Which God might Ranma choose to worship?

[SpaceKnight of Chaos]

Now, I occasionally dabble with the idea of Ranma in a D&D environment, and that sets my mind down some strange paths. Most recently, I was wondering that if Ranma had to pick from amongst the various deities of D&D (General, Forgotten Realms and Eberron) and chose one as his patron deity, which one would he be most likely to choose? While I know that the various Evil and Chaotic Evil gods are most certainly not on the list (Ranma isn't that tyrannical, malicious or destructively anarchistic), I thought I'd get the opinions of other people. So... here I am. And yes, I know that Ranma would never give any god enough faith to be able to serve as a champion (read, any Divine class), but one can be faithful without being a Cleric, Paladin, Avenger or Invoker.

::Edit::
I have finally come to the conclusion that the old way I was handling this does not work. So, I've simplified the poll to just be alignment based and included, in the subsequent posts, basic descriptions of all the gods of a given alignment. The poll isn't neccessary; I'd like people to post on which god (or gods, if you think multiple ones seem like they would appeal to Ranma) they, specifically, could see Ranma as being respectful to.

The descriptions of alignments come right out of the PHB 1 for D&D 4th edition, if anyone is curious.

[SpaceKnight of Chaos]

Lawful Good
“An ordered society protects us from evil.”
If you’re Lawful Good, you respect the authority of personal codes of conduct, laws and leaders, and you believe that those codes are the best way of achieving your ideas. Just authority promotes the well-being of its subjects and prevents them from harming one another. Lawful Good characters believe just as strongly as Good ones do in the value of life, and they put even more emphasis on the need for the powerful to protect the weak and downtrodden. The exemplars of the Lawful Good alignment are shining champions of what’s right, honorable, and true, risking, or even sacrificing, their lives to stop the spread of evil in the world.
When leaders exploit their authority for personal gain, when laws grant privileged status to some citizens and reduce others to slavery or untouchable status, law has given in to evil and just authority becomes tyranny. You are not only capable of challenging such injustice, but morally bound to do so. However, you would prefer to work within the system to right such problems rather than resorting to more rebellious and lawless methods.

Name: Bahamut
Portfolio: Justice, Protection, Nobility, Honor, Metallic Dragons
Tenets:
1: Uphold the highest ideals of honor and justice.
2: Be constantly vigilant against evil and oppose it on all fronts.
3: Protect the weak, liberate the oppressed, and defend just order.

Name: Moradin
Portfolio: Creation, Artifice, Mining, Metalwork, Building, Hearth, Family
Tenets:
1: Meet adversity with stoicism and tenacity.
2: Demonstrate loyalty to your family, your clan, your leaders and your people.
3: Strive to make a mark on the world, a lasting legacy. To make something that lasts is the highest good, whether you are a smith working at a forge or a ruler building a dynasty.

Name: Amaunator
Portfolio: Sun, Time
Tenets:
1: Obey the law and respect tradition.
2: Always meet your commitments and never be late.
3: Be organized in all pursuits.

Name: Chauntea
Portfolio: Nature, Life
Tenets:
1: Preserve the cycle of growth and harvest.
2: Live on and with the land.
3: Be generous in sharing the land’s bounty.

Name: Torm
Portfolio: Lawful Good
Tenets:
1: Respect and enforce the law, and honor your traditions.
2: Demonstrate truthfulness, loyalty, and steadfast devotion to a rightful cause.
3: Do not flinch in the execution of your duty, no matter what the consequence.

Name: The Path of Light
Portfolio: Light, Progress, Self-Improvement, Freedom
Tenets:
1: Seek excellence in both mind and body, for a great war against the dark is brewing.
2: Do not look to deities for divinity. Divinity is within the grasp of mortals if they but touch the Great Light.
3: Use your honed skills to discover and vanquish evil beings.

Name: The Silver Flame
Portfolio: Protection, Generosity, Destruction of Evil and the Unnatural
Tenets:
1: Destroy evil in all its forms. Undead are particularly abhorrent to the Silver Flame.
2: Bring relief to those that suffer.
3: Protect those who cannot protect themselves. Offer aid to those who can.

Name: Dol Arrah
Portfolio: Light (Physical & Metaphorical), Honor, Selflessness, Military Strategy, War
Tenets:
1: Bring succor to those who suffer.
2: Bring the light of truth and goodness to dark and evil places.
3: Bring force of arms against all that is evil.

[SpaceKnight of Chaos]

Good
“Protecting the weak from those who would dominate or kill them is just the right thing to do.”
If you’re a Good character, you believe it is right to aid and protect those in need. You’re not required to sacrifice yourself to help others or to completely ignore your own needs, but you might be asked to place others’ needs above your own… in some cases, even if that means putting yourself in harm’s way. In many ways, that’s the essence of being a heroic adventurer: the people of the town can’t defend themselves from the marauding goblins, so you descend into the dungeon –at significant personal risk- to put an end to the goblin raids.
You can follow rules and respect authority, but you’re keenly aware that power tends to corrupt those who wield it, too often leading them to exploit their power for selfish or evil ends. When that happens, you feel no obligation to follow the law blindly. It’s better for authority to rest in the members of a community rather than the hands of any individual or social class. When law becomes exploitation, it crosses into evil territory, and Good characters feel compelled to fight it.
Good and Evil represent fundamentally different viewpoints, cosmically opposed and unable to coexist in peace. Good and Lawful Good characters, though, get along fine – even if a Good character thinks a Lawful Good companion might be a little too focused on following the law, rather than simply doing the right thing.

Name: Avandra
Portfolio: Change, Freedom, Trade, Travel, Adventure, The Frontier
Tenets:
1: Luck favors the bold. Take your fate into your own hands and Avandra smiles upon you.
2: Strike back against those who would rob you of your freedom and urge others to fight for their own liberty.
3: Change is inevitable, but it takes the work of the faithful to ensure that change is for the better.

Name: Pelor
Portfolio: Sun, Summer, Agriculture, Time
Tenets:
1: Alleviate suffering wherever you find it.
2: Bring Pelor’s light into places of darkness, showing kindness, mercy and compassion.
3: Be watchful against evil.

Name: Sune
Portfolio: Love, Beauty
Tenets:
1: Seek beauty and love in all its forms.
2: Follow your passions in love and art wherever your heart might lead you.
3: Celebrate the creation of beauty, and share it so that all can revel in the joy of life.

Name: Selune
Portfolio: Moon, Stars, Tides
Tenets:
1: Never lose hope or faith, for every force in the world ebbs and flows.
2: Bring light to the darkness and hold back the tide of evil.
3: Seek out creatures who bear the curse of lycanthropy, curing those who hope to end their affliction and destroying those who have succumbed to the beast within.

Name: Arawai
Portfolio: Agriculture, Fertility, The Wilderness As Natural Resources
Tenets:
1: Be fruitful and multiply.
2: Celebrate life, especially new life. A young sapling is a beautiful creation, and children are the world’s greatest blessing.
3: Never turn your back on a child or young creature in need.

Name: Boldrei
Portfolio: Community, Home, Hearth
Tenets:
1: Value your community and family above yourself. Ensure that if you fall, they survive.
2: Make your home your haven. Weighty and stressful affairs belong elsewhere, and violence in the home is unconscionable.
3: Help other members of your community with no thought of recompense. Rewards come when they are needed.

Name: Olladra
Portfolio: Fortune, Luck, Success
Tenets:
1: Eat, drink, and be merry, for life is good and luck comes to those who need it.
2: Olladra favors the bold. Fashion your own destiny to enjoy her favor.
3: Fight against oppression. Any who would deny you your freedoms should feel Olladra’s anger.

Name: The Sovereign Host
Pantheon Members: Arawai, Aureon, Balinor, Boldrei, Dol Arrah, Dol Dorn, Kol Korran, Olladra, Onatar
Pantheon Alignment: Good
Pantheon Focus: The World (Civilization & Benevolent Nature)
Tenets:
1: Place your trust in the community. The group is stronger by far than the individual. The great light of a city is composed of the thousands of flames of its citizens. You must ensure that your flame is as bright as you can make it.
2: Treat others as they deserve to be treated. If they haven’t harmed you or yours, treat them kindly.
3: Bring the light of civilization to the darkness of the wilds.

[SpaceKnight of Chaos]

Unaligned
“Just let me go about my business.”
If you’re Unaligned, you don’t actively seek to harm others or wish them ill. But you also don’t go out of your way to put yourself at risk without some hope for reward. You support law and order when doing so benefits you. You value your own freedom, without worrying too much about protecting the freedom of others.
A few Unaligned people, and most Unaligned deities, aren’t decided about alignment. Rather, they’ve chosen not to choose, either because they see the benefits of both Good and Evil or because they seem themselves as above the concerns of morality. The Raven Queen and her devotees fall into the latter camp, believing that moral choices are irrelevant to their mission since death comes to all creatures regardless of alignment.

Name: Corellon
Portfolio: Spring, Beauty, Arcane Magic, Art, The Fey
Tenets:
1: Cultivate beauty in all you do, whether you’re casting a spell, composing a saga, strumming a lute, or practicing the arts of war.
2: Seek out lost magic items, forgotten rituals, and ancient works of art. Corellon might have inspired them in the world’s first days.
3: Thwart the followers of Lolth at every opportunity.

Name: Erathis
Portfolio: Civilisation, Invention, Law
Tenets:
1: Work with others to achieve your goals. Community and order are always stronger than the disjointed efforts of lone individuals.
2: Tame the wilderness to make it fit for habitation and defend the light of civilization against the encroaching darkness.
3: Seek out new ideas, new inventions, new lands to inhabit, new wilderness to conquer. Build machines, build cities, build empires.

Name: Ioun
Portfolio: Knowledge, Skill, Prophecy, The Study of Magic
Tenets:
1: Seek the perfection of your mind by bringing reason, perception and emotion into balance with one another.
2: Accumulate, preserve and distribute knowledge in all forms. Pursue education, build libraries, and seek out lost and ancient lore.
3: Be watchful at all times for the followers of Vecna, who seek to control knowledge and keep secrets. Oppose their schemes, unmask their secrets, and blind them with the light of truth and reason.

Name: Kord
Portfolio: Storms, Battle, Strength
Tenets:
1: Be strong, but do not use your strength for wanton destruction.
2: Be brave, and scorn cowardice in any form.
3: Prove your might in battle to win glory and renown.

Name: Melora
Portfolio: Wilderness, Sea
Tenets:
1: Protect the wild places of the world from destruction and overuse. Oppose the rampant spread of cities and empires.
2: Hunt aberrant monsters and other abominations of nature.
3: Do not fear or condemn the savagery of nature. Live in harmony with the wild.

Name: The Raven Queen
Portfolio: Death, Fate, Winter
Tenets:
1: Hold no pity for those who suffer and die, for death is the natural end of life.
2: Bring down the proud who try to cast off the chains of fate. As the instrument of the Raven Queen, you must punish hubris where you find it.
3: Watch for the cults of Orcus and stamp them out whenever they arise. The Demon Prince of the Undead seeks to claim the Raven Queen’s throne.

Name: Sehanine
Portfolio: Moon, Autumn, Trickery, Illusions, Love
Tenets:
1: Follow your goals and seek your own destiny.
2: Keep to the shadows, avoiding the blazing light of zealous good and the utter darkness of evil.
3: Seek new horizons and new experiences, and let nothing tie you down.

Name: Kelemvor
Portfolio: Death, The Dead
Tenets:
1: Do not fear death, for death is the natural stage that follows life.
2: Give comfort to the bereaved.
3: Destroy the undead, and oppose the use of necromancy.

Name: Oghma
Portfolio: Knowledge, Thought
Tenets:
1: Encourage innovation and new thoughts, wherever they might lead.
2: Collect and preserve knowledge before it is lost.
3: Disseminate knowledge as widely as possible, so that all can benefit from its instruction.

Name: Silvanus
Portfolio: Nature
Tenets:
1: Preserve the balance of life and death, birth and decay.
2: Respect nature in all of its savagery, and revere the world in all its natural beauty.
3: Protect the wild places from the further encroachment of civilization.

Name: Tempus
Portfolio: Battle, Martial Prowess
Tenets:
1: Be fearless.
2: Never turn away from a fight.
3: Obey the rules of war.

Name: The Traveler
Portfolio: Change, Cunning, Innovation, Deception
Tenets:
1: Revealing your true self is weakness. Shroud yourself in misdirection and disguise so that even you do not know what dwells in your core.
2: Nothing is permanent. Ensure that change improves your lot and damages your enemies.
3: The best weapons are cunning plans and intricate deceptions. Mortal minds are predictable and easily manipulated.

Name: The Blood of Vol
Portfolio: Divine Power of the Blood, Immortality, Undeath
Tenets:
1: Believe in yourself. A common recitation when faced with a challenge or event: “as the blood is the power, and the blood flows through me, the power is mine”.
2: Work to improve yourself and your capacities. A complete understanding of the divinity within opens the door to immortality.
3: Meet with other members of the Blood of Vol to share in the power of each other’s blood.

Name: Onatar
Portfolio: Forges, Crafts, Industry, Fire
Tenets:
1: Create. To craft an object or forge a weapon is to create a tool that many workers can use.
2: Work. Work gives meaning to life and strength to communities.
3: Respect fire. It is an invaluable tool and a powerful weapon.

Name: Dol Dorn
Portfolio: Courage, Duty, Physical Prowess, Soldiers & Warriors, War
Tenets:
1: Shirk your duty only if your charges have become unworthy of it.
2: Achieve and maintain physical perfection.
3: Test your physical powers in contests and in battle. May the strongest prevail!

Name: Kol Korran
Portfolio: Wealth, Trade, Commerce
Tenets:
1: Acquire wealth.
2: Travel. New lands offer new trading partners to cultivate and new resources to gather.
3: Remember that a charming smile and a kind word are often more powerful than a blade and a strong arm.

Name: Aureon
Portfolio: Knowledge, Law, Arcane Lore, Magic
Tenets:
1: Respect and acquire knowledge, especially knowledge that was once lost.
2: Value reason and sound thought over emotion and rash action.
3: Educate yourself, your children, and your allies.

Name: Balinor
Portfolio: Beasts, The Hunt, The Cycle of Life
Tenets:
1: Take what you need from nature, but respect its power.
2: Courage invites luck. Never flinch in the face of danger, but don’t court it unprepared.
3: Change is constant. The only certainty in life is death. Death is not to be feared, but celebrated as part of the natural cycle.

[SpaceKnight of Chaos]

I should probably give my thoughts on what gods seem like they would suit Ranma best. Personally, I see Ranma as an Unaligned person of his own right: he can be generous and self-sacrificing, but he's very much used to looking out for number one, though he has too many morals to screw over other people as badly as he could. With this in mind, and Ranma's own nature as a fighter who seems to enjoy fighting, these were the gods that suggested themselves to me...

Kord: Kord is the god of fighting, but he's also a fairly honorable god. While Ranma himself has never professed that "martial artists must protect the weak", I have heard Genma say that line and variants thereof. Kord's call for his followers to be strong fighters, to not misuse or abuse that strength, and to seek glory through battle, feel like they would naturally appeal to Ranma.

Sehanine: This goddess's calls for her followers to be free and allow no others to bind them would appeal to Ranma, and her emphasis on trickery, stealth and deception is something Ranma already lives by in canon.

The Blood of Vol: This cult's belief in the power that lies within and its call for its followers to better themselves and unlock their full potential is naturally the sort of thing that would appeal to the hard-trained, victory-at-any-cost, Ranma Saotome.

Dol Dorn: I can't quite explain why it feels that this god may appeal to Ranma, though he could certainly benefit to learn by Dol Dorn's first tenet, and he definately lives up to the second and third tenets.

[SpaceKnight of Chaos]

So, nobody thinks that any of the gods has a creed that would be at all of interest to Ranma? Well, if you think any of the other Ranma characters might be tempted to pray to one of these gods in a D&D setting, I'm interested to hear who, which god, and why.

[Tornado Ninja Fan]

I think that Ranma isn't Lawful. Among other things, he casually steals food when he's hungry. But he's also not unaligned, since he tends to help people without expecting a reward. Therefore I think he would have a good alignment.

While Avandra's portfolio looks good for an adventurer, Ranma has never actively looked for a cure and he seems to feel right at home at the Tendos.

Pelor's tenets seem to suggest that the worshippers became some kind of missionar and I can't see Ranma telling anybody about his god, since he's very secretive. Also, the portfolio seems wrong.

While Ranma is vain, he doesn't really follow his heart, so Sune is out.

Selune is another god for adventurers, plus the Jusenkyo curse and the Neko-ken could confuse the priests.

Arawai has the wrong portfolio. Ranma is a fighter not a farmer.

"violence in the home is unconscionable" Boldrei is definitely not the right god for Ranma

While he is not a barbarian and enjoying the fruits of civilization, he wouldn't trust the community to do something he has to do, so The Sovereign Host is out.

Name: Olladra
Portfolio: Fortune, Luck, Success
Tenets:
1: Eat, drink, and be merry, for life is good and luck comes to those who need it. - He doesn't seem to train much, when he doesn't have to and he likes eating good food or reading.
2: Olladra favors the bold. Fashion your own destiny to enjoy her favor. - He tries to solve challenges by himself at first.
3: Fight against oppression. Any who would deny you your freedoms should feel Olladra’s anger. - While he protests against staying with the Tendos, it seems that he is only biding his time until he has go enough money to return to China (best seen during the Romeo+Juliet story).

I would say he would choose Olladra, if he had those descriptions.

[SpaceKnight of Chaos]

It is possible to be of an alignment and worship a god of a different alignment (unless you're a certain type of Divine class, I think), just to point out - it just means that your particular "take" on that deity's precepts is colored by your own personality. A Good person, like Ranma, could worship an Unaligned god just fine - it merely means he would interpret their precepts in a manner that is more actively benevolent (for example, Kord's tenets would appeal to him because they can be interpreted as "a martial artist should be as strong as they can so he can protect people"). After all, even Good or Lawful Good types can worship gods like Bane (Evil god of War) or Gruumsh (Chaotic Evil god of Savagery) - Bane becomes a god of military might and order, while Gruumsh becomes strength and unyielding will, for example.

Also, being Unaligned doesn't mean that Ranma isn't nice, it just means that he doesn't particularly care if he does good or he does evil - he does what he wants, whether that be to help people or hurt people.

I will point out that Ranma does leave Nerima for personal reasons all the time, it's just he never leaves for Jusenkyo - it is a very long way to go, it's expensive (you yourself claim he's probably trying to save up fare to get to China when commenting on Olladra's final tenet), and it's likely to draw the wrathful attention of most of the people in Nerima. He doesn't particularly want to stay (note how actively he seizes on any chance to get a cure or get to China when he does find out about them - he can't go searching 24/7 because he's got school, looking after the Tendo dojo, and the schemes of his would-be brides interfering), but he's got no real choice about leaving.

That said, Olladra does seem like a very appropriate Good god that could attract Ranma's attention and faith.

[LawOhki]

I will point out that Ranma does leave Nerima for personal reasons all the time, it's just he never leaves for Jusenkyo - it is a very long way to go, it's expensive (you yourself claim he's probably trying to save up fare to get to China when commenting on Olladra's final tenet), and it's likely to draw the wrathful attention of most of the people in Nerima. He doesn't particularly want to stay (note how actively he seizes on any chance to get a cure or get to China when he does find out about them - he can't go searching 24/7 because he's got school, looking after the Tendo dojo, and the schemes of his would-be brides interfering), but he's got no real choice about leaving.

When Akane's memory of him was erased, Ranma was willing to swim to China at basically a moments notice. Him not going is an example of just keeping the status quo or is an indication of how little he cares to be cured. Not, that he needs money, or other things get in the way.

[SpaceKnight of Chaos]

Really? Ranma's seizing an opportunity to kill two birds with one stone, when his father and Soun Tendo are not only willing to let him go but actively encouraging him to go, when Ryoga is too distracted by the idea of being able to get closer to Akane to think of trying to stop him, when he has no Cologne, Mousse or Ukyo to try and chase after him, when as far as he knows Shampoo is on the other side of town and not likely to ever find out he's gone to China, and noting that swimming is amongst least pleasant ways to get to China, does not indicate that there are external factors making him reluctant to leave Nerima? Yes, it is mainly status quo that keeps Ranma from ever getting cured, but there are perfectly valid reasons, in this case, why he can't just go gallivanting off to China on his own - come to think of it, weren't you the one who posted in one topic or other about Ranma running away from Nerima and claimed he would never go or, if he did, he would come crawling back to the Tendo Dojo because he wouldn't be able to hack the realities of living on the road?

[LawOhki]

Really? Ranma's seizing an opportunity to kill two birds with one stone, when his father and Soun Tendo are not only willing to let him go but actively encouraging him to go, when Ryoga is too distracted by the idea of being able to get closer to Akane to think of trying to stop him, when he has no Cologne, Mousse or Ukyo to try and chase after him, when as far as he knows Shampoo is on the other side of town and not likely to ever find out he's gone to China, and noting that swimming is amongst least pleasant ways to get to China, does not indicate that there are external factors making him reluctant to leave Nerima?

His stated reason was to get the shampoo, not to kill two birds with one stone or go anywhere near Jusenkyo. It is a reasonable conclusion though.

Cologne, Mousse, Ukyo, and Shampoo do NOT actively pursue Ranma all the bloody time. Shampoo even takes at least one trip back to China herself. The only thing that entangles Ranma in Nerima is school which he leaves often enough as it is. The Tendos do not resist when Ranma goes off for the many times he does training with Genma or for any other half assed reason.

So he's either too lazy or doesn't really care. But there is nothing that takes up so much of his time that he couldn't go back to China. Maybe if he didn't blow off all those entanglements so often there would be a case that Ranma is just too busy or can't do it.

Yes, it is mainly status quo that keeps Ranma from ever getting cured, but there are perfectly valid reasons, in this case, why he can't just go gallivanting off to China on his own - come to think of it, weren't you the one who posted in one topic or other about Ranma running away from Nerima and claimed he would never go or, if he did, he would come crawling back to the Tendo Dojo because he wouldn't be able to hack the realities of living on the road?

I believe you are thinking of the part during the Hells' cradle arc where Ranma is depressed that he's alone. Which in no way means that he couldn't go off to China on his own. But no, I would not say he couldn't hack the realities of living on the road.

[three headed dog]

So he's either too lazy or doesn't really care. But there is nothing that takes up so much of his time that he couldn't go back to China. Maybe if he didn't blow off all those entanglements so often there would be a case that Ranma is just too busy or can't do it.

I do have a theory that works for early manga Ranma. Ranma had no idea that the cure was at Jusenkyo if it was why didn't the guide just tell them? Ranma's encounter with Shampoo led to him fleeing the country and while he suspected that there was a cure to the curse he didn't really know. He wanted to go back to China at first probably to ask around the neighboring villages if the knew of a cure, after all locals are the most likely to know. With Shampoo out to kill him and with a possibility that she'd recruit other villagers in doing so going back and asking around for a possible cure (no proof at that point that there even was a cure) was probably thought of as being too risky plus he got distracted by other stuff somewhat. That works for early volumes but there is no real reason (besides the author not wanting him to) for not going back later after being shown proof that there is a boy water spring that could cure him and Shampoo wasn't trying to kill him anymore, even more so when you take into account how often he leaves Nerima for one reason or another. Takahashi didn't seem to have thought up a possible cure or a need for one until the story arc with the instant spring water and didn't bother coming up with a good reason for Ranma not just going and getting it.

Now to get back on to topic somewhat. Why does Ranma have to choose only one god? The largest religions in Japan are polytheistic not monotheistic. Giving prayers/worshiping only one god is not common for the Japanese.

What do the various gods listed want in worship anyways? Offerings such as food or money? Following their tenets (Shinto gods don't have very many of those beyond cleanliness - lots and lots of purification rituals exist)? Sacrifice either personal such as fasting or in the form of ritual slaughter (btw imo Ranma wouldn't have too many problems with ritual slaughter of animals if the god didn't mind him eating them afterwards since he is shown to eat things like Takoyaki -octopus balls)? etc. What the god or gods want of their followers could cause Ranma to not pray to them.

Are there any tangible benefits from giving them prayer or whatever they happen to want? Ranma is fairly pragmatic that would likely influence his decision as well (though even if there weren't he might still worship them since culture influences and Japanese martial arts have a lot of ties with religion, actually Eastern martial arts in general do. Religion was crucial in the historical development of many arts, and it continues to dictate the ways in which many students think and act during practice sessions).

[Cheb]

I think, Ranma isn't religious enough to choose a god, not until he spent a long time in a D&D world. Then he'd brobably choose one according his code of honor (protect the weak and stuff).
Before that, he'd probably pray at times to a suitable god according the situation. But it would be bad if he was killed during that time: Ranma, meet the Wall. Or would his belief in his code be enough to be "defaulted" to a god with corresponding credo?

Anyway, as D&D is dying in the 3.5 => 4 calamity, any D&D cross would have a bleak perspective.

[Wyrd]

First off, 4th edition is *bleep*. Third had some redeeming features, mostly in the mechanics of the game, but for quality source material I've been buying out of print 2nd edition stuff for years. The new alignment system is just one of many things I dislike in 4th, partly because it directly equates chaos with evil. Ranma is a very chaotic person living a very chaotic life, but he is in no way evil. Impulsive, arrogant, and brash, yes, but not evil.

What is in it for Ranma depends on how you interpret the D&D settings, but bringing in stuff from before WOTC bought the license and tried to sanitize it for mass consumption, it went something like this: Gods are powerful. Really, really powerful. So powerful that if they all cut loose and did whatever they wanted, the world would be destroyed or rendered uninhabitable pretty rapidly. As such, they have rules to how they interact with the world, enforced in Faerun(the forgotten realms setting) by the creator of that plane, the god AO, who neither has nor desires any worshippers and is the most powerful of all of the gods. Every person has a patron god, even if it is in name only. By choosing a patron, you give that god, and that god only, permission to muck about with your life; no other god can do so without risking the wrath of your patron. As such, if you have no patron god you are free game for any god that feels like messing with you. On the other side, many gods give their followers tangible benefits, not just in the form of spells granted to priests, but in little ways like active followers of Tymora tend to be luckier. If Ranma were to worship Selune, the goddess of, amongst other things, good aligned shapeshifters, there is a good chance that she would grant him the ability to control his changes with effort, much as she grants the same ability to the weres who worship her.

With very few exceptions, worshipping one of these gods does not mean that you are monotheistic or that you don't occasionally pray to the other gods; you are just saying that this god's teachings best reflect your own beliefs.

Finder, a chaotic good god of renewal, rebirth, and innovation would likely appeal to Ranma for his focus on using the old to come up with something new.

Garagos, a chaotic neutral war god known as the reaver and the master of all weapons makes a good god for Ryouga. He is the god of rampages, of berserkers, of fighting for the sake of fighting.

Gwaeron Windstrom, the god of trackers, might work for Shampoo, though there are better choices.

Uthgar, chaotic neutral god of battle, focuses on barbarians, so would be a better choice for Ryouga than Ranma.

Anhur, General of the Gods, Champion of physical Prowess, etc, seems a good choice for Ranma

Hathor, the Nurturing Mother, the Quiet One, She Who is There for Those in Need, seems like a good choice for Kasumi.

That's it for Powers and Pantheons. If anyone is interested, I could write up the rest of the stats on any of these gods, but I don't feel like doing so right now. Please note that I just glanced through the book at the summaries, not at the full descriptions of the gods, so some of these may be less well suited than they first appeared.

Brndobaris, the neutral halfling god, called Master of Stealth, Misadventure, the Trickster, and the Irrepressible scamp might appeal to Ranma.

that was the only one to jump out at me from Demihuman Deities. I can't find my copies of Faiths and Avatars or Deities and Demigods at the moment. If I do I may come back and add some more entries. I hope this helps.

[Zwzn]

Hathor, the Nurturing Mother, the Quiet One, She Who is There for Those in Need, seems like a good choice for Kasumi.

Hathor fits Ranma very well excluding the feminine pronouns. Ranma is very nurturing, is normally quiet, and he bends over backwards to help those in need.

I don't see how you think Kasumi is a good match to Hathor?

Kasumi purposely make problems worse for her own amusement rather then help.

She is only quiet because she is mostly on "screen" for a frame or two, and has a active social life away from her family. Akane has described her as always over reacting, and she is the one most likely to yell at Genma ,nearly attacking him twice.

I'm not sure what nurturing thing she has done. At best she comes off as a standard big sister to her sisters.