the messenger of the gods]] rather than a god of anything in his own right. |
| 227 | ** Most of the major gods get in on the action; Zeus, for instance, besides being king of the gods and god of the sky and thunder, was also called ''Zeus Xenios'', the god of SacredHospitality. He was also the god of law, order, and civilization. Poseidon was god of the sea, earthquakes, and horses. Athena was the goddess of Athens, defensive war and strategy, knowledge, and weaving. |
| 228 | ** Dionysus, god of wine, viniculture, ecstasy, freedom, and the theater/drama. |
| 229 | ** Artemis was originally goddess of the hunt, forest, and wild animals. Over time she became goddess of young women, chastity, childbirth, and the moon. |
| 230 | ** Hestia, who was goddess of the hearth and the right ordering of domesticity and the family. What's that, you never heard of her? She never featured in myth because the ancient Greeks [[AnthropomorphicPersonification literally thought of her as the hearth fire]], so she couldn't go anywhere or do anything. It's also the reason she was hardly ever depicted in sculpture and such. |
| 231 | ** Pan's domains overlap a lot with his "father" Hermes (though myth says Pan is his son, Pan's probably the older god). He's the god of the wilderness, shepherds, and their flocks. |
| 232 | ** [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koalemos Koalemos,]] god of stupidity. |
| 233 | ** Hebe, goddess of youth and the cupbearer of the Olympians (until replaced by Ganymede). |
| 234 | ** Iris, goddess of the rainbow. |
| 235 | ** Asclepius, the god of medicine, is the father of several. His (divine) kids are: |
| 236 | *** Iaso, goddess of recuperating from illness |
| 237 | *** Aceso, goddess of the healing process |
| 238 | *** Hygieia, goddess of health, cleanliness, and sanitation |
| 239 | *** Panacea, goddess of the universal remedy |
| 240 | *** Aglaea, goddess of the glow of good health |
| 241 | *** Telesphoros, a dwarf who has the same job as Iaso and is often seen in the company of Hygieia |
| 242 | ** Glycon, a minor snake god of fertility who might either be Asclepius' son or avatar, [[Creator/AlanMoore and who still has at least one worshipper alive today]] |
| 243 | *** Alexander of Abonutichus, a Macedonian SnakeOilSalesman who proclaimed himself to be Glycon's prophet and Asclepius' grandson. |
| 244 | * Myth/NorseMythology also has a bunch: |
| 245 | ** Bragi, god of poetry. What makes him this trope even more is the fact that Odin was already the god of poetry. No wonder some people suspect he's nothing more than a deified skald. |
| 246 | ** Odin, god of war, death, knowledge, poetry, magic, and (mental) ecstasy. The runes and gallows are particularly associated with him as part of his duties as a knowledge and death god, respectively. He's also associated with kings. |
| 247 | ** Skadi, pictured above, goddess of skis, bows/hunting, mountains, and winter. |
| 248 | ** Thor is usually thought of as the thunder god, but he's also the general storm/weather god. As the god of rain, this extended to include fertility generally (including human males) and this extended to weddings (despite typically being part of Frigg's domain). He's also associated with oak trees, strength, and hallowing. So strong was his association with fertility in some places, ''he'' was the father of Freyr and Freyja instead of Njordr. |
| 249 | ** Tyr. While he's often said to be a "war god", this "domain" only seems to have come about due to lots of people taking his identification with Mars at face value (and even Mars wasn't solely a war god). Among Germanic peoples, he was a god of victory, justice (overlapping with Forseti), the thing (an assembly), and anything relating to law generally. Etymology takes this to a whole other level as his name is cognate with the likes of Zeus, meaning he was probably a sky god and king of the other Germanic gods originally. |
| 250 | ** Ullr, who's something of a SpearCounterpart of Skadi and also overlaps a lot with Tyr. He's a god of glory, bows, hunting/archery, skis, shields, rings (later associated with Thor), and duels/one-on-one combat. |
| 251 | ** The Vanir in general. Njordr is essentially the god of bounty, especially those that come from the sea; Freyr is the god of rain, sunshine, fertility, sexuality, and kings (overlapping a little with Odin) with a possible association with elves, and Freyja is famously the goddess of love, sex, beauty, fertility, and gold/red gold (i.e. amber). Both Freyr and Freyja are associated with boars. |
| 252 | * Pagan Lithuania had Ruguczis, the god of fermentation and fermented foods. |
| 253 | * Pagan Finland and Karelia had Äkräs, god of fertility, cabbages, and turnips. |
| 254 | * The Innu have Matshishkapeu (whose name literally means "fart man"). The story goes that when the Caribou Master didn't give the Innu any caribou to eat, Matshishkapeu cursed him with terrible constipation until he gave in to their demands. |
| 255 | [[/folder]] |
| 256 | |
| 257 | [[folder:Podcasts]] |
| 258 | * In the actual play podcast ''Podcast/FriendsAtTheTable'', season 7, the WeirdWest Sangfielle, introduces Slumbous, the god of putting out candles at bedtime. Slumbous has a very dedicated nun who has moved into the town's deserted abbey and is spreading the word of snuffing your lights properly to the townspeople. |
| 259 | [[/folder]] |
| 260 | |
| 261 | [[folder:Roleplay]] |
| 262 | * ''Roleplay/EmbersInTheDusk'' features the Aetheric Concordat, a RagtagBunchOfMisfits who are all minor Warp gods. Such as Zahhak, the goddess of the idea that evil is a choice, Zaeed, the god of mercenaries, and Faust, the goddess of friendship. There is also a god of cooks, of last stands (A DeadEndJob with LegacyImmortality)... |
| 263 | * ''Roleplay/FireEmblemOnForums'' features a few across the many roleplays: |
| 264 | ** ''Roleplay/FireEmblemOnForumsChainsOfHorai'': While most of the Gods of the Land have dominion over an element, their alternate domains can sometimes qualify. Ozen is the god of money in addition to being the god of earth, while Mao is the god of pleasure and vice. Rau is also the god of change in addition to their power over thunder. This sometimes determines their favoured kind of Gnosis wielder. |
| 265 | * ''Roleplay/CradleOfGods'' gives us [[GodhoodSeeker god aspirant Sword]], who's angling for the Throne of Greed. |
| 266 | [[/folder]] |
| 267 | |
| 268 | [[folder:Tabletop Games]] |
| 269 | * ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' has quite a few: |
| 270 | ** In ''TabletopGame/{{Greyhawk}}'': |
| 271 | *** Wastri, the god of human-supremacist bigotry. And for some reason, also frogs. |
| 272 | *** Zagyg, the god of [[{{CloudcuckooLander}} eccentricity]]. |
| 273 | *** Gzemnid, the beholder god of gases. |
| 274 | *** Murlynd, god of [[{{Magitek}} "magical technology"]]. This wouldn't be so bad if he wasn't obviously a cowboy, complete with [[FantasyGunControl six-shooters explained by being]] [[AWizardDidIt magic]]. |
| 275 | *** Zuggtmoy, the demon lord of fungus. She has a ''very'' hard time attracting worshipers because there isn't much she can offer mortals. Anyone insane enough to actually do so tends to die quickly of the virulent fungal infections she "blesses" them with. |
| 276 | *** Zarus, "god of humanity" ([[EthnicGod in the same sense that]] Corellon Larethian represents the elves, [[FantasticRacism although the philosophy of Zarus tends to be expressed in a more Gruumsh-like manner]]). |
| 277 | ** In ''TabletopGame/{{Mystara}}'': |
| 278 | *** Buglore, the Immortal patron of insects. |
| 279 | ** In ''[[TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms The Forgotten Realms]]'': |
| 280 | *** Finder Wyvernspur, demigod of bards, new beginnings, and [[LizardFolk saurials]]. He was elevated to godhood after slaying Moander, the god of corruption and decay, and in the process saved the saurials from their slavery to said god, which was how he ended up as their patron deity. |
| 281 | *** Lurue, goddess of [[TalkingAnimal intelligent and/or talking beasts]]. |
| 282 | *** Siamorphe, demigoddess of nobility and royalty (and the ''[[ComesGreatResponsibility noblesse oblige]]'' that comes with such status). |
| 283 | *** Selûne isn't too weird, being the goddess of Light and the Moon, but her domain includes Lycanthropes, but only the good-aligned ones. Evil lycanthropes fall under Malar, god of the hunt. |
| 284 | *** Sharess is primarily a goddess of sex, but also cats. [[VideoGame/BaldursGate3 Or thanks to]] Speak With Animals, primarily a goddess of cats, and also sex. |
| 285 | * In the tabletop RPG ''TabletopGame/{{Exalted}}'', everything has a god. Everything. From concepts like love, taxes, and urban metropolises, to physical places and objects like crop fields and even ''individual rocks''. Generally speaking, gods of concepts and abstracts outrank those of concrete things and places. Gods of things smaller than say, a large building, tend to not be sentient. |
| 286 | ** The god Nara-O of the Hundred Veils would seem to be this since his official purview is "Secrets Known to Only One Person". However, this practically means that he's the god of all private (and often lost and forgotten) information. Nara-O is probably personally and politically one of the top ten most powerful gods in Heaven. |
| 287 | ** Ryzala is a giant humanoid praying mantis. She is also the Goddess of Bureaucracy and Lady of Paperwork, making her the most powerful god in the Celestial Bureaucracy who is not actually a Celestial Incarna. |
| 288 | ** One artifact from the splatbook, ''Wonders of the Lost Age'' is a type of prayer stone called a "Prayer Transceiver Module", each one being keyed to one specific goddess, whose entire purpose is to receive and relay messages made on that specific stone. She is immensely reliable because she's that desperate to have something to do. Not to mention that the stones have been lost since the Golden Age, making for one terminally bored goddess. |
| 289 | ** Heaven also contains literal odd job gods, being people who are only good for basic paperwork, filing, and message carrying. |
| 290 | * ''TabletopGame/InNomine'': Celestials can be assigned a Word, becoming the embodiment of a concept and in charge of encouraging its development on Earth. Demonic Words actually tend to be more logical than angelic Words, since anything that negatively influences mortals (Anorexia, Fast Food, Fine Print) is a source of demonic power. (On the other hand, Lucifer enjoys giving bizarre Words as punishments -- just ask Imbap, the Demon of Stale Bong Water.) Angels are much more likely to have strange Words when they reflect personal obsessions. Some of the weirder examples on both sides: |
| 291 | ** Druiel, the ''Angel'' of Teenage Death. |
| 292 | ** Fulrick, the Demon of Pencil Shavings. |
| 293 | ** Jorek, the Demon of Goth Wannabes. |
| 294 | ** [[Webcomic/SluggyFreelance Kizke]], the Demon of Internet Comics. |
| 295 | ** Maigonigal, the Demon of Bad Art. |
| 296 | ** Thratch, the Demon of Snappy Comebacks You Only Think of After It's Too Late. |
| 297 | ** Tomas, the Angel of Catchy Tunes. |
| 298 | ** Randolph, the Angel of Dictionaries. |
| 299 | ** Stander, the Demon of Embalming. |
| 300 | ** Bonniff, the Demon of Reading Peoples' Diaries. |
| 301 | ** Carr, the Demon of Missing Puzzle Pieces (who has carefully expanded his Word's scope to refer to any missing clue in a wider "puzzle"). |
| 302 | * Rokugan (the setting of ''TabletopGame/LegendOfTheFiveRings'') has the Fortunes, minor gods of the in-universe mythology, and anyone can be upgraded to such a position by the Emperor. However, no Emperor can overturn a decree made by a previous Emperor... which can be quite the mess if an Emperor decides to name you, for example, the Fortune of torture or of cockroaches (which happened under [[TheCaligula Hantei XVI]]). |
| 303 | * ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'': In the Kamigawa block, the short version of the story is that the gods are pissed. The set's flavor was influenced by Shinto, so there are kami for everything, from cleansing fire and infinite rage to pus and painted roads. |
| 304 | * This is sort of the whole point of ''TabletopGame/{{Nobilis}}'', where your character is essentially one of these. Your character might literally ''be'' the PowerOfFriendship. On the other hand, she might also be the Power of Lipton Instant Noodles (an example from the book). The difference in power and prestige between these is less than one might think- or may not necessarily even go in the direction one might think. |
| 305 | * ''TableTopGame/{{Pathfinder}}'': |
| 306 | ** Alseta, goddess of doorways. |
| 307 | ** Ghlaunder, god of insects and parasites. |
| 308 | ** Zarongel, goblin god of dog-killing, fire, and mounted combat. Not as random as it seems, as all three of those things are SeriousBusiness among goblins. |
| 309 | * ''The Primal Order'', by Wizards of the Coast, is a sourcebook of ideas and rules on how to handle deity-level action in fantasy games. Their two "official" example deities? [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking The Hawaiian goddess Pele and Joey, god of basket-weaving]]. |
| 310 | * In the ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}} Fantasy'' universe, there's Necoho, the god of atheism. He gets more powerful as he loses followers. |
| 311 | * ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'' has the two Ork gods Mork (who is cunningly brutal) and Gork (who is brutally cunning). Or was it the other way around? |
| 312 | ** It should be noted that these only sound like odd jobs to humans. [[BlueAndOrangeMorality To Orks these concepts are as basic as gods of light and dark]]. |
| 313 | ** The strange part of Tzeentch isn't their domain. It's that they are a GodOfEvil whose domain is ''hope''. |
| 314 | * Since ''TabletopGame/WerewolfTheForsaken'' is basically built on animism through a ReligiousHorror lens, it should be no surprise that it's crawling with these. So long as you accept "spirits" and "gods" as being interchangeable, which they basically are in animism. |
| 315 | ** For example, just in the court of wolf spirits, you have: spirits of wolves as a whole, spirits of specific breeds of wolf, spirits of wolves from a specific region, spirits of wolves of a specific pack, spirits of a specific wolf pack rank, spirits of wolf aspects (hunter, seeker, fighter, etc), spirits of wolf as metaphoric symbols, etc. |
| 316 | ** The oddest of odd job gods are the Magath, borderline {{eldritch abomination}}s created when two or more kinds of spirit merge that are either antithetical to one another or just form a very, very specific and unlikely niche. For example, the three sample magath in the ''Predators'' splat are "Walkerbreaker", a vehicle/pain hybrid spirit (so, in essence, "spirit of agonizing death by car accident"), Rainsliver, a swarm/glass/murder hybrid spirit that is trying to set itself up as "spirit of murder by glass shards or defenestration", and Wise Lost, a strays/knowledge hybrid spirit that set itself up as the guardian spirit of an inner-city library. |
| 317 | [[/folder]] |
| 318 | |
| 319 | [[folder:Theater]] |
| 320 | * Creator/GilbertAndSullivan's very first show together, ''Thespis'', plays Mercury (a.k.a. Hermes) this way. In fact, he does pretty much ''[[ComboPlatterPowers everything]]'', with the other gods sitting around and taking the credit. |
| 321 | [[/folder]] |
| 322 | |
| 323 | [[folder:Video Games]] |
| 324 | * Exceptionally powerful enemies in ''VideoGame/RealmOfTheMadGod'' have the title of Gods, even though [[BigBad Or]][[MadGod yx]] is the only truly omnipotent being in the game. So we have Medusa, the [[BigRedDevil Red Demon]], the [[LightIsNotGood White Demon]], the Ghost God, the [[HumongousMecha Undead Dwarf God]], the Sprite God, the Slime God, the [[WhenTreesAttack Ent God]], the [[JokeCharacter Evil Chicken God]], '''Franchise/{{Cthulhu|Mythos}}'''... the list goes on and on. |
| 325 | * [[PhysicalGod The Elder Gods]] of ''VideoGame/{{Lusternia}}'' were divided into seven pantheons which dictated their roles. However, some Gods were massively more important in their pantheons than others. After all, what sounds more impressive - the Seventh Circle creator who birthed the noble race of stags, or the Seventh Circle creator responsible for the genesis of ''fleas''? |
| 326 | * ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'' series has [[OurGodsAreDifferent many deities]], and quite a few cover "odd job" spheres. A large list is available on the series' [[Characters/TheElderScrollsDivineBeings Divine Beings]] character page. To note a few prominent examples: |
| 327 | ** In the old [[HornyVikings Nordic]] pantheon, Stuhn is the "God of Ransom" and is credited with teaching the early Nords how to [[IWantThemAlive take prisoners of war alive for ransom]]. His brother Tsun is the "God of Trials Against Adversity" and stands guard at the Hall of Valor in [[WarriorHeaven Sovngarde]]. The spirits of dead warriors must prove their worthiness to enter in a duel against him. [[spoiler:In ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]'', this is actually a part of the main storyline]]. |
| 328 | ** The Daedric Princes offer a fairly true-to-life take on the randomness of gods. For example, Peryite the Taskmaster is viewed by some as the weakest of the Princes. His sphere is pestilence, but also the ordering of the [[OurDemonsAreDifferent lowest orders]] of Oblivion. Other Daedric Princes cover odd spheres such as nightmares, decay, hunting, shadows, pariahs, luck, or ''cheese''. |
| 329 | ** Alduin, the BigBad of ''Skyrim'', is specifically the god of "world-eating"; a BeastOfTheApocalypse who returns the world to its primordial state so that it can be reborn into a new world. While performing his duties as the World Eater, he is said to be an invincible monster who dwarfs mountains and eats entire countries in a single bite. When he's not, [[BroughtDownToBadass he's simply a very powerful and almost-invincible dragon]]. |
| 330 | ** The old Yokudan pantheon of the Redguards has a number of these. Perhaps the most interesting is the Hoon Ding, the "[[TheJuggernaut make way]]" god. He [[GodInHumanForm manifests]] as a great warrior (or sometimes [[EmpathicWeapon a weapon]]) whenever the Redguard people need to "make way" for their people to live, and is said to be able to "make way" through anything. |
| 331 | ** The IndyPloy is a highly valued concept to the [[CatFolk Khajiit]] people, to the point where they have a god for it, Baan Dar. He is commonly attributed with "the genius which lends itself to the creation of last-minute plans to foil the machinations of the Khajiit's foes." |
| 332 | ** The Magna-Ge, aka "Star Orphans", are et'Ada ("original spirits") who fled Mundus (the mortal plane) along with their "father" Magnus (God of Magic and "architect" of Mundus) during the creation of Mundus. Some of the Magna-Ge seem to govern over or are associated with some unusual, often [[MindScrew mind-bending]] concepts. The commonality between them seems to be that they are all fleeting things, perhaps associated with luck or chance. Examples include synesthesia, the catching of fish, ''burping'', the doom of new ideas, ideas that too quickly come to fruition, and "divide-the-line" wisdom. This makes sense, of course, as the Magne-Ge were those et'Ada who had interest in the idea of the world Lorkhan wanted to create but weren't committed enough to make the sacrifice needed to become a part of that world like the Aedra. The concepts they are associated with are thus fleeting or bizarre or otherwise things that only happen momentarily or in possibilities. |
| 333 | ** One interesting aspect of ''Elder Scrolls'' gods is that they seem to have overlapping roles and spheres, but that within each of these overlapping spheres they have very, ''very'' specific areas of responsibility. For example, Mara and Dibella are both gods of love, but they handle very specific aspects of love, with Mara being the goddess of affection and union between two beings, while Dibella is associated with passionate love and creativity. Similarly, Jyggalag and Peryite are both gods of order, but Peryite is the god of menial tasks and day-to-day activities (essentially the god of middle managers) while Jyggalag is [[ObsessivelyOrganized a god of obsessive ordering and prediction of all things]]. |
| 334 | * Most of the gods of ''VideoGame/CityOfHeroes'' are pretty powerful, but that doesn't stop a djinn from existing solely to keep an eye on four enchanted mantles or prevent a wide array of quickly forgotten gods from running around. Trapdoor is essentially the god of running away, and [[TheThreeFacesOfEve the Furies]] are exactly what you'd expect. Lord Recluse seems to be the god of spiders, while [[BigGood Statesman]] seems to be the God of Superheroes. |
| 335 | * In the ''Franchise/{{Disgaea}}'' series, any item can be entered like a dungeon; (this is called an Item World.) If that item has a "legendary" trait; then this Item World is 100 levels deep. It has generals, kings, and at the end of level 100; an item god. You are encouraged to go through these and kill them all; as it powers that item up for you. So you can kill the Item God of a sword, piece of armor, used piece of chewing gum, [[GagPenis detached horse penis]]... |
| 336 | * ''VideoGame/{{Okami}}'' features gods of assorted elements, rejuvenation, explosions, cutting, the Sun and Moon, and Kabegami, the god of ''walls''. The game is based on Shinto, which has rather a lot of gods. When one wishes to refer to all of the Shinto gods collectively in Japanese, one speaks of "the eight million gods".[[note]]And that's not a strict limit, either. "Eight million" is an archaic Japanese euphemism for "a vast, possibly infinite number", the same way forty is used in the Bible.[[/note]] |
| 337 | * ''Franchise/TouhouProject'': |
| 338 | ** Gensokyo, which has many residents with basis in Shintoism and Japanese folklore, has a number of low-power gods. This includes Shizuha Aki, the god of ''autumn leaves''; she turns them red by [[PaintingTheFrostOnWindows painting them by hand]] and [[WhatKindOfLamePowerIsHeartAnyway makes them fall to the ground by kicking the trees]]. |
| 339 | ** Okina Matara, being a god who's been syncretized with a whole host of other deities, predictably has a long list of things she is a god of. The earth, the mountains, the stars and destiny? Common enough. Seasons, Noh theatre and that which is hidden? A bit odd but still doable. Outcasts, the disabled, hindrances, silkworm breeding and back doors? Now we're getting weird, and that last one is just abstract unless you've researched her source of inspiration. |
| 340 | * ''Franchise/ShinMegamiTensei'' games feature numerous Odd Job Gods as regular encounters and occasional boss fights. Special mention goes out to ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiStrangeJourney'', with Kanbari, the god of toilets. ''Devil Summoner: VideoGame/RaidouKuzunohaVsKingAbaddon'' has more than a few of its own; early on, you get cursed with bad luck, and are assaulted by Binbou-gami, the god of poverty, who takes the form of a man hanging upside-down from a cloud raining coins from his shirt. Most of his attacks involve giant coins landing on top of you, too. Other strange gods include the above-mentioned Pele and fellow Hawaiian deity Kamapua'a (a hog-man), and Taoist god [[MegaNeko Neko Shogun]]. |
| 341 | ** Others include, but are not limited to: Kudan, a human-headed cow that is born to issue a single prophecy of disaster and then dies, the Hare of Inaba, who was skinned for his insolence, Mamedanuki, a sort of raccoon dog capable of transforming its scrotum into useful objects, and hell, even the friggin' Chupacabra. |
| 342 | * ''VideoGame/JadeEmpire'' features a CelestialBureaucracy that tracks the actions of the heroes. At one point, a god appears to you and chews you out for wreaking so much destruction; his job was to tabulate your karma, and he was so ill-suited for the task he was demoted. So now he sells you trinkets. |
| 343 | ** There's also a major case of ComboPlatterPowers in the case of the Water Dragon who, in addition to her obvious dominion over rivers, rainfall, etc., also happens to be in charge of [[{{Psychopomp}} the cycle of death and reincarnation]]. |
| 344 | * In the {{Roguelike}} ''VideoGame/DungeonCrawl'', you can choose to worship one of your standard gods of magic, war, death, growth, healing, good, evil, etc. You can also worship Jiyva, god of slimes,[[note]]who only is only worshipped by a single super-intelligent jelly, and, since GodsNeedPrayerBadly, if you kill that jelly you actually [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu commit deicide]][[/note]] and Cheibriados, god of slowness.[[note]]who is actually something of a GameBreaker, since HeartIsAnAwesomePower[[/note]] |
| 345 | * The deities of ''VideoGame/DwarfFortress'' are procedurally generated like the rest of its worlds and given several random spheres of influence out of a list. Spheres can range from the expected things like storms, luck, fertility, justice, and war, to stuff like rainbows, muck, poetry, jealousy, and salt. There's also an element of FlightStrengthHeart as it's totally possible to get a god of justice, strength, and pregnancy, or one of [[BreadEggsMilkSquick peace, love, and torture]]. |
| 346 | * ''[[VideoGame/{{Suguri}} Acceleration of Suguri]]'' has QP of ''VideoGame/QPShooting'', the goddess of pudding. |
| 347 | ** Turns out, she's just one of the six gods of sweets (her name being Sweet Guardian [[spoiler:due to her role in protecting pudding from being erased in ''Dangerous'']]), the others being Sweet Maker (Saki, also from ''SUGURI''), Sweet Eater ([[VideoGame/OneHundredPercentOrangeJuice Tomomo]], who's also a DarkMagicalGirl on top of that), Sweet Breaker (the BigBad of ''QP Shooting Dangerous'', with her real name revealed to be Amami), Sweet Blogger (Natsumi from ''Xmas Shooting'', although you probably wouldn't tell from her since her attacks more involve veggies than sweets) and Sweet Creator. The last one's identity however is unknown. |
| 348 | * ''VideoGame/RuneScape'' has Brassica Prime, the cabbage god of cabbages. |
| 349 | * The fal'Cie of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII''. Sure, you had fal'Cie who did important things like producing food or acting as the sun. But some fal'Cie had less important tasks like... operating automatic doors. |
| 350 | * In ''VideoGame/DungeonsOfDredmor'', you can get a SideQuest to earn a random piece of magic equipment by praying to Inconsequentia, Goddess of Pointless Sidequests. You can also leave offerings of lutefisk to shrines of the Lutefisk God, who will offer a magic item if you bring him enough. |
| 351 | * In any of the ''VideoGame/{{Neptunia}}'' games, the CPU goddesses (aka the [[PlayerCharacter Playable Characters]]) do quests, build a nation, and govern the people. [[spoiler:[[AndManGrewProud There's a reason for that first one.]]]] |
| 352 | * ''VideoGame/KingdomOfLoathing'' has a mini-boss in the Hidden Temple, the half-serpent, half-sheep deity [[PunnyName Baa'baa'bu'ran]], who according to his [[EnemyScan Monster Manuel entry]] is the god of doorknobs, the smell of rain, open-faced sandwiches, and the ampersand. Also, one of the VideoGame/{{Pokemon}}-esque gods whose altar you find in the Hidden City is Squirtlcthulli, god of water and doorknobs. There was also an event that involved a player finding the name of the Demon Lord of [[UmbrellaDrink Fruity Girl Drinks]] and summoning him for the first time. |
| 353 | * The citizens of Santa Destroy in ''VideoGame/NoMoreHeroes'' recognize gods of each side job in the game, so you have gods of coconuts, cats, garbage, steak, and scorpions, the last of which can apparently be slain by killing scorpions. |
| 354 | * ''VideoGame/GunGodz'' and ''VideoGame/NuclearThrone'' have Yung Venuz, the god of guns, who is a white [[{{Cyclops}} cyclopic]] triangle from Venus. |
| 355 | * ''VideoGame/HyperPrincessPitch'' has [[StuffBlowingUp The]] [[MadeOfExplodium Goddess]] [[ImpressivePyrotechnics of]] [[EverythingMakesAMushroom Explosions]]. Which is also the protagonist's [[GodWasMyCopilot mom]]. |
| 356 | * ''VideoGame/EmbricOfWulfhammersCastle'' has deities for every occasion, including [[InsurmountableWaistHighFence contrivances]] and misguided but ultimately benevolent ideas, among others. |
| 357 | * Part of ''VideoGame/TheDarksideDetective'' takes place in a crypt where Dooley gets trapped with a gang of mafiosi; examining the statue in the crypt will produce the information that it depicts the patron saint of being trapped in a crypt with a gang of villains. |
| 358 | * In ''VideoGame/SixAges: Ride Like The Wind'', you can pick between five minor gods that your ancestors may have taken with them when they evacuated the city of Nivorah: Tepekos, god of redsmiths; Narva, goddess of beer; Perondeto, god of glassmaking; Nocheli, goddess of the red dye insect; and Buseryan, god of writing. |
| 359 | [[/folder]] |
| 360 | |
| 361 | [[folder:Web Animation]] |
| 362 | * ''WebAnimation/DarkMatter2525'': In [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7jClyinERY "God of the Paradox,"]] Yahweh was meant to be the god of pastries (since his major was Culinary Arts). |
| 363 | [[/folder]] |
| 364 | |
| 365 | [[folder:Web Comics]] |
| 366 | * In ''Webcomic/EightBitTheater'', Red Mage says that if they're lucky, they'll deal with what he calls "the wussy demons," meaning "The usual stuff: pain, darkness, anger..." When Black Mage asks what he thinks the "Hardcore," demons are, he replies "demons relating to urine or bad haircuts." While Black Mage is obviously skeptical, [[http://www.nuklearpower.com/2008/06/26/episode-1009-demon-stration/ Red Mage proves him wrong.]] |
| 367 | * ''Webcomic/TheGodsOfArrKelaan'' has Ronson, the god of apathy and beer, as well as Shadowscared, god of being afraid. Despite this, Ronson is the head of the traveler pantheon. |
| 368 | * Squid Fairy from ''Webcomic/ImminentMoose'' has the power to grant any wish... as long as it pertains to squids. |
| 369 | * In ''Webcomic/IrregularWebcomic'' there is a separate [[TheGrimReaper Death]] for every way anybody has ever died, including such infrequent events as death by choking on a giant frog and death by being ground by a Mars rover rock abrasion tool. The less likely Deaths are desperate for promotion. |
| 370 | * ''Webcomic/MountainTime'' has [[http://mountaincomics.com/2011/10/27/mountain-time-307/ The God of Good Posture]]: good at standing, and proud of it. |
| 371 | * ''Webcomic/{{Nodwick}}'' featured a ''lot'' of oddball deities. In one story, a goddess of [[ThePeepingTom peeping toms]] appeared. (Who was, ironically, very often the victim of them.) |
| 372 | * ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'' has Giggles, god of slapstick. He's worshiped exclusively by a tribe of orcs on a small island and was made up by [[TheDitz Elan]]. Who is the world's only worshiper of Banjo, god of puppets. Although they're officially brothers, so Banjo may enter the orcish pantheon as well. (The orcs were actually Banjo worshippers initially, but Giggles was a better fit for their spiritual needs.) |
| 373 | * Played with in [[https://tapas.io/episode/4225 this]] ''Partially Clips'' strip, which deals with the "restructuring" og the gods' jobs. |
| 374 | * Uncle Time from ''Webcomic/SluggyFreelance'' is in charge of governing the timestream in Timeless Space, which, as its name suggests, doesn't ''have'' a timestream. What he does all day besides knocking the occasional mini-lop rabbit through dimensions is unclear. |
| 375 | * In ''{{Webcomic/Snowflame}}'', our protagonist worships the goddess of cocaine. |
| 376 | * ''Webcomic/SomethingPositive'' has an appearance by [[http://www.somethingpositive.net/sp09032008.shtml Google Crom,]] [[OrcusOnHisThrone who judges your every action from his throne]] clutching his terrible skull mace. [[FlameWar Flame]] {{troll}}s and he rewards you [[TheInternetIsForPorn with comely wenches]]; [[{{Griefer}} grief lower-level players]] and camp their corpse, and he lowers you sixty levels with a bellow of "CROM'S WILL IS DONE!!!" |
| 377 | * ''Sverd Shelgr'', an ''Literature/InheritanceCycle'' webcomic that seems to no longer exist on the internet, featured a recurring character who was the [[OurOrcsAreDifferent Urgal]] [[https://sverd.fandom.com/wiki/God_of_Bunnies,_Flowers_and_Miscellaneous_Soft_Pillows God of Bunnies, Flowers and Miscellaneous Soft Pillows.]] He was temporarily kicked out of the pantheon for being lame, then allowed back in when he started [[BewareTheNiceOnes smiting non-believers.]] |
| 378 | * ''Webcomic/TrueVillains'' has a god for [[http://www.truevillains.com/comic-2013-06-05-Long%20Winded-jpg.htm every aspect of reality,]] but because GodsNeedPrayerBadly, only the ones with worshipers are powerful enough to bother with. None of the odd job gods made it into the top rank, although Lollywog the god of silly antics is a RunningGag. |
| 379 | [[/folder]] |
| 380 | |
| 381 | [[folder:Web Original]] |
| 382 | * The [[http://shireroth.org/shirewiki/Divine_Census_of_Cedrism Divine Census of Cedrism]] includes such oddities as B'Caw, god of spicy chicken, and Mog, god of political blunders. Even the relatively normal gods have bizarre sides (the god of warriors and soldiers is also the patron god of "guys with long hair"). |
| 383 | * In the French site of [[http://pagesperso-orange.fr/aspexplorer/kalon5.htm ASP explorer,]] in a series of short stories parodying the adventures of Franchise/ConanTheBarbarian, we are introduced to a newly ascended goddess: |
| 384 | -->Mranis actually was a rather careless deity. In front of Divine Agora, summoned to choose her divine attributes, symbols and titles, as it is the custom for the gods, she had chosen, to her peers' great consternation, the Small Burin of the Patient Excavations, the Half Extinct Torch of Dark Illuminations, her red and black half-skinned cat named "Touminou", and her complete name was written, as the custom wants, on the titanic porphyre steps of the Great Cenotaph: "Mranis, funny little goddess of violence, destruction, sex, scientific research and the [[BuffySpeak other funny stuff]]". Mesculias, god of chance and destiny, bet two major temples and twelve thousand minions against a mouldy baguette that she never would find any believers with such a manifest. Nobody among heavenly assembly raised the bet. |
| 385 | * And [[http://www.generatorland.com/glgenerator.aspx?id=59 this]] allows you to generate such gods. |
| 386 | * ''I Should Write ComicBook/DoctorStrange'' features a [[http://mightygodking.com/2009/09/21/everything-has-a-prime-mover-said-st-augustine/ story pitch]] involving the sudden and inexplicable emergence of a new pantheon. Its members include gods of couriers, cowboys, mad beats, and bungee. |
| 387 | * The ''Website/SCPFoundation'': |
| 388 | ** [[http://www.scpwiki.com/scp-3740 Ashur, God of the Wind]], who isn't ''quite'' an example of this trope -- but he is also one of the most credulous beings ever to exist, and the Foundation are able to convince him that various staff members are also gods, albeit with some very strange domains. Domains such as being able to lick one's own elbow, juggling, or turning on a light switch. He is also unable to believe that his good friend Suen is actually the god of the moon. |
| 389 | --> '''Ashur:''' What does that even ''mean?'' |
| 390 | ** [[http://www.scpwiki.com/scp-6059 BOTULAE,]] self proclaimed god of the pit, not of pits or any one mighty pit, but specifically the ball pit of a singular Chuck E. Cheese. |
| 391 | * The title character of the [[https://imgur.com/gallery/nSN8Odr God of Arepo]] a RoundRobin short story written by several authors on Tumblr. He is the god of "a dozen different nothings" and doesn't even consider himself worthy of worship. |
| 392 | * ''Website/{{Neopets}}'': Most Faeries that don't belong to one of the six basic [[ElementalMotifs elemental]] types tend to be themed around a specific domain, some more oddly-specific or less glamorous than others. Kari the [[FantasticFruitsAndVegetables Negg]] Faerie, the Soup Faerie, and the [[ToothFairy Tooth Faerie]]'s roles speak for themselves, Bree's duties revolved entirely around the former ''Key Quest'' subgame, and the Meridell Rubbish Dump even receives donations from an [[TheGhost unseen]] ''[[ToiletHumour Dung]]'' [[ToiletHumour Faerie]]. |
| 393 | [[/folder]] |
| 394 | |
| 395 | [[folder:Western Animation]] |
| 396 | * In one Myth/ClassicalMythology-inspired episode of ''WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}}'', Dot is the "goddess of cuteness". |
| 397 | * A very early episode of ''WesternAnimation/BeavisAndButtHead'' had the boys meet up with Sterculius, the god of feces at a monster truck show. [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sterculius He was not made up for the show, either.]] |
| 398 | * ''WesternAnimation/CourageTheCowardlyDog'' had gods appearing in a few episodes like a goddess of storms, Sandman the god of sleep and... the goosey god of honking. |
| 399 | * In the ''WesternAnimation/EarthwormJim'' episode "Assault and Battery", Jim goes to the Fabled, Long-Sought Home of the Gods to receive a new battery for his supersuit. There, he meets the gods of nasal discharge and puns and the goddess of disco, who explain that the biggies are at a party in Valhalla. |
| 400 | * ''WesternAnimation/KoalaMan'': Dapto has gods who are called "The Gods of Dapto" and they consist of the God of Fire, the God of Good Health, the God of Popping Down the Shops, the God of Always Has a Guitar at a Party, the God of Fancy Seeing You Here, the God of Just Fuckin' Do It, and the God of Realizing Your Potential. |
| 401 | * On ''WesternAnimation/SamAndMaxFreelancePolice'', after the titular duo get Zeus and Juno back together in the episode "Dysfunction of the Gods", they are rewarded by becoming the god of junk food and the god of vulgar novelty items respectively. |
| 402 | * From ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons,'' when the family visits a cave: |
| 403 | -->'''Marge:''' (''reading from plaque'') "Local Anahoopi Indians believed this stalactite was the finger of Tsisnajini, their god of pointing down." |
| 404 | * In the ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'' episode "Neptune's Spatula", [[{{PhysicalGod}} King Neptune]] uses his powers to turn [=SpongeBob=] into (presumably) the god of [[{{BurgerFool}} fry-cooking]] or some-such for about a minute before the latter decides [[{{BoxingLessonsForSuperman}} to just teach him to cook for himself]] so he can stay in Bikini Bottom. |
| 405 | * One of the most powerful characters in ''Franchise/TheTick'' is the Mighty Agrippa, Roman god of the aqueduct. According to the series canon, he's the last god to join the Roman pantheon, but when he showed up [[{{Gotterdammerung}} the rest had left for another planet.]] Despite being a low-ranking god, he's still a PhysicalGod and one of the strongest beings in the series. |
| 406 | * ''WesternAnimation/{{Tutenstein}}'' has Tut temporarily turned into the god of ice cream. |
| 407 | [[/folder]] |
| 408 | |
| 409 | [[folder:Real Life]] |
| 410 | * As related in the historical novel / "business thriller" ''Console Wars'' (which primarily focuses on the Fourth Generation of [[{{UsefulNotes/ConsoleWars}} said topic]]), Al Neilsen, one of Creator/{{Sega}}'s executives, once made reference to Trafficles, the Greek god of gridlock. |
| 411 | [[/folder]] |
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