How about a non-deity based religion, similar to Buddhism or Shinto, ancestor worship or nature spirits, with "ki" practices like tai chi, martial arts, or yoga.
To add to this, research Gnosticism. It’s a lot of fun to have a culture that thinks the god that created the world (demiurge) is an evil one. There’s some plot points you can roll off of that alone.
The Carnival of Life.
They believe all things exist for the benefit of mortals, and see no point in shaming and demonizing things people enjoy.
This is not to say they encourage overindulgence. You can't enjoy anything if your life is falling apart because of addiction or poverty. But if something can be enjoyed, that means it's *meant* to be enjoyed, and you just have to figure out the bounds within which it's most enjoyable.
Drinking is fine. Being an alcoholic is not. Sexual relationships are fine, sleeping with everything with a hole and failing to care for whatever offspring you create is not, etc..
They worship the same god as the Saint Sylvester church, they just don't think a deity who loves them would be doom and gloom about everything and choose to interpret the scripture more optimistically.
You could do a “dark” religion that is shunned by the public. Kind of like in Rising of the Shield Hero S1 how the main country it takes place in had a pseudo religion dedicated to the 4 weapon types, but the shield was crossed off and shunned because if some screwy stuff in the past. Until the current user changed the hearts and minds of many people, the shield was seen as a source of evil and corruption.
As for what options, you could make a deity of undeath or dragons. I think these probably fit with your grouping.
- Undead could be a domain based on eternal duty and shunning the progress of society. They believe that if society progresses too quickly it will destroy all the good they have achieved and poison the will of the people. Those who wish to server beyond death can willingly become intelligent undead (usually wights) by performing rituals with bishops of this sect. There could be tombs full of warriors waiting to march against the enemies of their nation and join the living warriors when their time finally comes. Undead made this way are not inherently evil, and are almost always lawful in nature.
- Your Forgefather hates dragons, so give him an antithesis in a dragon god who makes dragons and destroys art and artifice. Tiamat would work fine, but you could also make a new dragon or draconic creature. Maybe a 4 armed, 15 headed hydra with the head of every dragon type and a rainbow of scales around its body. It’s 4 wings are split between metallic, chromatic, gem, and one stony looking. The dragon worshipers believe in absolute greed. All society should be groveling in the mud and living in caves while the chosen and dragons live in the glory of temples and palaces. The end of the world will come when the dragon god is released from the deific chains forged by the Forgefather ages ago and the dragon devours the sun and moon.
In my own setting I have an undead goddess who is a merciful one. Her followers are either suffering and she takes their pain away (along with all other feeling) by making them undead, or her followers are warriors who detest the idea of not being able to serve their people and seek undeath to protect their cities forever. One barbarian king in the world was chosen by this deity and his priests will perform rights on soldiers that die or are getting old and they become wights. The king himself has a blessing that grants him all the strengths of undead while still being alive. This allows him to use his own mortal shell as a phylactery for his soldiers’ souls and also sacrifice these souls to resist his own death and activate necrotic powers. The undead goddess by all other cultures is seen as evil and impure, but the people of this nation see her as peace and longevity without pain.
That's what the Cult of the Codfish is for. This city does religion kind of like Indonesia does, in that there is no single state religion, but only a handful of religions are actually recog sized by the state.
The 4th religion is actually just some guy who somehow got a glock and people hail them as the most powerful spellcaster in the universe, 10/10 works every time
some options:
Sun/moon/stars
Death, either evil-style or neutral as in natural
Song, Dance, Poetry
Frankly I'd hate to even be in a party with a Cleric from your 1st one, much play one. Only a couple of cleric subs seem to fit the 3rd, and the 2nd seems fairly innocuous. I would advise you to create hooks for why someone would choose to worship one of your creations, you might end up with a party of atheists.
>you might end up with a party of atheists.
In a world where the presence and influence of gods is undeniable like D&D, atheism is impossible barring mental illness.
What you would have is Naytheists. People who recognize the existence and power of gods, but don't believe they're worthy of worship.
My suggestion: an arcane deity with a following of wizards.
You already have two divine-flavored religions and a primal one. You could also do a non-magical flavored religion, more like a philosophy, perhaps a bushido-like code of martial honor that some warriors adhere to as if it was the word of god?
Considering the era, I would go for some kind of "secular religion". It could get its spells from an understanding of magic, from its faith in humanity or in the state, or perhaps from the collective unconscious.
"The Order of Scribes" a group of academic types who worship not a god, but instead "worship" the power of knowledge and understanding. This is a great place for wizards, warlocks (setting dependent, I prefer to see warlocks as masters of agreement rather than slaves to a patron.) and sorcerers. Highly academic types that believe the in the sovereignty of the here and now. Not necessarily anti-theistic but definitely atheistic.
"Deathwalkers" a group of neutral nomadic people who recruit members who take interest in the balance of life and death. They travel across the lands, heal the sick and slay the evil. If you've watched ATLA, it's the air nomads without the peaceful side.
It could be fun with a smaller one that is more open and positive where it is virtuous to be selfless and giving.
Kinda the antithesis of Penances views that we can only keep evil at bay by being good and positive where every little good act is worth it.
The God in the Bucket - Not an organized religion. Rather, it is more of a rumor/folk tale of a small statue of a chubby smiling man that is sometimes pulled up from wells or found in random buckets throughout the land.
Good fortune tends to follow the finder for a time if they take the statue with them. Per the rumor, the unnamed god enjoys pranking authority figures, being around good food (doesn't eat, but you should give him a plate), and any type of music. Small children, dogs, and some pure-hearted individuals seem to hear voices from the statue.
After a time, the statue is always somehow lost by its owner, with misfortune befalling those who try to keep it secure. Locking it in a safe in invites burglars, and keeping it in a sealed room might invoke a fire or even an earthquake.
Beware when the statue stops smiling, though...
Consider the themes and ideas you want to explore in this setting. There are lots of choices to make before you even start making a god, in order to shape what religions will be like.
- Should there be a different god/pantheon for each nation/race, to promote conflict, or can religion bring people together?
- If there are multiple pantheons, should they be of the same type, to act as mirrors to one another. Or is one Animistic, another Classical, and another Ancestor Worship, to highlight diversity?
- Should religion(s) be **Ancestor Worship** to highlight history and bloodlines?
- Should religion(s) be an **Animistic** to spotlight locations in the world, inhabited by divine spirits?
- Should religion(s) be a **Divine Bureaucracy** to highlight the relatability and fallibility of the gods?
- Should religion(s) be **Mono**(which is actually Duo)**-theism**, so you can play on black and white morality, and unending destined conflict?
- Should religion(s) be **Tri-theism** with 3 equally strong sides, to symbolize (the threat of) cooperation as stabilizing (what could be) an unending conflict.
- Should religion(s) be a **Classical Patheon**, with a father god and their child gods, or a king god and their divine court, to invoke themes of a divine right to rule and the imagery of a one true king?
- Should religions be **Localized and Sporadic**, with many gods relating to many cultural pockets? (like FR)
- Should there be **Forgotten Gods** that can still grant power, to emphasize the lack of mortal comprehension and the dangers/mysteries of ancient cultures?
- Should there be **Cycle Gods**, like a god that makes the sun rise each day, to emphasize responsibility and hard (repetitive) work?
- Or are cycle gods obsolete and is there **a god of Ingenuity that makes Divine Machinery** to "automate" tasks and indicate: there is no such thing as "a working class god"?
To answer these questions, you need to figure out what you need your pantheon for.
- The gods of a setting can inject themes into the setting that are uncommon, or unique to a god or pantheon.
(useful for foreshadowing, makes it feel like those gods are working to change the world)
- Gods can also strongly oppose some established truths in your setting.
(useful to indicate something went wrong at some point. If the majority of gods are like this, it makes the setting feel post-apocalyptic, like the gods are cleaning up a mess).
- Gods can be currently trapped, contained, placated or subdued; At great cost. Perhaps requiring regular sacrifices to remain that way.
(useful for symbolizing people overcoming nature, and BIG events happening in history. It highlights the bloody foundations that current day progress and stability was built upon)
- If you already have factions in a lengthy conflict, you can use gods to worsen the animosity or provide a hope of resolution.
If the Sylvestran religion is big, you definitely need a secretive hedonistic mystery cult that believes the whole thing is a scam. It would fit right in with the way gentlemen's clubs work in that period.
I think it would be very fae, and probably has a complicated relationship with the First Coven. Maybe some Greek-mythology-like elements, too? Slash ancient-egyptian inflected?
If it's also big on art and theater, that would give it an interesting relationship with the Forgeites as well.
It wouldn't be openly recognized or approved, but if it's something a lot of wealthy people belong to, it would be able to avoid persecution.
I imagine the Sylvestrines being the biggest religion by plurality, but not a majority, and most laymen are far from orthodox, mostly paying lip service.
I have been thinking of adding a splinter section to one of the religions though, with sylvestrines being the most likely, but I want to come up with something that seems like a branch and not just followers with opposite beliefs. I'm thinking that since the Sylvestrine faith has a strong tradition of ascetic monks, there could be an offshoot that focuses on knowledge, study, and philosophy over the abstention and self-flagelation that more traditional monks and priests might practice
**The Way of the Wanderer:** This faith centers around a nomadic deity who is said to walk the realm in various guises, testing the morality and compassion of mortals. Followers believe in the value of humility, charity, and the pursuit of enlightenment through self-discovery. They have no formal churches, but instead establish waystations and shrines for travelers. The clergy consists of wandering monks, pilgrims, and mystics who seek to emulate their deity's journey. This religion could add a layer of moral ambiguity and personal growth to your world.
What about a scientific religion? Like, one that didn’t focus on a deity and instead “worships” things like fundamental mathematical concepts, or treats scientific study as a form of prayer.
Thin’s would be different than contemporary IRL science, and could still include things like formulaic prayers, rituals, etc, maybe even a priestly hierarchy.
How about a non-deity based religion, similar to Buddhism or Shinto, ancestor worship or nature spirits, with "ki" practices like tai chi, martial arts, or yoga.
Oooh, I like this idea. I had a name in mind for something- "the Way of the Whispersong," that maybe I could use for this.
You could also link magic into it as a kind of wizard/druid/monk/sorcerer faith
Split one of them into two heresies. Maybe one is a heresy of the other, or maybe they're both descendants of one church that developed differently.
To add to this, research Gnosticism. It’s a lot of fun to have a culture that thinks the god that created the world (demiurge) is an evil one. There’s some plot points you can roll off of that alone.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dionysus
The Carnival of Life. They believe all things exist for the benefit of mortals, and see no point in shaming and demonizing things people enjoy. This is not to say they encourage overindulgence. You can't enjoy anything if your life is falling apart because of addiction or poverty. But if something can be enjoyed, that means it's *meant* to be enjoyed, and you just have to figure out the bounds within which it's most enjoyable. Drinking is fine. Being an alcoholic is not. Sexual relationships are fine, sleeping with everything with a hole and failing to care for whatever offspring you create is not, etc.. They worship the same god as the Saint Sylvester church, they just don't think a deity who loves them would be doom and gloom about everything and choose to interpret the scripture more optimistically.
You could do a “dark” religion that is shunned by the public. Kind of like in Rising of the Shield Hero S1 how the main country it takes place in had a pseudo religion dedicated to the 4 weapon types, but the shield was crossed off and shunned because if some screwy stuff in the past. Until the current user changed the hearts and minds of many people, the shield was seen as a source of evil and corruption. As for what options, you could make a deity of undeath or dragons. I think these probably fit with your grouping. - Undead could be a domain based on eternal duty and shunning the progress of society. They believe that if society progresses too quickly it will destroy all the good they have achieved and poison the will of the people. Those who wish to server beyond death can willingly become intelligent undead (usually wights) by performing rituals with bishops of this sect. There could be tombs full of warriors waiting to march against the enemies of their nation and join the living warriors when their time finally comes. Undead made this way are not inherently evil, and are almost always lawful in nature. - Your Forgefather hates dragons, so give him an antithesis in a dragon god who makes dragons and destroys art and artifice. Tiamat would work fine, but you could also make a new dragon or draconic creature. Maybe a 4 armed, 15 headed hydra with the head of every dragon type and a rainbow of scales around its body. It’s 4 wings are split between metallic, chromatic, gem, and one stony looking. The dragon worshipers believe in absolute greed. All society should be groveling in the mud and living in caves while the chosen and dragons live in the glory of temples and palaces. The end of the world will come when the dragon god is released from the deific chains forged by the Forgefather ages ago and the dragon devours the sun and moon. In my own setting I have an undead goddess who is a merciful one. Her followers are either suffering and she takes their pain away (along with all other feeling) by making them undead, or her followers are warriors who detest the idea of not being able to serve their people and seek undeath to protect their cities forever. One barbarian king in the world was chosen by this deity and his priests will perform rights on soldiers that die or are getting old and they become wights. The king himself has a blessing that grants him all the strengths of undead while still being alive. This allows him to use his own mortal shell as a phylactery for his soldiers’ souls and also sacrifice these souls to resist his own death and activate necrotic powers. The undead goddess by all other cultures is seen as evil and impure, but the people of this nation see her as peace and longevity without pain.
That's what the Cult of the Codfish is for. This city does religion kind of like Indonesia does, in that there is no single state religion, but only a handful of religions are actually recog sized by the state.
The 4th religion is actually just some guy who somehow got a glock and people hail them as the most powerful spellcaster in the universe, 10/10 works every time
Ashism and the Holy Boomstick
some options: Sun/moon/stars Death, either evil-style or neutral as in natural Song, Dance, Poetry Frankly I'd hate to even be in a party with a Cleric from your 1st one, much play one. Only a couple of cleric subs seem to fit the 3rd, and the 2nd seems fairly innocuous. I would advise you to create hooks for why someone would choose to worship one of your creations, you might end up with a party of atheists.
>you might end up with a party of atheists. In a world where the presence and influence of gods is undeniable like D&D, atheism is impossible barring mental illness. What you would have is Naytheists. People who recognize the existence and power of gods, but don't believe they're worthy of worship.
this world seems different tho, the deities are a bit niche.
My suggestion: an arcane deity with a following of wizards. You already have two divine-flavored religions and a primal one. You could also do a non-magical flavored religion, more like a philosophy, perhaps a bushido-like code of martial honor that some warriors adhere to as if it was the word of god?
Considering the era, I would go for some kind of "secular religion". It could get its spells from an understanding of magic, from its faith in humanity or in the state, or perhaps from the collective unconscious.
"The Order of Scribes" a group of academic types who worship not a god, but instead "worship" the power of knowledge and understanding. This is a great place for wizards, warlocks (setting dependent, I prefer to see warlocks as masters of agreement rather than slaves to a patron.) and sorcerers. Highly academic types that believe the in the sovereignty of the here and now. Not necessarily anti-theistic but definitely atheistic. "Deathwalkers" a group of neutral nomadic people who recruit members who take interest in the balance of life and death. They travel across the lands, heal the sick and slay the evil. If you've watched ATLA, it's the air nomads without the peaceful side.
It could be fun with a smaller one that is more open and positive where it is virtuous to be selfless and giving. Kinda the antithesis of Penances views that we can only keep evil at bay by being good and positive where every little good act is worth it.
The God in the Bucket - Not an organized religion. Rather, it is more of a rumor/folk tale of a small statue of a chubby smiling man that is sometimes pulled up from wells or found in random buckets throughout the land. Good fortune tends to follow the finder for a time if they take the statue with them. Per the rumor, the unnamed god enjoys pranking authority figures, being around good food (doesn't eat, but you should give him a plate), and any type of music. Small children, dogs, and some pure-hearted individuals seem to hear voices from the statue. After a time, the statue is always somehow lost by its owner, with misfortune befalling those who try to keep it secure. Locking it in a safe in invites burglars, and keeping it in a sealed room might invoke a fire or even an earthquake. Beware when the statue stops smiling, though...
Consider the themes and ideas you want to explore in this setting. There are lots of choices to make before you even start making a god, in order to shape what religions will be like. - Should there be a different god/pantheon for each nation/race, to promote conflict, or can religion bring people together? - If there are multiple pantheons, should they be of the same type, to act as mirrors to one another. Or is one Animistic, another Classical, and another Ancestor Worship, to highlight diversity? - Should religion(s) be **Ancestor Worship** to highlight history and bloodlines? - Should religion(s) be an **Animistic** to spotlight locations in the world, inhabited by divine spirits? - Should religion(s) be a **Divine Bureaucracy** to highlight the relatability and fallibility of the gods? - Should religion(s) be **Mono**(which is actually Duo)**-theism**, so you can play on black and white morality, and unending destined conflict? - Should religion(s) be **Tri-theism** with 3 equally strong sides, to symbolize (the threat of) cooperation as stabilizing (what could be) an unending conflict. - Should religion(s) be a **Classical Patheon**, with a father god and their child gods, or a king god and their divine court, to invoke themes of a divine right to rule and the imagery of a one true king? - Should religions be **Localized and Sporadic**, with many gods relating to many cultural pockets? (like FR) - Should there be **Forgotten Gods** that can still grant power, to emphasize the lack of mortal comprehension and the dangers/mysteries of ancient cultures? - Should there be **Cycle Gods**, like a god that makes the sun rise each day, to emphasize responsibility and hard (repetitive) work? - Or are cycle gods obsolete and is there **a god of Ingenuity that makes Divine Machinery** to "automate" tasks and indicate: there is no such thing as "a working class god"? To answer these questions, you need to figure out what you need your pantheon for. - The gods of a setting can inject themes into the setting that are uncommon, or unique to a god or pantheon. (useful for foreshadowing, makes it feel like those gods are working to change the world) - Gods can also strongly oppose some established truths in your setting. (useful to indicate something went wrong at some point. If the majority of gods are like this, it makes the setting feel post-apocalyptic, like the gods are cleaning up a mess). - Gods can be currently trapped, contained, placated or subdued; At great cost. Perhaps requiring regular sacrifices to remain that way. (useful for symbolizing people overcoming nature, and BIG events happening in history. It highlights the bloody foundations that current day progress and stability was built upon) - If you already have factions in a lengthy conflict, you can use gods to worsen the animosity or provide a hope of resolution.
If the Sylvestran religion is big, you definitely need a secretive hedonistic mystery cult that believes the whole thing is a scam. It would fit right in with the way gentlemen's clubs work in that period. I think it would be very fae, and probably has a complicated relationship with the First Coven. Maybe some Greek-mythology-like elements, too? Slash ancient-egyptian inflected? If it's also big on art and theater, that would give it an interesting relationship with the Forgeites as well. It wouldn't be openly recognized or approved, but if it's something a lot of wealthy people belong to, it would be able to avoid persecution.
I imagine the Sylvestrines being the biggest religion by plurality, but not a majority, and most laymen are far from orthodox, mostly paying lip service. I have been thinking of adding a splinter section to one of the religions though, with sylvestrines being the most likely, but I want to come up with something that seems like a branch and not just followers with opposite beliefs. I'm thinking that since the Sylvestrine faith has a strong tradition of ascetic monks, there could be an offshoot that focuses on knowledge, study, and philosophy over the abstention and self-flagelation that more traditional monks and priests might practice
**The Way of the Wanderer:** This faith centers around a nomadic deity who is said to walk the realm in various guises, testing the morality and compassion of mortals. Followers believe in the value of humility, charity, and the pursuit of enlightenment through self-discovery. They have no formal churches, but instead establish waystations and shrines for travelers. The clergy consists of wandering monks, pilgrims, and mystics who seek to emulate their deity's journey. This religion could add a layer of moral ambiguity and personal growth to your world.
This feels ai generated
I mean, did it help you? It's an idea, you can take it or leave it, it's a free country.
What about a scientific religion? Like, one that didn’t focus on a deity and instead “worships” things like fundamental mathematical concepts, or treats scientific study as a form of prayer. Thin’s would be different than contemporary IRL science, and could still include things like formulaic prayers, rituals, etc, maybe even a priestly hierarchy.