D&D General IRL nominations (historically classic ie religious, pantheonic, folkloric, no newer than 1600) for mythical cosmologies you enjoy including in d&d.

[Twiggly the Gnome]

Well tbh. the bible is also an awesome mythological source, still I would not include any of it into my games because some of my players are regular churchgoers and practicing Christians. If you want to use such sources you should to defamiliarize them at least to be on the safe side.

Yeah, the Forgotten Realms has at least three Christian pastiches, but they're not immediately evident.

 

[Coroc]

Yeah, the Forgotten Realms has at least three Christian pastiches, but they're not immediately evident.

Ilmater one of them?

 

[Wiseblood]

I thought the rule was to avoid criticizing or making value statements about modern religions. Proselytizing is also a big no-no.

 

[Oofta]

I assumed the rule is about proselytizing and declaring edicts such as "thou shalt not XXX because XXX says XXX" or "we know XXX because XXX says so". Along with "your religion is stupid" type comments.

Far different from discussing religion as a source of material for the game.

 

[Todd Roybark]

Wiseblood and Oofta, that is my point, based just off comments in this thread, there does seem to be somewhat widespread confusion on what the Enworld Board Guidelines, meaning is and how the guideline should be implemented.

I am advocating for clarification of the rule and then calibration of our actions to comply with the clarification.

This is the section from the Enworld Guidelines:

“should mention the "no religion, no politics" rule -- please refrain from discussion of a religious or political nature. This last may seem a rather draconic rule, but it has helped keep the peace around here for a long time. There are plenty of places on the internet where one could have those sorts of discussion”.

Is asking about how to model Transubstantiation in D&D non compliant?

I don’t know, the prevalent answer is “it depends”.

 

[Oofta]

Wiseblood and Oofta, that is my point, based just off comments in this thread, there does seem to be somewhat widespread confusion on what the Enworld Board Guidelines, meaning is and how the guideline should be implemented.

I am advocating for clarification of the rule and then calibration of our actions to comply with the clarification.

This is the section from the Enworld Guidelines:

“should mention the "no religion, no politics" rule -- please refrain from discussion of a religious or political nature. This last may seem a rather draconic rule, but it has helped keep the peace around here for a long time. There are plenty of places on the internet where one could have those sorts of discussion”.

Is asking about how to model Transubstantiation in D&D non compliant?

I don’t know, the prevalent answer is “it depends”.

If there's ever a question in your mind of whether a post crosses the line, feel free to report it to the admins. They have occasionally stepped in.

I think the policy is fine and clearly states their intent as I posted above. You, of course, are free to message them directly.

 

[Twiggly the Gnome]

Ilmater one of them?

Right, in Greenwood's home game this was Issek of the Jug from Nehwon. Also in his home game, Nobanion was Aslan from the Narnia books. Later TSR added the overgod Ao, which is a rift on a title of Christ, the Alpha and the Omega.

 

[Umbran]

I am advocating for clarification of the rule and then calibration of our actions to comply with the clarification.

Mod Note:

I understand the intent. But please note that the folks who you're discussing it with are just fellow users, and don't determine the rules.

This thread is not the place for this discussion. Feel free to discuss in the Meta forum, if you wish, but if everyone would please drop the matter here, it would be appreciated. Thank you, all.

 

[Todd Roybark]

Done!

 

[J-H]

My Castlevania game is set in ~1470s Europe. The safe areas are marked by crosses, the castle has a chapel area, etc. There's also a genie, a 2,000 year old mummy lord who has a beef with Ra and wants to blot out the sun, and an Aztec sacrificial dagger in the hands of a death priest.

I am a Christian, but this is a game and I am flat out not getting into any justification about how a monotheistic deity can exist and be correct in a world where there are gods who aren't just disguised demons. It just is all there and it is what it is, and anyone who tries to figure out how it all works is just going to get the Doylist answer of "Because it's fun, and because it's easier than learning all the Faerun stuff."

The same will apply to the possible follow-up featuring an avatar of Huitzopochitl and Aztecs invading Spain on air-skiffs powered by still-beating hearts sacrificed to their evil sun hummingbird.

So, my favorites for D&D:
Aztecs
Egyptians
If I had to pick a 3rd, I'd go with some sort of semi-Greek Atlantean set of deities worshipped by the fish-men who inhabit the cursed sunken continent, and who seek to drown the entire world.

This is based primarily on familiarity - pretty much everyone knows the Greek, Norse, and Egyptian gods at least somewhat. I just find the Norse stuff harder to use.