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8BitNinja
2015-11-17, 09:48 AM
Hello Roleplayers and Game Masters

In my original RPG, Sidequest, there are many religions and each one is unique

However, the Ancient and Half-Elf races have religions based off of Judaism and Christianity respectively

The problem is, they pretty much are

I want to make it more of a sort of a Tolkien or C.S. Lewis "Christian Fantasy", but I'm not sure how to change it

Can you guys help me?

Geddy2112
2015-11-17, 10:28 AM
It will be difficult to answer your post specifically, because it is against forum rules to discuss specific real world religions.

However, do what Tolkien and Lewis did-keep some of the broad themes/symbolism and then just plug and play it into something else. Or mix and match elements from various real and fantasy religions.

For example, I could take the pathfinder goddess Desna, who is normally symbolized by a butterfly, and make her symbol a luna moth.

Or, say some religion had a story about person X doing epic holy thing y. Now, the person is an animal and the thing Y happened in a completely different setting(bottom of the ocean vs top of a mountain).

LibraryOgre
2015-11-17, 11:05 AM
The Mod Wonder: As mentioned, this is a difficult question to answer without stepping on board rules. Tread carefully and we should be cool.

</mod hat off>

The first thing I would do is remove the actual symbols of the religions you're planning on emulating. Don't use crosses, stars, or crescents for them, because those carry strong connotations in the real world. Using them (or other real-world religious icons) in your fantasy religion is going to color how your players see them.

Beyond that, think about what you want to accomplish with these religions. Do you just want to use the imagery? Do you want bishops in big hats and priests with collars, or are you going for a close alignment with mythology and ethics? If you've got a pseudo-Catholic and pseudo-Jewish religion, are going with a "prophesied savior" that is here according to one religion, and not according to the other?

Real religions develop naturally. Fake religions are constructed, and so have to make a kind of sense when looked at from the outside.

JoeJ
2015-11-17, 12:18 PM
When I create a fantasy religion I like to start with the creation story. Once I know who was present at the very beginning and what their role(s) were, it's a lot easier to figure out the various responsibilities and portfolios in the present.

This is not to say that the beings most involved with the creation are necessarily the most prominent now! In Tolkien you have Iluvatar creating the world and then handing over to the Valar the responsibility of governing it. And in Greek myth, the second generation of divine beings overthrew the first, and then were overthrown themselves by the third generation (Zeus and his siblings). In any case, though, knowing what happened at the beginning helps me figure out the present status of the divine realm, and often inspires me to come up with prophecies about the future.

8BitNinja
2015-11-17, 01:37 PM
Sorry for getting so close to the board rules, the original title was actually going to be "Crystal Dragon Jesus"

So this is what I have so far

Since each religion does not use the gods of other religions (Elves and Dwarves both have a god of fire, but they are nothing alike) I have this so far

In the beginning, the Light One framed the earth with an unknown power, no one knows what it is, but Paladins have found small reserves across the world and have stored them in the form of a missile weapon (Yes, it's a holy hand grenade) much later in time, after using his power to create all, he decided to work on a new project by creating the mortal races. All of which had a pure hear, however, the Unnamed One decided to rebel, fearing the weakening of his power. After a brutal war in the upper planes, the Unnamed One and his surviving followers were banished from the Upper Plane. Later, he brought evil into the world by both showing the races evil and creating monsters, even using his evil power to turn Elves into Orcs. However, all hope was not lost, for there was one who would protect the mortals. This One was the Champion, a benevolent force of Good who gave the races hope with a prophecy that one day he would wipe out evil, for now, good and evil would battle for dominance of the world

LibraryOgre
2015-11-17, 02:29 PM
Doesn't look too unreasonable; pretty typical Manichean type stuff. I would say that followers of this religion need an answer to what those other gods are. Are they demons? Are they the Unnamed Followers? Separate spirits attracted to the creation of the One?

Red Fel
2015-11-17, 03:15 PM
In the beginning, the Light One framed the earth with an unknown power, no one knows what it is, but Paladins have found small reserves across the world and have stored them in the form of a missile weapon (Yes, it's a holy hand grenade) much later in time, after using his power to create all, he decided to work on a new project by creating the mortal races. All of which had a pure hear, however, the Unnamed One decided to rebel, fearing the weakening of his power. After a brutal war in the upper planes, the Unnamed One and his surviving followers were banished from the Upper Plane. Later, he brought evil into the world by both showing the races evil and creating monsters, even using his evil power to turn Elves into Orcs. However, all hope was not lost, for there was one who would protect the mortals. This One was the Champion, a benevolent force of Good who gave the races hope with a prophecy that one day he would wipe out evil, for now, good and evil would battle for dominance of the world

Hmm. I like it so far. You have a creation story, an antagonist (flesh him out; why did the Unnamed One decide to rebel, how did he contaminate the races with evil, etc.), and a champion figure.

Here's the problem. You've also said that each of the races have their own pantheons. Now, if religions are simply organized (or disorganized) bodies of faith, each community or culture believing as it will, that's fine; each one will likely paint the Champion with their own brush, embodying their highest cultural ideals.

But if this is a setting where deities play an active role in the world, like D&D where Clerics can commune directly with them or their representatives, you have a problem. Namely that The Champion is a single deity with specific definable aspects, over whom no single culture can claim exclusive purview. Similarly, concepts like "Fire" are universal; unless you're willing to specify aspects of fire (such as "Dwarven God of the Forge" or "Elven God of Sunlight") there will generally only be one "God of Fire," or several gods feuding for dominance.

I'm going to assume you're going with the former, where religions constitute belief structures, and the involvement of gods is negligible at best. Here are some questions I'd suggest you consider.

1. You have a creation myth. Is it universal? That is, do all cultures believe in one form or another of this story? Or do the Elves, for instance, have a story about how the world was born from an acorn planted in the void, while the Dwarves believe it was a single piece of divine ore forged in the furnace of the cosmos, or something?

2. On a related point, does each race believe in or follow the Champion? Are there races that reject him? Or ignore him?

3. Are races monolithic in their faith? Do all Elves worship the Elven pantheon? Are there individual sects within any given cultural or religious group?

4. Lastly, the prophecy. The Champion's return. Is that a thing you plan to explore in your game, or is it just a form of religious dogma that motivates portions of the setting? As a gameplay matter, if the Champion does return - or if one of your PCs turns out to be his reincarnation or something - it can become a bit of a letdown; when a deity does the PCs' work for them, it can feel like the game's been stolen from them.

8BitNinja
2015-11-17, 08:14 PM
Hmm. I like it so far. You have a creation story, an antagonist (flesh him out; why did the Unnamed One decide to rebel, how did he contaminate the races with evil, etc.), and a champion figure.

Here's the problem. You've also said that each of the races have their own pantheons. Now, if religions are simply organized (or disorganized) bodies of faith, each community or culture believing as it will, that's fine; each one will likely paint the Champion with their own brush, embodying their highest cultural ideals.

But if this is a setting where deities play an active role in the world, like D&D where Clerics can commune directly with them or their representatives, you have a problem. Namely that The Champion is a single deity with specific definable aspects, over whom no single culture can claim exclusive purview. Similarly, concepts like "Fire" are universal; unless you're willing to specify aspects of fire (such as "Dwarven God of the Forge" or "Elven God of Sunlight") there will generally only be one "God of Fire," or several gods feuding for dominance.

I'm going to assume you're going with the former, where religions constitute belief structures, and the involvement of gods is negligible at best. Here are some questions I'd suggest you consider.

1. You have a creation myth. Is it universal? That is, do all cultures believe in one form or another of this story? Or do the Elves, for instance, have a story about how the world was born from an acorn planted in the void, while the Dwarves believe it was a single piece of divine ore forged in the furnace of the cosmos, or something?

2. On a related point, does each race believe in or follow the Champion? Are there races that reject him? Or ignore him?

3. Are races monolithic in their faith? Do all Elves worship the Elven pantheon? Are there individual sects within any given cultural or religious group?

4. Lastly, the prophecy. The Champion's return. Is that a thing you plan to explore in your game, or is it just a form of religious dogma that motivates portions of the setting? As a gameplay matter, if the Champion does return - or if one of your PCs turns out to be his reincarnation or something - it can become a bit of a letdown; when a deity does the PCs' work for them, it can feel like the game's been stolen from them.

1. Every race has a different creation myth, In my Book of Extended Lore I'm writing it will address this issue

2. Only the Half-Elves and followers of their faith believe it, not even the Ancients, who believe in the same Light One

3. The pantheon was started by the races, but people of every race follow every pantheon, it is common for Humans or Elves to convert when intermarrying with each other

4. Yes, he is supposed to be real, although he does not appear in the flesh, he does miracles and communicate with his followers, Paladins are able to wield a very small fragment of this power in destructive form, while Clerics can use it in restorative form, but although other religions are not actually real, people who started it sincerely believe it

That's all I have for noe

veti
2015-11-18, 01:14 AM
1. Every race has a different creation myth, In my Book of Extended Lore I'm writing it will address this issue

Interesting. Does that mean (a) that some/all of the pantheons are deliberately lying to their followers, (b) that the gods themselves are deluded and don't really know themselves how it all began, or (c) that all versions of the "creation myth" are explicitly understood to be more or less allegorical, and therefore the different versions don't "contradict" in any meaningful way?


3. The pantheon was started by the races, but people of every race follow every pantheon, it is common for Humans or Elves to convert when intermarrying with each other

"The pantheon was started by the races" is an interesting turn of phrase. It implies that mortals create gods, not vice-versa. So that 'orc' origin story you mentioned above... that's a bit suspect, is it?


4. Yes, he is supposed to be real, although he does not appear in the flesh, he does miracles and communicate with his followers, Paladins are able to wield a very small fragment of this power in destructive form, while Clerics can use it in restorative form, but although other religions are not actually real, people who started it sincerely believe it

Hmm... again with the ambiguity about what's "real". If a god can reliably grant spells, summons and Communion to his/her followers, then - in D&D terms - I'd say they're "as real as they need to be" - I'm not sure what this idea of "actually real" means? Conversely, if a god can't do those things, then I wouldn't expect their religion to survive very long in a D&D world.

8BitNinja
2015-11-18, 09:38 AM
Interesting. Does that mean (a) that some/all of the pantheons are deliberately lying to their followers, (b) that the gods themselves are deluded and don't really know themselves how it all began, or (c) that all versions of the "creation myth" are explicitly understood to be more or less allegorical, and therefore the different versions don't "contradict" in any meaningful way?



"The pantheon was started by the races" is an interesting turn of phrase. It implies that mortals create gods, not vice-versa. So that 'orc' origin story you mentioned above... that's a bit suspect, is it?



Hmm... again with the ambiguity about what's "real". If a god can reliably grant spells, summons and Communion to his/her followers, then - in D&D terms - I'd say they're "as real as they need to be" - I'm not sure what this idea of "actually real" means? Conversely, if a god can't do those things, then I wouldn't expect their religion to survive very long in a D&D world.

I think you don't understand, people in this world have seen acts of the Divine, and tried to understand it, but gods don't directly affect the world, by the way, this isn't D&D so I don't need to follow those rules, it is for a game I made up, also c is you're best answer for the first one, everyone believes in a creation story, but they are pretty similar, but how it ends and a few characters are different, and about the pantheons being started by them, I meant the religions were, sorry about the confusion

8BitNinja
2015-11-18, 09:41 AM
Doesn't look too unreasonable; pretty typical Manichean type stuff. I would say that followers of this religion need an answer to what those other gods are. Are they demons? Are they the Unnamed Followers? Separate spirits attracted to the creation of the One?

The other gods are a mix of the first two, the supernatural is at work in all of them, just not all of them are good, even though they seem like they are helping

Some of them are not real, but some evil cults and religions have obvious forces of evil working with it

FlumphPaladin
2015-11-18, 10:51 AM
So at first, I thought I had nothing to say, particularly without breaking forum rules.

I've got a suggestion now, however. If you want to add variety to your Crystal Dragon Jesus faith, perhaps you might do well to create different sects or denominations, placing emphasis on fantastical forms of various aspects of the RL religion (e.g., wisdom, peacemaking, generosity...), but all pointing to the same deity. Using our previous example, the Philosophers might be very best friends with the Mediators, while only grudgingly accepting the Sharemasters as following the same religion. Perhaps a Godsmoot could even be held now and again.

LnGrrrR
2015-11-18, 11:22 AM
Here's the thing... just let it build up slowly and naturally. No religion today is the same as it was hundreds of years ago. Things get added, things get removed. You don't have to write a 20 page paper on religion in your world... just make each religion unique in its own way, and then maybe add a few things. Maybe there's a holiday specific to one religion where people dress up in a certain fashion, or maybe adherents of a particular religion in your world refuse to enter any building without being invited first. Just let it grow organically.

8BitNinja
2015-11-18, 01:19 PM
Here's the thing... just let it build up slowly and naturally. No religion today is the same as it was hundreds of years ago. Things get added, things get removed. You don't have to write a 20 page paper on religion in your world... just make each religion unique in its own way, and then maybe add a few things. Maybe there's a holiday specific to one religion where people dress up in a certain fashion, or maybe adherents of a particular religion in your world refuse to enter any building without being invited first. Just let it grow organically.

Thanks for the advice, I will apply that to all of my in-game religions

JoeJ
2015-11-18, 01:43 PM
Here's the thing... just let it build up slowly and naturally. No religion today is the same as it was hundreds of years ago. Things get added, things get removed. You don't have to write a 20 page paper on religion in your world... just make each religion unique in its own way, and then maybe add a few things. Maybe there's a holiday specific to one religion where people dress up in a certain fashion, or maybe adherents of a particular religion in your world refuse to enter any building without being invited first. Just let it grow organically.

You can also add some internal diversity by having different sects of the same religion observe different traditions on their common holidays, or celebrate the same holidays on different days because at some point in the past one group adopted a slightly different calendar and the other didn't. The disagreements can be as friendly or unfriendly as you want.

8BitNinja
2015-11-18, 02:21 PM
You can also add some internal diversity by having different sects of the same religion observe different traditions on their common holidays, or celebrate the same holidays on different days because at some point in the past one group adopted a slightly different calendar and the other didn't. The disagreements can be as friendly or unfriendly as you want.

Thanks for the advice

I'm probably going to have to have more unfriendly interactions in a First Era setting because I decided then was the time of mass wars between mortals

The second is when they band together to fight against the gigantic monster threat, and also when the first Paladin Legion is formed and the leader becomes corrupted by the Dragon Scepter, a Scepter which allows the user to call dragons at will and have them at the user's command, an artifact made by the Unnamed One himself

Red Fel
2015-11-18, 02:30 PM
You can also add some internal diversity by having different sects of the same religion observe different traditions on their common holidays, or celebrate the same holidays on different days because at some point in the past one group adopted a slightly different calendar and the other didn't. The disagreements can be as friendly or unfriendly as you want.

One way to do this is to explore the concept of orthodoxy, heterodoxy, and heresy. You can use the religions in the Ironclaw setting as a template.

A bit of background. Ironclaw draws heavily on certain parts of medieval Europe. One of the concepts it explores is that of religion. The dominant religion in the world of Ironclaw (the continent of Calabria) is the Church of S'allumer. As a result, the main Church is referred to as the Orthodoxy. There are then several branches of the main Church of S'allumer, such as those which espouse asceticism or hedonism, which are called Heterodoxies. Other Heterodoxies exist, such as local tribal religions which have a place in Calabrian culture. Then there are certain religions, such as the Necromancers, which are considered Heresies - forbidden or obscene faiths within the dominant culture.

Given that you have a wide variety of cultures and religious observances, you might consider labeling a given faith a Orthodox, Heterodox, or Heretical within a given culture. For example, most Elves would treat the Elven Pantheon as an Orthodoxy, but might accept Human or Dwarven Pantheon worship as a Heterodoxy. There might even be Heterodox versions of the Elven Pantheon - for example, a group of Elves who see the Pantheon as supporting all life, not just Elves, whereas another sees the Pantheon as xenophobic. Worship of the Unnamed One, if any, would be a Heresy. If Dwarves are ardently anti-Elf, worship of Elven deities might be a Heresy to them. By contrast, a truly intermingled culture - say, a Half-Elf capital - might have no Orthodoxy whatsoever, and scoff at the terminology.

Insert WH40K joke here.

8BitNinja
2015-11-18, 02:39 PM
One way to do this is to explore the concept of orthodoxy, heterodoxy, and heresy. You can use the religions in the Ironclaw setting as a template.

A bit of background. Ironclaw draws heavily on certain parts of medieval Europe. One of the concepts it explores is that of religion. The dominant religion in the world of Ironclaw (the continent of Calabria) is the Church of S'allumer. As a result, the main Church is referred to as the Orthodoxy. There are then several branches of the main Church of S'allumer, such as those which espouse asceticism or hedonism, which are called Heterodoxies. Other Heterodoxies exist, such as local tribal religions which have a place in Calabrian culture. Then there are certain religions, such as the Necromancers, which are considered Heresies - forbidden or obscene faiths within the dominant culture.

Given that you have a wide variety of cultures and religious observances, you might consider labeling a given faith a Orthodox, Heterodox, or Heretical within a given culture. For example, most Elves would treat the Elven Pantheon as an Orthodoxy, but might accept Human or Dwarven Pantheon worship as a Heterodoxy. There might even be Heterodox versions of the Elven Pantheon - for example, a group of Elves who see the Pantheon as supporting all life, not just Elves, whereas another sees the Pantheon as xenophobic. Worship of the Unnamed One, if any, would be a Heresy. If Dwarves are ardently anti-Elf, worship of Elven deities might be a Heresy to them. By contrast, a truly intermingled culture - say, a Half-Elf capital - might have no Orthodoxy whatsoever, and scoff at the terminology.

Insert WH40K joke here.

I guess this is where I can apply the subraces
For the Elves, I had this
The Wood Elves started the organized orthodoxy, believing that all life should be considered good (excluding the monsters)
High Elves believe they are direct descendants of the gods and believe that they are the "master race"
Drow Elves is more of a flip sided version where they worship aspects of death
Sea Elves believe that all life is good, but should actually treat the other races better than themselves, because they are not as wise

I am thinking of subsections for each, and since the Half Elves has the largest amount of subraces, with influence from humans and elves, lots of sects will start up

I am so glad I chose Half Elves to be the CDJ religion

LnGrrrR
2015-11-18, 04:21 PM
Why not just make it that Wood Elves think all life, INCLUDING monsters, are inherently valuable? Sure, they're blood slavering and would kill you immediately, but so would a tiger! Besides, if only those goblins and orcs had better educations, they would realize how precious life is! (A little over the top, but you catch my drift.) Major Belief: All Life is Sacred!

Then you can have the High Elves scoffing the Wood Elves, with their hippy-dippy belief that every life has value. Sure, maybe a LITTLE, but those who run stuff obviously have more value, right? And in their opinion, they are definitely much better at running things. And if they have to break a rule or two, well if you can't figure it out, maybe you shouldn't be a leader, eh? Major Belief: The Shepherds Must Guide the Flock.

Of course the drow think the wood elves are dumb and the high elves are completely out of touch with the real world. You know what matters in the drow religion? Being the best but also being true to yourself. We shouldn't deny that people are jerks like the wood elves, and we shouldn't try to hide it all away like the high elves. Just be yourself. And if you're a real jerk, well you'll probably get punched in the face and then you can figure out if you want to keep being a jerk or not. Major Belief: True Strength is Through Action.

These all break down into simple stereotypes, if you want them. Wood Elves meet in a glade and discuss artwork. High Elves meet in a fancy building and discuss how to lead others. Drow meet to watch football and eat BBQ. And those are the relatively easy ones. You could throw polytheism in there, or worship of a force/emotion/etc, or elevate a famous hero into a mythological being... lots of choices.

8BitNinja
2015-11-18, 06:05 PM
Why not just make it that Wood Elves think all life, INCLUDING monsters, are inherently valuable? Sure, they're blood slavering and would kill you immediately, but so would a tiger! Besides, if only those goblins and orcs had better educations, they would realize how precious life is! (A little over the top, but you catch my drift.) Major Belief: All Life is Sacred!

Then you can have the High Elves scoffing the Wood Elves, with their hippy-dippy belief that every life has value. Sure, maybe a LITTLE, but those who run stuff obviously have more value, right? And in their opinion, they are definitely much better at running things. And if they have to break a rule or two, well if you can't figure it out, maybe you shouldn't be a leader, eh? Major Belief: The Shepherds Must Guide the Flock.

Of course the drow think the wood elves are dumb and the high elves are completely out of touch with the real world. You know what matters in the drow religion? Being the best but also being true to yourself. We shouldn't deny that people are jerks like the wood elves, and we shouldn't try to hide it all away like the high elves. Just be yourself. And if you're a real jerk, well you'll probably get punched in the face and then you can figure out if you want to keep being a jerk or not. Major Belief: True Strength is Through Action.

These all break down into simple stereotypes, if you want them. Wood Elves meet in a glade and discuss artwork. High Elves meet in a fancy building and discuss how to lead others. Drow meet to watch football and eat BBQ. And those are the relatively easy ones. You could throw polytheism in there, or worship of a force/emotion/etc, or elevate a famous hero into a mythological being... lots of choices.

Thanks for the ideas, The elves seem like the easiest, since They can then worship different parts of the pantheons, while other races really have to stick to the entire pantheon

Zurvan
2015-11-19, 07:38 AM
Make this champion of good be betrayed by one of his mortal disciples in the middle of his quest.

Because of that he died and this religion uses a circle in a necklace as a holy symbol representing the noose used in his execution.

Make so that each of his disciples did something remarkable.

One could heal people, other one could talk to animals. One was good friends with the chosen one and was later punished in a way that they would suffer greatly. One was a faithful disciple and recorded their masters' teachings. One acted like a mother to him. The soldier who killed the chosen one later repent and become good.

This sort of thing.

8BitNinja
2015-11-19, 09:41 AM
Make this champion of good be betrayed by one of his mortal disciples in the middle of his quest.

Because of that he died and this religion uses a circle in a necklace as a holy symbol representing the noose used in his execution.

Make so that each of his disciples did something remarkable.

One could heal people, other one could talk to animals. One was good friends with the chosen one and was later punished in a way that they would suffer greatly. One was a faithful disciple and recorded their masters' teachings. One acted like a mother to him. The soldier who killed the chosen one later repent and become good.

This sort of thing.

This actually goes pretty well with my existing lore, since the the art for the video game (yes, I'm making a video game based off of it) has a circle on the Paladin's shield

This also goes well with the whole Christianity theme

Thanks

LnGrrrR
2015-11-19, 10:59 AM
Remember, schisms in real world religions play out based off only a few differences. Whether someone is a prophet or just a really nice guy, whether a religion is supposed to be joyful or serious, etc etc.

A good example of that without using a real world religion would be Red Dwarf. In short, Lister brings a cat aboard on a mining ship. An accident occurs while he is in stasis, and he doesn't get released until millions of years later. Well the cat was sealed away in a safe place, had kittens, and millions of years later there is a cat culture, that worships Lister as God. But there was a huge war between two factions of followers, one who insisted that Lister wanted red hat, and the other which insisted Lister wanted blue hats. (Lister states that he actually wanted the hats to be green.)

Stuff like that can go a long way. In the three examples I mentioned, the Elves can all certainly be worshipping the same god, they just have different interpretations of him. The wood elves see how their god forgave some guy once, and base their beliefs on that. The High Elves can see how their god set up everything only because he was so smart; if he wasn't the world would be a lot worse off, and use that as justification. And the Drow can look at a time where their god said that to truly love someone, you have to be honest with them, and so they value honesty above all.

It also explains why they dislike wood elves, as wood elves are not honest about "how things really are", and why they don't like high elves, as high elves are about getting to the highest position/status without being truthful. The high elves, for their part, say that they only have to be honest to those they love, as that's THEIR interpretation of the scripture. Etc etc.

8BitNinja
2015-11-19, 01:29 PM
Remember, schisms in real world religions play out based off only a few differences. Whether someone is a prophet or just a really nice guy, whether a religion is supposed to be joyful or serious, etc etc.

A good example of that without using a real world religion would be Red Dwarf. In short, Lister brings a cat aboard on a mining ship. An accident occurs while he is in stasis, and he doesn't get released until millions of years later. Well the cat was sealed away in a safe place, had kittens, and millions of years later there is a cat culture, that worships Lister as God. But there was a huge war between two factions of followers, one who insisted that Lister wanted red hat, and the other which insisted Lister wanted blue hats. (Lister states that he actually wanted the hats to be green.)

Stuff like that can go a long way. In the three examples I mentioned, the Elves can all certainly be worshipping the same god, they just have different interpretations of him. The wood elves see how their god forgave some guy once, and base their beliefs on that. The High Elves can see how their god set up everything only because he was so smart; if he wasn't the world would be a lot worse off, and use that as justification. And the Drow can look at a time where their god said that to truly love someone, you have to be honest with them, and so they value honesty above all.

It also explains why they dislike wood elves, as wood elves are not honest about "how things really are", and why they don't like high elves, as high elves are about getting to the highest position/status without being truthful. The high elves, for their part, say that they only have to be honest to those they love, as that's THEIR interpretation of the scripture. Etc etc.

Thanks for bringing this up, this small schisms are much like what all religions, including mine, have gone through

This book of extended lore should probably leave out religion and another book should be written just on the world's religions

Zurvan
2015-11-22, 12:26 PM
This actually goes pretty well with my existing lore, since the the art for the video game (yes, I'm making a video game based off of it) has a circle on the Paladin's shield

This also goes well with the whole Christianity theme

Thanks

No problem glad I could help. Just add my name in the credits of your book/ game when it is ready :p

8BitNinja
2015-11-22, 12:56 PM
No problem glad I could help. Just add my name in the credits of your book/ game when it is ready :p

Don't worry, I will, but It won't be a while until it is finished, I got school and a lot of other game design projects, plus my Youtube channel I am all working on

Kol Korran
2015-11-23, 12:18 AM
If you can get your hands on it, I highly recommend the book Faiths of Eberron. While it deals with the religion of that setting, it makes an excellent example on how fantasy religions, believable religions, can be written.

Part of the important things it touches aboutiis the way the religions function in the day to day life of it's followers, from peasants to clergy, and the interactions.

Most major religions do not just deal with the divine world, but try to answer basic but important existential and spiritual questions. Question like:
-.What happens when we die?
- Where does life come from?
- Why do horrible things happen? Can we delay them/ circumvent them? How?
- How do we that others? Other genders? Races? Parents? Children? Community? Country? Other faith and religions? magic?
- what values and behavior should we aspire to?
- what are these strange phenomena's in ourworld? The earth, the seas, the sun, the moon/s? The stars, the seasons? And these arare before including any magical stuff...
- and more... many more.
Religions try to aanswer the BIG questions, sort to speak. BE it for genuine belief, a form of rulership/ control, or for other means.

They then usually tie these into rituals, dogmas, holidays, strictures and behavior. The markings and trappings of religion. Answer the above questions (It's phone to leave some things a mystery/ open for debate and interpretation, it what makes a religion alive and interesting. "God works in mysterious ways" and all that...) but the answer to these will form the day to day life, and the FEEL of the religion on the world.

Also, go look for that book. One of the very best flavour RPG books I've read!

8BitNinja
2015-11-23, 09:43 AM
If you can get your hands on it, I highly recommend the book Faiths of Eberron. While it deals with the religion of that setting, it makes an excellent example on how fantasy religions, believable religions, can be written.

Part of the important things it touches aboutiis the way the religions function in the day to day life of it's followers, from peasants to clergy, and the interactions.

Most major religions do not just deal with the divine world, but try to answer basic but important existential and spiritual questions. Question like:
-.What happens when we die?
- Where does life come from?
- Why do horrible things happen? Can we delay them/ circumvent them? How?
- How do we that others? Other genders? Races? Parents? Children? Community? Country? Other faith and religions? magic?
- what values and behavior should we aspire to?
- what are these strange phenomena's in ourworld? The earth, the seas, the sun, the moon/s? The stars, the seasons? And these arare before including any magical stuff...
- and more... many more.
Religions try to aanswer the BIG questions, sort to speak. BE it for genuine belief, a form of rulership/ control, or for other means.

They then usually tie these into rituals, dogmas, holidays, strictures and behavior. The markings and trappings of religion. Answer the above questions (It's phone to leave some things a mystery/ open for debate and interpretation, it what makes a religion alive and interesting. "God works in mysterious ways" and all that...) but the answer to these will form the day to day life, and the FEEL of the religion on the world.

Also, go look for that book. One of the very best flavour RPG books I've read!

When I started, I just decided to answer only the questions that my church said all religions and people have tried to answer

Why are we here?
Is there life after death?
Why is there evil?

I didn't know I would need to expand to more, thanks for helping, now I will have more fleshed out lore