Religion and The Pious

[Fool_Hardy]

Some of you may remember when choosing religion happened after character creation. It changed and some will say made no difference in the gsme.

I preferred that old way myself. It gave me time to meet and interact with mortals and immortals alike so my character could make a semi informed decision based on personal experiences in game.

I wish upon entering a temple in Aabahran, not a shrine, that the temple clerics would offer you teachings in their faith. If we then ACCEPT, our religion would change to the religion of the temple. Providing an in character path to religious awakening, that needs not be applied for.

With great power comes greater responsibility, when we choose to turn our backs on the teachings of our youth we become outcasts of course and more.

We would choose forever to fly the flag of our religion next to our titles.

(Tranquility) Fool_Hardy The Fodder of Aabshran

Edit. Notice I am not Outcast, because this could also be a tool to rededicate yorself to an immortal, for say role play, or just getting an Application reviewed again.

Further thought, once religion tag is attached to who, we could make the know alignment spell utilize it, giving it more purpose.

[Fool_Hardy]

Given time to consider my own feelings here, I offer a single question to the rest of you.

When you decide to roll a character, and choose whichever religion, do you then think from the characters perspective that you were created by this God? Or do you choose religion based on this ideology will fit the Role Play I have in mind?

Personally, I used to let my RP and Religion get set by the interactions with others in game. Croyvern was not created to be a Good Drow, Jaharim Daeyi, and his daughter were a large part of that story.

But how does religion control, navigate, or dissuade your personal RP? I know you all read the thread, share your experiences.

[Celerity]

I actually don't remember being able to choose religion after character creation. That must have been very early.

In game religions aren't really fleshed out, mechanically or in lore. Outside of shrines and perhaps a few temple rooms scattered about, they have essentially no in game presence. Mechanically, it has always about quest-related requirements, some cleric abilities, bless and tattoos. I imagine many more people pick their religion based on one of those mechanics than for roleplay reasons.

Lloth religion is probably the best exception as it has had a major plot centered around it and more attention in building and lore, but even that religion is very limited in scope. My own major experience with FL religion was through Kaylia, a guile drow that got ensnared in that plot for political purposes and it ended up being a true believer religious thing in the end. I made the religion, but my tattoo app got rejected. Grumble.

Right now, it simply isn't a big deal or a significant part of a character's life. It is kind of application/backstory filler material. I think that is why you are having a hard time eliciting opinions.

The role of religion in RP is pretty much superseded by cabals in Aabahran. You generally follow the doctrine of your cabal over your religion - because the cabal has the abilities, structure, and a doctrine to follow.

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Concerning 'creation' and the role of in game religions, it has been my opinion that you are born free, but your deity typically gets your soul in the end.

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I agree with your belief that religions should be developed over the course of a character's active in-game life. I really would like to see some kind of formal induction system, especially for communers. As a general rule, you want to get as much of the character generation process into the actual game as you can. I also suggest getting staff out of the role of religion head and making them static lore figures. Real humans don't make very convincing deities in games and more importantly it leads to a very awkward relationship between players and staff in character. There is no upside to the arrangement.

As Anamus, my Compassion deity changed three times over the character's mortal life. Should Anamus worship whoever sits on the Compassion throne? Not that he had an in game choice. We aren't talking about a political figure or a vassalage system, we are talking about a deity and a religion. It possible to mix the two (think many pre-Abrahamic middle eastern religions), but that isn't really the situation here.

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Before any mechanical changes are implemented, I propose a lore project similar to racial histories to flesh out the religions. Religions need doctrines, practices and traditions, typically a holy book if they are organized, the duties and roles of the political, priest and follower classes (likely races too, esp. supernatural ones), holy places, objects and figures, a viewpoint on the source, role and distribution of divinity, a viewpoint on mortality and spirits, rules and definitions of morality, a world origin and end myth, an explanation for the presence of other observable deity-level powers, magic in general, and especially in the case of FL, the relationship with other religions, cabals and a multiracial world in general.  That is all I can think of on the spot anyways.

[f0xx]

Comparing FL's religion to real world religion is a big no no.

In FL, religion (and ethos, and alignment) are just a set of rules and behaviour patterns you choose to follow just so that you can't "change" your views when a tough foe appears.

[Fool_Hardy]

Good points.

Thank you both. I did not think it had been so long Celerity.

How clearly nostalgia paints our memories....

Heck, maybe I have just been here too long...

But what else am I going to do? Not play FL? Yeah right.