Introducing fantasy RPGs to religious players

[RangerWickett]

Yeah, you could start with a sci-fi game, or do something not heavily religious, like an anime-themed game.

How does the player respond to real people who have different religious beliefs than him? Can he watch movies like Troy and Lord of the Rings without his sensibilities being offended? If he seems comfortable talking about it, ask him why fictional religions in a game would be more unpleasant than fictional religions in a movie, or real religions in real life. Don't try to convince him to change his mind. Just ask what it is in particular that is making him uncomfortable, so you can know what to avoid.

If it's that he doesn't want his character praying to other gods, that one's easy to avoid. If he dislikes the idea of gods having physical bodies and walking around Faerun, that's also easy to avoid. If he just doesn't want to encounter other religions . . . well, then that might be a problem out of game too.

But I'd recommend sci-fi or anime for your first outing.

 

[S'mon]

I would think WHFRP would actually be ideal for a player who wants no 'real' polytheism in the setting. You as GM can make it clear that the world was created by the Creator (God), but the world is threatened by the demons of Chaos who seek to both corrupt & physically destroy the world. The Empire is basically pre-renaissance Holy Roman Empire, with some post-renaissance elements. Call Sigmar the Patron Saint of the Empire. Make it clear OOC that the Empire and the Araby lands to the south worship the same (true) God, even if they don't realise it. You don't need to go into religion more than that, or make any further changes to the setting.

Edit: You can remove references to 'good' polytheist deities (like that one sleeping beneath Praag), or make them Saints. This is basically what happened IRL anyway...

 

[S'mon]

I never had this problem because I never met a strongly religious player. Most of the people I game with are between atheist and agnostic.

I have a strongly religious player. His religion has never been a problem.

 

[Turanil]

I would think WHFRP would actually be ideal for a player who wants no 'real' polytheism in the setting. You as GM can make it clear that the world was created by the Creator (God), but the world is threatened by the demons of Chaos who seek to both corrupt & physically destroy the world. The Empire is basically pre-renaissance Holy Roman Empire, with some post-renaissance elements. Call Sigmar the Patron Saint of the Empire. Make it clear OOC that the Empire and the Araby lands to the south worship the same (true) God, even if they don't realise it. You don't need to go into religion more than that, or make any further changes to the setting.

Ditto.

 

[Umbran]

So, for those of you who have introduced deeply religious players to gaming: Did you have any similar problems? Did you have to make some adjustments to the fantasy world to avoid stepping on anyone's toes?

I've usually found that emphasis on it being fiction goes a long way. There are some folks out there who find fiction contrary to their religious beliefs troublesome, of course. But when you go out of your way to point out that in the end it is a story, and nothing more than that, they find it less of an issue.

 

[JamesDJarvis]

So, for those of you who have introduced deeply religious players to gaming: Did you have any similar problems? Did you have to make some adjustments to the fantasy world to avoid stepping on anyone's toes?

Well it is all pretend. Acting in a greek tragedy wouldn'ty endanger someones faith. I've played in a game that had a catholic priest sit in now and again for a little while and he thought it was a great morality learning tool (and he did like smiting orcs and zombies).
One fellow I gamed with for a while was a devout moslem and a serious hardcore gamer, to him the gods of D&D campaigns were just simply pretend and not real.

 

[Lobo Lurker]

I consider myself to be a fairly religious person and it took me quite a while to comfy with the idea of role playing in a game with 'demons, devils, & polytheism'. Some personal observances then:

1) Keep the fiend-worshiping cults to a minimum. Likewise, stay away from fallen celestials. He's a beginning player, there's plenty you can do with orcs, goblins, & gnolls to keep him interested.
2) Keep the evil clerics to a minimum, at least initially.
3) I wouldn't run a game that focused on inter-religious conflict. Nor, by that same token, would I run a game for this guy that had one default/'right' religion.
4) If you're going to make the campaign thrust be against an evil god, I'd make an effort to make sure that the distinctions between good and evil are very visible.
5) Likewise, if you're really concerned about his religion, do a little informal questioning. Muslims & Jews consider pigs to be unclean. This guy's character might not be happy about helping out the pig-farmer that you've centered your plot hook around. (I'm not sure about this, but don't Muslims dislike dogs for similar reasons; if so, then a friendly ranger with a dog companion won't get a great reaction out of him.)

Basically, rpgs are 'tainted' or 'stained' with a reputation of deviltry & demonology by most religions that I know of (mostly 'cause the people in charge are ignorant and are not interested in learning about rpgs). As the DM of a religious player (especially a new one) I'd try to make an effort to find out what that player considers offensive and what themes might make him or her uncomfortable (obviously, asking a Gnostic to play a Paladin or Cleric wouldn't be a great idea ).

Just give that player time to realize that 1) the rumors of satanism/demonology aren't true and 2) that his religion and his gaming CAN be mutually exclusive.

 

[GlassJaw]

I would probably take the player aside and as calmlu and politely as possible, explain to him that it's a

GAME!!!!

It's FAKE. It's NOT REAL. It's MAKE BELIEVE!

So as you can tell, no, I've never had that problem in one of my games.

 

[Henry]

That's probably the recurring theme you'll hear in this advice -- emphasizing that any mention of religion in RPGs are as fictitous as any representation of religion in a movie, play, or novel. Emphasizing that no magic is worked, no homage is intentionally paid to any deity, are the key points to hit.

Another idea for a venue is to find out what his favorite genre is and run a one-shot in that -- cop dramas, fantasy adventure (princess Bride or something?) sci-fi, etc.

 

[Psion]

It wouldn't hurt to talk to him, determine what his comfort zones are, and emphasize that the game world has no correlation to reality or real world beleif systems.

I would address the prospective player's specific sensitivities. If having a world with polytheism is a problem for him and you aren't married to having it in your game (and really, it's so bog-standard I think it could afford to take a vacation), you could handwave it away or do away with arcane/divine distinctions. Some approaches you might try one or more of the following:

1) Use ENPublishing's Elements of Magic and sort of treat magic as a science.
2) Use psionics instead of magic, and use stuff from the mind's eye feature to help shore up healing.
3) Use the reserve HP rule from UA to minimize the need for healing magic