FAQ: Religion
Moderator: Wizards
- Devi
- Hero
- Posts: 332
- Joined: Thu Jun 30, 2005 11:58 am
FAQ: Religion
Here are some questions I've seen asked sometimes ic, often spawning massive debates. I don't know which of these are supposed to be common knowledge in the game world, which already have hidden answers, and which are supposed to be the subject of massive ic debates, so I'll just throw them all here.
1.) Which god created the halflings? What about gnotts? Faeries? etc.
> I remember someone (Genesis?) posting on the wiki a long time ago that maybe Gwen created the halflings, but I haven't heard much about it since.
2.) Where do the gods live?
>Do they live together? At the top of Giat? In heaven/hell? Another plane? Almost every culture has a standard answer to this question, even if it's the subject of philosophical debate.
3.) Why is scalping okay, but dissection isn't? Beheading? Are savage murders only acceptable because it'd be impossible to code the difference between a savage murder and a humane slaughter?
>Does this have to do with the surface of the body vs. the inside of the body? Respect the inside, but mess around with the outside as you please sort of thing.
4.) Just the seven? Can the gods get married? Can the gods have children? Did Evren and Sathonys ever have a love affair?
1.) Which god created the halflings? What about gnotts? Faeries? etc.
> I remember someone (Genesis?) posting on the wiki a long time ago that maybe Gwen created the halflings, but I haven't heard much about it since.
2.) Where do the gods live?
>Do they live together? At the top of Giat? In heaven/hell? Another plane? Almost every culture has a standard answer to this question, even if it's the subject of philosophical debate.
3.) Why is scalping okay, but dissection isn't? Beheading? Are savage murders only acceptable because it'd be impossible to code the difference between a savage murder and a humane slaughter?
>Does this have to do with the surface of the body vs. the inside of the body? Respect the inside, but mess around with the outside as you please sort of thing.
4.) Just the seven? Can the gods get married? Can the gods have children? Did Evren and Sathonys ever have a love affair?
- Abharsair
- Site Admin
- Posts: 901
- Joined: Tue Jun 21, 2005 11:24 am
- Location: Regensburg, Germany
- Contact:
Re: FAQ: Religion
Just like the halfling "empire", the creation of the halflings is also quite mysterious. Or to be more precise, we wizards didn't think much about it so far. Should there be one time a halfling capital, the question will be answered, but personally I don't consider the typical halfling traits of "finding" things and causing mischief very "Gwenish".Devi wrote:1.) Which god created the halflings? What about gnotts? Faeries? etc.
> I remember someone (Genesis?) posting on the wiki a long time ago that maybe Gwen created the halflings, but I haven't heard much about it since.
Depends on what their followers believe. I know that at least the Taniels believe in some sort of heaven, and there's also the concept of hell as well as the planes through which the Clerics sometimes travel, so one can safely assume that the gods can dwell in various planes. What they surely don't do is to live together.Devi wrote: 2.) Where do the gods live?
>Do they live together? At the top of Giat? In heaven/hell? Another plane? Almost every culture has a standard answer to this question, even if it's the subject of philosophical debate.
First at all, beheading and scalping can be only done to corpses (if we don't count chopping off a head in combat). And it is one thing to witness three quick cuts across the scalp and a hard yank, or a swift chop to the neck, but it is a completely different thing to see some shady, pale, academic-type guy dig elbow-deep through the organs of some human corpse for sinews, glands and whatever else. At least I know what would give me more nightmares.Devi wrote:3.) Why is scalping okay, but dissection isn't? Beheading? Are savage murders only acceptable because it'd be impossible to code the difference between a savage murder and a humane slaughter?
Just the seven. And no, they don't get married. No, Evren and Sathonys would never have a love affair. They hate each other. And yes, they can have children. I mean, they are GODS after all. They do what they want.Devi wrote:4.) Just the seven? Can the gods get married? Can the gods have children? Did Evren and Sathonys ever have a love affair?
- tessa
- Overlord
- Posts: 1093
- Joined: Fri Jun 24, 2005 6:03 am
- Location: My own imagination.
I always just wrote halflings off as some weird mix of dwarf and elf. Or maybe just some subrace of dwarf that eventually evolved into its own kind? Maybe they didn't necessarily have to be created by a god, but came to be by some natural.. event (I would disagree with them being artificially created like tshaharks, though).
-Tessa, Daughter of Gwen
-Tessa, Daughter of Gwen
- genesis
- Wizard
- Posts: 230
- Joined: Wed Jul 20, 2005 10:48 am
- Location: Finland, Helsinki
- Contact:
1. I always thought it was Gwen. According to Abharsair they don't look quite Gwenish. (Perhaps the gift of Free Will and corruption of Lilith caused something.) Uuh, would be awesome to find out that halflings are actually Lilithite creatures.
2. This is an interesting question. Do deities have physical bodies, or are they simply souls or even minds living on another planes of existence?
4. So, gods can have children, but there cannot be more gods? How about if Lilith and Sathonys somehow -merge- into each other, combining the forces of Evil against the good...
2. This is an interesting question. Do deities have physical bodies, or are they simply souls or even minds living on another planes of existence?
4. So, gods can have children, but there cannot be more gods? How about if Lilith and Sathonys somehow -merge- into each other, combining the forces of Evil against the good...
Genesis the ideaSpawner
- Abharsair
- Site Admin
- Posts: 901
- Joined: Tue Jun 21, 2005 11:24 am
- Location: Regensburg, Germany
- Contact:
-
- Champion
- Posts: 780
- Joined: Thu Feb 09, 2006 12:56 am
- Location: Illinois
Lilith and Sathonys have wayyyy too much rivalry for that, as is evidenced in at least one place in the game by NPCs, and definitely roleplayed.
I think that a lot of what's good about the theology is that most mortals do have some sense of wonder and mystery about it. If all the details were spelled out OOCly, it would be sad to see everyone ICly suddenly "know" everything. I like the debates.
I think that a lot of what's good about the theology is that most mortals do have some sense of wonder and mystery about it. If all the details were spelled out OOCly, it would be sad to see everyone ICly suddenly "know" everything. I like the debates.
- aragog
- Professional
- Posts: 90
- Joined: Wed Nov 23, 2005 11:57 am
Gods having children would only result in demi-gods or something alike I think and sooner or later we'd have a more gods than the greeks Would be perhaps fun, but I think it would get simply too confusing pretty fast.4. So, gods can have children, but there cannot be more gods? How about if Lilith and Sathonys somehow -merge- into each other, combining the forces of Evil against the good...
Cleric meets Person.
Cleric favourchecks Person.
Cleric finds out Person follows god XXL.
Cleric starts to browse through his book of gods in order to find out if Person is an enemy or not.
Cleric is busy to browse through his book of gods.
Person leaves.
Cleric sighs frustratedly.
Never argue with an idiot. They drag you down to their level, then beat you with experience.
- tessa
- Overlord
- Posts: 1093
- Joined: Fri Jun 24, 2005 6:03 am
- Location: My own imagination.
I would figure they're essences that could take on physical or ethereal forms at their whim.2. This is an interesting question. Do deities have physical bodies, or are they simply souls or even minds living on another planes of existence?
And if the gods did have children (which I really don't see happening, perhaps for the better), I would figure it would be with mortals rather than each other.
Mortals are the playthings of the gods, after all. Perhaps in more ways than one.
- luminier
- Overlord
- Posts: 2732
- Joined: Wed Jul 25, 2007 11:40 pm
- Location: Manitoba Canada
- stilgar
- Champion
- Posts: 503
- Joined: Fri Jun 24, 2005 7:01 am
- Location: Pecs, Hungary
Re: FAQ: Religion
As far as I know different deities favour different auras. So if you ask for a karma-check from a priest his answer will be according to the align of his god or it gives an average range from good to bad? (not sure, but I think this second version I think is currently implemented, though not sure if its fitting for RP purposes as I doubt a priest of Sathonys would ever call a pitchblack karma "bad" or a lilly-white one "good")
Future is NOT what it used to be
Pecs, European Capital of Culture 2010
Pecs, European Capital of Culture 2010
- stilgar
- Champion
- Posts: 503
- Joined: Fri Jun 24, 2005 7:01 am
- Location: Pecs, Hungary
Re: FAQ: Religion
Another question. Do the priests have the knowledge to tell their followers what should they do to improve their karma towards the favoured alignment and maintain it there?
Future is NOT what it used to be
Pecs, European Capital of Culture 2010
Pecs, European Capital of Culture 2010
- tessa
- Overlord
- Posts: 1093
- Joined: Fri Jun 24, 2005 6:03 am
- Location: My own imagination.
Re: FAQ: Religion
Karma from favour checks shows an average, from white/grey/red/black or something. White always means good, black is evil, and so forth, regardless of the god.
Checking karma with npcs at temples, however, shows how close you are to the god's ideal karma. So, if Sathonys says your karma is great, it means it's very close to max negative. Taniel would say it sucks. Equally, if you had max positive karma, Taniel would say it's great, and Sathonys would say it sucks.
Checking karma with npcs at temples, however, shows how close you are to the god's ideal karma. So, if Sathonys says your karma is great, it means it's very close to max negative. Taniel would say it sucks. Equally, if you had max positive karma, Taniel would say it's great, and Sathonys would say it sucks.
- stilgar
- Champion
- Posts: 503
- Joined: Fri Jun 24, 2005 7:01 am
- Location: Pecs, Hungary
Re: FAQ: Religion
I see, thx.
Future is NOT what it used to be
Pecs, European Capital of Culture 2010
Pecs, European Capital of Culture 2010
-
- Experienced
- Posts: 38
- Joined: Sat Nov 08, 2008 11:35 am
Re: FAQ: Religion
So is karma a straight line? You can go up, you can go down, and gods will think more or less of you for it?
I suppose then Zhakrin would think the most of you with a neutral karma (exactly in the middle of the line) and less and less as your karma gets towards the ends of the line?
I wonder what the possible outcomes for a karma check are? As in, what colors can karma have?
I suppose then Zhakrin would think the most of you with a neutral karma (exactly in the middle of the line) and less and less as your karma gets towards the ends of the line?
I wonder what the possible outcomes for a karma check are? As in, what colors can karma have?
- tessa
- Overlord
- Posts: 1093
- Joined: Fri Jun 24, 2005 6:03 am
- Location: My own imagination.
Re: FAQ: Religion
Yes, Zhakrin prefers the middle. The more off-center you go, the less he likes it.
The karma colour question is probably something that could be learned by asking around ICly (clerics would know, but it's not necessarily general knowledge).
The karma colour question is probably something that could be learned by asking around ICly (clerics would know, but it's not necessarily general knowledge).