I need some suggestions on roleplaying.

[Entessa]

I’ve been away from D&D for a very long time (I would say 5 years) and today I’ve decided to join my old DM and his campaign.

He welcomed me and we discussed a lot about how I should introduce myself into the party.

I’ve thought about doing a Paladin and I had a very specific concept in mind. Basically, I would like to raze temples with the party, or feign helping temples only to help my God’s temples, or why not, spread the creed of my God.

My DM has been for a long time with me, and he actually criticized my approach towards my roleplaying: he dislikes the fact that in every one of my characters, there is a strong hint or at least push toward religion.
Can’t blame him:
- my last character was a Malar’s barbarian and I followed the rules of his creed by heart: do not harm kids or women, challenge yourself, etc etc.
- The one before, was a mage adoring Vecna (Religion used as a mean to achieve greatness and secret things)

The fact is, I don’t know how to approach D&D roleplaying without making any reference to religion: I feel like in D&D religion is too integral on how people would behave. Gods are tangible and this makes me uncertain on why I would not have a strong faith in such a world. And I don’t even know where to begin if I don’t consider religion.

Can you provide tips? I’m here and if you’ve got any questions, I can answer them.

[Demonslayer666]

Follow a code of conduct and say that's what your character believes when asked why.

You do not need to say it's because of religion, or that the religion makes you do it.

[f5anor]

Gods are tangible and this makes me uncertain on why I would not have a strong faith in such a world. And I don’t even know where to begin if I don’t consider religion.

Can you provide tips? I’m here and if you’ve got any questions, I can answer them.

I would not say that there is no alternative to a religious approach in DnD, quite the contrary for me.

Gods seem to be quite arbitrary, it seems that it’s quite easy to become a god, even for mortal creatures. Many gods are race dependent, which makes them irrelevant to other races. Many gods, even old and well established ones, are downright petty, and not at all inspiring religious fervor.

Actually, I have a hard time understanding why anyone would be religious in such a world, especially since magic wielded by run of the mill Wizards easily competes with „act of god“ type events.

[nickl_2000]

Religion isn't integral to all people in D&D. Their motivation may or may not be caused by it. I have 2 characters that I am playing right now, neither of which are religious.

1) A Wildhunt Shifter in an Eberron Campaign. As part of the Eberron history and lore, Lycanthropes and Shifters where hunted down by the Church of the Silver Flame. So, he is suspicious of religion in general as his race was hunter by them, but it isn't the center of his life. He tends to avoid churches, but money is still money so he has done some work for them (but wasn't all the friendly and stayed back in the RP interactions besides muttering to himself). However, his main goal is life is that he wants to make cheeses. He is searching the mournlands for unique ingredients and magic to make a cheese that no one else has made and won't be stolen by his competitors.

2) A Vhuman AT/WW. An city urchan. His parents were abusive and he left home at a very young age because he assumed that he would be better without them. He lived on the streets of the city most his childhood learning hedge magic and getting some skills. However, he is a positive person and his goal is that no one else will have to grow up on the streets alone like he did. Much of his fortune has gone into creating and upgrading an orphanage in the city. He has no religion and follows no deity. He never got anything from a deity and doesn't feel like he owes them anything.

Just a few examples. Pick a character and pick a cause. What is he/she/they/pick a pronoun looking to do? What do they want out of life? Do they serve a King? Are they off to find their love? Did their sister get kidnapped and they are trying to find them? Are they just bored of being a farmer and want to seek out their fortune?

[Easy e]

The ancient Romans were an incredibly religious group. They were very dutiful in their religion and their belief system. It drove a lot of how they operated as a people and as individuals. They had a very diverse set of religious beliefs that all co-mingled in their territories. Yet, if you think of ancient Romans now-a-days, do people remember them for being an extremely devout and religious civilization?

To play down the religious aspects of a character, you simply need to give him motivations that are not inherently based on religion! (Obvious man is obvious) The Romans were very religious, but it did not drive all of their decisions. They had other motives as well. The same should be true for your character too. Perhaps his motives and values help him lean towards a aligned god, but he did not come to those values and motives due to a god.

Do you see the subtle difference?

[KorvinStarmast]

The fact is, I don’t know how to approach D&D roleplaying without making any reference to religion: I feel like in D&D religion is too integral on how people would behave. Gods are tangible and this makes me uncertain on why I would not have a strong faith in such a world. And I don’t even know where to begin if I don’t consider religion.
While you are right, since gods objectively exist in the D&D default multiverse, here's a place I'll ask you to do a little lateral thinking.

How would religion/service to a deity be different in a world where they are known to be objectively real and active?
You can do the same thing that you want to do but frame it as though you are a knight serving his king (oath of the Crown does this by design) - only in this case the "king" or the "queen" is a deity rather than a mortal. Of course you are going to promote your deity and serve their interests (which makes your DM a little bit wrong but bear with me here)

However

Why would you presume that all other deities are opposed to your deity? D&D default deities tend to be in pantheons, which means that some deities get along well with others, and others are opposed to each other by default. Deities in that kind of family structure can put the fun into dysfunctional.

Thus, you may be better served to position your paladin as one who serves a particular pantheon. Discuss with your DM, see if his deity structure fits the usual D&D pattern.

Then, know who your PC's deity's allies and foes are within the context of the pantheon and act accordingly.

Or (and this isn't likely) he is telling you that you are having bad wrong fun, and is a bad fit for you to re enter the game/hobby.

Or

He may dislike deities in D&D and doesn't want it in his world.
Ask him about that also.

[Psyren]

The fact is, I don’t know how to approach D&D roleplaying without making any reference to religion: I feel like in D&D religion is too integral on how people would behave. Gods are tangible and this makes me uncertain on why I would not have a strong faith in such a world. And I don’t even know where to begin if I don’t consider religion.

Can you provide tips? I’m here and if you’ve got any questions, I can answer them.

Gods are not tangible in every D&D setting. In Eberron they are vague and their churches can even be contradictory, while in Ravenloft you can't really be sure WHAT is answering your prayers, even if the answers are otherwise what you expect.

Assuming that by "in D&D" you mean "in Faerun" though, for starters it's your character. By all means work with your DM, but don't feel forced to play a concept you're not interested in. If faith-based or faith-adjacent characters are what inspire you the most, remind your DM that Forgotten Realm is purposefully designed that way- divine politics and relationships were intended from the start as a major source of character inspiration and a very intuitive way to ground newcomers to that world. If you two disagree on the best approach toward this character, an ideal way for this to work is for both sides to compromise.

With that said, assuming you agree wholeheartedly with your DM and want to try something new. making characters with no religious ties or hooks is easy. Instead of being devoted or opposed to a specific faith, try a more secular motivation - say, loyalty to a given region or people, desire to join a specific organization in the world, or connection to a missing family member or long-lost heirloom. You can have all kinds of motivations that have little to no connection to religion even in a highly religious setting.

[Entessa]

I want to thank each one of you for providing me some good food for thoughts. I will think about what you wrote.

The reference to the roman made by Easy E was particularly enlightening, if I have to be sincere.

And the reference to the arbitrariness of Gods by f5anor or their absence by Psyren is great too.

NickL_2000, I will think about a cause.

KorwinStarmast, I will thnk about your words too.

[JLandan]

Start off just making a character.
Race/class/background/stats
Create your back-story (different than background). Character's origin and history.

In each step, consider only the character's immediate place in the world. Most race/class combos won't have inherent religion. Even a Cleric may consider her church rather than her god for back-story purposes. Some Paladins may live by their Oath without religious ties. It is entirely possible to have a religion, but not have it be the motivation for the character.

Class... It is far easier if the character's power is not derived from their god. Outside of Cleric, none of the classes are necessarily tied to a god. Not even Paladin. They can all be religious or not, as they see fit.

As far as races... pick a race and if it has a god attached, just ignore it.

Background... any will do, even Acolyte. Just because you came up religious doesn't mean you still are. Choose personality traits not tied to religion, same for ideals, bonds, flaws.

Stats... No bearing on religion at all.

Now to role-playing... ignore your god, if you have one. Don't fret over the origin of the world or the afterlife. Have your character live day-to-day or make great plans, just leave the holy out of it. And remember, if you don't bother your god, it won't bother you.

I don't know if any of this helps. I hope it's what you were looking for. Keep in mind, you can always just go ahead and be religious too.:smallsmile:

[da newt]

Super simple version:

Paladins are primarily driven by their oath - their creed - justice. Some follow one god, some follow many gods, some don't. The big thing is, in the generic DnD realms, there are MANY gods and (with the exception of a few) these gods are not trying to destroy all the other gods and take over (There can be only one!). The gods are all part of a big old family. If you go around starting drama you should draw the ire of your god.


Go ahead and sing the praises of your god and try to persuade folks to join up, but if you are actively razing other GOOD or NEUTRAL god's temples and trying to force folks into your god's camp, you aren't being a good paladin, your god should disapprove, and you are just creating problems. Razing the temple of an evil cult that worships a devil / performs sacrifices etc - this is perfectly normal paladin stuff.


Now if you are playing in an evil PC game with the DM and all player's full approval and you are an oathbreaker ... that's a different story.

[Segev]

It may help to think of gods as sports teams or college clubs. Make a character who acknowledges that they exist but isn't into them. Most of my characters have interests and goals of their own; I actually have trouble having any who devote themselves to a particular god's faith unless the cause thereof inherently aligns itself with the character's motivation.

[f5anor]

It may help to think of gods as sports teams or college clubs. Make a character who acknowledges that they exist but isn't into them. Most of my characters have interests and goals of their own; I actually have trouble having any who devote themselves to a particular god's faith unless the cause thereof inherently aligns itself with the character's motivation.

I think this is an apt analogy, allegiance to gods in DnD is like allegiance to football clubs. Football is real, the clubs are real, they can come to play in your city and you can see them, but they do not really impact your life, unless you choose yourself to go deeper into this world of fans and related conflicts. Not every football fan is a hooligan after all.

In addition, football clubs come and go, every few years there come new coaches. new player and the balance shifts. Occasionally you might even get new clubs from the second division or some old clubs dropping out.

[Dalinar]

I'm a bit curious why your DM thinks it's an issue if you play characters with similar backgrounds and motivations to each other.

Like at my table, I'll play a variety of things (with a slight bias towards melee fighters/paladins), but one of my coplayers is only just starting to branch out after playing only rogues, another of us plays only casters, a third only likes firearms-based characters, and when our DM gets a chance to play he likes to dump CON.

If you're still taking that to heart, then I think other posters in this thread have given plenty of good advice already. But I don't think it's that weird to have a type.

[Catullus64]

I would not say that there is no alternative to a religious approach in DnD, quite the contrary for me.

Gods seem to be quite arbitrary, it seems that it’s quite easy to become a god, even for mortal creatures. Many gods are race dependent, which makes them irrelevant to other races. Many gods, even old and well established ones, are downright petty, and not at all inspiring religious fervor.

Actually, I have a hard time understanding why anyone would be religious in such a world, especially since magic wielded by run of the mill Wizards easily competes with „act of god“ type events.

Saying that people wouldn't be religious in a world with secular wizards is like saying that because we can dam a river, we don't need to be afraid of the ocean. The scale is fundamentally unlike.

I agree with the OP that in D&D worlds, an irreligious character would be an oddity. The gods tangibly exist and take an interest in mortal affairs. No sensible person would think that staying on the right side of such beings doesn't matter or can be safely ignored. Even if such a person did exist, they'd likely be cowed by the majority of people who quite rationally want to stick to the proven methods of keeping the gods happy (that is to say, religion).

I don't think there's anything wrong with the approach of all of your characters having a religious core. Although by the same kind of reasoning from a world in which many gods exist and have power over your life, a character who made a habit of violating the sacred spaces of other gods would most certainly not be behaving in a sensible way, unless you have it on very good authority that your particular favorite god is powerful enough and willing to protect you from the retribution of all the gods you've just crossed.

I also do find it funny when people talk about D&D religion involving "faith." Faith to me seems like an inapt word for religious attitudes in which divine activity is so readily observable.

[Segev]

Saying that people wouldn't be religious in a world with secular wizards is like saying that because we can dam a river, we don't need to be afraid of the ocean. The scale is fundamentally unlike.

I agree with the OP that in D&D worlds, an irreligious character would be an oddity. The gods tangibly exist and take an interest in mortal affairs. No sensible person would think that staying on the right side of such beings doesn't matter or can be safely ignored. Even if such a person did exist, they'd likely be cowed by the majority of people who quite rationally want to stick to the proven methods of keeping the gods happy (that is to say, religion).

I don't think there's anything wrong with the approach of all of your characters having a religious core. Although by the same kind of reasoning from a world in which many gods exist and have power over your life, a character who made a habit of violating the sacred spaces of other gods would most certainly not be behaving in a sensible way, unless you have it on very good authority that your particular favorite god is powerful enough and willing to protect you from the retribution of all the gods you've just crossed.

It's also worth noting that not being an adherent of a particular god doesn't mean you can't show respect to that god's sacred sites, relics, priests, and holy rites. You don't have to participate, necessarily, to show respect, either, just not denigrate and attack or defile. On the other hand, I expect most common folk in a setting will tend to show reverence for and even participate in religious activities that are pertinent to whatever it is they're doing. If they believe that Pershala the Prim will bless their wedding day by holding off all the myriad disasters that can befall major events, so long as they wear a white pearl-beaded glove on their right hands, there will be brides, whether they are devout followers of Pershala or not, who will wear that glove. It may even just be a part of the traditional wedding attire for women. Or men, for that matter. If they're RIGHT, especially demonstrably so such that those who observe the practice have smooth wedding days while those who do not have a more sliding scale of smooth to disastrous, it only makes it more likely. Only those religiously OPPOSED to Pershala would be likely to refuse to wear this glove if it were traditional or proven effective or both.

If you play a particularly religious character in D&D, it probably looks a lot like a particularly superstitious character would, save that the "superstitions" are religious observances or taboos rather than "merely" secular "good luck charms" or the like. Unless you play a particularly religious character who is devoted to a particular god, in which case you likely are a cleric or paladin or something similar, or at least professionally in the ministry. Though that's not required; you may just have a personal reason for being so grateful to or devoutly dedicated to honoring a particular god or small subset of related gods, rather than observing whatever is pertinent to what you're doing in a more "tokens of respect" sort of way. (Perhaps your PC is always the bridesmaid, never the bride, and has taken to devoting herself to Pershala in hopes that she will help her find that special someone and have that perfect wedding. Or the blessing and advice of a priestess of Pershala helped her find and win the heart of her now-husband, and she is devoted to Pershala in gratitude for it.)

[KorvinStarmast]

It may help to think of gods as sports teams or college clubs. As a Dallas Cowboys fan, I will say that some of my fellow supporters/fans almost take it to the level of a religion ... :smalleek: