Discussion: Possible M&M
I'm not sure to what extent the 'no religion' rule can / does govern PbP, to the extent that, technically, any game that allows Divine characters which are given powers by their gods would then have to be banned, and clearly that's not the case.
I can see how you / folks might be more uneasy, however, about using contemporary religion(s) as a basis. I think there are a couple of ways of dealing with that.
1) Shift the world. We could easily have a contemporary-like world that's structured differently, and thus is clearly not 'our' world to an extent that discussions of deities wouldn't necessarily need to be seen as commentary on real-world religions.
2) Science it up. I'm thinking probably most specifically about Stargate SG-1, where there were godlike beings which were both good and evil but which the show steadfastly denied *were* actual deities. It's a bit twisty logic-wise, but I thought it interesting that it let the show mine a lot of religious iconography and philosophies while allowing them to deny that they were directly commenting on any specific religions. By never claiming a real divine presence but perhaps talking about 'positive' and 'negative' energies, that might allow for something pseudo-religious without actually stepping on any toes.
3) Focus on the bad. In general, especially since it seems there may be some shady motivations in our own organizations upper eschelon, it may be that we don't need to really be any kind of Blessed Organization so much as we would be using / co-opting powers to help us fight evil. Buffy is probably my template here. There's no doubt that demons were around, but the show rarely spent much time considering the existance of angelic forces or commenting on their noticable absence.
Just some brainstorming.
I can see how you / folks might be more uneasy, however, about using contemporary religion(s) as a basis. I think there are a couple of ways of dealing with that.
1) Shift the world. We could easily have a contemporary-like world that's structured differently, and thus is clearly not 'our' world to an extent that discussions of deities wouldn't necessarily need to be seen as commentary on real-world religions.
2) Science it up. I'm thinking probably most specifically about Stargate SG-1, where there were godlike beings which were both good and evil but which the show steadfastly denied *were* actual deities. It's a bit twisty logic-wise, but I thought it interesting that it let the show mine a lot of religious iconography and philosophies while allowing them to deny that they were directly commenting on any specific religions. By never claiming a real divine presence but perhaps talking about 'positive' and 'negative' energies, that might allow for something pseudo-religious without actually stepping on any toes.
3) Focus on the bad. In general, especially since it seems there may be some shady motivations in our own organizations upper eschelon, it may be that we don't need to really be any kind of Blessed Organization so much as we would be using / co-opting powers to help us fight evil. Buffy is probably my template here. There's no doubt that demons were around, but the show rarely spent much time considering the existance of angelic forces or commenting on their noticable absence.
Just some brainstorming.
Insight
Adventurer
I think the EN World rules are no preaching a specific religion and no using real-world deities/religions in discussions. I do NOT know if this applies to PBP games, but I have to assume it does unless otherwise informed by a mod.
It is VERY easy to avoid any problems. First off, we need to avoid real-world deities. That shouldn't be an issue. Having powers that are "divinely inspired" but without a specific source should be fine. This would be no different than a D&D Cleric using "divine" powers. We could even have angels and devils, as long as they don't make specific references to their creators or things along those lines. Second, we also need to avoid real-world religious organizations. This should apply to sects, churches, and so forth. I don't know whether specific Catholic saints would be prohibited or not. I suppose it might be based on usage.
The bottom line: I believe we can pull this off quite easily as long as we act like adults and have the basics of posting policy in mind.
I'll see if I can hunt down the exact EN World policy on this issue.
EDIT: Here is all I could really find -
"discussion of a religious or political nature" seems not to relate to PBP games in that we wouldn't be discussing the merits of a given religion inasmuch as using said religious elements to tell a story.
It is VERY easy to avoid any problems. First off, we need to avoid real-world deities. That shouldn't be an issue. Having powers that are "divinely inspired" but without a specific source should be fine. This would be no different than a D&D Cleric using "divine" powers. We could even have angels and devils, as long as they don't make specific references to their creators or things along those lines. Second, we also need to avoid real-world religious organizations. This should apply to sects, churches, and so forth. I don't know whether specific Catholic saints would be prohibited or not. I suppose it might be based on usage.
The bottom line: I believe we can pull this off quite easily as long as we act like adults and have the basics of posting policy in mind.
I'll see if I can hunt down the exact EN World policy on this issue.
EDIT: Here is all I could really find -
EN World Policy said:
"discussion of a religious or political nature" seems not to relate to PBP games in that we wouldn't be discussing the merits of a given religion inasmuch as using said religious elements to tell a story.
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hafrogman
Adventurer
The easiest thing to do would be PM a mod, I'm sure they'll weight in. But if I recall correctly, their stance is somewhat relaxed with relation to PbP games. The main goal is to avoid discussing religion, which quickly becomes debating religion. As long as all the players and DM are okay with the idea that we are using a similar, but ultimately fictional religion in our stories, I think we're fine.
But in general, a "who knows?" approach probably works best overall with the storyline we're looking at. The Powers-That-Be (to steal a Buffy-ism) may or may not exist, but they certainly aren't intervening. The organization is not a major religion, but a fringe cult-type thing not tied to any specific religion. Hopefully those things would distance ourselves enough that we could use the shared mythology of real world religions as flavor.
St. George, the Spear of Longinus, the Holy Grail, fallen angels, etc. etc.
But in general, a "who knows?" approach probably works best overall with the storyline we're looking at. The Powers-That-Be (to steal a Buffy-ism) may or may not exist, but they certainly aren't intervening. The organization is not a major religion, but a fringe cult-type thing not tied to any specific religion. Hopefully those things would distance ourselves enough that we could use the shared mythology of real world religions as flavor.
St. George, the Spear of Longinus, the Holy Grail, fallen angels, etc. etc.
Insight
Adventurer
Insight
Adventurer
I agree with all of this and I think this is how we should handle it, should we decide that this is the sort of game we want.
Insight
Adventurer
I think we've had some good discussion so far and I believe I've got a handle on a game concept that should be fun and interesting. Here goes.
(This will be more refined in the actual Recruitment/OOC thread)
An academy exists, somewhere in the world, to train young people with certain extraordinary gifts to use said gifts to defend the world against encroachment from the Shadow, a force of darkness unlike anything the world has faced before. The academy finds young people with supernatural gifts and trains them to become secret soldiers in a war against the forces of the Shadow, a war that will ultimately decide the fate of Earth itself!
These gifts can be any of a number of things: super-strength, speed, flight, telepathy, teleportation, control of fire and light, and so forth. Students acquire their abilities from divine, magical, or psionic sources, and sometimes, the student may not even know where their powers came from.
The academy not only trains its students to deal with the agents of the supernatural, but also to engage in espionage and sabotage against the forces of Shadow. Students are trained to fight, to defend themselves, and to use skills critical to the fight against Shadow.
The Shadow manifests itself in forms familiar to the people of Earth: ghosts, demons, vampires, and creepy monsters of various kinds. The Shadow also has its own human supporters, who promote the Shadow and enhance its efforts to bring Shadow into the world.
(This will be more refined in the actual Recruitment/OOC thread)
An academy exists, somewhere in the world, to train young people with certain extraordinary gifts to use said gifts to defend the world against encroachment from the Shadow, a force of darkness unlike anything the world has faced before. The academy finds young people with supernatural gifts and trains them to become secret soldiers in a war against the forces of the Shadow, a war that will ultimately decide the fate of Earth itself!
These gifts can be any of a number of things: super-strength, speed, flight, telepathy, teleportation, control of fire and light, and so forth. Students acquire their abilities from divine, magical, or psionic sources, and sometimes, the student may not even know where their powers came from.
The academy not only trains its students to deal with the agents of the supernatural, but also to engage in espionage and sabotage against the forces of Shadow. Students are trained to fight, to defend themselves, and to use skills critical to the fight against Shadow.
The Shadow manifests itself in forms familiar to the people of Earth: ghosts, demons, vampires, and creepy monsters of various kinds. The Shadow also has its own human supporters, who promote the Shadow and enhance its efforts to bring Shadow into the world.
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Bwaaarrr...I like it. I like how that lends itself to the idea that monsters are "twisted" due to exposure to this strange force, this Shadow. It also leaves open the question of what, exactly, the Shadow is. An alien energy from another universe? Some kind of bizarre bioweapon gone amok? A magical curse? The subconscious horrors of the collective human mind made manifest?
It gives a much larger depth to the struggles and battle than just a 'monster du jour' would be. Every encounter we have is a chance to learn more.
It gives a much larger depth to the struggles and battle than just a 'monster du jour' would be. Every encounter we have is a chance to learn more.
