Playing into racial deities is an excellent way to feel more connected to your character’s race, and to learn more about their culture. There’s also the consideration of how your race plays into your belief in a deity.Ī half-orc might have an interesting relationship with Gruumsh, or might’ve been taught to believe that he is a good god. A druid faithful to Melora will be far more connected to the savagery of nature than one devoted to Eldath. Your actions are probably at least somewhat shaped by which path you choose. In most settings, it’s hard to be an atheist, but you can still choose to distrust or despise the powers at be. You’ll want to figure out what that means to you because, in a world where gods abound, your stance is important. It may seem crazy that clerics are the only class with an actual mechanical relationship to the gods, but did you know that in the original Dungeons & Dragons, there were only three classes? Cleric, Fighting man, and Magic-User were your options, so ⅓ of the classes were reliant upon gods!Ĭlerics are spoiled, but every character has some relationship with gods. ![]() I mean, come on right, an actual god affecting the outcome of a battle or worse, a dinner party?! They literally call upon their god to intercede in affairs. Perhaps the craziest thing about clerics is the 10th level ability they gain named Divine Intervention. This decides their subclass, and a lot more as far as roleplay goes. They gain their powers through the domain of the god they worship. Mechanically, the only class that is actually affected by gods are clerics. In the original Dungeons & Dragons, there were three classes: Cleric, Fighting man, and Magic-User. Not only that, but it will give you the chance to do all those things that might come easier to someone who’s running a preconceived world. Just answering these three simple questions will build so much lore for your world. When you do so, I want you to think about a few things: Some of us like to create our own worlds, and that’s amazing. Giving your players’ characters enough importance to warrant direct communication with the gods is a great way to create fulfillment. If your paladin player has devoted themselves to Pelor you’ll want to know a thing or two about the god of light and be prepared to answer their prayers. You’ll want to understand two things, who they worship, and what their relationship is like. This is straightforward for a cleric, warlock, or druid, but should be contemplated for every character. When you do this make sure to ask questions about gods. When you’re preparing for any campaign, you should be talking to your players about their characters. Being able to convey the messages and wills of the gods to your players is extremely important. That brings us to one of the biggest responsibilities you’ll have when it comes to gods. A campaign centered around demons taking over the world is typically going to look much different than one centered around political strife.Įven then, we have to be ready to respond to our characters’ relationships with deities. If you’re using a preset campaign, the influence of the gods should be pretty straightforward. Most of the time we discuss the Forgotten Realms as the main setting of D&D, and when we do so we’re discussing a fantastical world littered with the influence of the gods.įrom the Tieflings‘ ties to Asmodeus or other demonic lords, to a cleric who has dedicated their life in service to a god, our players will all have some relationship to these powerful beings. In fact, the very first assumption in worldbuilding is that “ Gods Oversee Your World.” ![]() Gods, whether or not they exist in your world, are important. There is a reason why ‘Gods of Your World’ is on the 10th page of the DMG. We’ll discuss deities from the perspectives of both dungeon masters and players, and then introduce you to many of the established gods and pantheons for different campaign settings. If you’re just getting into D&D, or are a longtime fan looking for more information, we hope this article can begin to enlighten you. This idea that gods have a direct influence on the worlds we adventure in can be mind-blowing, and it can set the tone for many campaigns. Many of the worlds we might experience in our favorite TTRPG have gods that you could actually have the fortune (or misfortune) of meeting face to face. This concept is no different in the many worlds of Dungeons and Dragons. Without calling out any specific religions of our world, we can see plenty of crusades and religious sects who have ruled not one but many governments throughout our own history. Mythologies and the retellings of the acts of deities not only claim to explain how large ideas and aspects of the world came to be, but they also tend to actually shape the world through the acts of their followers. Gods are an integral part of the structure of almost any world.
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