D&D General Religion in D&D: Your Take

[Voadam]

I know the Forgotten Realms at least follows the "worship a single deity exclusively" model (or at least, it did). I always had the impression this was so in other campaign settings, but I couldn't tell you why.

A lot of character sheets I have seen had a spot for patron god.

Conan had Crom.

Elric had Arioch (at times).

 

[Reynard]

Conan had Crom.

I mean, not really.

 

[Maxperson]

In the Forgotten Realms, the gods were cast down to Toril and made to take mortal avatars roughly a century ago (in the change from 1e to 2e). It was a whole thing. For long-lived species, this is living memory. High-level people can go to the outer planes (whatever they are this week) and in theory see the gods, and high-level clerics can contact their gods directly. In FR, it might be rational to take an Athar-style approach to gods ("They are just very powerful beings, but they are not fundamentally different from us and not deserving of worship."), but not outright denial of their existence.

That's only true if the DM wants it to be. The DM can just as easily say that the Time of Troubles never happened and no one living has ever seen a god. Those stories about Mulhorandi gods that walk, the Orcgate Wars, etc. are just that, stories. It takes seconds to turn the FR into an Eberron style setting in that regard.

 

[Tonguez]

I mean, not really.

REH mentions Crom a few times though, its just that Crom is gloomy and savage and doesnt care if men live or die.

"His gods were simple and understandable; Crom was their chief, and he lived on a great mountain, whence he sent forth dooms and death. It was useless to call on Crom, because he was a gloomy, savage god, and he hated weaklings. But he gave a man courage at birth, and the will and might to kill his enemies, which, in the Cimmerian's mind, was all any god should be expected to do"​

 

[MNblockhead]

That sounds like Bret Devereaux at A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry.

That's it! I've remembered to bookmark it this time.

 

[Zeromaru X]

As my Grandfather always said, "2 things are to be avoided in polite conversation. Religion, and Politics." and I think to exclude Gods and Religion from D&D cuts out something that to me, is very interesting.

My mom adds a third: Sports.

Anyways, my take in religion is a mix of Greek mythology (or how I interpret it), the Dawn War take on religions, Eberron's take on religions, and the Athar's philosophy.

In my campaigns, the gods are very real beings (because I like gods as fantasy characters and feel that a fantasy world without gods lacks in the fantasy department), but they are most of the time distant from the mortal world. Sure, they can appear in the mortal world some times and do naughty word there before returning to the Astral Sea, but most of the time they are focused on cosmic stuff, leaving mortals on their own. The fact that my gods are powerful beings on their own right that don't need worship juice to exist and their powers aren't tied to the number and intensity of the faith of their worshipers (an FR/Planescape bs I don't like because I feel is stupid) means the gods are less interested to be involved in the affairs of the mortal world and no need to force mortals to worship them or else you'll end stuffed on Atheist Hell/Wall (another really stupid idea). When they do it is because they want to do it, not because they are forced.

This allows for a setting were people knows there are actual gods out there but the gods doesn't enforce their wills on them, and when mortals commune with the gods they can't fully understand them (because mortal minds cannot fully comprehend cosmic stuff). Which means an Eberron-like status were mortals must find their own answers about the nature of the divine, and so there are a lot of churches, cults, sects, beliefs, heresies, etc., allowing for the focus of the campaign to be on the actions of the faithful rather than the doings of the gods. My take is also pantheistic/henotheistic, so people worship many gods at the same time, like praying to Bahamut for protection, Avandra for good luck, and Bane for victory in the next war. Some people will have a preferred (read patron) god, but is not common and not enforced.

This also allows players (and even NPCs) to be atheistic in the Athar's way. After all, there is no way to confirm if the gods are actually the creators of the cosmos and worthy of worship, or just extremely powerful beings that happen to be worshiped by easily impresionable people.

And this doesn't contradict the fact that sometimes the gods can (and will) intervene actively in the world and start events and the like. But when they do it, they remain focused in the stuff that interest them and nothing else. Like in the Iliad, when the gods were very interested in the Trojan War, taking sides, manipulating events, and even directly intervening in the fighting, but the rest of Greece was left to their own devices. And once the Trojan War was over, the gods returned to Mount Olympus and left the mortal world to fend for itself (save for poor Odysseus, but he deserved it and Poseidon just focused on him).

 

[Zeromaru X]

REH mentions Crom a few times though, its just that Crom is gloomy and savage and doesnt care if men live or die.
"His gods were simple and understandable; Crom was their chief, and he lived on a great mountain, whence he sent forth dooms and death. It was useless to call on Crom, because he was a gloomy, savage god, and he hated weaklings. But he gave a man courage at birth, and the will and might to kill his enemies, which, in the Cimmerian's mind, was all any god should be expected to do"

Conan: What gods do you pray to?
Subotai: I pray to the Four Winds. And you?
Conan: To Crom... but I seldom pray to him, he doesn't listen.
Subotai: What good is he then? Ah, it's just as I've always said.
Conan: He is strong! If I die, I have to go before him and he will ask me, "What is the Riddle of Steel?" If I don't know it, he will cast me out of Valhalla and laugh at me. That's Crom, strong on his mountain!
Subotai: Ah, my god is greater.
Conan: Crom laughs at your Four Winds. He laughs from his mountain.
Subotai: My god is stronger. He is the everlasting sky! Your god lives underneath him.

 

[cbwjm]

More on Conan, when talking with Belit, the Pirate Queen:

“What of your own gods? I have never heard you call on them.”
“Their chief is Crom. He dwells on a great mountain. What use to call on him? Little he cares if men live or die. Better to be silent than to call his attention to you; he will send you dooms, not fortune! He is grim and loveless, but at birth he breathes power to strive and slay into a man’s soul. What else shall men ask of the gods?”
“But what of the worlds beyond the river of death?” she persisted.
“There is no hope here or hereafter in the cult of my people,” answered Conan. “In this world men struggle and suffer vainly, finding pleasure only in the bright madness of battle; dying, their souls enter a gray misty realm of clouds and icy winds, to wander cheerlessly throughout eternity.”
Belit shuddered. “Life, bad as it is, is better than such a destiny. What do you believe, Conan?”
He shrugged his shoulders. “I have known many gods. He who denies them is as blind as he who trusts them too deeply. I seek not beyond death. It may be the blackness averred by the Nemedian skeptics, or Crom’s realm of ice and cloud, or the snowy plains and vaulted halls of the Nordheimer’s Valhalla. I know not, nor do I care. Let me live deep while I live; let me know the rich juices of red meat and stinging wine on my palate, the hot embrace of white arms, the mad exultation of battle when the blue blades flame and crimson, and I am content. Let teachers and priests and philosophers brood over questions of reality and illusion. I know this: if life is illusion, then I am no less an illusion, and being thus, the illusion is real to me. I live, I burn with life, I love, I slay, and am content.”

It's interesting, and Howard confirmed this, there are more in Cimmerian pantheon than just Crom. Equally interesting, Conan will swear by the name of any god, I didn't note it here but in the paragraph before this one he mentions how he learned of the Bel, god of thieves from his time as a thief.

Imagine having belief in gods and when asked if you pray to your gods your response "Are you crazy? I don't want to call doom down upon me."

 

[Moonsoon]

Hello there! Great topic

In my Moonsoon D&D campaigns, religion plays a crucial role in shaping the world and the characters' journeys.
The moons, visible almost daily above everyone's heads, are the seats of the Avatars, embodying the divine forces that influence the world. This constant celestial presence makes the divine tangible and ever-present in the lives of the inhabitants, intertwining belief and everyday life.

A unique aspect in my campaigns is the Moon Deck, allowing every class, not just clerics and paladins, to experience divine magic and powers—no strings attached! This inclusion changes the perspective of the divine for all players, making the presence and influence of the gods a universal experience that affects everyone, not just the divine spellcasters.

And, in return, many players had their character embrace one faith or another, because divinity was not abstract for the character.

Also, I love incorporating diverse pantheons, drawing from various mythologies to create a rich tapestry of faiths. There's belief in the one, the faceless first and then a multitude of faiths based on one of the twelve avatars or even religions based on the 36 Asuras, the avatar offsprings. (Inspired by my great grandma who worshiped a minor saint!).

Moonsoon by Arcane minis is on Kickstarter right now with some free downloads to give you a taste of the adventures waiting for you!

 

[Reynard]

I just meant "worship" is a strong term forvthat relationship between Conan and Crom.