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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Scott Graves" data-source="post: 7600642" data-attributes="member: 6981164">Why not look act actual Polytheisms and their encounters with other Polytheisms as a basis for the understanding of the way people interact with their gods and why? There is an HBO series called, if I recall, Rome. It follows the misadventures of an officer and an enlisted man from the Roman Army while the Republic fades into the Empire. It gives an idea of how they dealt with the ideas of gods along with how and when they offered prayers. When they were in other lands they accepted the local gods as real and were more "careful" since their own gods were so far away. They offered small sacrifices, and promised them as well, when they were in trouble or foresaw trouble. They would all but treat the interaction as a business deal, "Jupiter if I get through this I will sacrifice a nice fat goat to you." People had preferred "household gods" they gave regular sacrifices to, those whose actions had more of an impact on their lives. They might go to a temple on a special day to offer up a larger sacrifice but day to day observations were more personal. The pantheon of household gods might change if they thought a certain god favored them n some way they could add a statue to the family altar. By adding in the actual force of the god projected through their clerics and paladins all you do is create more "proof" of the gods thus requiring less "faith". Gods may send those warriors to aid a community they see as under their wing to make the followers belief even stronger or maybe just to pay back all those sacrificed goats.So since there is actual PROOF of a gods power FAITH isn't needed. It's more like BELIEF. These sound like technicalities but faith is defined as belief without proof. When a lightning bolt flies from the sky burning an outlaw into a crisp after you pray to your god of storm to save you who needs faith?Edit: All of this is of course pointless and not worth arguing. I simply offer this as a possible interpretation one could use as a GM to simplify the extremely complex ideas behind religion, faith, belie and other such things.</blockquote>

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