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Felyndiira
2019-02-27, 03:21 PM
If your character had the chance to influence the writing of a major religious text, and he/she would live for long enough to take advantage of these changes, what sort of things would he/she add to maximize fun and create interesting plots in the future?

Assume, of course, that ridiculous things would be outright rejected, so you can't add a chapter devoted to the Powerpuff Girls if you can't justify it within the context of the religion.

(I asked this because my character in a Vampire game may have the opportunity to do this in a future session, and I kinda want to get a few more ideas.)

Pauly
2019-02-27, 03:39 PM
My character would channel his inner Admiral Ackbar, if it’s a real life religion. There’s too many ways to offend too many people.

Felyndiira
2019-02-27, 03:55 PM
That's actually why I used a generic fictional religion in the question :smallsmile:.

Malak'ai
2019-02-27, 08:04 PM
Oooh... Sooo many ideas, no time to type them all out until I get home from work.

Jay R
2019-02-27, 09:37 PM
I once had a character in this situation, and refused to take part.

My character had been excommunicated by the Pope-equivalent, and the cleric PC and the DM started planning a schism – in part, I think, to help my character. They asked me what I wanted in the new church, and I replied, “A schism is a group splitting off from an older church. I’m no longer a part of that church, and can't 'split off' from it. If you include me, it’s not a schism, but a completely different religion. That would destroy most of what you’re doing this for. Your schism will have to banish me too, as one of its first actions, or it will become a completely hypocritical church.”

NichG
2019-02-27, 10:41 PM
If your character had the chance to influence the writing of a major religious text, and he/she would live for long enough to take advantage of these changes, what sort of things would he/she add to maximize fun and create interesting plots in the future?

Assume, of course, that ridiculous things would be outright rejected, so you can't add a chapter devoted to the Powerpuff Girls if you can't justify it within the context of the religion.

(I asked this because my character in a Vampire game may have the opportunity to do this in a future session, and I kinda want to get a few more ideas.)

In a setting where Earth had been invaded by aliens and had various forms of alien influence even after the invasion was repelled, there was a 'humans first' extremist group that went around exterminating offshoot forms of life created in the war (biologically engineered proxy soldiers, AIs, cyborgs, etc). One of the PCs had a power that let them manipulate the meanings of words, and they altered the group's holy text to instead have more of a 'Earth versus the rest of the universe' vibe, where anything whose existence served Earth's interests got to be a sort of honorary human. Bit situational though.

If its for personal power, I'd try to come up with something like a public/private key cypher and weave it in as vague prophecy. The idea would be to come up with some set of conditions that I know I can satisfy and which anyone with the holy text can verify, but which it would be very hard for someone reading only the holy text to reverse engineer. For example, pick six details of your own backstory/origins that can be confirmed through a bit of effort searching public record, and make those conditions of the prophecy. Then you can basically use that as a 'I come on behalf of your deity' backdoor into the belief system in the future if it ever would be useful to do so.

More broadly though, I'm amused at the idea of a religion encouraging people to basically try to be as close to wish-granting genies as they can be. 'Go forth and make the world a better place, but do so in accordance of those who ask, not in accordance of your own preferences - help people live in the ends brought by their desires, for a life that does not test its dreams must be lived again' or somesuch.

geppetto
2019-02-27, 11:07 PM
If we're talking about a vampire game then my character would be motivated by self interest. So I would try to cause chaos and givve myself a leg up.

So I'd first put in passages encouraging religious wars and forced conversion. That aught to spur some constant strife and chaos among the mortals. And I'd put in the holy value of blood and how sharing it is a sacred and holy act that shows your devotion, both to the divine and to your brothers/sisters in faith. That way if it takes off as a vamp you can join this church and eventually have easier feeding without endangering the secrecy.

BWR
2019-02-28, 01:28 AM
Soon (as in the next couple of years) my players' characters will hopefully be in this situation - having become gods themselves, they can literally write the book.

Other than that, the closest I've come was a character who marched up to the gods and told them they were acting like immature children and needed to stop being idiots and act like beings worthy of worship. The level of blasphemy in that act is hard to understate, and no one would have batted an eye or considered it excessive if the gods had eradicated him and all his clan for his audacity. Instead they (with supernatural poise) tacitly admitted he had a point and stopped doing the stupid **** they were doing. This act became legendary overnight and spawned furious religious debates and novels and plays and poems and songs - most of which greatly added to and prettified what he actually said.


It really depends on the character, setting and religion. Some may add in bits that put themselves up as the Chosen One and ruthlessly exploit the gullible. Others might be well-meaning and alter existing stuff to be better for people and society as a whole, some might deliberately add nonsense and warp existing stuff to sabotage the altered religion - there are too many options.

Malak'ai
2019-02-28, 02:00 AM
Okay, here a few light hearted ones I thought of.
All of these are to be found in the holy texts of their respective deities:
God of Wine - Everyone must wear big, fake red noses and rainbow wings when worshipping (and by worshipping, I mean any time anything alcoholic is drunk).

War God - All personal/honour duels must be fought Three Stooges style or with a game of Slaps (hands and faces must be unarmoured).

God of the Sea- All Priests/Clerics must talk in a "Surfer" voice except for High Priests/Head Clerics who must speak like a "Ol' Salty Sea Captain".

God of Destruction- Priests/Clerics must be present at all building demolitions, and yell out "Ka-blewy" as loud as they can at each and every banging noise.

God of Law- All Priests/Clerics must speak in "legaleeze" at all times, and if they disagree with something said or wish to add something to the conversation, they must call out "Objection" or "Point of Order".

LibraryOgre
2019-02-28, 12:02 PM
How actively will the character be involved in guiding the religion once it's created? How real are the forces that the religion supposedly worships?

Let us say, for a moment, that you get to influence the growing cult of the Passion Floranuus (https://earthdawn.fandom.com/wiki/Floranuus)... Fire, parties, cheers, swift ships of both air and sea, wine, roads.

Since you are an immortal elf, you know that you will be around to reap the benefits of anything you set up... but, unless you are actually there to guide them, they may butterfly effect into something entirely weird. Your monthly bonfire, wine, and sushi party might turn into a monthly sacrifice of wine by fire, with special occasions involving the sacrifice-by-burning of merfolk. Your love of sea and ships and roads might turn into a belief that ONLY the Questors of Floranuus and their followers can control those, and toll roads getting set up. Because beliefs can careen in weird ways if you're not careful.

As another consideration, though, how is Floranuus going to react to your choices? Can Floranuus react to your choices, or are they just a disembodied idea that will shape to whatever their followers believe? If Floranuus can directly or subtly influence beliefs, practices, and believers, then you need to consider how anything you set up that runs against those will be modified according to the will of the Passion.