Finnish Pantheon

Far to the north, in the lands of snow and ice, fiery stars burn in the dark night, the aurora borealis plays about the sky like flaming spirits, reindeer flee the wolves across the frozen tundra. Here, in the land of the midnight sun, the Finns make their home.

On the harsh territory and across the steppe, the frigid winds howl. In the voice of the air, the Finns heard spirits; in the crack of the ice, they saw their gods arise. What's more, the semi-nomadic Finns came into contact with many, many other cultures. They twisted and changed the myths of their homeland to accommodate the legends of the outsiders, creating new stories from the fusion of the two.

And thus it is that the Finnish pantheon rose from the campfire stories of spirits and sorcerers and the myths of other lands.

The Finns don't have a particularly strong pantheon. Perhaps that's because they don't focus on the prevalence of powers in their lives. The people aren't really active in the worship of their gods, instead simply accepting the powers an a given in their day-to-day existence. This ain't to say the Finns don't revere their powers; it's just that they're not as fervent in their beliefs as many of the other mortals in the multiverse. For the Finns, it's not a matter of faith - it's just the way things are.

The Finnish pantheon doesn't mess about too much in the affairs of mortals. The powers prefer to keep to themselves, aiding humans only when the sods need it most. See, the gods have their own struggles - mainly against titanic creatures of darkness that constantly threaten to devour the moon, the sun, and the stars. Still, it's well known that the high-ups of the pantheon have no qualms about mingling with the mortals or sending their agents to do so; most of the heroes of Finnish legend are touched with divine blood one way or another.

Another reason for the pantheon's small influence: Its gods are scattered across the Outer Planes. Not many of the Finnish powers care enough about each other to make a stand for or against their brethren; only a few seem to worry that they're slowly vanishing from existence. Fact is, graybeards across the planes take great interest in studying the pantheon - the powers seem to be letting themselves fade away. One or two of the younger deities struggle against this fate, finding themselves footholds on worlds where they've never been heard of before. The rest, apparently, no longer care what happens to them, and Anubis will have himself some new visitors on the Astral sometime soon.

The Finnish Powers

Ahto	Seas, waters
Hiisi	Evil
Ilmatar	Mothers
Loviatar	Pain, torture
Mielikki	Nature, forests
Surma	Death
Tuonetar	The underworld
Tuoni	The underworld
Ukko	Sky, air, weather, avians
Untamo	Sleep, dreams