Arkhandus
First Post
In my current homebrew, Rhunaria, only a few cultures believe in gods, and some have very good reason to, but most Rhunarians venerate spirits. Shamans, druids, wu jen, certain clerics and sorcerers, and shugenja can all see the spirits and know that they exist, and the miracles they work through pacts with the spirits convince other folk that the spirits are truly there. Deities are less easily confirmed, but there are a few obvious cases. The Theocracy of Riza is ruled by a godling Pharaoh, who demonstrates obvious divine powers now and then, and even foreigners can attest to the fact that Rizan Pharaohs never seem to grow old and die, though a few have been slain in epic battles of the past. Even then, when a Rizan Pharaoh dies or grows tired of life in the mortal world, his body and soul merge and he ascends, visibly, as a being of light floating up to the heavens. The progeny of the Pharaohs are also noticably more powerful, gifted, and comely than common humans, and some of their progeny even bear fiendish or celestial appearance such as horns, a barbed tail, vestigial feathered wings, a halo, or a scent of sulfur about them.
Besides the Rizans though, other races with deity-worship have less frequent and less obvious signs of their deities' existence. Occasionally a Gilden human will demonstrate remarkable divine gifts even if he or she's never been a priest, just a devout follower of a deity like Allesandro LeSalle or Rickard LeBeaux. Ordinary warriors of great faith may receive visions and blessings from such patron deities of warfare, and their blessings can rarely be confused with paladin or clerical magic, especially in the more chaotic or neutral warriors that receive divine blessings. The occasional appearance of such a prophet or champion reinforces the Gilden faith in their pantheon, which they believe to be more noble than the Rizans' godlings and too respectable to be as flashy and gauche as the Rizan deities. So blessed champions run around doing good deeds in Gild once in a while, and so-called deathless warriors march in the Pharaonic Elite Guard, demonstrating the blessings of their faith.
Elves believe the Spirit King has manifested briefly from time to time to show his favor for their people, and dwarves swear that they've seen their deities' avatars on occasion when they needed them in battle. Tradition mostly keeps folks believing, because only gnomes, lizardfolk, and one or two other godless races have demonstrated clerical powers from philosophy alone, which other races just think is some kind of demonic pact or the blessings of some anonymous deity that gnomes and such just won't talk about to other races.
Presently one of the sorcerer PCs in my campaign has received a special feat from his divine patron, for his 9th-level feat, and is pursuing a quest for Altania L'Salle, the Gilden goddess of nature's cycles, night, arcana, and mystery. He may eventually take the Scion of Night mini-prestige class I've built for the favored minions of Altania.
Besides the Rizans though, other races with deity-worship have less frequent and less obvious signs of their deities' existence. Occasionally a Gilden human will demonstrate remarkable divine gifts even if he or she's never been a priest, just a devout follower of a deity like Allesandro LeSalle or Rickard LeBeaux. Ordinary warriors of great faith may receive visions and blessings from such patron deities of warfare, and their blessings can rarely be confused with paladin or clerical magic, especially in the more chaotic or neutral warriors that receive divine blessings. The occasional appearance of such a prophet or champion reinforces the Gilden faith in their pantheon, which they believe to be more noble than the Rizans' godlings and too respectable to be as flashy and gauche as the Rizan deities. So blessed champions run around doing good deeds in Gild once in a while, and so-called deathless warriors march in the Pharaonic Elite Guard, demonstrating the blessings of their faith.
Elves believe the Spirit King has manifested briefly from time to time to show his favor for their people, and dwarves swear that they've seen their deities' avatars on occasion when they needed them in battle. Tradition mostly keeps folks believing, because only gnomes, lizardfolk, and one or two other godless races have demonstrated clerical powers from philosophy alone, which other races just think is some kind of demonic pact or the blessings of some anonymous deity that gnomes and such just won't talk about to other races.
Presently one of the sorcerer PCs in my campaign has received a special feat from his divine patron, for his 9th-level feat, and is pursuing a quest for Altania L'Salle, the Gilden goddess of nature's cycles, night, arcana, and mystery. He may eventually take the Scion of Night mini-prestige class I've built for the favored minions of Altania.
