I know a lot of gods and goddesses were either killed during the ToT or appeared during the ToT. For the gods and goddesses who died during the ToT what happened to their churches? I know a lot of dead deities have churches that just shrivel up and die. What doesn't make sense to me is that in real life we have religions that have no contact with whoever they worship and they don't shrivel up and die.
Religion in the FR has ZERO to do with religion in RL.
There is no (or very little) "faith" per se... after all, thousands of people have literally seen their deity, and millions have witnessed a cleric channeling divine magic. For instance, most of the city of Tantras SAW Torm and Bane battle to the death in the city's harbor.
After the ToT, most churches of dead deities went over to another deity. For instance, Bhaal, Bane, and Myrkul's churches united into the Church of Cyric (at least for a time being); the faithful of Waukeen were brought into Lliira's church; most of Unther's population converted to the worship of the Mulhorondi deities, etc.
I can't recall any churches that stayed intact after their deity died... but there were some holdouts despite the confirmed death of extended silence of their deity.
-man has the gist of it. Though, many churches went underground, as well.I know a lot of gods and goddesses were either killed during the ToT or appeared during the ToT. For the gods and goddesses who died during the ToT what happened to their churches? I know a lot of dead deities have churches that just shrivel up and die. What doesn't make sense to me is that in real life we have religions that have no contact with whoever they worship and they don't shrivel up and die.
The death of a deity in the Realms doesn't necessarily end the worship of said deity, either. An obvious example? Mystra. She got replaced by a new Mystra.
Also, the average person in the Realms doesn't have direct contact with their deity either (remember that the Time of Troubles was a unique event).
I know a lot of gods and goddesses were either killed during the ToT or appeared during the ToT. For the gods and goddesses who died during the ToT what happened to their churches? I know a lot of dead deities have churches that just shrivel up and die. What doesn't make sense to me is that in real life we have religions that have no contact with whoever they worship and they don't shrivel up and die.
-A good point. The lack of a deity interacting with you or fellow worshipers shouldn't end a cult/church/whatever else. In plenty of cases, that didn't: Ao had worshipers after the ToT that he ignored, and said cult continued to exist for a little while longer. Moander has been dead for years, and still has cultists and followers.
-With the ToT, a lot of deities died, but were "instantly replaced". Myrkul died, but was replaced with Cyric before everything was over. Being as that he and Cyric were very alike, lots of Clerics simply "turned over" to Cyric. Same thing with Bane and Iyachtu Xvim. On the other hand, in the ToT, a lot of whole churches didn't even make it. Bhaal, for example. He killed all of his assassin followers in order to empower himself. Having no followers left makes it hard for a church to exist.
-With the ToT, a lot of deities died, but were "instantly replaced". Myrkul died, but was replaced with Cyric before everything was over. Being as that he and Cyric were very alike, lots of Clerics simply "turned over" to Cyric. Same thing with Bane and Iyachtu Xvim. On the other hand, in the ToT, a lot of whole churches didn't even make it. Bhaal, for example. He killed all of his assassin followers in order to empower himself. Having no followers left makes it hard for a church to exist.
Well, he finished off his 'assasin' followers, but not all clerics were assasins too. So there may be quite a following in the Realms nowadays, the Bhaalspawn notwithstanding.
Well, he finished off his 'assasin' followers, but not all clerics were assasins too. So there may be quite a following in the Realms nowadays, the Bhaalspawn notwithstanding.
Some of them surely have. As it was told in the BG game the priests of Bhaal tried later to sacrifice the Bhaalspawn to ressurect their master. But some greedy harpers and their allies came by and took some surviving children of Bhaal for their own. :P
Since the novel based on the game, I think that states the same "legend", but I am nut sure ('cause I do not own these books). Zanan seems to have them, maybe she knows more details.
Well, he finished off his 'assasin' followers, but not all clerics were assasins too. So there may be quite a following in the Realms nowadays, the Bhaalspawn notwithstanding.
-Profession, not Class/Prestige Class.
Bhaal, for example. He killed all of his assassin followers in order to empower himself. Having no followers left makes it hard for a church to exist.
correct me if i'm mistaken, but wasn't it Bane who stole the lives of Bhaal's people in order to empower himself so he could fight Torm?
(btw, that was the only cool part of that trilogy--except for the Zhentarim assassin's getting eaten by spiders)
correct me if i'm mistaken, but wasn't it Bane who stole the lives of Bhaal's people in order to empower himself so he could fight Torm?
-I haven't read it in a long time, but with that said, I don't think so. How would Bane be able to do that? If he could randomly kill the followers of other deities, why not have various Tormish killed? As I remember it (and it's very gray, mind you), Bhaal commanded that his followers kill themselves, as to empower him. A mass sacrifice, of sorts.
I don't think that Bhaal was introduced until Book 3.
-Profession, not Class/Prestige Class.
Okay, but in spite of the discussion who and why killed them, the clerics of Bhaal may still exist.
Take Sos'Umptu, for example. Not all clerics of Lloth are prone to fits of rage. Likewise, not all cultists of the Lord of Murder are assasins.
The death of a deity in the Realms doesn't necessarily end the worship of said deity, either. An obvious example? Mystra. She got replaced by a new Mystra.
Theres probably more examples of people going to new deities, like Bane->Cyric->Xvim->Bane. Mystra was a special case though right? Other gods/goddesses just cant come back. How is it explained that she can come back anyway? Is that ever talked about?
The former mortal Midnight is a small part of Mystra's divine spiritual body, like the submerged pilot of a massively greater consciousness. We have a good picture of this in some of Ed Greenwood's fiction. Midnight did not replace Mystra -- a small mortal soul couldn't take the place of a vastly more-than-human greater god identical to the magical structure of the world -- but merged with her, replacing the part that died in the Godswar. Thus, Mystra 2.0.
Thus, Mystra 2.0.
Let's hope that the next version is not Mystra 95 (that will only cause trouble when the next millennia starts). Windows 95 was in the beginning such a terrible thing that even Windows 2.x worked quite nice in comparison. :P Even The Eye of the Beholder did not work properly on my good old W95.