Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 scythebladex Jul 10, 2015 14:02:46	So I'm 20 missions into a campaign that I have been DMing. Basically, it is a very simple D&D by-the-book setting, except that there is a monotheistic religion (The Creator), with different denominations with different takes on how to worship the creator. elves revere the creator's creation/nature, while dragon born and dwarves revere bahamut (simply the original dragon created by the creator, who is now dead), and the humans have a few versions, such as revering a number of saints, or by showing mercy, etc.   So far, it hasn't come up too much in game, but it does seem to work rather well, and mirrors a sort of feel from real world religions at the time of the crusades. Sure they all worship the same god, but perhaps they have a problem with how others worship him (or her? or it?), or perhaps one groups says THEY have the true prophit, while another says they are still waiting for the true prophit to come. Prophesies get read or misread, depending whom you ask, and really no one gets to speak to the creator, or even knows who or what he is, besides all-powerful, all-knowing, and never seeming having a direct hand in events.   And there are cults that revere powerful immortal beings, such as Tiamat, or The Old One. Some choose a path of intellectual attunement, creating systems of philosiphy similar to the Greeks in our world, resenting the Creator for turning his back on them for whatever reason. And if you go farther east to the oriental setting (across the impassable Sea of Sands in my setting), they have a system of either ancestral worship, or philisophical enlightenment, but with different ideals than the philosiphers from the west, but more focus on becoming a god to oneself and attaining Nirvana, etc.   I'm wondering if anyone else has ever tried this. It feels much more realistic than what is traditionally in most D&D settings. Any suggestions?   Here's an (incomplete, work in progress) example of what I use below. I add to it as the campaign carries on (2nd Campaign I have used it in. Let me know what you think.   -------------   The Church of Greyhold
#2 Captain_Kobold Jul 10, 2015 15:36:42	Its an interesting take, but I think a lot of people prefer the separation between fantasy and real-life religions rather than potentially bringing baggage from outside into the game.
#3 scythebladex Jul 10, 2015 17:09:12	Me and my players don't really think of it like GOD god, like real life. That would be weird. No, just the system of a single monotheistic religion with its own made-up doctrine that works all of the established D&D lore, like Moradin and Correlon and Bahamut into it as patrons/matrons in the scripture, instead of gods themselves. The political in-fighting between different temples and churches is just fascinating for me, and makes playing a cleric or paladin more fun in a new way
#4 El_Condoro Jul 10, 2015 18:02:27	As said, anything that can be associated with real-world religions opens a can of worms. The symbol of the Church of Greyhold, for example, immediately links it with Christianity (the cross). Sure symbols are linked to various things (the swastika is linked with evil now but has its roots in other sources) but I would use symbols, even names, that are not associated with any RL religions (e.g. church. Just not worth it IMO.
#5 OoftaMeg Jul 10, 2015 19:38:05	I base my theology on that of my ancestors. Of course my ancestors were vikings...
#6 scythebladex Jul 10, 2015 20:26:04	Hmmm... I can see how it could be taken that way. Perhaps my own take on it does share many similarities with Christianity, but you could easily swap that stuff for more ambiguous words (the creator becomes Sol the sun god, the churches become temples or shrines, denominations vecome sects, and the crosses become circles or suns with various differences between the sects). However, I am using the setting not with strangers, but with a comfortable group of friends that think alike, and all decided to play a more grounded, grittier feel for the world that felt like medieval England/France/Germany in culture, so it worked out with our group. In my long D&D career though, I have used the word church and temple interchangeably, so I don't think that in particular is such a big deal (Church of Pelor, Temple of Pelor, etc.). The players handbook mentions Monotheistic religion systems, but doesn't go into much detail about it. I remember back in 3rd edition, there was a dieties handbook, and they had a Sun God religion as an example. Would be cool to see that adapted to the gritty sectioned version I created. Good for a crusades-style war campaign, or just a change. The mechanic my version solves is the domains, which are spread out over the various sects or denominations, even though there is one deity.
#7 Captain_Kobold Jul 11, 2015 2:02:59	If you're mirroring historical earth, it may be that it works well because the similarities in religion increase the similarities to it, and thus make the setting feel more real.   On take on deities thast you may or may not find interesting is Eberron, which has a single pantheon of non-intervening gods, but also several other sources of divine power with religions around them.
#8 Ath-kethin Jul 11, 2015 7:54:58	Dragonlance also includes an uber god above all the rest, who is not well known and not really worshipped. For my advice, I would point toward the Silver Flame from Eberron (as other have done), or to the Monotheism entry from the 3.0 Dieties and Demigods book, which had an interesting and workable take on a single-deity system. Of course, just like many real-world religions, this "single" deity is dual-natured, to account for both the "good" and "evil" sides, but overall I find it quite useful.
#9 shintashi Jul 11, 2015 8:27:40	actually, it is quite easy to take a monotheistic God, and have them worshipped many ways, following the same Templates for Clerics. Using real world references should only be done if the campaign is set in something similar to the real world, like fictional history, such as the artistic license used when portraying medieval nobles in teen romance films.   A theme I find useful when you want to portray something as more legit, is adding a reflavored Abjurist class, called a Skeptic. They could be an Athiest, or just a guy who runs around trying to disprove things. Basically all their "spells" are anti spells, and they have the power of unbelief. They disbelieve illusions, see through charms, and when you try to heal the sick or kill them with fireballs, they point out that nothing has happened. Some of them are like Inquisitors, and will run about trying to have people put into stocks, imprisoned, or hung for being Charlatans. Some will be so politically influential as to label your whole theology a cult and send armies to burn them.   In Game of Thrones they have a Many Faced God. I think it's because they wear many faces, but as an assassin deity, I think what they are really saying is their God-  Death, has many faces, many ways in which to manifest their power. Veangeful death, just death, brutal death, it doesn't matter to the Many Faced God. In D&D terms it's true; it really doesn't matter what you name a deity if their faith based powers are rooted in death. Most pantheons have a death god or a domain of death, that includes monotheistic religions. Even comic books have death gods.
#10 scythebladex Jul 11, 2015 12:24:38	Well, I can see now why real world allegories can cause issues in a game, as people seem to be very passionate about it, from both sides. However I stand by my example for my group of friends, because we are not so easily offended by such things, and just have fun, but there's just something about wandering into a town, seeing a church with a cross on the steeple that feels very reminiscent of medieval or renaissance re-enactment, which we are passionate about. Just be cautious of who your playing with, it seems...
(Reply to #10) AdrastusDarke	scythebladex wrote:
#12 ORC_Animus Jul 11, 2015 14:05:56	I’ve removed content from this thread because discussion of real world religions can be considered forum disruption and a  violation of the Code of Conduct.   You can review the Code of Conduct here: http://company.wizards.com/conduct   If you wish to report a post for Code of Conduct violation, click on the “Report Post” button above the post and this will submit your report to the moderators on duty.