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Worlds of Design: RPG Gods - Benign or Malign?
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<blockquote data-quote="Voadam" data-source="post: 8731966" data-attributes="member: 2209"><p>5e contains contradictory multitudes and offers options. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /></p><p></p><p>In the 5e PH it also talks about the non-theistic alternative religion philosophies of Eberron and gives them suggested clerical domains explicitly. So if you look for allusions to 5e godless clerics in the core rules I think you can find them.</p><p></p><p>5e PH page 293:</p><p></p><p>"Eberron's other religions are very different from the traditional D&D pantheons. The monotheistic Church of the Silver Flame is devoted to fighting against evil in the world, but plagued by corruption in its own ranks. The philosophy of the Blood of Vol teaches that divinity lies within all mortal beings and reveres the undead who have secured that immortality. Various mad cults are devoted to the demons and horrors imprisoned in Eberron's Underdark (called Khyber, the Dragon Below). The followers of the Path of Light believe that the world is heading toward a glorious future where the shadows that cloud this world will be transformed into light. And two related nations of elves revere their ancestral spirits: the Undying Court, preserved as spirits or even undead forms, and the glorified Spirits of the Past, the great heroes of ancient wars."</p><p></p><p>5e PH page 296:</p><p></p><p>DEITIES OF EBERRON</p><p></p><p>* * * </p><p></p><p>Other Faiths of Eberron Alignment Suggested Domains Symbol</p><p>The Silver Flame, deity of protection and good LG Life, Light, War Flame drawn on silver or molded from silver</p><p>The Blood of Vol, philosophy of immortality and undeath LN Death, Life Stylized dragon skull on red teardrop gem</p><p>Cults of the Dragon Below, deities of madness NE Trickery Varies</p><p>The Path of Light, philosophy of light and self-improvement LN Life, Light Brilliant crystal</p><p>The Undying Court, elven ancestors NG Knowledge, Life Varies</p><p>The Spirits of the Past, elven ancestors CG War Varies</p><p></p><p>It is kind of hard to say that the 5e game demands the default PH cleric class flavor text of theistic clerics and does not even allude to non-theistic clerics when they have campaign settings using religions with non-theistic clerics in the PH and there is a whole section of the 5e DMG talking about alternatives to that default theistic cleric setup.</p><p></p><p>5e DMG page 13:</p><p></p><p>FORCES AND PHILOSOPHIES</p><p><strong>Not all divine powers need to be derived from deities.</strong> In some campaigns, believers hold enough conviction in their ideas about the universe that they gain magical power from that conviction. In other campaigns, impersonal forces of nature or magic replace the gods by granting power to mortals attuned to them. Just as druids and rangers can gain their spell ability from the force of nature rather than from a specific nature deity, some clerics devote themselves to ideals rather than to a god. Paladins might serve a philosophy of justice and chivalry rather than a specific deity.</p><p>Forces and philosophies aren't worshiped; they aren't beings that can hear and respond to prayers or accept sacrifices. Devotion to a philosophy or a force isn't necessarily exclusive of service to a deity. A person can be devoted to the philosophy of good and offer worship to various good deities, or revere the force of nature and also pay homage to the gods of nature, who might be seen as personal manifestations of an impersonal force. In a world that includes deities with demonstrable power (through their clerics), it's unusual for a philosophy to deny the existence of deities, although a common philosophical belief states that the deities are more like mortals than they would have mortals believe. According to such philosophies, the gods aren't truly immortal (just very long-lived), and mortals can attain divinity. In fact, ascending to godhood is the ultimate goal of some philosophies.</p><p>The power of a philosophy stems from the belief that mortals invest in it. A philosophy that only one person believes in isn't strong enough to bestow magical power on that person.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Voadam, post: 8731966, member: 2209"] 5e contains contradictory multitudes and offers options. :) In the 5e PH it also talks about the non-theistic alternative religion philosophies of Eberron and gives them suggested clerical domains explicitly. So if you look for allusions to 5e godless clerics in the core rules I think you can find them. 5e PH page 293: "Eberron's other religions are very different from the traditional D&D pantheons. The monotheistic Church of the Silver Flame is devoted to fighting against evil in the world, but plagued by corruption in its own ranks. The philosophy of the Blood of Vol teaches that divinity lies within all mortal beings and reveres the undead who have secured that immortality. Various mad cults are devoted to the demons and horrors imprisoned in Eberron's Underdark (called Khyber, the Dragon Below). The followers of the Path of Light believe that the world is heading toward a glorious future where the shadows that cloud this world will be transformed into light. And two related nations of elves revere their ancestral spirits: the Undying Court, preserved as spirits or even undead forms, and the glorified Spirits of the Past, the great heroes of ancient wars." 5e PH page 296: DEITIES OF EBERRON * * * Other Faiths of Eberron Alignment Suggested Domains Symbol The Silver Flame, deity of protection and good LG Life, Light, War Flame drawn on silver or molded from silver The Blood of Vol, philosophy of immortality and undeath LN Death, Life Stylized dragon skull on red teardrop gem Cults of the Dragon Below, deities of madness NE Trickery Varies The Path of Light, philosophy of light and self-improvement LN Life, Light Brilliant crystal The Undying Court, elven ancestors NG Knowledge, Life Varies The Spirits of the Past, elven ancestors CG War Varies It is kind of hard to say that the 5e game demands the default PH cleric class flavor text of theistic clerics and does not even allude to non-theistic clerics when they have campaign settings using religions with non-theistic clerics in the PH and there is a whole section of the 5e DMG talking about alternatives to that default theistic cleric setup. 5e DMG page 13: FORCES AND PHILOSOPHIES [B]Not all divine powers need to be derived from deities.[/B] In some campaigns, believers hold enough conviction in their ideas about the universe that they gain magical power from that conviction. In other campaigns, impersonal forces of nature or magic replace the gods by granting power to mortals attuned to them. Just as druids and rangers can gain their spell ability from the force of nature rather than from a specific nature deity, some clerics devote themselves to ideals rather than to a god. Paladins might serve a philosophy of justice and chivalry rather than a specific deity. Forces and philosophies aren't worshiped; they aren't beings that can hear and respond to prayers or accept sacrifices. Devotion to a philosophy or a force isn't necessarily exclusive of service to a deity. A person can be devoted to the philosophy of good and offer worship to various good deities, or revere the force of nature and also pay homage to the gods of nature, who might be seen as personal manifestations of an impersonal force. In a world that includes deities with demonstrable power (through their clerics), it's unusual for a philosophy to deny the existence of deities, although a common philosophical belief states that the deities are more like mortals than they would have mortals believe. According to such philosophies, the gods aren't truly immortal (just very long-lived), and mortals can attain divinity. In fact, ascending to godhood is the ultimate goal of some philosophies. The power of a philosophy stems from the belief that mortals invest in it. A philosophy that only one person believes in isn't strong enough to bestow magical power on that person. [/QUOTE]
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