It's kind of weird... but I'm vibing on the three vectors of religious faith being:
Cleric: The Pantheon. Through Community Organizers they make the church an integral part of the community. They're the shelter, the confidants, the ones getting charity organized for the poor, but also arranging festivals and feast days, parties, and helping to plan town expansions by knowing the people of the community. Fostering the best in people through every day acts of kindness and saving the long-winded sermons for one or two days out of the week more to provide context for why one should be good... the rest of the week showing -how-.
Druid: Animism. By directly contacting the spirits of the land and animals and people they work to foster the sharing and comingling of spirits to create new spirits in the world. Communities centered around their animist leaders are more or less focused on balancing the needs of the community with the resources around them and changing either to make it work. Sometimes that means a community splits in two with one group moving to a different place where the resources aren't being strained, sometimes it means the entire community moves.
Bards: Folk Heroes, Saints, Martyrs. Telling the stories and allegories of the ages. Tall tales for sure, but also stories of great warriors and people who died for their beliefs or to achieve some greater purpose. They don't preach so much as act as Aesop with his parables or telling stories of heroes to inspire people to be better than they are, to strive to live up to the example of others.
All of it serves the same purpose through different means and different vectors. And each of them mean different things to a given community even if they'd all be welcomed into it.
It'd be the kindest view of religion I've ever seen in a TTRPG.
Of course... there's always those who -don't- act in these ways, too. Just because there's good Community Organizing priests doesn't mean there aren't Warpriests and Aspirants in the world seeking violence or apotheosis for themselves. Spirit Speaker druids don't -preclude- the Axis Slayer or Decomposer. And Folk-Song singing bards being a thing doesn't stop Mountebanks and Vagabonds from ruining everything for everyone.
... yeah... yeah.... I like this.
Survivalist druid could also be a thing. Could, alternatively, make it into a feat or feat-tree for anyone to pick up regardless of concept.
Cleric: The Pantheon. Through Community Organizers they make the church an integral part of the community. They're the shelter, the confidants, the ones getting charity organized for the poor, but also arranging festivals and feast days, parties, and helping to plan town expansions by knowing the people of the community. Fostering the best in people through every day acts of kindness and saving the long-winded sermons for one or two days out of the week more to provide context for why one should be good... the rest of the week showing -how-.
Druid: Animism. By directly contacting the spirits of the land and animals and people they work to foster the sharing and comingling of spirits to create new spirits in the world. Communities centered around their animist leaders are more or less focused on balancing the needs of the community with the resources around them and changing either to make it work. Sometimes that means a community splits in two with one group moving to a different place where the resources aren't being strained, sometimes it means the entire community moves.
Bards: Folk Heroes, Saints, Martyrs. Telling the stories and allegories of the ages. Tall tales for sure, but also stories of great warriors and people who died for their beliefs or to achieve some greater purpose. They don't preach so much as act as Aesop with his parables or telling stories of heroes to inspire people to be better than they are, to strive to live up to the example of others.
All of it serves the same purpose through different means and different vectors. And each of them mean different things to a given community even if they'd all be welcomed into it.
It'd be the kindest view of religion I've ever seen in a TTRPG.
Of course... there's always those who -don't- act in these ways, too. Just because there's good Community Organizing priests doesn't mean there aren't Warpriests and Aspirants in the world seeking violence or apotheosis for themselves. Spirit Speaker druids don't -preclude- the Axis Slayer or Decomposer. And Folk-Song singing bards being a thing doesn't stop Mountebanks and Vagabonds from ruining everything for everyone.
... yeah... yeah.... I like this.
Survivalist druid could also be a thing. Could, alternatively, make it into a feat or feat-tree for anyone to pick up regardless of concept.
