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Message: <blockquote data-quote="CruelSummerLord" data-source="post: 3883708" data-attributes="member: 48692">Here's an idea-bring in several monotheistic religions, all competing with one another.  This isn't too far off from real life-Christians worship the Christian God, Muslims worship Allah, some North American First Nations worship the Creator or the Great Spirit, and all have been in various forms of conflict and cooperation in real life.  Religions have internal schisms, and they have external conflicts, but they're all monotheistic.  I've juggled a few ideas like this myself, and what I came up with is that there is an actual, genuine god, but that there are many different religions that worship him/her/it in their own way.  IMC, it is the genuine religious belief and feeling that forms a connection between a mortal priest and a given deity, demon lord, saint, etc., and it's through that belief that the mortal priest is able to channel divine energy and use the abilities granted by their divine patron.  Violation of their beliefs, whether intentional or otherwise, disrupts the connection and leads to problems in the receiving and casting of spells.  This explains why gods can have multiple sects and cults worshipping them-in the case of Pholtus, a priest might choose to follow the One True Path, but if he acts more like a priest of the Blinding Light, he would be punished, even though he is a worshipper of Pholtus.  He would have to convert to the different sect, or found one of his own, otherwise his connection to Pholtus would suffer and Pholtus would punish him for straying.  Similarly, it's that feeling, worship and connection that allows different peoples to connect to this same, monotheistic god in their own ways, and receive spells from him/her/it, although their beliefs differ widely.  It'd be as if (PURELY FOR THE SAKE OF EXAMPLE) that a Christian priest behaves according to the Christian way of acting, and so received spells from God.  Then, for whatever reason, he suddenly starts acting and espousing beliefs like a Jewish rabbi, without actually converting to the faith.  The connection is disrupted; even though he's following a legitimate path to receiving divine spells, it is not HIS path, and he needs to make it officially so before he can properly re-establish his divine connection and begin casting spells again.  This god might be a special case, who claims the entire continent as his own but allows the mortals living there to form their own interpretations, connecting with them and granting spells each according to their own faiths.  As a result, a number of rival monotheistic faiths all spring up, each worshipping the same god but all espousing different beliefs and ideas.</blockquote>

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