Loosing my religion... [Archive] - Wizards Community

Loosing my religion... [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
derfenrirwolv
08-17-05, 09:13 PM Or possibly gaining one.. thats not a catchy song lyric though.

I have a character who is currently having more than a small criss of faith. His problem is the problem of evil type 2: Not that people are allowed to do evil things (which does annoy him) but rather that so many of the gods (including the neutral ones like nature) will give HELP to evil beings, spells, granted powers, and the like.

The only religion he's realy looked into is the NG goddess of water.. however.. its water.. its liquid, its wet.. what exactly do you worship?

The character is a barb 4 sorc 1 DD 4. he started out worshiping the god of battle.. he however had a.. AHEM.. discresionary withdrawl from the front lines after manifesting his first level of sorcerer and going down to negative HP. He found that the goddess of magic was at least honest about the whole "life is a game, and we're watching the mortals struggle through life for our amusement" .. however "i like your honesty" isn't exactly worship. he could often be found looking up into the sky and sighing or ranting about some of his.. ahem. changes, as the mood took him.

any idea what worshiping a deity of water (oceans, rivers, lakes etc too.. NOT just the water in a glass kind) would involve?
Norhg
08-17-05, 09:41 PM Worshipping the god of waters might involve an utter fascination with the matter, you might be the person who stands outside in the rain for the pleasure of being in it or a person who live by the ocean because he would never want to be anywhere else.
-These individuals are bound to search for water in most ways possible.
Second reason?
Having one's whole life governed by this fickle goddess. The Fisherman would worship her as would the sailor, captain and the pirate. A peasant might give her prayers during periods of draught.

And there is those bound by the philosophy of water. Life is everflowing and no matter how you look at it each single stream is just part of a larger whole.
As the goddess is good is she a protector of the person, a benevolent maiden or something completly different? Good implies being gentle, I had guess that she advocates taking care of others... Perhaps living ones life to further the flow of life (water) by guiding the river's of others?

I had imagine that a layman would take actions to put bigger movements in place. "Always act with forethought, where some water has flown others follow".

(more?)
ShiverTheBard
08-18-05, 01:09 AM Water is change. Water is movement. Water flows calmly, then strikes with typhoon force. Water absorbs blows effortlessly and flows to return them. Water destroys landscapes but in the destruction, revitalizes them. Frankly, water is one of the absolute coolest forces on Earth.

I would envision for a character that idealizes water would be like a Mother Bear. Passive and calm until you mess with one of it's cubs, then your in deep trouble. So, watch your "cubs" closely and be there to protect and heal. If anyone messes with your charges, don't be afraid to open a can of Whup @SS. But as a strong protector, also be willing to gently lead.

I would imagine this character would almost have a dual personality as the gentle and guiding teacher who becomes the zealous defender. (That second part fits your barbarian levels as your fits of rage could be your willingness to protect manifesting physically beyond your control.)

Ok, that's my shot using all my bullsh*t I can gather. Good Luck and just remember D&D's a game and to have fun with it.
Wellby the Fountain
08-18-05, 02:47 AM perhaps you freak out when someone spills a drink? maybe you bottle all your urine for later purification and reuse? that would probably go for sweat too... you'll need to ring out your clothes often.

im kidding of course.

people have been worshiping gods of the seas, rivers, lakes, oceans, and rain for thousands of years... water=life. farmers would pray for rain so their crops would grow, fisherman for full nets and a calm sea to sail in, in the desert water is worth its weight in gold.

perhaps you give thanks and worship for all these situations, and any other time you can think of it. depending on who your god is, you may wish to apease him/her with sacrifices (not human, but the burning of valuables for example) whenever you might come across a situation that involves water in some way.

the possibilites are endless, just use your imagination.
derfenrirwolv
08-18-05, 05:05 PM hmm.. nothign realy sounds like the character. thanks for trying though.

i DO use my imagination, nothing just seems to fit.
Norhg
08-18-05, 06:19 PM hmm.. nothign realy sounds like the character. thanks for trying though.
i DO use my imagination, nothing just seems to fit.
Suffer... Suffer!!!
No, I have to ask you something.
Why worship the god of water if it doesn't actually fit?
Explain that question and you likely have your 'answer'.
Trydan
08-19-05, 06:36 AM I wonder what a water worshipping character would think of "bottled" water. I mean, is it trapped? Is is being exploited? Is it being protected? Or is it being deified?
Wellby the Fountain
08-19-05, 08:39 PM so.... what exactly were you thinking of when you decided to worship a god of water? something must have motivated you, or did you draw it out of a hat or did you pick it because it granted you something you thought was cool?
derfenrirwolv
08-19-05, 09:46 PM The character is a dragon disciple. He's slowly becomming more and more draconic, which as you can imagine would have certain adverse affects on his .. AHEM.. social life.

For this particular character, he didn't know what was going on at first. He had been ritualy shaved as punishment for his "strategic withdrawl", and thought the hair not growing back and scales were some kind of curse from the tribal shaman. A preist of water was very understanding, and did a lot of spellcasting for him trying to divine what was wrong, and provided very usefull documentation stating that he is not evil or feindish (certified 100% non feindish). Said preist also aranged for a visit with a mermaid which proved to be an almost religious experience.

So in short, why convert

1) The behavior demonstrated by representa
tive followers made a positive impact

2) Not having a patron deity if you die in this campaign (something the barbarian has so often come to do that i show up at each session with a spare character ready to go) is bad... you have zero (as opposed to little) chance of comming back to life.. except as a zombie.

3) Compatable alignment (Neutral good, no problem of evil as listed above)

So its not a matter of "hey, this domain is REALY cool and will help me kill lots of stuff.. how do i rp it..." thats easy. Its how an existing character would go about converting to water. i suppose the suggestion above with the "calm untill raging" analogy could be pretty good for him, as he's an oddly contemplative barbarian

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
derfenrirwolv 08-17-05, 09:13 PM	Or possibly gaining one.. thats not a catchy song lyric though. I have a character who is currently having more than a small criss of faith. His problem is the problem of evil type 2: Not that people are allowed to do evil things (which does annoy him) but rather that so many of the gods (including the neutral ones like nature) will give HELP to evil beings, spells, granted powers, and the like. The only religion he's realy looked into is the NG goddess of water.. however.. its water.. its liquid, its wet.. what exactly do you worship? The character is a barb 4 sorc 1 DD 4. he started out worshiping the god of battle.. he however had a.. AHEM.. discresionary withdrawl from the front lines after manifesting his first level of sorcerer and going down to negative HP. He found that the goddess of magic was at least honest about the whole "life is a game, and we're watching the mortals struggle through life for our amusement" .. however "i like your honesty" isn't exactly worship. he could often be found looking up into the sky and sighing or ranting about some of his.. ahem. changes, as the mood took him. any idea what worshiping a deity of water (oceans, rivers, lakes etc too.. NOT just the water in a glass kind) would involve?
Norhg 08-17-05, 09:41 PM	Worshipping the god of waters might involve an utter fascination with the matter, you might be the person who stands outside in the rain for the pleasure of being in it or a person who live by the ocean because he would never want to be anywhere else. -These individuals are bound to search for water in most ways possible. Second reason? Having one's whole life governed by this fickle goddess. The Fisherman would worship her as would the sailor, captain and the pirate. A peasant might give her prayers during periods of draught. And there is those bound by the philosophy of water. Life is everflowing and no matter how you look at it each single stream is just part of a larger whole. As the goddess is good is she a protector of the person, a benevolent maiden or something completly different? Good implies being gentle, I had guess that she advocates taking care of others... Perhaps living ones life to further the flow of life (water) by guiding the river's of others? I had imagine that a layman would take actions to put bigger movements in place. "Always act with forethought, where some water has flown others follow". (more?)
ShiverTheBard 08-18-05, 01:09 AM	Water is change. Water is movement. Water flows calmly, then strikes with typhoon force. Water absorbs blows effortlessly and flows to return them. Water destroys landscapes but in the destruction, revitalizes them. Frankly, water is one of the absolute coolest forces on Earth. I would envision for a character that idealizes water would be like a Mother Bear. Passive and calm until you mess with one of it's cubs, then your in deep trouble. So, watch your "cubs" closely and be there to protect and heal. If anyone messes with your charges, don't be afraid to open a can of Whup @SS. But as a strong protector, also be willing to gently lead. I would imagine this character would almost have a dual personality as the gentle and guiding teacher who becomes the zealous defender. (That second part fits your barbarian levels as your fits of rage could be your willingness to protect manifesting physically beyond your control.) Ok, that's my shot using all my bullsh*t I can gather. Good Luck and just remember D&D's a game and to have fun with it.
Wellby the Fountain 08-18-05, 02:47 AM	perhaps you freak out when someone spills a drink? maybe you bottle all your urine for later purification and reuse? that would probably go for sweat too... you'll need to ring out your clothes often. im kidding of course. people have been worshiping gods of the seas, rivers, lakes, oceans, and rain for thousands of years... water=life. farmers would pray for rain so their crops would grow, fisherman for full nets and a calm sea to sail in, in the desert water is worth its weight in gold. perhaps you give thanks and worship for all these situations, and any other time you can think of it. depending on who your god is, you may wish to apease him/her with sacrifices (not human, but the burning of valuables for example) whenever you might come across a situation that involves water in some way. the possibilites are endless, just use your imagination.
derfenrirwolv 08-18-05, 05:05 PM	hmm.. nothign realy sounds like the character. thanks for trying though. i DO use my imagination, nothing just seems to fit.
Norhg 08-18-05, 06:19 PM	hmm.. nothign realy sounds like the character. thanks for trying though. i DO use my imagination, nothing just seems to fit. Suffer... Suffer!!! No, I have to ask you something. Why worship the god of water if it doesn't actually fit? Explain that question and you likely have your 'answer'.
Trydan 08-19-05, 06:36 AM	I wonder what a water worshipping character would think of "bottled" water. I mean, is it trapped? Is is being exploited? Is it being protected? Or is it being deified?
Wellby the Fountain 08-19-05, 08:39 PM	so.... what exactly were you thinking of when you decided to worship a god of water? something must have motivated you, or did you draw it out of a hat or did you pick it because it granted you something you thought was cool?
derfenrirwolv 08-19-05, 09:46 PM	The character is a dragon disciple. He's slowly becomming more and more draconic, which as you can imagine would have certain adverse affects on his .. AHEM.. social life. For this particular character, he didn't know what was going on at first. He had been ritualy shaved as punishment for his "strategic withdrawl", and thought the hair not growing back and scales were some kind of curse from the tribal shaman. A preist of water was very understanding, and did a lot of spellcasting for him trying to divine what was wrong, and provided very usefull documentation stating that he is not evil or feindish (certified 100% non feindish). Said preist also aranged for a visit with a mermaid which proved to be an almost religious experience. So in short, why convert 1) The behavior demonstrated by representa tive followers made a positive impact 2) Not having a patron deity if you die in this campaign (something the barbarian has so often come to do that i show up at each session with a spare character ready to go) is bad... you have zero (as opposed to little) chance of comming back to life.. except as a zombie. 3) Compatable alignment (Neutral good, no problem of evil as listed above) So its not a matter of "hey, this domain is REALY cool and will help me kill lots of stuff.. how do i rp it..." thats easy. Its how an existing character would go about converting to water. i suppose the suggestion above with the "calm untill raging" analogy could be pretty good for him, as he's an oddly contemplative barbarian