Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="SehanineMoonbow" data-source="post: 8124574" data-attributes="member: 7025612">Welp, late to this thread, so I haven't read all the comments, but here are my thoughts:One of the things I like about certain D&D settings is that there is a well-established afterlife, and not a gloomy one—well, depending on the god you subscribe to. This is a big reason I’ve stayed away from settings like Dark Sun. So for that reason, I’ve never really liked the Wall. I’ve always thought there should be a different fate. Perhaps the Faithless share the fate of the False, which, at least according to the 3.0 FR Campaign Guide, will vary based on the severity of their crimes. For some, this means working in the City of Judgement and serving Kelemvor in varying compacities (though some receive a harsher punishment). Perhaps the Faithless would get a similar penance, and maybe said penance would vary based on how “faithless” they are. Like, the difference between those who just didn’t pay particular attention to the deity, versus those who consciously flipped all of them the bird. But maybe this isn’t much better than the Wall. Hmm.In a world like Forgotten Realms, being an atheist in the way we think of the term would be exceedingly rare and foolish. The gods are very real and part of the setting. Most Faerunians are polytheistic, praying to various deities throughout their lives. A farmer may pray to Chauntea for his crops to grow, and Talos to keep storms away, for example (you of course have paladins and clergy, and others with a defined patron). Most Faerunians end up leaning towards one deity—however slightly—above the others, and this is likely the deity that will collect their soul. Most demihuman species (elves, gnomes, dwarves, etc) worship those in their respective pantheons. Those who are not under Kelemvor/Myrkul’s sphere of influence (Zakhara, for example), answer to their own deities, so I don’t think the Wall applies.So, on the one hand, I’m happy they’re getting rid of the Wall, though it would be nice if they provided an alternative, and they kept the larvae part, which isn’t really any better, imho. This also just seems like a further move to push the gods out of the picture. We already have non-theistic paladins and clerics (which may work for a setting like Dark Sun, but not for FR). I really don’t get the aversion people have to gods being part of a fantasy setting, when they’re fine with all the other stuff: magic, dragons, elves, dwarves, undead, sentient artifacts, etc.5e is always vague on details, and it often contradicts itself. It’s like they change things with every product released. Again, I would rather have an actual explanation for why the Wall no longer exists, rather than them just omitting it. And since they’re keeping the larvae part, an unclaimed soul is basically the same thing as a faithless at this point. I mean, if you’ve never worshiped, there isn’t really a god who can claim you. Removing a single sentence isn’t going to fix the issue, imho.I am really only familiar with Plancescape through On Hallowed Ground, but in that book, it distinguishes the difference between a faithless and someone who doesn’t even believe in an afterlife. A faithless still gets an afterlife, it just takes him longer to achieve a higher form. Someone who doesn’t even believe in a soul or that there is something gets oblivion. I don't think they should do this for FR, but I bring it up because I saw some mention of Planescape.</blockquote>

Verification