The great deception revealed in 'religious texts'

Driddle

First Post
Yunitee is the goddess of love, communication and harmony. She advocates the use of non-violent solutions to the misunderstandings so common among people, and many of her followers are diplomats renowned throughout the land for their level-headed fairness. Yunitee's holy symbol is a smiling face overlooking two clasped hands. Her favored weapon is the great waraxe.

If you missed the paradox in the text above, you're obviously jaded to the great deception of D&D. Don't feel bad, though; you're not alone.

D&D is an RPG only in the narrow sense that you're expected to role-play your way through combat scenario after combat scenario. Of all the elements that comprise this system, you'd think that religion would offer the greatest opportunity to define the campaign as something other than hack-and-slash. But not so. Even in the most innocuous sections -- descriptions of peaceful, good gawds -- the text always ends with a reference to "favored weapon."

It's sort of sad, really.
 

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Driddle said:
It's sort of sad, really.

Why? A great waraxe makes perfect sense to me in conjunction with "level-headed" :).

But regarding your point, I see the main factor for D&D's uniform approach to conflicts in the alignment system. Truly interesting conflicts are most of the time not between good and evil, but between closely related philosophic concepts.
 

Driddle said:
Even in the most innocuous sections -- descriptions of peaceful, good gawds -- the text always ends with a reference to "favored weapon."

It's sort of sad, really.
I think it's more of a nessecity, and a matter of form. Some spells and domains grant use of the favored weapon, and even if the god is peaceful, some PC may still decide it's in the god's interest for him to wield an awesome weapon for his diety.
Also, I think that favored weapons are part of the 'form' for diety descriptions. Just like a stat block would still list hp for a creature thee PCs wouldn't want to (like a good NPC), a diety stat block still lists a weapon.
 

Driddle said:
D&D is an RPG only in the narrow sense that you're expected to role-play your way through combat scenario after combat scenario.

Alright I have to disagree with you here. D&D is a RPG because you play a role, that is the point of a role playing game, whether you are a min/max-er who only cares for the stats on the sheet or the guy who wants to act out his every action in its gory detail.

Now as to the quote about the god (though I'm unfamiliar with that particular choice), yeah, I always smile and get a kick out of such an obvious contradiction written in any book, and it's not confined to D&D alone.
 

Macbeth said:
I think it's more of a nessecity, and a matter of form. ... Just like a stat block would still list hp for a creature thee PCs wouldn't want to (like a good NPC), a diety stat block still lists a weapon.

Always a weapon. Weapon weapon weapon. Something that, by its nature, is supposed to inflict damage on another creature. And the gawd "favors" the weapon besides.

Ya know what? To heck with "form." There's no reason every gawd needs to have a "favored weapon." None. It's just laziness and narrowmindedness on the part of the game designers -- and the customer/players who allow it to continue.
 


Now as to the quote about the god (though I'm unfamiliar with that particular choice), yeah, I always smile and get a kick out of such an obvious contradiction written in any book, and it's not confined to D&D alone.
I beleive the above god description is made up by the poster. His point would hold more weight if he didn't have to fabricate an extreme example to make it. Yunitee? Unite(y). Great waraxe? No such.

Quasqueton
 
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Driddle said:
Ya know what? To heck with "form." There's no reason every gawd needs to have a "favored weapon." None. It's just laziness and narrowmindedness on the part of the game designers -- and the customer/players who allow it to continue.

That's why Rule 0 exists. If it bothers you that there is anything listed under "favored weapon," then take a black Sharpie and strike it out. Problem solved for your game!
 

Religion is non-violent? On what world?

;)

Driddle said:
Yunitee is the goddess of love, communication and harmony. She advocates the use of non-violent solutions to the misunderstandings so common among people, and many of her followers are diplomats renowned throughout the land for their level-headed fairness. Yunitee's holy symbol is a smiling face overlooking two clasped hands. Her favored weapon is the great waraxe.

If you missed the paradox in the text above, you're obviously jaded to the great deception of D&D. Don't feel bad, though; you're not alone.

D&D is an RPG only in the narrow sense that you're expected to role-play your way through combat scenario after combat scenario. Of all the elements that comprise this system, you'd think that religion would offer the greatest opportunity to define the campaign as something other than hack-and-slash. But not so. Even in the most innocuous sections -- descriptions of peaceful, good gawds -- the text always ends with a reference to "favored weapon."

It's sort of sad, really.
 

I disagree with the idea that every god has to have a favored weapon.

The God(dess) of Peace IMC, who is a pacifist, has "None" for favored weapon. This should be perfectly acceptable. Her Clerics are heavily discouraged from using *any* weapons and Adventuring is considered abhorent. ("whadda ya mean, son? You went looking for a fight???")

Of course, that pretty much leaves her sect to NPC status, but so be it.
 

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