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Path: utzoo!watmath!jagardner
From: jagardner@watmath.UUCP (jagardner)
Newsgroups: net.games.frp
Subject: Re: PCs vs Gods (reposted)
Message-ID: <11249@watmath.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 1-Feb-85 13:50:28 EST
Article-I.D.: watmath.11249
Posted: Fri Feb  1 13:50:28 1985
Date-Received: Fri, 1-Feb-85 23:45:23 EST
References: <2400083@uokvax.UUCP> <3429@ucla-cs.ARPA> <228@tilt.FUN>
Reply-To: jagardner@watmath.UUCP ()
Organization: U of Waterloo, Ontario
Lines: 29

...

I don't want to start a religious argument here, but the omniscience
of gods is a relatively late concept (as noted by another letter writer,
whose name I can't find at the moment).  In fact, the _earliest_ known
objects of worship were kings, normal human beings who by accident of
birth (or by winning a fight against the old king) happened to be in
charge of the local village/city/country.  These people had none of
the powers we might attribute to a god, except that they were obeyed.

This has nothing to do with the best way of portraying gods in D&D, of
course.  D&D is a game played by 20th century people, almost always
English-speaking people to whom the most familiar religion is Christianity
or Judaism.  It makes sense to depict gods in a way that is most
entertaining to the players or to the DM, and who cares about historical
accuracy.

(By the way, if you DO care about historical accuracy, I would recommend
"The Masks of God", a four volume exploration of mythology by Joseph
Campbell.  It outlines the general development of the concept of a "god"
from the most primitive societies to the present.  It's heavy on the
archaeology, but fascinating all the same.  For a more controversial
hypothesis about the origin of gods, see "The Origin of Consciousness
in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind" by Julian Jaynes.)

					Jim Gardner
					University of Waterloo