Religion Building

[RedF0x11]

I've a character in what is basically a standard campaign setting, and he has the now massive task of starting a new religion in the middle of a society with an already existing religion.

My character is a vanilla level 8 cleric with only a few minor magical items and a fair amount of diplomacy (+21), and the religion I'm trying to start is based around a true neutral Deity of protection and war.

Anybody have any ideas or rules that could help?
Thanks

[ArcturusV]

Well, try to find a flaw in the current religion and its practitioners so you can splinter people off. For example, being like Martin Luther and declaring no more GP=Salvation, get all the poor on your side.

Using your magic you should be able to arrange a few "miracles", well, spells that are useful and timely, to get some battlefield converts as well.

Make friends among the warrior caste in the town. Lordlings, guardsmen, etc. Natural converts who would be interested in your message of War and Defense.

Arrange incidents with local aggressors where your faith can show off, and some recruits you managed to find (Leadership is a good idea if you're trying to build up an organization after all), play a pivotal role in fending them off.

[Yogibear41]

What is the already established religion like?

[Yahzi]

a true neutral Deity of protection and war.
How do you have a TN religion? What does that even mean? What are the goals of the religion? Why should anybody follow your guy instead of some other guy? Is he cheaper - only a 9% tithe instead of 10? :smallbiggrin:

[Andezzar]

I've a character in what is basically a standard campaign setting, and he has the now massive task of starting a new religion in the middle of a society with an already existing religion.

[QUOTE=RedF0x11;14749001]My character is a vanilla level 8 cleric with only a few minor magical items and a fair amount of diplomacy (+21), and the religion I'm trying to start is based around a true neutral Deity of protection and war.Clerics need a deity or an ideal to use their divine powers. So your deity must already exist. Why is it not worshiped in the area where you want to establish a religion?

For swaying the populace you should also brush up on your Perform (oratory) skill.

[Killer Angel]

I've a character in what is basically a standard campaign setting, and he has the now massive task of starting a new religion in the middle of a society with an already existing religion.

My character is a vanilla level 8 cleric with only a few minor magical items and a fair amount of diplomacy (+21), and the religion I'm trying to start is based around a true neutral Deity of protection and war.

Anybody have any ideas or rules that could help?
Thanks

For the protection part, nothing helps as free use of magic and spells to favor peoples.
War, means that you can protect them even with strenght.

After a while, and when the notice spreads, followers and donations should start to arrive.

[Matticussama]

Deities of War and Protection are most likely to receive worship from the martially inclined; those people are also more likely to need magical healing to help recover from battlefield injuries. Work among the town guard and the military, perhaps volunteering for free to help tend to their wounded. In the process of helping them, make sure to not come off as too overly preachy; demonstrate the tenets of your character's beliefs through actions and not just words alone.

If the style of game play allows it, consider joining the army or town watch; if not, at least seek adventure hooks that display your character as a man of action. Be the personal embodiment of your deity's principals. The higher his notoriety grows - both for his ability to protect the people, as well as his willingness to help others who protect the people - you will attract people who want to learn more about your deity's tenants. This is where the strong diplomacy can be of significant value, convincing them of the principals that they most likely already hold in high esteem. In this way you attract the people who most hold to the ideals of your character's deity, without coming off as an over-zealous missionary.

[Mnemnosyne]

If you're looking for a 'rule' that helps, Diplomacy or Perform is what you're after. With a high enough check you can convert people to fanatical followers, so you're pretty much done with a few good Diplomacy or Perform rolls.

RP wise, if your deity is one of protection and war...then the political situation in the country becomes a big deal. Is there a war currently on? Is one looming on the horizon? Are people afraid of things and feel the need to be protected? If none of these are true, then your deity may not gain much traction because the country isn't in a place that needs that deity.

Your primary converts should be people that do war. Don't look to the towns, look to the barracks, the mercenary companies, the soldiers. Preach to them, convert them to your faith slowly. You may need to hang out with them for a while. Give them whatever help you can as a level 8 cleric. Give them reasons to want to follow your god. If any of them seem particularly pious, induct them as new clerics themselves.

If the country is at war, then you've got a lot more chance to do this, because there's a lot of battle going on. Towns will want protection, soldiers will want blessings before they go into battle, and so forth. If NPC's in this setting are mostly level 1-3 NPC classes, then your level 8 cleric is already quite an incredible figure to them. If it's a setting where there's a lot more higher level characters, then you might find yourself outdone by the other religions; in this case, you kind of need to level up, while maybe focusing your efforts on a particular group or area.

D&D religion isn't about blind faith, it's about what can you do for me. If you, your church, and your god can actually provide these people services that they value, they will worship your god. If you can't help them, then they won't follow you. If you can find a small outlying area to help, you can basically become their patron saint. Solve all their problems, while loudly decreeing you're doing so in the name of your god, and some of them should eventually come to respect you and want to know more about your deity, so you can convert them, ordain a few new priests, then move on to a new area and do the same thing. The more you do this, the greater your reputation (and level) grows. Once you're in the high teens, you should be tackling threats to the nation or world as a whole, in which case you will become legendary and your following will only grow.

As others have suggested, definitely take the Leadership feat if allowed. The lowbie followers can spread word of your deeds and hand out pamphlets, as well as help build your churches and recruit people to staff them.

[Xzar]

How tolerant is the society, if you are free to preach openly you should get a few converts just through personal charisma and any personal issues they have with the dominant faith.

If it is a feudal society try to locate an impious lord who you may sway, his subordinates may very well follow his conversion (or rebel I guess).

You could always establish is as a mystery religion amongst warriors, a bit like the Mithraic cult from the Bernard Cornwall Arthurian novels. (Which amusingly had a Christian bishop as a member).

Your heroic deeds as an adventurer in service to the God might sway certain people. Kill an impressive monster and hire bards to spread news of the deed and how you were only able to slay it through the intervention of the Divine Lord Neutral, the God of morally non-specific warfare. Such a ballad could become a vital religious text, also handy for creating a personal cult of personality for yourself.

If you are well off you could establish an orphanage, this could overtly serve the Gods ethos for protection, whilst being used to covertly or semi-covertly create a new generation of worshippers. The kids most suited for warfare could be selected for the priesthood, or as church enforcers, or sent to join the army.