Wait, I actually kinda backtrack on what I said earlier. Magic and a divine pantheon could certainly be universal, but actual communication with the gods would be extremely hard to do. The gods should influence the world in little ways mere mortals can only glimpse at. So we get the idea that they exist, but we're not quite sure what they're doing. Seers or oracles would then become extremely valuable.

Also, in order for a universe to be implemented gracefully in storytelling, there needs to be an overarching theme with the world. Tolkien was all about the gradual decay of the world and the sinfulness of mankind. George RR Martin wanted to illustrate power-lust and what it did to people and society. George Lucas wanted to show how hope could prevail even in the darkest of times. I saw in this thread a while back about dragons heralding great events of some sort, so probably this universe should be all about prophecy, turbulent times, and how people cope with change. We therefore should go about formulating great events that have triggered change in the world.