Deities & Demigods vs Faiths & Pantheons

[Vecna]

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The Ocular Adept, follower of the Great Mother (deity of beholders) is a humanoid who has the central eye of an eyeball beholderkin implanted in its forehead, which develops various beholder-type ray powers as the ocular adept advances in level. (Sure, you have to be lawful evil or neutral evil, but hey -- you get beholder ray attacks. Sign me up.)
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That's one of mine.

--Erik

I just love "strange" PrC!
Any hope we'll find more like that?

 

[Kaptain_Kantrip]

Personally I really hope that there isn't a lot of information on the church, dogma, etc. I would rather there just be a brief blurb about that stuff.

I disagree! PCs will spend more time interacting with the mortal servants who make up the church and much of its doctrine. Gods should rarely, if ever be seen "in person" but should be felt through visions, signs, portents, omens, etc. Maybe an avatar or possessed priest that the god speaks through if you're lucky (or unlucky!).

To make fantasy religions believable, we NEED more nitty-gritty on how to use the religion and its believers in our games... not "my god can beat up your god" stat-blocks that encourage the idea that gods can be killed! Such mortal hubris is a sure prescription for the deities to lay down the smack on arrogant munchkins everywhere!

Will F&P have material like that (hopefully even more detailed than the old Faiths & Powers FR 2e book)?

 

[shadow]

I kind of miss the old days when the Cleric was just a generic spellcaster. I suppose ultimately it gets down into the religious issue. I really don't have too much of a problem with pagan gods, since D&D is a FANTASY role-playing game, but to often I have met people who insist that D&D encourages the worship of such entities. There line of reasoning is, if this: "If this is just a fantasy game, why are the god's rituals and holy days described in such detail?"(Refering to Forgotten Realms Faith's and Avatars) I suppose I'm also a little jaded since I had a player get a little to into a Forgotten Realms campaign. She started professing that Meilikki (sp?) of the Forgotten Realms had superior dogma to real world religions and thought of Faiths and Avatars as some type of Bible. (Of course the poor girl had a lot of personal problems, but that didn't stop most people in the high school from associating the Role Playing Games club with the worship of pagan dieties.)

 

[LordMelkor{Talos}]

Posted by Shadow:

She started professing that Meilikki (sp?) of the Forgotten Realms had superior dogma to real world religions and thought of Faiths and Avatars as some type of Bible. (Of course the poor girl had a lot of personal problems, but that didn't stop most people in the high school from associating the Role Playing Games club with the worship of pagan dieties.)

You know that there are people stil worshipping Pagan Gods? Anyway Mielikkiki`s Dogma is at least consistent, unlike Bible( I have read Old Testament, and God there ISN`T a God Of Love from New Testament, but a despotic tyrant).

 

[rounser]

She started professing that Meilikki (sp?) of the Forgotten Realms had superior dogma to real world religions

I seem to recall that Mielikki is a god from a real world pantheon, adapted for the Forgotten Realms - just like Tyr and Loviatar are.

Ed Greenwood wrote an old Dragon article about using existing deities in fantasy worlds, so this is unsurprising.

 

[Grazzt]

I seem to recall that Mielikki is a god from a real world pantheon, adapted for the Forgotten Realms - just like Tyr and Loviatar are.

Ed Greenwood wrote an old Dragon article about using existing deities in fantasy worlds, so this is unsurprising.

Mielikki was in the Finnish pantheon in the 1e Deities & Demigods book.

 

[drowdude]

I seem to recall that Mielikki is a god from a real world pantheon, adapted for the Forgotten Realms - just like Tyr and Loviatar are.

Loviatar & Mielikki are from the Finnish pantheon and Tyr, of course is from the Norse (but I am assuming you already knew that ).

Edit: Grazzt posted that already eh? ... oh well

 

[GravyFingerz]

Will Faiths and Pantheons describe the Forgotten Realms cosmology at all? Or will we still be in the dark about it?

I want to see some product with a MotP style write up for the FR cosmology. What better chance to do so then Faiths & Pantheons

 

[Upper_Krust]

Hi all!

(I suppose this one goes out to Erik or Sean)

Are the 20 Prestige Classes all derived from the central 31 Deities detailed in the book?

 

[LordMelkor{Talos}]

Hi Upper Krust!

Posted by Upper Krust:

Hi all!

(I suppose this one goes out to Erik or Sean)

Are the 20 Prestige Classes all derived from the central 31 Deities detailed in the book?



I think no, since there is a Prestige Class for follower of Great Mother.