D&D General Sources for religious belief and worship

[Doug McCrae]

What are the most important textual sources for religious practices, belief, and worship in default D&D and the worlds closest to default D&D such as Forgotten Realms and Greyhawk? I know about 2e AD&D's Faiths & Avatars for Forgotten Realms. What else is out there?

EDIT: I'm thinking of this kind of stuff frex. The relationship between gods and their worshippers, and the degree of reciprocity between them.

The folk of the Realms worship in many places, and they worship the powers both by venerating them and by placating them. If a person has a high regard for knowledge or is a singer or bard in most of Faerun, she or he worships Oghma. But if that same person is planning an ocean voyage in winter, she or he also worships Auril and Umberlee by placating them with offerings to persuade them to allow the trip to proceed safely.​

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Most folk have a handful of powers that they regularly venerate, only appeasing an unpleasant power when they are entering or engaged in a situation where that deity holds sway. Most people in the Realms also eventually settle on a sort of patron deity who they are most comfortable venerating and who they hold in the greatest reverence. A person's patron deity is the power that eventually escorts that person's spirit from the Fugue Plain, the place where spirits go right after people die, to its afterlife as a petitioner in the Outer Planes in the realm (or at least the plane) of its patron deity.​

 

[Twiggly the Gnome]

The big one would be Monster Mythology.

 

[Undrave]

Personally I'm a big fan of "The Plane Above" from 4e for all that fluff about the gods. If you don't treat it as 100% fact it gives you an interesting mythology to play with...but there's no religious rite much in there.

The stuff about Erathis is my favorite! I also like how Bane and Gruumsh are trapped in an endless war, but there are rumours that Bane is just pretending to be unable to defeat Gruumsh because it makes him look too busy to actually be scheming...

 

[Beleriphon]

Faiths of Eberron is a good source for Eberron. It isn't "default" but it can work well as an exploration of how different ways of looking at religion in D&D can work. It explores several religions, their relations to each other, and the fact that the Sovereign Host can't actually point at anything and say, "See, there's a manifestation of our faith."

So, the book you have ancestor worship two ways for elves: Your ancestors are kind of not dead right over, there go talk to them; and, as well as emulating the exploits of your ancestors, usually by trying to out do them so you become an ancestor worthy of emulation.

A pantheon in the traditional sense of the real world. They don't manifest, they don't talk, they don't interact. If you use a spell to speak with your deity you're actually contacting a powerful outsider who also happens to worship said deity. The deities might also be dead super dragons.

An evil aspect of the previous pantheon, most worshiped by monsters, but placted by anybody that has faith in the "good" side of things. All members but one are children/previously part of the good side. The one anomaly isn't evil per se, more a trickster deity.

A monotheistic religion that worships a cosmic force for good that is represented by a pillar of silver flame. Said flame has trapped a super demon lord that sometimes tells the otherwise good worshipers bad things.

A new religion based on self actualization and achieve apotheosis. Intelligent undead are held as martyrs and saints because they've given up any possibility of achieving apotheosis. Actually a front a for a half-dragon lich, but most faithful are good or neutral and don't know that. May be trying to find a way to return lich to life or some other scheme related to the setting.

A cult of personality based around dream monsters that possess willing hosts. Fun times, they're evil and presented as antagonists.

A belief structure that revolves around meditation and self reflection that will eventually turn the cycle of dreams from towards light and away from the dream monsters that control it currently.

Crazy Cthulu like cults.

Dragon worshiping cults.

 

[Salthorae]

Demihuman Deities is a great one for the non-human deities of the Realms.
Powers and Pantheons picks right up where Faith's and Avatars stops.
The Complete Priests Handbook has some great information on relations between the gods and their worshipers in the Roleplaying chapter.

There is also 3e's Faith's and Pantheons for FR. Kind of rehashes some of the lore of the F&A, P&P, & DD books, but it's also there for the reading.

I don't know of anything like those for Greyhawk specifically.

 

[Salthorae]

slaps head

There is the 1e Deities & Demigods
The 3e Deities & Demigods

There is also the 2e Legends & Lore which has some gods detailed Faiths and Avatar style

Per this thread

Dragon #263, 264 and 265 had some 2e F&A style write-ups for some minor Greyhawk gods.

 

[Sepulchrave II]

Greyhawk deities are described in general terms in the 1980 Folio and the 1983 boxed set - the later is more expansive.

Wikipedia link:

Greyhawk deities - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

 

[Zardnaar]

Greyhawk Deities got the Faith's and Avatars write up style in Dragon magazine.

Do you have the Faith's and Avatars trilogy Doug? That trilogy is still the best for FR.

 

[Bohandas]

2e's On Hallowed Ground