monotheism in D&D

[I'm A Banana]

In my sub-campaign, I have a comlex, vibrant world based off of monotheism.....I do it by taking a cue from the real world. 3 of the major religions in existence today are monotheistic, and sects, schisms, and ambiguity are rife.......the reason being, because God is mysterious. Interpretations, revelations, etc. can be drastically different from place to place.

To reflect that in D&D, you just need to play up the ambiguity of the One True One. IMC, God is unknowable....the best you can do is through the One True's servants, angels, celestials (even fiends, who were, after all, crafted by the One), etc. You cast Commune and you speak with God's Secretary, so to speak, and the demons that infest the land EXCEL at misdirection, deception, and divination-perversion. Mechanically, the spells are largely unchanged -- you still can find out the same information, there is just always a 'corruption chance' now.

Clerical magic is not grated by God, but is granted by belief. Even Occultists and Pagans can be clerics, and wield pretty much the same spells (though they call on different outsiders, to be sure). Heck, even Heretics can be Clerics. This makes enemy faiths all the more dangerous, and means that one can never be entirely sure which is Right. The monotheists take the pagan clerics as evidence that the Power of God is Omnipresent; the pagans take it to mean that the Power of God is just the power of their own gods.

My campaign has ambiguity and questions from the main sects of the world:
Starists (drawing from Jewish history and legend)
Lunists (drawing from Muslim history and legend)
Solists (drawing from Christian history and legend)
Pagans (drawing from Hindu history and legend, with a bit of animism)
Occultists (the ones who worship the Evil!)

There are liars, there are decievers, and there are Rights and Wrongs amongst each faith....

....and they all come together at the gaping mouth of hell, where the city of Ru Sa-l'em is situated, a point of conflict for all five faiths.

Of course, my setting requires players who can stomach real-world religions being used for gaming fodder, but my players (even the devout catholic boy) don't have a big problem with it, and enjoy it a lot.

 

[jerichothebard]

I have been using one god in my world for a while. The backstory is that about 1300 years before the PC's time, there was a holy war to end all wars, and one church emerged victorious. I am of the mind that a god w/o worshippers dies - that the faithful give of their strength through prayer, and the god recieves and returns. Thus, mortal holy wars can and do equal divine wars, and in this case, eliminated all the gods save one, ORB, the god of the sun and moon.

There are a few minor gods worshipped by the monster races, but they are not nearly so powerful as ORB.

As for schisms and controversy, hello Eric's grandma yes!

As with Christianity, there are multiple interpretations. The paladins choose to worship ORB as a lawful war god, whereas the monks (a chaotic-aligned holy order, IMC) choose to worship him as the god of enlightenment (literally and figuratively). The clerics span the gap between, with some choosing the domain of war, and others protection and community, still others music or sun. (They can choose war, sun, community, protection or music as their domains, and some get knowledge as a freebie from the Cloistered Cleric option in UA, which is an optional choice).

There exists an age-old rivalry between the monks and the paladins, which has led to blows on many occasions, although never all-out war. It started ages ago when the paladins failed to fulfill the Council's directive to kill all the mages in the land, and the monks stepped up and did the job instead. This forced a major change in the makeup of the council, creating much more equality between the orders, although the paladins managed to maintain a slim margin of leadership.

An interesting facet is that ORB himself is NG, and wasn't originally a god of war. The paladin's greatest secret is that he has, at times, reigned them and taken away their powers wholesale for brief periods of time. If the monks were ever able to prove it, they might well use that information to overthrow the paladin's leadership in the Council.

The monks have their own nasty secret, which has been all but forgotten - they didn't kill the mages. Most of them have been hidden out of time and space for centuries, courtesy of the monks. All heck is about to break loose, because the PCs will need to release them from their stasis.




As far as gameplay goes, it has worked out pretty well. The clerics get six domains to choose from (befitting a very powerful god), plus there are a number of prestige classes available that add to that. There is no shortage of holy orders - counting the PC classes, Prestige class groups, and NPC groups, there are at least ten, plus rangers, druids, and bards (who cast divine magic IMC).

Divin-aligned character have proven a popular choice, with a monk, a cleric, a bard, a paladin, and two rangers in the party. Although that might have something to do with the fact that I made the casting of arcane magic illegal, and consequently disallowed wizards and frowned on sorcerers.

This worked out differently than I expected, I will note. I fully anticipated having a party of sorcerer rogues working to overthrow the oppressive regime of the paladins. Instead they focused far more strongly on the rising tide of undead and stopping that. The monk's player has taken it so far as to have developed a distaste for paladins, and then felt (and role-played) the conflicting feelings when he decided to join the Hunters of the Dead - a largely paladin-based prestige class!

That was a great moment for me as a DM, and for him as a player.

I think the key to is has been providing a lot of options within the societal structure. Had I just stuck to the idea of "ORB is a NG god, therefore the only worshippers can be NG clerics", it would have flopped. But, instead, there are many facets to ORB and his flock, and this has allowed the players to really run with it.


jtb

 

[AFGNCAAP]

I considered creating a sort of monotheistic religion for my "core D&D" homebrew, but I decided to take another route.

Instead of trying to define deities with set portfolios/domains, I decided to focus on paths/sources for divine power. Therefore, instead of having a list of various deities with domains divided amongst them or having a single deity & creatign multiple "aspects" of that deity to reflect different kinds of followers, I decided to use the sources of divine power as the structural point.

For example, instead of selecting a deity, a cleric selects a Path (basically a general philosophy/spiritual viewpoint/belief system). The 4 Paths available are Positive Energy/Light, Negative Energy/Darkness, Nature/Elemental, and Magic. Each path has a fair number of cleric domains, but they all have domains that are unique/exclusive to that Path (for example, the Path of Positive Energy is the only one that has the Good domain; the Path of Negative Energy is the only one with the Evil domain; the Path of Nature is the only one with Animal, Plant, Air, Earth, Fire, & Water domains; & the Path of Magic is the only one with the Magic domain).

Now, a cleric may claim to worship a particular deity, or even simply say he/she ascribes to a certain religious philosophy, but in the end, the cleric follows one of the aformentioned Paths.

Clerics of the Path of Positive Energy are ones who follow (generally) benevolent deities. They can have any non-Evil alignment, but they always channel positive energy (thus can spontaneously cast cure spells & turn undead). These clerics are the only kind of clerics who can multi-class as good paladins (both the LG & CG versions), and take certain PrCs with a focus on positive divine energy.

Clerics of the Path of Negative Energy are ones who follow (generally) malevolent deities. They can have any non-Good alignment, but they always channel negative energy (thus can spontaneously cast inflict spells & control undead). These clerics are the only kind of clerics who can multi-class as evil paladins (both the LE & CE versions), and take certain PrCs with a focus on negative divine energy.

Clerics of the Path of Nature (generally) follow nature deities, or focus on some aspect of the natural world (such as agriculture, storms, etc.). They aren't as devoted to the Path of Nature as druids are, though--they typically represent the urban/civilized priests of a nature-based faith. Thier powers comes from a mix of the "force of nature" along with the equal mix of the four elements (air, earth, fire, & water) (though clerics who select the Air, Earth, Fire, and/or Water domains tend to draw a bit more on those forms of elemental energy than other nature clerics). These are the ony clerics who can select to multi-class as druids, rangers, or similarly-themed PrCs.

Clerics of the Path of Magic (generally) follow magic-based deities/philosophies, since magic is a major force within the D&D setting. They draw on the "forces of magic" through devotion & faith, rather than through study (as wizards) or on sheer will & personality (as sorcerers). These are the only clerics who can select to multi-class as an arcane spellcaster, or select certain PrCs like the Mystic Theurge).

To give an example of what kinds of clerics would fit in this structure, I'll refer to some deities as depicted in Deities & Demigods, classic Dragonlance, and the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting.

Clerics of gods like Athena, Pelor, Re, Thor (as the protector of mortals), Anubis, Paladine, Sune, & Lathander would all be priests who follow the Path of Positive Energy/Light.

Clerics of gods like Set, Loki, Hades (as a death god), Bane, Takhesis, Shar, Nerull, & Ares would all be priests who follow the Path of Negative Energy/Darkness.

Clerics of gods like Obad-Hai, Demeter, Thor (as the storm god), Osiris, Silvanus, Hephaestus (as a volcanic/fire & earth god), Malar, & Mielikki would all be priests who follow the Path of Nature/Elemental Energy.

Clerics of gods like Thoth, Isis, Hecate, Vecna, Boccob, Freya, Mystra, Azuth, & the 3 Lunar gods of Magic from Dragonlance would all be priests who follow the Path of Magic.

I think this could be a viable option for a monotheistic sort of campaign, since different aspects of the deity, or at least different theological viewpoints in game, could be handled simply. Besides, it gives players a (bit) more freedom with their selection of domains, but at the cost of mutli-classing options down the line (as well as a few AL-based restrictions up front).

 

[WayneLigon]

First off, why was this done? Was it done to avoid any potential controversy if a certain type of god was done slightly differently than the scripture of the Bible, Koran or Torah?

Because virtually all of the heroic fantasy literature that serves as the basis and inspiration for D&D uses monotheistic religions for various reasons. I doubt any serious (and only Col Playdoh can answer this one) thought was ever given to 'not offending' anyone.

Almost all sword-and-sorcery fiction and almost all heroic fantasy fiction takes one of two paths: they either ignore religion entirely, or the world depicted has a polytheistic religion. To our monotheistic culture, it seems more exotic and 'fantasy-like'.

The GURPS Fantasy world of Yrth has real-world religions running around in it. That's about the only monotheistic RPG sword-and-sorcery world that comes to mind that does not deal with a fantastic version of our real world (Like Pendragon, Chivalry and Sorcery, etc).

 

[kenjib]

It's been done - I'm sure people will be in in a moment telling you how it work in their campaigns.

I'm just wondering how monotheism would develop differently with D&D style clerical magic... obviously, if you don't worship the One God, he doesn't grant you spells. Commune and other divinations can be used to get the Official Word on confusing or ambiguious religious texts.

Are sects and schisms even possible?

Two ideas that come to mind:

1. Before the coming of believers of the true god, only arcane magic existed - the power of which was ascribed to various pagan gods. Divine magic remains solely the domain of the monotheistic god. Evil priests are sorcerers and arcane magic is persecuted. This way, the monotheistic religion really is fundamentally different in a way that supports their beliefs.

2. There were multiple gods, but the new god cast them down and declared sole rulership of the domain of heaven. Divine magic still works for polytheism, but is granted from pagan gods in exhile of some sort - maybe even walking the earth. Perhaps the pagan gods have lost the ability to grant certain favors, like ressurection, or miracle, or all 9th level spells.

 

[WayneLigon]

Commune and other divinations can be used to get the Official Word on confusing or ambiguious religious texts.

Not really. The Commune spell usually has to have a 'yes' or 'no' answer. And...

In cases where a one-word answer would be misleading or contrary to the deity’s interests, a short phrase (five words or less) may be given as an answer instead. The spell, at best, provides information to aid character decisions. The entities contacted structure their answers to further their own purposes. -- SRD

So, it might not clear the waters if doing so was not in it's best interest. It might simply be content for people to figure out the answer for themselves. Enough of that, and the spell will fall out of use for that purpose as impious.

Even with a monotheistic deity, you still have a spread of clerics alignments. Each of those groups is pretty much an automatic schism or sect waiting to happen. So, if Great Ioa is LG, he can have clerics that are NG, LN and LG. The LN clerics are going to be the Inquisition-types, unconcerned with good or bad but determined to find those who don't adhere to scripture. The LG clerics are going to do the most good they can within the structure of the Church. The NG clerics could be wandering priests, unconcerned with or disdainful of the rigid heirarchy and eager to be out among the people, doing what good they can in whatever way furthers faith in Ioa.

In time, the Wanderers (NG), disgusted with the excess of the Heirarchs (LG and LN) split to form the Church of the Wildlands. The Inquisition sets out to discredit them, since they've broken vows and oaths of support. The Hierarchs are worried about the zeal of the Inquisitors but do little, since 'all are brothers in Ioa'. Some step forward, but then their own stance is called into question and they disappear as an example to others.

Eventually, the Inquisition moves against the Wildlanders, who have allied themselves with NG druids. Pointing to this flagrant disregard for the faith of Ioa, the Inquisition moves from a campaign of pursecution to one of destruction. The Inquisition itself splits on the matter of (some minor doctrinal point) into the Surgeons of Ioa (knife-weilding fanatics who view heresy as an infection to be cut or burned out before it can infect the 'healthy' faithful) and The Temple of the Bond, which looks at the oaths of faith sworn by the Wildlanders and decides to recant their actions.

The Bonders eventually evolve into lawyer-types, while the Surgeons are reduced to meetings in back rooms and wooded lots. Meanwhile, the Wildlander commoners gradually introduce aspects of Druidic worship into Ioaism so that a thousand years later, people wonder vaguely how it came to be a custom that married couples get crowned with oak leaves.

 

[NewJeffCT]

Because virtually all of the heroic fantasy literature that serves as the basis and inspiration for D&D uses monotheistic religions for various reasons. I doubt any serious (and only Col Playdoh can answer this one) thought was ever given to 'not offending' anyone.

Almost all sword-and-sorcery fiction and almost all heroic fantasy fiction takes one of two paths: they either ignore religion entirely, or the world depicted has a polytheistic religion. To our monotheistic culture, it seems more exotic and 'fantasy-like'.

True, some of the first fantasy stories I read, like 'Lord of the Rings' and 'Sword of Shannara' basically ignore religion, and I don't remember 100% about Robin Hood. King Arthur was religious in nature, though, and is no doubt the basis for much fantasy that came after... I know Conan also inspired Gygax and the gang, but I don't specifically remember anything about religion, other than evil sorcerers & priests and Crom. So, I think that was polytheistic...

 

[morbiczer]

The Seven from Westeros

In George R R Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series there is a religion whose followers believe in a group of gods called The Seven. These are (with approximate portfolios):
Father (justice, ruling)
Mother (birth, mercy, women)
Maid (beauty, love)
Warrior (combat, battle, strength)
Smith (manufacturing)
Crone (wisdom)
Stranger (death)

Most people think of them as seperate gods, but some see them as seven aspects of the same deity. But even if you look at them as seven diferent gods, the whole religion still has a lot of monotheistic elements: there are no seperate churches for the different gods, all serve them equally, just as all priests serve all of them. (Although there seem to be a few, who have a special devotion for one of them.)

I think such a system is very good for fantasy RPG, since it has a lot of elements form monteism, but still leaves place for many things which are "normal" in RPGs.

 

[Kaodi]

Different Take

An idea I had for running a monotheistic religion within the core D&D rules goes something like this ( And it could be be used to polytheistic religions just as easily ):

You have your One God, Numero Uno, Big Guy, whatever, and he/she/it has a number of domains. Somtimes 1, but in the context of classes that grant additional domains like the divine agent 2 is probably much better. Then you have a whole whack of saints, prophets, angels, servants, sects, cults, etc, and each one of them represents a different take on the deity ( because in this model I have sort of envisioned that it is impossible to discern the absolute and true desires of the deity ) and as such each of these sub-groups is given it's own domain. For a beginning cleric, they must take 1 of the deities domains, and subscribe to 1 of the sub-groups. Only if they get a 3rd domain can they pick up the deities 2nd domain. Since there is only one deity, you could conceivable switch sub-groups (and hence change your group domain), but it would have to be for good roleplaying reasons, same as if you want to have your own sub-group.

 

[pensiv]

Conan is polytheistic. Each culture had their one main god and then multiple minor ones that were rarely mentioned, and then there are the Great Old Ones which are kin to the Great Old Ones of Lovecraft's stories.