Monotheism?

[LoneWolf23]

Actually, if you read Deities and Demigods, it's possible to have true Polytheistic Clerics by having them take an entire pantheon as their patron. Paradoxally, however, I've discovered it's possible to use the same system to better simulate a monotheistic faith, as in my campaign.

The Church of the Supreme Being (aka Supremism) believes in a single absolute power, God, who is served by various beings. Foremost amongst mortals is The Prophet, a shapeshifting entity who gathered 12 mortal beings to battle a dark supernatural force of Evil. After their victory, the 12 were ascended into Great Saints, each one the patron over a specific portfolio in service to God and The Prophet.

Clerics can take up service under a Patron Saint, under the Prophet himself, or the whole Church (who Pantheon).

 

[shivamuffin]

I created polytheistic systems, but added the one prophet element to almost all of the advanced cultures in my world. A " There are our gods, and so and so is the prophet " type of thing. The players have taken quite well to it.

GSI

 

[SylverFlame]

Well, if you're looking for a D&D example, the old setting of Al Qaedim, set in the continent of Zakhara (part of Toril and therefore FR) was a montheistic setting. Funny when you think of all the gods running around Faerun.

Also, part of the question boils down to monism as opposed to montheism. Monotheism says there is one god and that's all (something like Islam, Judaism, and Christianity). Now then, monism says that, essentially, all things are connected and are part of the same divine power. For an example of monism there are certain groups in Hinduism that believe (NOT all hindus believe this so please do not shoot me down for improper interpretation as I do not mean to do that) all the gods are a part of one power and that all things also belong to this power or energy.

What this means is that if you want a monistic setting you could have many gods who all represent different facets of the same power (like the Divine Trinity of Christianity, as Jesus has different aspects to him when compared with God or The Holy Spirit). Or you could go with the Monotheistic approach where there is one God and the only difference among worshipers is the groups they belong to.

You should note that EVERY montheistic religion has various groups with it. Christianity has Protestants, Baptists, Anglicans, Roman Catholics, etc. Islam has Shiites (spelling?), Sunni and others. And Judaism has Orthodox, Reform, and another branch that I cannot remember right now.

So happy world building.

EDIT: Grammer and info

 

[MarauderX]

I am a player in a monotheistic game world, and it's been kinda fun but in a way limiting. The interpretation of doing what the god wishes brings up some friction between different character classes (PC and/or NPC) and it is often left up to the cleric to be closest to following the wishes that the god has, therefor influencing the party actions a bit more than the others. I am playing a monk in the campaign now, and his whole style of meditation and such seems to be so close to what the cleric is doing during praying, but is still miles apart in accomplishment. As deviating from the path of a true worshipper, it seems as though any other way of following the god could be sacriledge... just like real life, eh? But we still get things done despite the many opportunities for persecution.

I like some of the other reminders in the game worlds and how they interact. With our monotheistic theme, it leaves actions against alignment open as LG clerics etc. get there power from the same source as NG, as LN, as LE... so it's not as if you couldn't act nearly any way that you wish, but the DM kinda ruled it's consistancy that matters.

edit: spellik.

 

[shivamuffin]

I am a player in a monotheistic game world, and it's been kinda fun but in a way limiting

Sounds very cool. Is it molded from a real world monotheistic faith?
Are there other opposing religions that fill the nitch of " pagans "?

 

[MarauderX]

Sounds very cool. Is it molded from a real world monotheistic faith?
Are there other opposing religions that fill the nitch of " pagans "?

The campaign is based loosely on old Afghanistan, but doesn't follow a particular monotheistic faith from the real world per se. There are other peoples that roam about the world with their own cultures and lifestyles that worship the same god, but there are also those who worship a 'pagan' god bent on the ruination of the one god. Those worshippers would be the bad guys, and we get to persecute them... after all they started it.

 

[maddman75]

I have monotheism for at least one country in my world. The history is that they weren't always this way. In the past, there was an entire pantheon of gods. After a series of holy wars, the followers of Auros the sun god were virtually the only ones left. To endure that his faith endured on the isle, Auros granted their leader divine right to rule, and passed down doctrine that he was the only true god. All others were either aspects of Auros (such as with the poor deluded elves and dwarves) or demons. When in doubt, assume a strange cleric is a demon worshipper.

Mechanically, there's been several saints that have started different sects. Which saint you follow determines your favored weapons, domains, and likely alignment.

 

[adwyn]

I have used a monotheistic style religion for years, and it has worked well, but the important question is why do you want to use one?
IMC I wanted a pseudo medieval church complete with Inquisition, cardinals in the style of Richlieu, and all of the rest. It was difficult to make polytheism conform to this in a way the players could grasp, so a monotheistic religion became a must. This didn't mean banning other gods, indeed they were essential to maintaining the conflicts I wanted.

I have seen others go with montheism and or dualism because it made either themselves or their players more comfortable. Thus the religion issues could be politely folded into the background by making religion a good versus evil thing.

As to using real world religions, I have played in several home brew campaigns that have gone that way. The most common reason was that using real world religions was a shortcut to getting a fleshed out campaign background. Unfortunately the workability depends primarily on the players, and if they don't care enough to get upset about how the DM implemented the religion they usually weren't familiar enough with the religions to make it worthwhile. Likewise those who were familiar with any of the religions were usually much more so than the DM. The end result is that the DM's either ended up creating so much material and revisions that they would have been better off starting from scratch.

 

[shivamuffin]

This is what I did for the " Islamic " part of my world. There are definitely other gods, and the gods of those pantheons have made the same claims ( They are the true gods and saviors of humanity ) to their chosen peoples. The following is a sample of just three conflicting faiths in a region about the size of the Middle East. Sorry about the length.


Sadian & Yemari Religion
Qadarism

For nearly 1000 years, humanity struggled to survive in a hostile, barbarous world...Until the prophets came. They came to the men of the North, the South, and here in the East. The prophets spoke of the Covenant of the Gods and it's promise to lead humanity to a new golden age. But according to the Sadians and Yemari people these were false prophets...

The true and only prophet wandered out of the sands of Sadia in the year 999, Prophet Mamoudar Al Qadar, delivered to his people the true Covenant from the Enlightened Ones. The Enlightened Ones promise paradise through our prophet...
The Enlightened Ones are the TRUE gods, and Mamoudar Al Qadar is their prophet....


" Now that we are amongst friends, I can tell you that the Pashemites and my people have been at war since the first centuries after the Great War. My people, like the majority of other enlightened people of Sadia, chose to follow the Prophet Mamoudar Al Qadar and his Law of the Covenant between men and the enlightened gods. By following the Law of the Covenant, men would find peace and once again live in paradise. The Pashemites chose to follow the Deceiver Molech, a former student of the prophet, and the prophets brother. Molech allowed his heart to be turned towards evil by the temptress and whore of the gods, Ishat. Together they raised an army to wipe out the Prophet, and have men ruled by Devils, creatures that Molech claims to be the true creators and lords of men. Molech was defeated, and his followers driven to the Isle of Pashem, where they still live today, plotting the destruction of enlightened civilization. "


Qatari Religion
Omadism


In 979 CE sheik Faisal Omad ( A legendary desert warrior from the wastes of Sadia ) led his tribe to the Al Qatar region after receiving visions from agents( commonly called the Nephilem ) of the Enlightened Ones . The sheik was told to record the words of the Covenant, and to teach and prepare the people of present day Al Qatar for the arrival of a prophet from the West. The Prophet did arise from the West 20 years later, and the people of Al Qatar fought under his banner against Molech and Ishat.
After the death of the prophet and his later rise into the heavens, sheik Faisal was also taken by the Enlightened ones.
Qatari believe that sheik Faisal Omad was the first prophet, and hold to his version of the covenant, claiming that it is the original. The Qatari faith is known as Omadism, and is reluctantly tolerated by the rest of the Enlightened peoples. After two centuries of religious conflict ( 1060 to 1260 CE ), it was agreed that both faiths could coexist under the common belief of the Enlightened Ones.

Pashemite Religion
Pashemism


Molech, being tempted by Ishat, chose to follow the lords of evil that dwell in the 9 Hells. Molech's birth name was Sarmal Pashem Al Qadar. He was the youngest brother of the prophet and the first to follow the prophet. It is said that the young Sarmal was jealous of his older brother, and one night was visited by Ishat. She convinced the young Sarmal that the true guardians of humanity resided in the 9 Hells, and that they created men, thus were the true path to paradise.
Young Sarmal's jealously grew into hatred, and with his mistress Ishat at his side, gathered followers and challenged the prophet. With the power of the 9 Hells at his command, Sarmal took the name of Molech Pashem and met the prophet and the armies of the faithful in battle. Molech fought hard and even slew his brother, but the power of the Nephilem that fought with the prophet proved stronger. Molech gathered his remaining followers and retreated to the island now known as Pashem.
Upon Molech's death at 126 years of age, his soul was taken by Ishat to the 9 Hells, where he resides in the court of his patron Ashmodai. Before he left, Molech delivered to his people the Covenant of Ashmodai and fathered 24 children with his mistress Ishat. The 6th born son, Ishamar Pashem became the first " Pashem " of the kingdom, and slew his other brothers to secure his hold on power. His 6 sisters became part of his harem and gave birth to successors. The Pashemite religion recognizes the Lords of the 9 Hells as the Enlightened Ones, with Ashmodai ( Asmodeus in the Promethian tongue ) as the " Lord of Hosts. "


The Enlightened Ones



The Enlightened ones are said to be the true saviors of humanity. They are the culture bearers and the architects of civilization. It is written that the Enlightened Ones guide humanity on a thousand thousand worlds, protecting men from the devils of the 9 Hells and the demons of the Abyss. They promise paradise to all that follow their teachings.

The Enlightened Ones:

Ea ( Patron of humanity, the architect of civilization, Lord of the 1st paradise )
Uzekel ( The messenger, patron of the written word, lord of the 2nd paradise )
Gabrahl ( Gaurdian of the 7 paradises, lord of the 3rd paradise )
Astarte ( Mother of humanity, giver of divine magic, queen of the 4rth paradise )
Malek ( Lord of the Nephilem, lord of the 5th paradise )
Ulsefar ( Patron of music and art, lord of the 6th paradise )
Shemra ( Lady of the shield, guardian of humanity, Queen of fate, Queen of the 7th paradise )

 

[widderslainte]

If you are using any of the campaign settingsthen this is practly impossible due to the fact that all the gods have a backstory involving a couple of the other gods. Also, this is fantasy monotheism is just to modern.

Put down the crack pipe. What does 'modern' have to do with a fantasy world?