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Message: <blockquote data-quote="AFGNCAAP" data-source="post: 1132378" data-attributes="member: 871">Ahoy there, salty dogs!  What think ye o' the Powers Above 'n' Below?  Dost ye pay heed to all the Lords o' th' Sea, or merely take their names in vain?[/pirate]Man, starting to feel like I'm in a Monty Python skit (esp. the one with BBC newscasters turning into pirates while interviewing the Royal Navy).This thread was born in part to an issue mentioned in another thread (the limiting humanoid availability one, I believe).  It's something that has bothered me, & I was curious about the opinions of others on this board.What do you think of the vast multitude of deities depicted in D&D settings?  Some settings (like Dragonlance) pretty much stick with 1 pantheon of deities for all the races, while others (like Greyhawk to a degree, but definitely Forgotten Realms) have an immense abundance of deities--multiple pantheons for the human cultures (though all humans have the same racial stats), whereas the all of demihuman cultures are stuck with 1 or 2 pantheons (despite the vast amount of subraces/cultures, which are depicted with different racial stats).Along the same lines, what about the predominance of theistic religions in D&D?  Other than OA (which touched on Animism for its shugenja & shamans), many faiths inevitably follow some sort of deity/outsider.  Where are the major non-theistic religious faiths?  An agnostic religion?  A philosophy-based religion (focused more on following a philosophy that the edicts of a deity--the presence of deities may not even be an issue with the faith)?  A faith that believes in a supernatural, non-personified force (like nature) rather than a deity with that portfolio?Though some settings (though not many, IIRC) have a relatively limited pantheon, the majority of them seem to mimic our Earth, with different pantheons/mythologies for different cultures.  However, in D&D (for the most part), the deities actually exist.  They grant divine powers to their priesthood, and have an effect on the world.  Are these deities near-omnipotent beings that can shape the mortal realm, or are they mere "by-products" of faith, only having their position, powers, and standing due to the faith of mortals (and thus, ultimately, at the whim of belief/disbelief of mortalkind)?I'm not intending to ignite any sort of flamewar, just merely discuss this issue.  Just curious to see what views are out there.[pirate]So loosen yer tongues, scurvy dogs!  Let loose a broadside or two, and make yer mark!  Yaaaar!</blockquote>

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