Religion and Roleplay!

[Diana]

Since some people might be craving a more serious roleplay related topic, I bring you something that can be as subtle as a spring breeze or as IN YOUR FACE as a typhoon!

Religion, in a roleplay can have HUGE impact on your plot, world, and characters depending on how it's incorporated. Even if you are playing a Fantasy roleplay, the religion of the world and it's characters will guide how people behave. Here's some examples:

- Imagine a world where it's the Church that governs society, how does that affect the people that live there?

- What happens when a Government goes to war with a Religion?

- How does a character's religion (or lack there of) dictate the choices they make?


So, with religion in mind... here are some questions for you to answer!


Have you ever played a character that had really strong religious beliefs? Who are they! How did those beliefs affect who they are?

What roleplays have you participated in that had the STRONGEST religious ties/theme? What roleplays had the most subtle hints (but there all the same and important!)?

Have you played in a roleplay that had a unique or really awesome spin on religion that didn't fall in to the normal stereotypes?

How creative do you get when creating GODS for your roleplays? What is your favorite example?

If you designed your own religion for a roleplay, what would it be like?


Answer mine questions.... if you can!

 

[CoffeeCake]

Have you ever played a character that had really strong religious beliefs?
Not counting Exalted characters, I've had one.
Who are they!
Post-apocalypse. She was part of one of those vaguely Catholic-inspired institutions the Japanese like using in fantasy fiction while her mother was from a more animistic tradition. In the setting, there was no conflict between the two. She thought she was the Chosen One of her village.
How did those beliefs affect who they are?
The GM and I had agreed to be ambiguous as to whether she'd inherited a limited form of her mother's ability to talk to spirits or simply been suffering from a potent insanity curse that played on her own personality and expectations. I didn't write it as well as I wanted to, looking back. She was a partially-reformed neer-do-well who saw herself as the next Joan of Arc. She was optimistic and stubborn to the point of wrecklessness because of it, but usually lucked out enough to survive.
What roleplays have you participated in that had the STRONGEST religious ties/theme? What roleplays had the most subtle hints (but there all the same and important!)? Probably the Legacy. You've got your sacrifices and deaths and resurrections and angels and all that. I don't join many RPs with strong religious themes. The ones I want to join either die in their inception or I'm too busy to join/post.
Have you played in a roleplay that had a unique or really awesome spin on religion that didn't fall in to the normal stereotypes?
No, not really. I've seen some awesome ideas, but I haven't played in those games.

How creative do you get when creating GODS for your roleplays?
What is your favorite example?
I generally don't portray gods much outside of non-roleplay for obvious reasons, but I'm partial to colorful humanoids, often genderless, whose appearances reflect their domains.
If you designed your own religion for a roleplay, what would it be like? You want me to pick just one? I don't know about rituals yet, as those are my least favorite aspects. I care more about how much truth is in the myths and what they say about divinity's relation to humanity.

I guess I'd like to run a game where the players frequently speak with the gods of the setting, and the latter are clearly concerned for the well-being of the former. I think that could be interesting.

I'd also like to steal from Exalted and run a plot where the PCs are suddenly elevated to mystical demi-gods who must choose what to do with their power.