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From: john@frog.UUCP (John Woods, Software)
Newsgroups: net.games.frp
Subject: Re: Question on resurrection
Message-ID: <300@frog.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 20-Dec-85 14:29:00 EST
Article-I.D.: frog.300
Posted: Fri Dec 20 14:29:00 1985
Date-Received: Wed, 25-Dec-85 03:09:30 EST
References: <2200040@uok.UUCP> <2108@hcrvax.UUCP> <341@l5.uucp> <8087@ucla-cs.ARPA>
Organization: Charles River Data Systems, Framingham MA
Lines: 65

> >While I am at it, I might as well let you know that the Gods have no
> >independent existence from the rest of the world, and are actually
> >aspects of the collective unconscious....
> 
> A friend of mine ran a Rolemaster game this way, and it led to a few very
> interesting results, which sound a bit silly at first:
> 
>1) To kill off a religion, start an inquisition, and kill off the members.
>   If you get enough of the worshippers fast enough, the religion has had it.
>   If you don't, hoo boy, is that god going to be mad at you!  Remember, gods
>   can stomp humans and claim self-defense.
>3) Being a member of an unpopular religion can be a drag.  Rather than having
>   a god pay more attention to your problems, due to the dearth of followers,
>   you get stuck with a wimp of a deity.

I have also tended to take this view, and indeed, in one adventure I ran, the
players were offered a chance to wipe out a god by wiping out his sole living
believer -- the god was sustained only by the fanaticism (and sacrifices) of
this one last believer, who was protected by amulets et al given by the god
while still powerful.  (This was done mostly as a way of hinting how things
worked.  It also made for a good time.)  However, I do grant gods a good deal
of "inertia" (which, for example, allows historians to read over old texts
and "revive" gods long forgotten), so it isn't necessarily fatal to lose your
last supporter (not for a while, anyway).

>6) What happens if people start worshipping something that already exists?
>   (i.e.-not a god)  Suppose some really weird astral monster evolved the
>   power to siphon off the "godhead" of a deity, or collect it normally from
>   humans?

My personal implementation is that some sentient being provides the
"nucleation point" for a divinity (kind of a special psionic).  This person
(usually a bit crazy) is the first to receive the Divine Inspiration, and
after dying, the spirit basically becomes the Divine figure.  So, in a tribe
which worshipped the wind, eventually there would come a Shaman who *really*
got into that wind-worship, and upon 'giving his spirit to the wind' or some
other claptrap, the tribe would find that the Wind suddenly could really be
affected by their chants and dances...

> Or for a real winner, their king? This sort of thing can throw a banana
> cream pie into the most rational and organized campaign.
Even the least :-).
> You can just see some fool warrior proclaiming theirself "God/King" ...

My interpretation would be:  were the character the appropriate type, and were
the character capable of The Divine Boot Process, then >after death<, the
character just might find him/her/it-self able to grant miracles.  While
alive, the character would need to use mundane magic to impress people (if
necessary).

> >Remember that the object of the whole thing is to have great imaginative
> >fun, not to staple each other to the wall on technicalities.
> >Laura Creighton		
>
> Huzzah!  I'm all for it.
> Eric McColm

A tournament!  A tournament!  Staple guns and cream pies at 20 paces!!

--
John Woods, Charles River Data Systems, Framingham MA, (617) 626-1101
...!decvax!frog!john, ...!mit-eddie!jfw, jfw%mit-ccc@MIT-XX.ARPA

Out of my way, I'm a scientist!
	War of the Worlds