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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Mercule" data-source="post: 2434820" data-attributes="member: 5100">Caveat:  I'm trying to keep it nice.  If you find something insulting, it's a miscommunication, not a slam. Polytheism is something that I wrestled with quite a bit.  I have a real issue with the notion of saints, angels, etc. as intermediaries.  It's God/Christ or it's blasphemous, IMO.  That said, I also found the notion of trying to play (as DM) God and represent his wishes/actions as rather blasphemous, too.  It makes no sense to completely ignore religion in a well developed setting, either.  Finally, my God is the Lord of everything, everywhere, and it is inconceivable to me that a universe exists that isn't under his will.  So, what to do? The solution I finally used for my homebrew is this: the "gods" are not gods in the sense that any monotheist would really recognize or appreciate.  Rather, they represent the most potent "players" that are on the field.  They are so powerful that they are physically removed from the Prime.  There is still a transcendant, omnipotent entity behind creation, etc.  But, just as on earth, he usually speaks through others and allows men to be the true warriors, as well as the prize.  Why does he do this?  Dunno, God works in mysterious ways.  What lies between the little gods and God?  Dunno, such is not my place to know. The little gods IMC fall into one of three broad groups.  The first is, essentially, God's prophets.  Though they may are forbidden to step onto the Prime, they seek to relate God's message of goodness, etc. to their followers.  It is through these supernatural beings that men are led to God.  I maybe exaggerate a bit, here.  The name of God is never used by these beings -- only his will and the knowledge that there is something more.  Really, that's not so different from the Abrahamic faiths, though. The second group are active deceivers.  They have been damned and they are intent on taking as much creation with them.  The CE fiends (little gods and demons, alike) are doing it from spite.  The LE fiends(little gods and devils) are doing it to try to blackmail the creator into sparing them. The third group are those powers who have forgotten about the ultimate war, whether through short-sightedness, forgetfulness, ennui, or petty personal interests.  This is the largest group and form the religions of most people.  What happens to those who follow them?  Dunno, maybe a second chance, maybe not. Short form:  God is active in my world.  It is his will, not his "person" that is felt.  There is a recognition that there is something above the little gods.  The reasons for this are not mine to know. Now, I don't take this to an extreme.  When it comes right down to it, I'm in this to cut loose, play a game, and have some fun.  I just needed enough consistancy to not break my brain.  The ubercosmology of my setting has only once come into play in twenty years of gaming and has never been a topic of discussion outside of that instance.  I'm pretty sure none of my current players, including my wife of ten years, even knows that there is an ubercosmology. I see no reason why the same, or a similar, notion couldn't be applied to pretty much any existing setting. This guy sounds reasonable and rational.  Give him the above idea and invite him to actually play, possibly ignoring religion by-and-large.  Let him know that he is free to call "safe" at any time, and will be respected.  If he has specific issues, find out what they are and try to address them -- not in a dismissive way, but with respect for his concerns. Personally, I'd also change the game to gloss over religion as much as possible, especially at first.  I'm merciless about people who want to come in and game the system or whine about "reality", there is a huge, gaping chasm of difference between that and someone who is interested but uncertain if he may be asked to do something immoral.  Getting people into the game = good.  Getting people to see that the game is not immoral = ++good.</blockquote>

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