FR/CRT Deity Crossover

Here's a question for Siani (or whomever can answer, since I heard Siani was MIA) about deity crossover.

In both the CRT and the Forgotten Realms, there are similar deities. Examples consist of Corellon and Lolth - off the top of my head, those are whom I can think of right now.

In the CRT Setting Rules, it states:

Setting specific deities, magic, and spells of other worlds do not function on Oerth. No Spellfire, Weave, Shadowweave, Eilistraee or what have you. You may find a similar deity, or simply try to RP out the fact that being cut off from your usual powers leaves you rather vulnerable while visiting Oerth.

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So, say I have a Faerunian Cleric of Corellon or Lolth. They get their spells from the Forgotten Realms deities. If said Faerunian cleric visited Oerth, would they be cut off from their powers since there's a more or less equivalent deity on Oerth?

Armchair fantasy theological philosopher here: The domain, IE, Sun, War, Love, Magic, Protection, Good, Evil, etc. things that pervade every fantasy world, usually wind up bunched into similar groups, which are then ruled by extremely similar gods. This leads many people to believe that individual gods of each plane, are not so much Gods, as greater avatars of a collection of beliefs.

A plane hoping cleric does not usually lose his powers on the outer planes, simply because their faith in their god, is actually a complete faith in the ideals of their god, and the powers that rule over those ideals, grant them their prayers because they are their servant, even if they do not worship them in name. I believe the same idea can be applied to Oerth, though rather boring in comparison, does have very similar gods to Faerun, and almost every domain of influence that Faerunian gods rule over, is also represented on Oerth, and generally not by completely oppositely aligned gods.

So, that being said, I do not think a cleric will suddenly be cut off from their power by going to Oerth, from Faerun, but would definitely become aware of who exactly they are directing their prayers at. I suggest you look up who your cleric worships, see what domains they rule over, and then compare it to other gods across the planes so you have a table.

To break it down, it is not so much the god as a person that a cleric worships, but a god as a collection of beliefs. Therefore, as long as they have faith in these beliefs, and the domains these beliefs fall under are represented by any God of similar alignment, they will maintain their powers.


*edit* haha...thats right, DOMAIN.

Rules said:

You may find a similar deity, or simply try to RP out the fact that being cut off from your usual powers leaves you rather vulnerable while visiting Oerth.

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As per what trellian states (if you read down the page), I have no opinions on that matter, but I will quote setting rules.

The ruling specifies 'Setting Specific'. Corellon and Llolth exist in both settings so their clerics would get their spells as they should with one caveat; if a domain, special ability, or spell type the cleric is used to on Toril doesn't exist on Oerth, then it may not be accessed/used while the character is present on Oerth.

I can't speak much for Toril, but the gods on Oerth are living individual beings, not collections of beliefs. Oerth has laws and requirements that differ from other worlds so even when the same deity exists in two places the things they do for their followers may not always be identical. The gods love wondrous diversity. To a point.

And no, I'm not missing in action. I check the boards and the logs; I just haven't had time to actually play on site. Life has been rather hectic of late.

Siani

I would also like to note that questions in the ISRP Rules and Rulings Reference (the name got a little clunky in the changeover to EN World) should NOT be answered by players.

This section is for official Magi rulings and having players weigh in with their own opinions only confuses matters.

Players may ask additional questions or for clarification, but they shouldn't answer the original query themselves. Thanks!

Magi_Trelian said:

I would also like to note that questions in the ISRP Rules and Rulings Reference (the name got a little clunky in the changeover to EN World) should NOT be answered by players.

This section is for official Magi rulings and having players weigh in with their own opinions only confuses matters.

Players may ask additional questions or for clarification, but they shouldn't answer the original query themselves. Thanks!

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God forbid the players themselves partake in a ruling discussion. *gasp*

Alek said:

God forbid the players themselves partake in a ruling discussion. *gasp*

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*rolls eyes* Of course you can join in a discussion. However, this wasn't a discussion.

Khaira said:

Here's a question for Siani (or whomever can answer, since I heard Siani was MIA) about deity crossover.

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This was a request for a definitive answer about what is allowed in the setting, and that can only be answered by the setting coordinator or someone designated to act on their behalf.

See the difference?

Thank you for that clarification, Siani; things make more sense now. I was just unsure of the legality of allowing a cleric of similar (or identical) deities from Faerun to Oerth retain their powers. I guess I missed the Setting Specific part.
I'm glad that you're not totally MIA! I hope things get less hectic for you in the near future.

Alek, I thank you for the flavorful discussion and interpretations of my question. I hope, however, that you can understand where Trelian is coming from. Please don't turn this into a player vs. Magi/us vs. them reprisal? No hard feelings. Please?

*Hopefully everything I said here makes sense. I'm rather brain dead, so you'll have to forgive me if some of it does not. Heh.

Khaira said:

Alek, I thank you for the flavorful discussion and interpretations of my question. I hope, however, that you can understand where Trelian is coming from. Please don't turn this into a player vs. Magi/us vs. them reprisal? No hard feelings. Please?

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*sniffles*

but...but...I can't live without conflict!







[serious] no hard feelings, I like declaring war on Trelian, but I know this section of the forum isn't the place. [end serious]