Religion for all the other characters

[Larry Fitz]

You've all seen me hawking our new book Pirates!, but at the same time that book came out we also released Agents of Faith. For those familiar with the Twin Crowns setting, worshippers of the deities in our setting can undergo a ritual that initiates them to their god and allows them access to certain special and unique divine feats. Well this book brings that idea to your game world too, it bases the feats on the domains of the various gods, and also includes certain "High Priest Feats" which enable the leaders of churches to do special things that get more powerful depending on the number of the faithful present.

That long introduction and product plug leads me to the following question, do your players that are not clerics and paladins have religion as a big component of how they play their characters? What provisions do you make for their interaction with their churches and their deities?

 

[Skarp Hedin]

Unfortunately not. Unless playing a specifically religious character, my players have no use for religion. Even the cleric players don't like it, really.

 

[I'm A Banana]

Big on it. I'd like everyone to have a god or a philosophy, and my plots often include religions and faith-based conflicts. I've offered special feats for worshipers of specific gods, specific religion, etc.

It somehow makes being a worshiper of Pelor something special when even your fighter can gain a feat that allows him to tap the strength of the sun (such as Inner Glow, which allows your character to shed light, or feats that grant Fire Resistance, for instance).

 

[Trickstergod]

My game's run in the Scarred Lands, where faith is the very center of the setting. So, yeah, it plays a deep, integral part to my games. Being the fan of clerics and paladins that I am, it's generally one of the most important things either to my characters or games, regardless of the setting. Considering how it offers one of the best sources for motivation, and plots both humble and epic, it's something I can scarcely do without in a game.

Good books on faith and the like always catch my interest, though making them universally useful doesn't always seem so possible. Most seem to reflect some sort of setting or pantheon, which, while appropriate, means a good chunk of them likely won't be of much use to me. It still stands, though, that likely the most important thing in any game I run is the religion, and usually the same with my characters, divine caster or not.

 

[Wombat]

My current campaign is based heavily around religious aspects. All of the characters have gods they worship (at least in a "nominal" manner).

Then again, most of my players have developed this aspect of their characters at least to some extent in most of my campaigns. As one guy said, "You got clerics pumping out the power all the time -- how can you not believe in a god at that point?"

 

[DonAdam]

It differs from character to character.

For some, religion fits around the character concept, and so it is not central, eg our gnome trapsmith worshipper of Gond. This is kind of like "shopping" for a church that fits what the character already wants.

For others, it is entirely formative. Our monk/wizard of Azuth is not a priest, but that approach to magic shapes his character a great deal. It's different from the form-fitting idea because the character is benevolent rather than just being after the knowledge, so it radically affects the means by which he seeks to do good.

And oddly enough, it is the druid of Mielikki in the group that walks the middle path. Unlike the monk, his ends already ally with those of his god, so there is an element of the "shopping" noted above. On the other hand, it affects the way he goes about things, unlike the gnome. His faith is not his central concern, but nor is it off of his radar. I think that makes sense for a druid.

I like having the whole spectrum.

 

[Voadam]

Varies from character to character.

My WFRP dwarf was just into smashing things with his mace and getting the crit.

My current viking loremaster character takes the Norse mythology to heart, everyone is fated to die even the gods, but what matters is how you face life and that you go down fighting. He also has taken up using oaths and exclamations based off of Norse mythology "Odin's missing eye!" and "Tyr's severed hand!" are great flavor to use in game. He is a world and setting hopping magical character who has no background of churches for his people, but a strong knowledge of the mythology and folklore. He also is heavily involved in the politics of multiple churces that he interacts with and has learned to deal with clerics and paladins.

 

[bekkilyn_rpg]

Religion is almost always a very big influence when I'm designing a character of any sort. I feel that a character's belief, whether it be in the worship of a god or in following a certain philosophy (as in the Planescape setting) adds so much more meaning to a character's personality and motives.

The emphasis on religion and/or philosophy, even for characters who aren't clerics, is very likely one big reason why I enjoy Planescape, Forgotten Realms, and Scarred Lands as much as I now do. There are many other reasons of course, but as I would oftentimes read books on religion and philosophy for fun, there's no doubt in my mind that it's leaked out in gaming as well.

When it comes to books on religion and pantheons and such, I get far more use out of books which detail the likes, dislikes, and motives of the gods and their followers, the way their religious organizations are set up, the types of societies which might contain these religions, various myths and legends associated with the deities and the like. I don't get much use at all for god stats, so a book made up of nothing but god stats isn't going to thrill me and isn't likely to encourage me to buy it unless I'm just trying to be completist about a setting I'm already enjoying.

A good book on religions with lots and lots of flavor text (Use 2ed Forgotten Realms Faiths and Avatars as a great example. Too bad WOTC decided otherwise in their 3ed god books) would be much more useful in generating ideas for any setting even if the actual pantheons themselves are setting specific.

 

[I'm A Banana]

*cough*cough*Deity-A-Week*cough*

Sorry, think I got something stuck in my throat....

 

[Sanackranib]

My game's run in the Scarred Lands, where faith is the very center of the setting. So, yeah, it plays a deep, integral part to my games.

My game is also set in the Scarred Lands. all of the characters are devoted to a deity except the fighter (my wife - who is unfamiliar with the SL dietys) and the rogue - who just discovered Drendari so that may change when the party gets back to Llangwyr.