Prostelytizing

[Waker]

In D&D, there are a lot of aspects of character creation that are often relegated to the background and are often put in as an afterthought if they have no mechanical benefit. One of the more interesting ones that I hear people talk about very little though is that of religion. Even though in many settings, deities are demonstrably real, many players that I've been around tend to ignore the topic unless they are a cleric/paladin or need to meet some PrC requirement. Even then, so many tend to be mum on the topic of their character's beliefs as a part of their church.
So what I come to ask you all is who are your favorite deities? In the case of an obscure deity, kindly include source.

Greyhawk:
Fharlanghn- Here's a dude who goes out and lives out what he preaches. Rather than just sitting around in a palace, he has no problem slumming and traveling the Prime Material.
Wee Jas- An interesting mix of domains, mixing beauty, death and magic all together. She's also interesting in that her church is amongst the minority of those who don't paint undeath as moustache-twirling evil.
Boccob- The Archmage of the Gods and Poindexter Supreme. Any character with an abundance of grey matter knows to tip their hat to this geeky god.

Pathfinder:
Cayden Cailean- It is physically impossible not to like this guy. When his apotheosis can be summed up as "Hold my beer", you know you've got a winner. A great religion for anyone who just wants to be a fun hero.

Dragon Magazine:
Oversoul (#350)- An unusual touch of eastern philosophy that lends itself very well to a religious Incarnum character.

[Gildedragon]

Greyhawk:
WeeJas: clever, powerful, and the only core deity of love
Ollidamara: cunning, playful, fun... pretty sure he travels around to other planes
Eberron:
The Path of Light: a good honest, philosophical faith that stresses good behavior
The Reforged: Ibid
Dragons:
Bahamut: Mercy is a valuable attribute, seems like a likeable enough god: righteous and all. Also great perks for following him
Golarion:
CayCai: Drunk, fun, heroic

[Geddy2112]

I really like most of the pathfinder deities.

Torag and Erastil are basically your badass grandpa's and might have been the dudes in the movie Secondhand Lions. One woodworks, one blacksmiths, both gruff but cool old dudes.

Shelyn- Arguably best girl of Golarion deities. Hot, smart, sweet, loves art and nature.

Desna-My choice for best girl. Constantly optimistic, protects travelers and adventurers, hands out luck like candy.

Caydean Caliean. As covered above, he literally became a god because he got drunk, somebody said "No way you can ascend to godhood" and he said "you're on"

Urgathoa- A cool evil deity, in that she is amicable and hedonistic as all hell. A good way to be evil and have friends.

Zon Kuthon/Rovagug-Good in the sense they are enemies the world needs. Pointless sadomasochistic cruelty, and nihilistic destruction.

[Afgncaap5]

I don't discuss religion in most games I run/play in because, for the most part, they don't feel very much like real world religions to me. And honestly, I think if they *did* feel that way, it might distract from the game itself. That's another topic for another day, though. Having said that, a few deities that I can appreciate:


Greyhawk gives us...
-Joramy: the patron goddess of volcanoes, she's a rare "Destruction can be good" force. She tends to favor passionate discourse and explosive action when it comes to serious matters (and apparently might also have had something to do with the creation of a mysterious clockwork nightingale, but information about her starts to get more and more hazy with time.)
-Wenta: there's just so little written about her, especially if you're limited to 3.5, but from what I've been able to piece together: she's one of the four winds, and she favors celebration and festival. She isn't a "Woo, party!" deity, she's a deity of a well-earned celebration after a hard-day's work, and I like that; anyone can be a patron of partying (or at least, anyone can try to, I'm sure Bacchus would have us know that it's harder than it looks) but she's in support of the after-party from hearty endeavors, letting her be both The Ant and The Grasshopper at the same time.
-Rudd and Norebo: I really like luck deities, and while I've nothing against The Laughing Rogue, I think that Rudd and Norebo provide different takes on the concept. Rudd, for instance, really likes games and appreciates both chance *and* skill, something embodied by the fact that her domain is a literal house of cards. In Ysgard.


Eberron also has...
-Olladra: Dunno why. Probably just my fondness for luck deities (see Rudd and Norebo above).
-The Promise of Fire: Almost more of a philosophy, this is a drow religion that awaits the return of the Fire Giants (or their power) and waits to see the fulfillment of the prophecy to take the faithful to a paradise made of fire.
-The Trinity: A mini-pantheon of three deities from the Sovereigns and Dark Six, The Trinity is a faith dedicated to three different gods who all adhere to different styles of war and warfare, alleging that you truly need all three to get by. With the focus of war in Eberron as a setting, it's sensible... though the fact that it's a secret society within the already-exclusive Rekkenmark Academy has always surprised me. Perhaps it's because the members don't want to risk public denouncements for revering one of the Dark Six.

[BWR]

The Mystaran pantheon gives us notables like
- Valerias: the Girder-on of Weapons. She is basically a hot-headed lover of romance stories and her favorite pastime is to watch young, passionate couples. Happy endings or tragedies doesn't really matter so long as there are plenty of feelings, people throwing caution to the wind and following their heart, and drama. She is not above stepping in to give a potential story a start (like giving arms to some poor young peasant whose paramour has been kidnapped by orcs).

- Bagni Gullymaw: the troll who ate so many Good beings he ascended to Immortality

- Ka the Preserver: basically an allosaurus who for some reason developed intelligence and has spent millions of years looking after the world.

- Nyx: a creature of the night and creator and protector of undead, she is not evil as such. Her charges are inimical to life, true but this is an unavoidable consequence of the way the multiverse works rather than disliking life. She is a close colleague of Terra, who creates new living races and the two often compare notes. She gets along well with her arch-rival Ixion (who likes light and energy and destroying undead) when off duty.

[Vizzerdrix]

I was alwys a fan of Gond and Cas myself. One is faerun, the other is in HoH.

[Remuko]

I like Bahamut, Nerull, and gods based on norse and greek mythology etc.

[Afgncaap5]

I was alwys a fan of Gond and Cas myself. One is faerun, the other is in HoH.

Cas is a weird deity for me. I don't have anything against the guy... or really for him, either... but he's very memorable for me. "Oh, right, the moose-headed god, the god of spite, the perfect god for angry people to bitterly worship in log cabins in the woods, that Cas, right?"

I've not used him yet, but I probably will eventually. He just keeps coming to mind. Sadly, most places in my games where I might use him tend to go for figures like Baphomet instead.

[Luccan]

I like Kord. Not because I know much about him, but he seems fun. Plus he's literally the only chaotic good deity I can remember from the PHB. Oh wait, Crow-Ellen Let-Rethi-in ... Yeah I'm gonna stick with Kord.

As for why no one pays attention: In most of the books, religion gets maybe a chapter (not even a chapter in the PHB, which is almost always. the only book you can guarantee a player has seen). In the PHB, there is so little info on the deities, I didn't even know Wee Jas is apparently the goddess of beauty and love until this thread. All it says is she demands obedience and that arcane casters like her.

[Waker]

As for why no one pays attention: In most of the books, religion gets maybe a chapter (not even a chapter in the PHB, which is almost always. the only book you can guarantee a player has seen). In the PHB, there is so little info on the deities, I didn't even know Wee Jas is apparently the goddess of beauty and love until this thread. All it says is she demands obedience and that arcane casters like her.

Yep, the details of the various deities and their churches don't get much page space dedicated in the PHB. If you really wanna find out about them you've gotta read Complete Divine and Champion, Deities and Demi-Gods, setting specific content like Faith's of Eberron or read the articles that appear in a number of Dragon Magazine issues. A rich roleplaying opportunity squandered cause the writers didn't think it was important enough to include in PHB.
But you see what I mean with Wee Jas? Her PHB paragraph paints her as a goddess of law and necromancy basically, when she actually doesn't care for undead despite being a Death Goddess. And her aspects of love and beauty aren't mentioned at all. Or how she actually has paladin followers. And she's just one example. Plenty of the other deities have good backgrounds that are completely glossed over if you take the PHB entries at face value.

[Remuko]

I think one reason people don't talk about religion so much in game is because well, the reason its talked about so much IRL is because its hard to prove. In a world with provable gods you don't really need to say "believe in Pelor!" people know he's real and what he stands for even if they aren't primary worshipers. I just think religion in the D&D world is just more normalized and accepted since its provably real so it's not something worth discussion most of the time.

[Afgncaap5]

I think one reason people don't talk about religion so much in game is because well, the reason its talked about so much IRL is because its hard to prove. In a world with provable gods you don't really need to say "believe in Pelor!" people know he's real and what he stands for even if they aren't primary worshipers. I just think religion in the D&D world is just more normalized and accepted since its provably real so it's not something worth discussion most of the time.

Definitely. This can alter with cosmology, though: I've considered a few atheistic characters (who would view divine magic as a weird sort of wizardry that requires a different mindset, but not necessarily something at work in the background of the universe) but I'm kind of worried that my players who are atheists/non-atheists would think I was making some sort of statement so... for the most part it feels safer and more fun to just default to the "Yep, the gods are demonstrably real!" sentiment for the sake of simplicity.

[Honest Tiefling]

I'm adding another vote to Wee Jas. Never played Greyhawk, but if I did, I'd probably make a follower of hers. The Ruby Knight Vindicator being an awesome class isn't hurting any.


I just think religion in the D&D world is just more normalized and accepted since its provably real so it's not something worth discussion most of the time.

I don't actually think that people would have dissenting opinions any less even if the gods were proven to be true. All you need in a DnD world is a few people with the wrong idea or purposefully spreading lies to create a few different sects. It's not like Joe Bob the farmer can summon a celestial to fact-check.

[Luccan]

Definitely. This can alter with cosmology, though: I've considered a few atheistic characters (who would view divine magic as a weird sort of wizardry that requires a different mindset, but not necessarily something at work in the background of the universe) but I'm kind of worried that my players who are atheists/non-atheists would think I was making some sort of statement so... for the most part it feels safer and more fun to just default to the "Yep, the gods are demonstrably real!" sentiment for the sake of simplicity.

The real problem would be, in the context of what "deity" means for D&D, they qualify (usually). They aren't all-powerful and most don't claim to be, so you can't get into the arguments you have in the real world that would support that view. Saying "I don't worship any gods" or even "the gods don't deserve our worship" would be one, arguably foolish thing, depending on setting (like Faerun, where that means your soul gets obliterated/turned into part of a wall), saying "Pelor and friends do not exist" is just flat out wrong and if you get any following, someone is going to smite you.

[Waker]

I think one reason people don't talk about religion so much in game is because well, the reason its talked about so much IRL is because its hard to prove. In a world with provable gods you don't really need to say "believe in Pelor!" people know he's real and what he stands for even if they aren't primary worshipers. I just think religion in the D&D world is just more normalized and accepted since its provably real so it's not something worth discussion most of the time.

I'm not so much concerned with characters in game debating the existence of gods or trying to recruit others for their church. Believers should have aspects of their behavior influenced by the deity they follow though. Here's an example.
Iomedae's priests are composed of clerics and paladins. Personal cleanliness as well as an honorable demeanor are both very important for her followers. An hour of prayer a day is practiced, in addition to a weekly public worship service. [2] Some time ago I played a character who worshiped Iomedae. Now I could have just said "Lawful Good huh? Well, I'm all about honor and justice." And simply left it at that. One of the quirks of my character however was that I bought a grooming kit and described that as part of my character's morning rituals, she would take pains to maintain her appearance even in the wilderness. The character wasn't played up as being vain, simply observant of religious doctrine.
There are plenty of other things that a player could do. Readers of the "Wheel of Time" series can probably remember the oft-used curse "Mother's milk in a cup!", a sign of anger/frustration that's origin referenced the pantheon worshiped. In Scott Lynch's "Gentleman Bastard" series, the main character Locke Lamora is a priest of the god of thievery. As part of his religious doctrine, when he responsible for the deaths of allies, he is expected to make a death offering of stolen goods as recompense.
Characters can do lots of little things to liven up a character, even if they aren't worshipers of the deity specifically. Even if Pelor is your patron, offering up a prayer for Fharlanghn when you are beginning a voyage or Kord when you are about to armwrestle someone isn't a bad idea.

[Zombulian]

Kord: A Chaotic Good god of heroism and competition? Temples in the shape of arenas and sermons given by clerics bragging about their heroic exploits? Sign me up.
The Oversoul: Panentheism is one of my favorite structures of faith and is definitely unique among the usual style of faith in D&D.
The Sovereign Host (including the Dark Six): Again, taking a departure from the usual sorts of faith in D&D. I've always found the idea of following a god that is only concerned with a few aspects of existence to be a little restrictive, so pantheons that encourage gratitude for the universe as a whole and only require worship through interaction with the world jives real well with me.
Fharlanghn: pretty much what others have already stated

[Zanos]

A lot of the people I play with are atheists so I think that religion kind of takes a back seat for characters who aren't clearly dedicated to it, it usually doesn't extend much beyond a quick request for a blessing or a "By Boccob's Beard!". Which is fine, I don't really prefer religion in the drivers seat of my games anyway. It makes an extremely convenient excuse for villains to be jerks, though. I can also see not being super faithful even when the gods are provably real, many of them are frequently incompetent or just extraordinarily unpleasant.

I've actually triggered a player IRL before by calling him an idiot IC for denying the existence of deities, which were provably real in that game and we had met several. Dare to be stupid, I suppose...

Complaining aside, Wee Jas and Boccob are among my favorites as well. Wee Jas occupies one of my favorite niches of not entirely Evil necromancy, and Boccob is jut the classical aloof Ur-Wizard. In Faerun I also like Kelemvor's story of sacrificing his humanity to become an exemplar of LN and his absolute dedication to his duty. And Karsus was a god for about five seconds so he technically counts! I respect what he was trying to achieve, anyway.



Cayden Cailean- It is physically impossible not to like this guy. When his apotheosis can be summed up as "Hold my beer", you know you've got a winner. A great religion for anyone who just wants to be a fun hero.
With enough projection and willful misinterpretation, anything is possible! (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?365989-Pathfinder-cosmology-sucks)

[Waker]

A lot of the people I play with are atheists so I think that religion kind of takes a back seat for characters who aren't clearly dedicated to it, it usually doesn't extend much beyond a quick request for a blessing or a "By Boccob's Beard!". Which is fine, I don't really prefer religion in the drivers seat of my games anyway. It makes an extremely convenient excuse for villains to be jerks, though. I can also see not being super faithful even when the gods are provably real, many of them are frequently incompetent or just extraordinarily unpleasant.

I've actually triggered a player IRL before by calling him an idiot IC for denying the existence of deities, which were provably real in that game and we had met several. Dare to be stupid, I suppose...
I'm an agnostic in real life. For me its just an issue of immersion when characters are surprisingly unconcerned with the gods in most setting where there is little doubt of their existence. Most especially though is that I have issue when a character professes worship of a deity on their character sheet but then doesn't back it up with any roleplaying. I'm fine with people just doing the quick blessing or swearing by their favorite god's facial hair because that is at least making some kind of effort.
When I do see religion become important in game its because:
1. Mechanical reasons- Domains, prestige classes or other fun toys are restricted based on the worship of a specific deity.
2. Easy-made Enemies- When a DM wants to throw some enemies at the party and give them the greenlight to kill them all. Followers of evil gods like Gruumsh, Nerull, Erythnul... clearly are evil and of are course deserve nothing but to be killed and looted.


With enough projection and willful misinterpretation, anything is possible! (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?365989-Pathfinder-cosmology-sucks)
I read the posts wherein people compared Caiden to a drunken jock who hits on unwilling women. Posts like that do highlight some of my earlier complaint when people judge a book after reading the teaser on the dust jacket. Is Caiden a flirty god who likes to drink? Sure. But reading about his relationship with the other deities and the actions of his church certainly paint a more nuanced being. I mean, how many people even noted the part where despite being a God of Liquor, his church frowns upon inebriation?

[lylsyly]

Fharlanghn is definitely my favorite.

In the game I am running on Friday nights, you basically have to believe in a deity because when you accumulate enough xp to reach level 17 you ascend to the outer plane (singular).

[Zombulian]

I'm an agnostic in real life. For me its just an issue of immersion when characters are surprisingly unconcerned with the gods in most setting where there is little doubt of their existence. Most especially though is that I have issue when a character professes worship of a deity on their character sheet but then doesn't back it up with any roleplaying. I'm fine with people just doing the quick blessing or swearing by their favorite god's facial hair because that is at least making some kind of effort.


I read the posts wherein people compared Caiden to a drunken jock who hits on unwilling women. Posts like that do highlight some of my earlier complaint when people judge a book after reading the teaser on the dust jacket. Is Caiden a flirty god who likes to drink? Sure. But reading about his relationship with the other deities and the actions of his church certainly paint a more nuanced being. I mean, how many people even noted the part where despite being a God of Liquor, his church frowns upon inebriation?

Huh? How does that work?

Also, while in this thread we're generally bemoaning the fact that players often play their characters in a way that is mostly ignorant of the gods, I always liked the fluff that half-giants got regarding deities: "Oh, you worship so-n-so? Yeah no, my people were ENSLAVED for CENTURIES and NO ONE came to help. The gods can smell my butt for all I care."

[martixy]

Kord, Boccob, Olidammara and Lolth are my jam. You'll notice a distinct bent towards Chaos. :smalltongue:

Also, Blibdoolpoolp, just for the sheer ridiculousness.

As far as religion, I've always been fascinated by the notions of atheism and agnosticism withing a typical D&D universe.
They can be played to various degrees in very interesting ways. Classical atheism is all but impossible. But a D&D atheist can simply refuse the idea of "god", merely believing gods to be tyrannical beings of great power(even the good ones), perceiving the notion of worship seen as an oppression on par with any dictatorial regime. Or espousing the idea of complete self-sufficiency, refusing to turn to the gods for any reason. Or one can subscribe to a sort of enlightened agnosticism, questioning not their existence, but their interaction with the world.

[Elysiume]

Huh? How does that work?It's overstated. He frowns upon mean drunks, violent drunks, and alcoholics, for various reasons. He's very heavily pro-inebriation, given that his daily obedience involves drinking, but is opposed to it leading to control one's life.

As the god of wine, Cayden's interest is in the merriment and socialization alcohol can facilitate rather than attempting to drown or forget sorrows, and he despises mean drunks or those who allow their drunkenness to hurt innocents. He has been known to inspire tipsy revelers to confess secrets better aired than left to fester, and he encourages his worshipers to push each other to greatness via friendly dares. A "Cayden's dare" is any foolish-seeming thing that turns out to have beneficial consequences, and at Caydenite weddings, it's common to tell jokes and stories explaining how the bride or groom is only present because of a drunken dare (especially if they're true). [...]

The god's close association with alcoholic beverages leads most clerics to have a high alcohol tolerance. Most invididuals who are easily sickened from drinking or dislike the taste of alcohol usually do not enter the clergy, but the faith would never turn away a worthy potential who has no taste for booze. The church is also aware that some folk drink to the extent that it becomes a crutch or a poison to the will. Cayden Cailean and his priests believe this is a corruption and abuse of his favorite things, and sometimes a priest takes it upon himself to counsel these poor souls, often using minor magic to bolster a patient's resolve and steering the person toward work or activities that improve the patient's life and negate the need to drown his or her sorrows.

The clergy has a tradition of drinking contests and "dueling dares" or boasting contests, all in good fun and never with the intent to harm or humiliate. [...]

The majority of the god's clergy are amiable with each other, and while there can be personal rivalries, they can generally be solved with a shared drink or friendly bar fight.It's of note that Cayden Cailean is listed as performing two kinds of subtle miracles, one of which is refilling kegs. He's absolutely pro-drinking.

I can't remember where it's from, but one of the Pathfinder books states that atheists basically don't exist, due to the provable existence of gods. A Golarion atheist instead believes that gods exist, but are not worthy of worship. Rahadoum, the Kingdom of Man, suppresses all religion under penalty of death, "Rahadoum has charted a resolutely secular path. No one denies the existence or power of the gods, but their aegis comes at too high a price for the people of Rahadoum."

[The Viscount]

The Blood of Vol is one of my top picks because like much of Eberron, you can play it as an evil blood cult if you want simple, but despite the secret workings of the upper organization, most followers are nonevil and are in it for its dogma of self-empowerment.

Evening Glory is probably my favorite deity for being a deity of undeath that isn't evil, and one of the exceptionally rare positive portrayals of undead. She's a god of undeath as a means of preserving eternal love, and her portfolio includes love and beauty. There's no hidden evil agenda here, the church is honest. She's Neutral, and gives Charm, Protection, and Magic, so you can't twist her clerics into evil necromancers (I mean you could, but that's not fulfilling church decree).

[Arutema]

As far as religion, I've always been fascinated by the notions of atheism and agnosticism withing a typical D&D universe.
They can be played to various degrees in very interesting ways. Classical atheism is all but impossible. But a D&D atheist can simply refuse the idea of "god", merely believing gods to be tyrannical beings of great power(even the good ones), perceiving the notion of worship seen as an oppression on par with any dictatorial regime. Or espousing the idea of complete self-sufficiency, refusing to turn to the gods for any reason. Or one can subscribe to a sort of enlightened agnosticism, questioning not their existence, but their interaction with the world.

I didn't expect the pure legion!