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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Turjan" data-source="post: 1888768" data-attributes="member: 3477">Yes and no. I think the problem here is that we use our analytical logic on this philosophy. We think in "either/or" categories. The monotheistic Indian philosophies are more of the "as well as" category. The small household divinity may be seen as a separate god, but is very often considered just as a single aspect of one of the 3 or 4 "greater" gods of the pantheon. Of these, Siva may be seen as the creator and destroyer of the world, but Visnu may also play the role as creator and protector. A third believer may see Devi as the superior mover. I don't want to go into details (1. they vary widely, 2. this gets a bit too religious and is not really important for this discussion <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f609.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=";)" title="Wink    ;)"  data-smilie="2"data-shortname=";)" />), but the points to keep in mind are that (i) small gods are often seen as aspect of a greater god, and (ii) that these greater gods all bear aspects of the creator. The trinity Brahma/Visnu/Siva is a more philosophical one without real influence on everyday religion. Instead, monotheists often pick one of the greater gods as their "overgod". Nevertheless, this is often not to exclusion of the other gods, but an integrative apporach that sees the other entities as manifestations of the same thing. For us, this may seem hierarchical. The philosophy behind it is not, because everything is part of the same entity <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />.Except that one of the three paths is indeed perfection <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />. As not everyone has the time and the means to go this path, there are - luckily - two additional others <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f609.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=";)" title="Wink    ;)"  data-smilie="2"data-shortname=";)" />.Okay, the original question was how to integrate such a philosophy into a D&D campaign. It may be a bit difficult, because the D&D religions are, though polytheistic at first glance, carbon copies of aspects of christian religiosity. I just wanted to point out that there are models to replace this system by a more freeform one that integrates ostensible antagonisms.</blockquote>

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