petermcleod117
2022-01-17, 10:23 PM
Hello!
So, one thing that I have always found interesting in D&D is write-ups of full-fledged organized fantasy religions in D&D. The primary approach to D&D is usually "here's a list of gods, and what each of them does. choose one and get spells", which is not a particularly interesting approach. On the other hand, D&D has also produced some of the more interesting fantasy religions I've encountered.
For example:
-In Ravenloft we have the Church of Ezra, "Our Guardian in the Mists", a lawful neutral deity of protection whose followers have different interpretations of her dogma depending on which domain they live in.
-In Eberron you have a host of interesting religions, from the Sovereign Host to the Path of Light to the Church of the Silver Flame, each with it's own dogma, organization, and regional variants.
-In Swashbuckling Adventures (a D20 adaptation of the 7th Sea setting) you have the Church of the Prophets, a highly organized gnostic religion devoted to scientific investigation and opposed to the practice of magic.
-In Midnight, you have the admittedly somewhat edgy but still very interesting Church of Izrador.
Those are the ones I can remember off the top of my head. But you can get the picture, I think: instead of choosing a god to worship, you are choosing a faith with all that entails.
Do you know any other good settings which have fully developed religions like these? I would love to investigate some more settings, especially now that I have the time to do so.
So, one thing that I have always found interesting in D&D is write-ups of full-fledged organized fantasy religions in D&D. The primary approach to D&D is usually "here's a list of gods, and what each of them does. choose one and get spells", which is not a particularly interesting approach. On the other hand, D&D has also produced some of the more interesting fantasy religions I've encountered.
For example:
-In Ravenloft we have the Church of Ezra, "Our Guardian in the Mists", a lawful neutral deity of protection whose followers have different interpretations of her dogma depending on which domain they live in.
-In Eberron you have a host of interesting religions, from the Sovereign Host to the Path of Light to the Church of the Silver Flame, each with it's own dogma, organization, and regional variants.
-In Swashbuckling Adventures (a D20 adaptation of the 7th Sea setting) you have the Church of the Prophets, a highly organized gnostic religion devoted to scientific investigation and opposed to the practice of magic.
-In Midnight, you have the admittedly somewhat edgy but still very interesting Church of Izrador.
Those are the ones I can remember off the top of my head. But you can get the picture, I think: instead of choosing a god to worship, you are choosing a faith with all that entails.
Do you know any other good settings which have fully developed religions like these? I would love to investigate some more settings, especially now that I have the time to do so.