#Minor Gods of Japan — Divinity 2
Contents
Canon — Minor God types. Minor Gods are handled as types rather than as named individual data. Every village and every mountain has a different Minor God, and templates are provided so a GM can generate them on the spot.
#Scent — The Kami of My Village
Anyone entering a village bows at a shrine they are seeing for the first time. They do not know the name. It is simply "the kami of this village." Step into the shrine, and an old woman sits there. A face hard to see unless you are a villager, yet she stirs in a corner of the shrine.
That old woman is a kami. Or the shadow of a kami. She is present when the village plants its grain, sings its songs, is born and dies. When the village vanishes, she vanishes too — or crosses over to another village.
A Minor God, even with a name, is not great. The name of an ujigami is usually called "the ujigami of ○○ village." That "○○" is everything.
"If you would go to that village, first greet the torii. The one who is unseen sees you first." — a folk saying
#Law — Common Rules for Minor Gods
- Main base-class path: Commoner 3rd–5th dan / miko 2nd–4th dan / monk 2nd–3rd dan.
- Daily benefit: 2 uses per domain.
- Return: a small daily dedication + a monthly village rite, 1 time.
- There is no main shrine — a single small shrine of that village or mountain is everything.
#Type 1 — Ujigami (氏神)
#Scent
The land kami of a village or clan. One per region, entangled across generations with that region's ancestors. Always present at the gatherings where the residents come to the shrine.
An ujigami is the village itself. The clan's ancestors borrow their names from him generation after generation, and a newborn child receives his protection. When an outsider enters the village, without the permission of that village's ujigami they have not truly "entered."
"A clan may abandon the land, but the land remembers the clan." — ujigami lore
#Law
#Type Template
- Divinity: 2
- Domains: 1 (the name of that region or clan) + 1 (that region's specialty: one of agriculture, fishing, forestry, or mining)
- Divine Authorities:
- Region → detection and alarm against threats coming from beyond the boundary.
- Specialty → governs the abundance or failure of that industry.
- Base: Commoner 3rd–5th dan (a regional old woman, village headman, or miko).
- Encounter condition: when a village rite is held or trouble arises.
#3 Named Examples
| Name | Domains | Scenario Hook |
|---|---|---|
| Ishino Ujigami | Ishino village · agriculture | When the village suffers a drought, it asks the PCs for a rain-prayer rite. |
| Yamashiro Ujigami | the eastern clan of Yamashiro · textiles | An inheritance dispute within the clan — discern the "true firstborn." |
| Funabashi Ujigami | Funabashi village · ship construction | The kami enshrined at the launch of a newly built ship refuses to help. |
#Type 2 — Ubusunagami (産土神)
#Scent
The guardian kami of an individual's birthplace. The kami of the land where a person was born. It follows that person for life, but rather than giving direct help it provides unseen protection.
Even if you go far away and live for decades, the moment you set foot again on the soil of your hometown — your ubusuna recognizes you at once. Without calling your name.
"The land where you were born does not forget you, even when you return in death." — ubusuna lore
#Law
#Type Template
- Divinity: 2
- Domains: 1 (the birthplace in question) + (optional) 1 (the influence of the family's ancestors)
- Divine Authorities:
- Birthplace → one die locked to 10 on one check within the birthplace.
- Lineage → automatically succeed checks related to family bloodline.
- Base: no class (a pure divinity) or Commoner 1st–3rd dan.
- Encounter condition: when a PC returns to their own birthplace after a long time.
#Named Example
- The Ubusunagami of one born in Osaka — granted to a PC born in Osaka. Within Osaka, one die locked, 1 time, at a decisive moment.
#Type 3 — Principal Deity of a Small Mountain (小山)
#Scent
The master of a small mountain, hill, or rock. Beneath the Great God of a famous mountain are countless small principal deities.
This principal deity does not leave its own mountain. It shows the way to those who climb, or makes a handful of herbs they gathered especially potent — it bestows a small but clear favor.
#Law
#Type Template
- Divinity: 2
- Domains: 1 (the name of that small mountain or hill) + (optional) 1 (a special resource of that mountain)
- Divine Authorities:
- Mountain → automatically succeed Geography and terrain checks inside the mountain.
- Resource → adjust the supply and quality of that resource.
- Base: Commoner 2nd–4th dan (a mountain hermit, herb-gatherer, or stonemason).
#Named Examples
| Name | Domains | Scenario Hook |
|---|---|---|
| Principal Deity of Mount Takao | Mount Takao · autumn leaves and herbs | Guidance or a trial for a PC who enters the mountain. |
| Principal Deity of Mount Iwane | Mount Iwane · stone | Intervenes in a stonemason PC's quarrying. |
#Type 4 — Principal Deity of a Pond, Marsh (沼), or Well
#Scent
The kami of a small body of water. Famous rivers are Middle or Great Gods, but a village well or a small pond is Minor God scale.
These principal deities are quiet and conservative. If someone defiles their water, illness appears within 3 days. To those who hold their water precious, they give it clear, sweet, and unceasing.
#Law
#Type Template
- Divinity: 2
- Domains: 1 (the body of water in question) + (optional) 1 (the color or legend of the water)
- Divine Authorities:
- Body of water → can know everything inside the body of water (detect targets underwater).
- Legend → a special effect of legendary character (clear water → healing / black water → Curse).
- Base: miko 3rd–5th dan.
#Named Example
- The Principal Deity of Sarasawa — the kami of a pond called "Sarasawa of the clear water." Domains: "Sarasawa Pond · water of healing." A sick person who drinks that water recovers.
#Law — Procedure for a GM to Generate a Minor God (the 60-second template)
- Designate a place: a concrete name such as "○○ village" / "○○ mountain" / "○○ pond."
- Fix 1 domain: the name of the place itself.
- Domain 2 (optional): one of the place's specialties or features.
- Divine Authority: 1 per domain, as "something certain only within that place."
- Base class: Commoner 3rd–5th dan recommended.
- Encounter hook: "Why is this kami speaking to the PCs right now?"
#Scent — Wisdom for Using Minor Gods
You may assume a Minor God is in every place — the basic premise of Japanese Shinto. But place them only in the places the story needs. If you turn all eight million kami into data, the reader tires.
A Minor God is a convenient card used in place of an arahitogami or Tatarigami. One scene, one Divine Authority, one expenditure. Not great. But for as long as it is there, it holds its place.
"One roof for one village, one name for one mountain — the Minor God dwells there."