Question about religion

Started by Delbareth, November 01, 2013, 10:29:31 AM

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tanis

He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you.

Laurent MEKKA

Great ! Can't wait the other gods ! :)

sid6.7

so the new god assytia how is it pronounced? ass E tia?

David Roomes

I've always pronounced it uh-SEE-sha. Though I've heard people pronounce different Khoras terms different ways. You can pronounce it however you like.

Do you think putting pronunciation tips on the site for specific names would be useful? Or would that be too restrictive?

David M. Roomes
Creator of the World of Khoras

sid6.7

Quote from: David Roomes on January 16, 2015, 10:56:42 PM
I've always pronounced it uh-SEE-sha. Though I've heard people pronounce different Khoras terms different ways. You can pronounce it however you like.

Do you think putting pronunciation tips on the site for specific names would be useful? Or would that be too restrictive?



wow i got that one all wrong...hehehehehe...

probably to restrictive...

tanis

Yeah, I pronounce that one uh-SEE-TEE-uh.

I'd say leave it the way it is. It's not that big a deal, and that way people won't feel pressured to pronounce it "right" if they're used to pronouncing it some other way.
He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you.

David Roomes

Good point. Besides, different regional dialects often pronounce the same thing different ways. No big deal. And it also makes each person's gaming world a little more unique.
David M. Roomes
Creator of the World of Khoras

tanis

Yeah, that's sort of where my mind was as well.
He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you.

David Roomes

Hello!

Work on the Religion Project continues. Yeah, I know... it's endless... Anyway, this month (August 2015) is focused on Grythga and Uthalgrim, the two gods of the Borrellians. Those two are the last of the Ithrian gods to be updated. So, very soon, all the major religions of Khoras will be done. This is a fairly big milestone and constitutes the bulk of the work on the religion overhaul. I think we're almost three fourths of the way through.

Also, I just spent the last two days going through the site and removing all traces of, and references to, the old Ithrian gods. I did a pretty thorough sweep. However, if you happen to find something which you think is a reference to an old god, let me know. Everything should be pointing to the new Religion sections... the Elder Gods, the Celestials, the Dark Lords and the Kindred Gods.

Starting next month, I will begin working on a whole new region... the gods of Aggradar, beginning with The Ancients. Overall, I'm pretty happy with the religions in Khoras now. Religion used to be the weakest section of the entire website. Now, it's a really strong part of the world.

So, for all of you who contributed ideas, suggestions, comments, questions or just nagged me... thank you!
David M. Roomes
Creator of the World of Khoras

sid6.7

thanks dave its been interesting so far! look forward to the work in aggradar...

David Roomes

I've been really struggling with the religions of Aggradar. Here's one reason why... "the Ancients" don't really exist anymore and I'm thinking about just removing that category entirely. Aggradar used to be ruled by the Kytohan Empire... a massive empire that spanned almost coast to coast and had conquered almost the entire land mass. The empire worshiped a single pantheon... a set of gods. When the Sundering hit, Aggradar was devastated and the Kytohan Empire was shattered. It broke up into warring provinces and such. A couple thousand years later, whole new nations and whole new races have arisen. SOME of the old gods were adopted and adapted by the new nations and new races. And those religions changed and evolved as they were adapted to the new nations and races. Examples include Bromat (worshiped by the Magrakians), Olgrom (worshiped in the Iron States) and Trodule (worshiped by the Hyttar). That's it. All of the other regions turned to newer faiths, most likely smaller faiths that expanded.

That means three of the old faiths, specifically Baltrad, Hemryk and Vazul, have no vast regions or nations worshipping them. That's my sticking point. Where, exactly, are the worshipers of these three gods? There aren't any. At least not in the massive numbers that there once was. These three religions have really fallen from power. Rather than millions who once worshiped thousands of years ago, there are probably only a few thousand left scattered about the continent. These three have gone from continent spanning mega-religions to obscure cults. So, I'm thinking about just removing them entirely.

The only religions that really should be detailed are the ones who are currently in power today. Who cares about an obscure faith from almost 3000 years ago? That's the kind of thing a game master can wipe up for specific campaigns or dungeon crawl. There are LOTS of obscure cults from history. So, that's my thinking... I'm thinking Baltrad, Hemryk and Vazul are out. Maybe a footnote in the historical section, but they are not worshiped widely today. The religions who SHOULD be detailed are the ones in power across Aggradar. That would be Bromat, Olgram, Trodule, Guelrilath, Chaddamar and the various non-deity philosophies and faiths of the south and east.

So, I can't remember who said it, but someone mentioned they were eager to read about the ancients. Sorry to disappoint, but I think the Ancients are going to be removed.

Comments? Questions? Ideas? Suggestions? Let me hear it.
David M. Roomes
Creator of the World of Khoras

Delbareth

Hi everybody !
I have been quite quiet on this topic for a very long time, but I really want to say that Dave you have made an amazing work! There is a clear leap in the quality, consistency, details of this section ! Really fantastic !

For your question, I think you're right. Old gods which are no more worshiped are not very interesting. And as you point out there are many other gods in the same situation which are not detailled.

I take the opportunity I'm awaken to ask a question about Belhelizar and specially its cult.
I have no problem with its philosophy "Law and order only serve to limit and restrict life and joy.", but I can't understand how this cult can be OFFICIALLY present in a nation (for instance Duthelm).
I understand that Duthelm also fight the law and order of the Rukemian Empire. So we could see a convergence of their interests. But there are also strict laws in Duthelm, and a form of strict order also. The Cult rules, and I think anyone proclaming that only chaos should rule cannot really be considerer as an ally.
So I have problem to imagine a temple in The Citadel (or elsewhere), with worshippers who proclaim the law of chaos, but follow the strict rules of city where they live...
Delbareth
Les MJ ne sont ni sadiques ni cruels, ce sont juste des artistes incompris.

David Roomes

Thanks for the feedback. Really glad you like the new religion section! Yes, I think it's much better than the old version.

And yes, you summarized it well. I guess my main point is that I don't want to spend a lot of time and effort detailing a religion which is little more than an obscure cult and has few followers. I think the major religions deserve the detail. There are LOTS of dead religions, obscure cults and minor faiths scattered across Khoras and DM's can always invent and detail those minor cults as needed for gaming purposes.

Finally, Belhelizar... ah, Belhelizar... he's one of my favorite gods.  ;)  Yes, you're right. The basic tenets of that faith make it incompatible with civilization in general. The description of Belhelizar includes the following line:  Belhelizar is worshiped openly in the Coalition and Duthelm. Although not embraced by those governments, his temples are open to all and operate without interference. In both of those dark nations, the rulers have found the priests and worshipers of Belhelizar to be useful from time to time.

Basically, that implies that even in those two "dark" nations, there is friction between the government and the church of Belhelizar. The governments find the church of Belhelizar useful from time to time and the church probably finds it to be advantageous to have at least a couple of "out in the open" public establishments, even if they do sometimes have to restrain their faithful. The church of Belhelizar probably views the Rukemian Empire as their chief enemy on the continent and so having a major base in nearby Duthelm is very useful. The saying "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" applies here. So most of the aggression of the Belhelizar faithful is directed at the Empire.

I agree, it's not a perfect match. I'm sure there's lots of friction between the faithful of Belhelizar and the rest of the Citadel/Duthelm. Within the Citadel itself, Caramus and the church of Draxorith keeps a watchful eye on the followers of Belhelizar.

Besides, I think there could be some interesting stories that emerge from such "friction".

The only city where the church and priests of Belhelizar can operate with truly no restrictions is Asylum.
David M. Roomes
Creator of the World of Khoras

Delbareth

Quote from: David Roomes on October 18, 2015, 10:31:50 PM
and the church probably finds it to be advantageous to have at least a couple of "out in the open" public establishments, even if they do sometimes have to restrain their faithful.

I think it is the main point I missed. It says 2 things :
- on a large scale, Belhelizar church has an interest in having an official cult somewhere
- on a local scale, they adapt their speech to fit this situation
I had difficulties to imagine the day-to-day life a Belhelizar followers: you participate to a "mass", where a priest told you how laws, order, civilization is evil. And then they go out of the temple, and are obliged to follow rules, to respect laws, etc... And they have to, not only for thelmselves (like in any country) but because their priest told them to do so. I found that strange.

But now I accept a "corrupt" version of the priest speech: Duthelm law is not the true enemy.
It's lot clearer, and I'm going to start "annoying" my players with Belhelizar followers and priests.
Delbareth
Les MJ ne sont ni sadiques ni cruels, ce sont juste des artistes incompris.

David Roomes

Different game masters might play it different ways.

It's possible that the Belhelizar group in Duthelm is outnumbered and outgunned and they know it's in their best interests to choose their battles. And that's how I'll probably run it in my campaign.

Then again, you could also play it a different way... you could say that the Belhelizar church in Duthelm/Citadel and in Coalition/Tyrrenkor operate "underground" like a criminal organization. They operate from a hidden base/temple within the city and strike out at the city government... even cities that have borderline evil governments.

So, anyway, lots of options. :)

David M. Roomes
Creator of the World of Khoras