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<blockquote data-quote="Yaarel" data-source="post: 7816104" data-attributes="member: 58172">In formative D&amp;D (Blackmoor-0e-1e), polytheism was one among many options, but not a default. Monotheism was also an option. For example, the illustration for the Cleric class in the 1e Players Handbook is a Christian priest. This is because D&amp;D evolved as a medieval genre, including medieval religions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam, vestiges of European animism and polytheisms, traderoutes to African animisms, Hindu polytheism, Chinese Daoism, various Buddhisms, etcetera).The gamut of possible religions also increased because of influences from various scifi authors.The default religion of formative D&amp;D is that the DM will invent a world. Any world is possible. Any religious systems are possible. Whatever the DM wants. The rest of the D&amp;D books are merely tools that may or may not be useful for the DM. The default is that the DM will create a world for the players to explore.This default, that the DM will invent a new universe, a completely new setting, is so vivid for gamers who have experienced the early years of formative D&amp;D. And yet this default of the DM deciding seems so completely forgotten by gamers in later decades who wrongly think that ‘Greyhawk’ was the default setting.The original Greyhawk city, a regional setting, derives from the campaign that Gygax himself was playing. But Gygax himself was shocked that there were any gamers who would want to play in the same setting that he himself was using rather than want to create their own settings.In sum, the default religion is whatever the DM wants. This duty of each DM to invent a world, is the true default of formative D&amp;D.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Yaarel, post: 7816104, member: 58172"] In formative D&D (Blackmoor-0e-1e), polytheism was one among many options, but not a default. Monotheism was also an option. For example, the illustration for the Cleric class in the 1e Players Handbook is a Christian priest. This is because D&D evolved as a medieval genre, including medieval religions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam, vestiges of European animism and polytheisms, traderoutes to African animisms, Hindu polytheism, Chinese Daoism, various Buddhisms, etcetera). The gamut of possible religions also increased because of influences from various scifi authors. The default religion of formative D&D is that the DM will invent a world. Any world is possible. Any religious systems are possible. Whatever the DM wants. The rest of the D&D books are merely tools that may or may not be useful for the DM. The default is that the DM will create a world for the players to explore. This default, that the DM will invent a new universe, a completely new setting, is so vivid for gamers who have experienced the early years of formative D&D. And yet this default of the DM deciding seems so completely forgotten by gamers in later decades who wrongly think that ‘Greyhawk’ was the default setting. The original Greyhawk city, a regional setting, derives from the campaign that Gygax himself was playing. But Gygax himself was shocked that there were any gamers who would want to play in the same setting that he himself was using rather than want to create their own settings. In sum, the default religion is whatever the DM wants. This duty of each DM to invent a world, is the true default of formative D&D. [/QUOTE]

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