* * * Wizards Community Thread * * * -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Thread : Gods and stuff Started at 06-02-04 08:16 PM by Lord Ikrik Visit at http://forums.gleemax.com/showthread.php?t=251379 -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- [Post 1] Author : Lord Ikrik Date : 06-02-04 08:16 PM Thread Title : Gods and stuff I've been creating a 1st/2nd ed world for a while and am wondering whether to include Gods. At the moment its an option but as things move on i have to decide one way or another. Has anyone else done much with gods or deities in their worlds ? If so how did you go about it and how did your players handle it ? -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- [Post 2] Author : Varl Date : 06-02-04 09:26 PM It depends on whether you want gods in your game or not. If so, I highly recommend the FR series of books if you can find them, or downloads of them from svgames.com. Even if you don't use the FR, they have a terrific model from which to base religious orders off of. They're my favorite 2e books by far. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- [Post 3] Author : Azer Firelord Date : 06-02-04 10:29 PM Thread Title : Very handy When I made my world (using 1st/2nd ed), I wanted to have gods as an important feature. Because this makes clerics and palaidns much more interesting- they have a religous system they can relate to. It is also tied in to the medieval setting- in the Middle Ages, people 'knew' the gods existed.... One way to go is make a god for each class- they were exemplary members of that class and were made divine. But there are lots of other options. I certainly feel religion can make a world come alive. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- [Post 4] Author : vader42xx Date : 06-03-04 02:39 AM It's just all in what you're looking for. Both ways of doing things are fun and should be tried by everybody in my opinion. Having gods gives you a higher sense of purpose and makes the world more alive in the "true" sense. So you'll get a fantasy version of something you're more familair with. But if you have no gods you can also have clerics be similar to druids in that they just follow "spirits" or some other nebulous entity. There are, of course, 101 more reasons for and against both sides so in the end you'll just have to decide what sort of world you're going for and figure out which system will help you better create that world. The only world I ever ran without gods was because I specifically wanted to remove such "higher purpose." Everyone had a great time with it but we also have a great time in worlds with gods. lol The one nice thing about removing that higher purpose is that gods tend to become a huge focus for players and, after a while, that can become quite annoying. After all, if everybody knew that one or more gods existed then they would become pretty big things the world over. So it's nice to remove that and let the players (even those clerics) have free run of things. Anyway, just my ramblings on the subject. :D -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- [Post 5] Author : imayb1 Date : 06-03-04 09:18 PM I like using gods, but have run godless, too. IMO, it all depends upon your mythology of world-creation. There are all kinds of scenarios to draw from in other cultures or from fantasy novels. We've all heard/seen examples of meddling, interfering gods. (Greeks) There's the idea that the gods are just *really* powerful wizards (Witch World), or that the gods created the universe and walked away, or that the peoples abandoned the gods (DragonLance)... You can take a pre-built pantheon, like Forgotten Realms which has a diety for just about every thing, or you can go with the ol' balanced 1 N god, 1 G god, 1 E god, or any variation in between. I thought no gods was fun to try. In that campaign, magic was magic. Anyone who used magic looked at the school to see if they could learn/cast a spell, regardless of whether it was technically a mage or a priest spell. That was fun. Yeah, I wound up with a lot of spellcasters, but that was okay, because the world discriminated against folks who dabbled in magic. :smirk: -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- [Post 6] Author : The WarOverlord Date : 06-08-04 06:39 AM In the most basic form the "gods" are just politicians or a form of government that try to hold sway over events via their supporters and influence and reward their supporters for their efforts in a very political "I scratch your back, you scratch mine" in the best relationships and "Do as I say or I'll make you suffer" in the worst relationships. Not much difference in a "Higher form of life" coming to a world and trying to manage the people and the resources and One Nation taking another Nation by force then telling them how they should live and what kind of government they should have (that will be complaint in sharing the countries resource of course) :D -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Downloaded from Wizards Community (http://forums.gleemax.com) at 05-10-08 08:20 AM.