Beschrijving
- Home Plane:
Anansi is a trickster and the keeper of all knowledge and stories. He takes the form of a spider and spins giant webs in the forest. There, he catches all of the stories from people's dreams and gossip. Anansi sometimes keeps the stories for himself, but other times he shares the knowledge with the world so they might become wise.
He acts as a go-between for humans and other gods, and he is the one responsible for tricking the divine into creating night, rain, and other natural phenomena. However, his aims are never noble. Anansi entertains himself by tricking humans (and the gods) through complicated pranks. Sometimes he gains nothing from the pranks other than the joy of having made people work harder. He's even gone so far as to trick followers into believing he created the world.
Anansi can also change into a fox, rabbit, or human at will. Unlike other gods whose deeds and prowess reside in a few stories about the creation of the world, Anansi's history rests in thousands of stories of trickery. Everything we know about the spider-god—parables that teach humanity how to be humble and learn their place in the world, or stories expanding humanity's realm of knowledge—stem from the word-of-mouth stories that are told in his name.
Dogma
Anansi cares only for himself and expects nothing less from his subjects. However, there is a deeper lesson in Anansi's work that he expects his followers to understand. His lessons are a form of tough love stemming from the cultural climate of those who follow him. Life is unforgiving. Those who do not learn from their failings will surely die. Anansi is there to teach people these lessons without causing anyone harm. And if that leads to people being filled with fear of the gods, so be it. Better afraid than dead.
Clergy and Temples
Anansi has no temples. Those who serve him do so to travel the world in search of knowledge, secrets, and stories. They have no other higher calling, are not concerned with saving innocent lives (unless it fits their purposes), and do not make oaths, except to their god and knowledge. Whatever the lesson, clerics and paladins of Anansi always recite a parable in which mortals (or the gods) were tricked by Anansi's cunning.
The trickster Spider fooled others in order to gather knowledge from the gods.
Greedy Anansi hoarded this wisdom and stories at the top of a very tall tree, until the knowledge grew so heavy, it came crashing to the ground, releasing all the wisdom within.
It scattered to the corners of all the lands, and it was by this that man learned to fish, hunt, and farm.
Worshippers
True and dedicated followers of Anansi honor the god for one of two reasons. The first is simple fear that the god will bring them harm. The second is a deep desire to trick others. This latter follower is one to be feared. Any person who would gladly worship the most cunning spirit of them all is one who does not understand Anansi's true meaning. Those who learn to beguile and trick others have no place among the community that raised them.
Sages, elders, and parents all understand the value of Anansi's stories. They grow up fearing the spider-god but eventually learn the value of his teachings. If one lives long enough, one clearly knows the value of Anansi's stories. But the "ruse" is in using these stories to help children grow up in a hostile world. By extension, the strongest and smartest followers in the world worship Anansi and eventually learn the importance of his word.