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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Janx" data-source="post: 2170447" data-attributes="member: 8835">having the gods intervene directly in a campaign is risky.  the whole deus ex machina problem.  Basically, the DM plays the role of the gods (as NPCs).  You can't have the NPCs saving the PCs bacon all the time, or the players would resent that.  So in effect, you have to avoid having the gods intervene directly.This is modeled then, by the clerics getting spells.  The clerics are doing the god's work, so they get the god's power to do that work.  Since the PCs can be clerics, they get the benefit of the god's power and divine will, but it is at their control, thus, they are still responsible for saving the day.  This makes for good story telling, but forces us to suspend disbelief.The problem is, if you're a god, you got lots of power.  So how come you can't use it to smite whomever you feel like.  GMs and story writers have tackled this problem for years.  Heck, theologians have pondered it in the real world (i.e. why did the world trade center fall).  Top it off with the perspective problem.  In the real world, the majority of religions are monotheistic with non-magic clerics (instead relying on their deity's "mysterious ways").  In D&D, the majority of campaign worlds are polytheistic or animistic and clerics do cast spells.  Kinda makes it hard to find a role-model or understanding of how the D&D world's religion system works. I'm not picking sides in any real world debate here, but like D&D economics, there's little in common with the real world and D&D.  Thus, when we start looking at the practicalities of what can be done in D&D, it starts seeming more and more alien to us.  Certainly, if a PC was a god, they'd do a whole bunch of stuff that "normal" gods don't do.  And that would throw a bunch of stuff out of whack (much like using some simple magic items in clever ways disrupts the local economy in D&D).  So unless you're prepared for REALLY active divine intervention, you've got to have a religion system that prevents divine intervention.Here's one god-model that might support this "divine prevention":the gods are Giants.  I mean big with a capital G.  Kinda like the greek gods, being from titans and such.  Balancing the world on their back kind of big.  Physically really big.  A fingerprint the size of Texas (for those not familiar with Texas, it's a really big place).  What happens when you're that big?  Well, let's say you're a god.  And you've been watching Bob.  Bob's been bad, so you spit on him.  Whoosh!  You just started the Great Flood.  Half of civilization's been wiped out.  Way to go.  Everything gods do is big.  Spells, etc.  So if the gods want to watch what's going on, they need to keep their paws off.  Direct intervention causes more harm than good.  We can also guess that they're busy keeping the loony god of destruction as far away from our planet as possible.  Don't let that goober get his hands on it, or he'll probably eat it or break it.  So at best, all they can do is broadcast some spells out for clerics in tune with them to use.  It's probably not even on a personal basis.  Good clerics get spell energy from the good god.  And loony clerics of destruction get spell energy from the loony destruction god, who's currently being held down by 3 other gods.Janx</blockquote>

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