D&D General What D&D Religion Is Your Favorite, And Why?

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

Simple question, but hopefully it generates an interesting discussion.

There are a lot of different religions in D&D, as every setting has unique religions and setting designers tend to enjoy adding a new twist or subversion to their world's version of religion. To list some examples. the gods of Eberron are not confirmed to exist and might be more myth than reality, there are Lawful Good cults that worship Vecna in Nentir Vale, and in Dark Sun there are no gods and religion primarily focuses on worshipping elementals or powerful mortals. Some settings lean more into making their religions unique than others, but I've yet to find a setting that didn't have a religion that I thought was at least an interesting concept.

My personal favorite religion in D&D is the Blood of Vol, mainly because how in most other settings they would be the objectively evil religion, but in Eberron they have some really good points, are as morally nuanced as every other main religion in the setting, and are just cool (they're transhumanist necromancers, what's not to like?).

So, which specific religion from a D&D setting is your favorite, and why?

Edit: to clarify, I mean a specific religion from a D&D world. Not a specific way of treating the world's religion (like having gods be unknown, real, or distant).

 

[aco175]

I tend to go with the Forgotten Realms (FR) gods. I have the best knowledge of them and have used them mostly since 2e days. The 3 books that came out long ago helped to explain them and how they relate in a rather expansive way. Not sure which one of them is my favorite. I tend to have temples for Chauntea, the farmer god and Lathander, the morning god now sun god. I figure most of the common people would worship these as their primary god.

 

[Tales and Chronicles]

I love to use the Forgotten Realms, but with an Eberronian take on their faith: there's no proof of the gods existence. Sure, there was a huge war where a bunch of dudes pretended to be Avatars of the human pantheon and a lot of stranger acted as if their were chosen by a divinity, but there's nothing telling that they weren't just high level NPC with a messiah complex. Still, churches has been built in their honor. Churches that each have many factions, cults and heresies.

But, faith DO have power in the Realms, so a Power with a huge following does indeed have interest in gaining some reputation.

As they say: the only difference between a Warlock and a Cleric is marketing.

 

[Reynard]

I like the Eberron Church of the Silver Flame. It feels like a thing that would be, given the parameters. It's not like the Sovereign Seven or Dark Six with essentially no evidence outside of spellcasting. There's some stuff definitely happening there. But, it's still uncertain-- except for these Zealots! Fill steam ahead!

 

[DMZ2112]

In an era when classic D&D is widely criticized for being socially backward, a dearth of ink is spilled over how there is essentially only one religion in each classic setting (and perhaps beyond that, allowing for transitive settings), and that religion is syncretic enough to accept that other gods -- even other gods with very similar portfolios -- exist, and exist in harmony.

Anyway, that's my favorite D&D religion. The one everyone in a classic setting seems to have, where folks worship different gods based on their current needs, you can have two clerics of different deities in a party without starting a duel, and no one strings up their neighbor because they keep a shrine to a power other than yours.

 

[EzekielRaiden]

If it needs to be a specified faith rather than the more nebulous "church of god X," then definitely the Church of the Silver Flame. It's just too cool (once you deal with the zealots, anyway...) and produces Silver Pyromancers!

But if I'm allowed to carve my own path through those aforementioned kind of generic options, definitely Bahamut's faith. I've been a Bahamut fanboy for about as long as I've been playing D&D. He's a dragon, he sponsors heroes and (especially) paladins, he's explicitly a compassionate LG god (and thus rejects the Lawful Stupid archetype so many project onto LG), and at least in his 4e write-up, his doctrine is a pretty pure distillation of what I would want to pursue if I had the physical and magical strength to do so:

• Uphold the highest ideals of honor and justice.
• Be constantly vigilant against evil and oppose it on all fronts.
• Protect the weak, liberate the oppressed, and defend just order.

It isn't perfect. But it is the best out there, because it's literally about spurring the faithful to be the best they can be, and to push the world toward the best state it can be, too.

 

[Shiroiken]

Probably Boccob, the Uncaring. It's a religion devoted to the archmage of the gods, knowing that he has little interest in the affairs of mortals. The only time he actually takes notice of a worshiper is when they create a new spell or magic item.

Honorable mentions, mostly because I DM, rather than play, but Wastri, the Hopping Prophet, and Zygag the Mad. Those who worship the hopping prophet are supposedly bigots against non-humans, yet his worshipers include amphibian humanoids, creating a hilarious juxtaposition. Not only is Zygag really the worship of Gary Gygax, but he's worshiped for his insanity... I mean "eccentricity."

 

[GuyBoy]

My favourite is probably Ehlonna of the Forests in Greyhawk, but the one that intrigues me most as a DM is the ultimate evil and despair of Tharizdun.

 

[Professor Murder]

St Cuthbert, in that the name is lifted from an actual saint associated with the place I went to Uni.

 

[Oofta]

My favorite religion is the one I've developed for my home campaign. Loosely based on Norse mythology (or at least the version of Norse mythology that was recorded which has huge gaping holes), merged with old Greyhawk demi-human deities. So Odin, Thor, Loki, Surtr, etc. along with Moradin, Garl Glittergold and Lollth. By doing that I have built-in lore and don't have to start from scratch explaining things to most players but can still make it my own.

Whether the deities are truly gods or just extremely powerful extra-planar entities or even just manifestations of people's prayers, beliefs and fears is an open question. They are certainly active in the world, and their emissaries (i.e. Valkyries) are encountered by individuals. But the gods themselves? Occasionally people will have visions or even, incredibly rarely, meet an avatar. But the line between god and powerful extra-planar being can be extremely blurry.

There are even those who believe the gods are just powerful constructs who only exist because people believe they exist.