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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Harakhan Hexbringer" data-source="post: 73587" data-attributes="member: 3170">Hello everyone! I figured this would be a good subject for my first post, since I have a little experience on the subject of Theocracy in D&D.Back in 1993 I started a hybrid 1st ed/ 2nd ed AD&D campaign with a different twist. I was tired of the several dozen gods that players could choose from, and I figured I would try a monotheistic setting. After making this decision the next logical step would have to be to make the clerics the ruling government in society, patterned after the Catholic church in the middle ages. They could reasonably back their power by immediate displays of divine might. The most interesting part of running the campaign was fitting in other spell-casters, such as mages and especially druids, who directly rivaled clerics. The results turned out rather predictable but interesting.Druids tended to be few in numbers but exceedingly powerful, claiming thousands of square miles of wild lands and allying themselves with the most vicious of creatures, such as werewolves and an ancient green dragon in one example. Only with their combined efforts were they able to stave back the nearly all-powerful Theocracy of Mystra, or the Church as everyone who had a will to live addressed them.Wizards on the other hand were a bit more tricky to handle. Wizards by nature are extremely intelligent and extremely powerful. They also tend to be bookish, which was their saving grace. After several terrible conflicts (historically), the Church and the mages drew a truce. The mages constructed an academy of magic, funded in part by the Church, and trained the clerics in the mage arts. In turn, the mages were left alone but never totally socially accepted.As for the "nobility", they were chosen by the Church and given a hereditary bloodline, or they were former adventurers that served the Church well, and given kingdoms to keep them at peace with the Church. Commoners and other adventurers paid them the proper respect, partially out of fear for the Church, and partially out of fear for the immense resources the nobility could command.I'm sure some would like to know why I picked Mystra as the one goddess. Firstly, I wanted a goddess because I wanted to enjoy the social ramifications of men being the "weaker sex" traditionally. 95% of Mystra's clerics were women. Male priests were highly revered, more so than the women becaue they were clearly destined for greatness. The second reason was that Mystra was the goddess of magic, mystery, and fate. Magic, so that wizards could exist without immediate persecution. Mystery and fate were good choices because clerics could immediately dismiss unexplainable phenomena and circumstances and "the will of the Goddess" and it was readily believeable. Lastly, Mystra was a Chaotic Good goddess by nature. The internal conflicts of a priesthood that strives to allow individuality and freedom by doctrine yet maintains and controls a stuctured society was too declicious to pass up.Amongst other odd tidbits, Thievery was a trade by nature and not to be shunned. Commoners and Nobles alike used thieves to cause humiliation or to settle scores. If a thief was caught, it was not technically a crime, but it was a humiliation on the part of the thief simply because he was caught. Only a priestess could legally command him to reveal his sponsor. Of course, stealing from the Church was punishable by death.Most of the game was centered around role-playing and political conflict, as one might guess already. The social strata was set in stone before the PC's began playing. They had the freedom to make any class/race they wanted, and of course they had the choice to worship Mystra or nobody, but woe to the PC that had a priestess tend to their wounds and their Cure Light Wounds spell fails.Races were another interesting facet to the monotheistic campaign. Dwarves were absolutely devoted to Mystra, but their innate Lawful tendencies always made the pure doctrines of Mystra uncomfortable and unnatural with them. Their place in maintaining order and structure in the vast Theocrasy assured their place in society however. Elves, being Chaotic Good by nature and the eldest of the races, kept most of the ancient history of the Church, and were highly respected. They also tended to look down on the other races, and the oldest elves held humans with great suspicion for "some reason". Halflings were free spirits and tended to wander frequently, and were acknowlegded kindly by the other races as adherents to the pure path of the Goddess. Half-Elves, sadly, were outsiders socially. They were accepted and loved by priestesses without prejudice, but they were too long lived to easily associate with humans, and too repulsive and short-lived to exist well with elves. Gnomes did not last long as far as the overall campaign goes. They were similar to "tinker gnomes" a la Dragonlance but their inventions actually worked. Consequently, their technology level was a mix between late renissance and the industrial era. Steam powered bullet trains were interesting when they're designed for 3 foot gnomes and 6 foot PCs are riding inside. Unfortunately the technological might of the Gnomes was no match for the Drow. In this campaign, the Drow were Lawful Evil and total atheists. Their magical exploits were unmatched by any other race.I think I've babbled long enough. The Mystra campaign lasted until last year, when one of my friends finally convinced me to try 3rd. ed. D&D. I had about 14 players during one session at its peak. I would have to say it was successful, and if you haven't run one yet, let me give you a small piece of advice: Plan, plan, and plan. There are innumerable nuances to the role-playing aspects to running this sort of game, and the players are going to ask very obtuse questions.</blockquote>

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