Campaign Assumptions!

[S'mon]

My 1e fu is weak. Not sure what an Einheriar is.

The 'glorious dead' - warriors who have died in service to the deity. 1e Hextor had nothing to do with devils, his home plane was/is Acheron. And his followers would not be eternally tortured; they would battle forever on Acheron's plains, ever-reincarnating to fight again, just like the einheriar of Valhalla.

Presumably Hextor priests present this as a glorious and much-desired fate.

There does seem to be a particular problem with 3e; Evil = Fiendish = Diabolic. Earlier editions were, dare I say it, rather more sophisticated. I'm currently running a C&C Greyhawk campaign based on the 1983 boxed set, so I've been giving thought to the role of the gods. I'm looking at something more like real world polytheism, where all the Oerdi deities would be worshipped in Oerdi nations, regardless of nominal alignment. Temples of War would have Hextor, Heironeus and Stern Alia (their mother) all worshipped together; just as the Greeks included Ares as a legitimate though unfavoured deity.

 

[WayneLigon]

Some common campaign foundations I usually employ in my games:

1) Magic mostly cancels itself out. Yes, you'll get the occassional mage who uses magic for practical purposes or to provide a better standard of living to himself and those around him but he's rare. He'll probably get a title attached to his name such as 'The Great' or 'The Kind'. Most arcane casters who aren't PC's couldn't give a bowl of warm spit about the people around them; they work on a higher plane than the dirt grubbers and petty men who think a crown makes them worth something. Anyone who can cast a spell of fourth level of above might as well have either 'The Arrogant' or 'The Mad' tatooed on his forehead.

Spell-casting priests, as oppossed to common folk who are deeply read in their religion and often have mundane healing skills, are rare. Usually when the party walks into a town of 25,000 people they have just doubled the amount of divine casters in that city that can do a spell above second level. People still fear disease, but they also know the commonest ways of avoiding it: keeping clean and not throwing garbage in the streets.

2) PC level people are rare. I pay almost no attention at all to the DMG suggested leveled-person tables. In a town of 25,000, you might have a couple hundred PC-class people. They will almost never, ever be over 6th level.

3) Religion Isn't All-Pervasive. I tend not to bother with the Middle Ages; most of my games more resemble a combination of late Renaissance and early Industrial Revolution. Reason and evidence are becoming more important to people. The old churches are on the wane in many places; some react by trying to acquire political power, others retreat into themselves and have been almost forgotten. There are a half-dozen gods or so, and they are distant if real beings. Sometimes they remind people they exist in violent or astonishing ways.

4. National borders are not hard and fast. The territory a country claims and the territory that is actually lived in, patrolled, and controlled is sometimes very, very different. Some peoples have lived for generations in remote backwaters totally unaware that they are suppossedly part of 'The Kingdom of Z'.

5. Humanoids replace 'barbarian hordes' for the most part. The various races tend to live apart, only mingling in certain cities and even then they tend to stick to their special 'ghettos'.

 

[SHARK]

The 'glorious dead' - warriors who have died in service to the deity. 1e Hextor had nothing to do with devils, his home plane was/is Acheron. And his followers would not be eternally tortured; they would battle forever on Acheron's plains, ever-reincarnating to fight again, just like the einheriar of Valhalla.

Presumably Hextor priests present this as a glorious and much-desired fate.

There does seem to be a particular problem with 3e; Evil = Fiendish = Diabolic. Earlier editions were, dare I say it, rather more sophisticated. I'm currently running a C&C Greyhawk campaign based on the 1983 boxed set, so I've been giving thought to the role of the gods. I'm looking at something more like real world polytheism, where all the Oerdi deities would be worshipped in Oerdi nations, regardless of nominal alignment. Temples of War would have Hextor, Heironeus and Stern Alia (their mother) all worshipped together; just as the Greeks included Ares as a legitimate though unfavoured deity.

Greetings!

Indeed, S'mon, the ancient religions were far more rich, complex, and diverse than the D&D pantheons. Lots of contradictions, conflicting motives, and mystery, too. I think D&D pantheons could use more of that kind of ancient religious complexity!

Semper Fidelis,

SHARK

 

[Haffrung Helleyes]

Hey

I don't know enough about history to argue with you guys, but reading all this stuff reminds me of Guns, Germs, and Steel, a book I greatly enjoyed. So, thanks for a good thread!

Ken

 

[SHARK]

I don't know enough about history to argue with you guys, but reading all this stuff reminds me of Guns, Germs, and Steel, a book I greatly enjoyed. So, thanks for a good thread!

Ken

Greetings!

Yep, Guns, Germs and Steel is a great book.

I'm glad you are enjoying the thread! Welcome, my friend!

Semper Fidelis,

SHARK