Holy Rolling
What’s that you say? You can’t mix religion and gaming? This isn’t a good idea?
To that I say, “Why not?” Yes, I am fully aware of the parental prohibition that most of us grew up with: the one that says religion is one of those three topics you can’t discuss in polite company. (The other two being sex and politics.) Despite that objection I still say, “Why not?”
Perhaps I should be a bit clearer. I am NOT talking about your players bringing their own faith into the game; that could be … shall we say … counterproductive to the fun of tabletop gaming. I'm talking about religious characters. There is a wealth of depth that can be added to your game by including the various faiths and alignments of the characters. There are stories waiting to be unlocked if you just give the GM a few more keys to turn. Plot hooks abound when the faithful are faced with upholding the institution of faith or living true to the principles of faith. Give a group two choices mired in grey and see how they puzzle through the moral dilemma. With apologies to Dr. M. F. Stephenson of the Dahlonega Mint, "There's role playing gold in them thar hills.”
So, What Exactly Are You Proposing?
I can see that some of you are intrigued and some are still skeptical. The thing is we are accustomed to religion and religious trappings acting as nearly subconscious cues that relate additional story aspects. Take any given police procedural and think of that one hard-core cop. Now picture him going to the scene of a murder that is described simply as “It’s bad.” Now, without showing the actual murder scene or the bodies, we see this hard-core cop walk into the room and then right back out. He bows his head, closes his eyes, and raises his right hand. He then touches his head, his chest and then both shoulders while mumbling something under his breath. What did we learn? Although making the sign of the cross is often used in the Catholic tradition, we aren’t learning about this character’s faith. We’re learning just how bad the murder scene is. It is so bad that the hard-core cop can’t take it and needs some divine reinforcement. Given this type of cue, we are never shown the crime scene on-screen. (Imagination - under the proper influence - is simply more powerful than showing details; just ask Mr. Hitchcock.)
Need another example? Take a modern American film and picture an office at lunch. One of the workers of vague Middle Eastern description is closing his door, removing his shoes and pulling out an ornate rug. If ominous music is playing it’s probably an action movie and we just found out who the terrorist is. However, if silly (or even serious) music is playing it’s probably a comedy and we’re just waiting for the office dunce to come bang on this poor guy’s door and interrupt his noon prayers. Awkward humor is sure to follow but most of us aren’t offended. Ultimately, the character’s faith isn’t as important as the cue that it gives us.
You can do the same with in-game religions at your regular tabletop session as well. Imagine that you are playing Dungeons and Dragons in the summer of 2005. Most likely you are playing in the World of Greyhawk. Does knowing that there are different colors on the robes of Pelor’s priests change how you play the game? Probably not. However, picture this: Your character knows that purple trim on a priest’s robe marks him as a dedicated and loyal servant of the priestly orders. Further she knows that such a mark of distinction is normally only given to the very old after a lifetime of service. Now, given the fact that the extremely young priest selling holy water has his robe trimmed in purple, she can infer that he is someone special. Commenting on it might prompt him to provide a discount. After all, a priest is still human (or elven, or whatever) and flattery still works wonders. Or the imposter could attack her thinking she has discovered his ruse. Either way, it offers new clues and new chances to role play.
Should We Use More Religion at Our Table?
Well, of course! That is, if you want to add some complexity and realism to your world while adding some great story hooks for the further gaming.
What’s that? How do you know that he won’t do it? How do you know she’ll be offended? Have you even asked?
Don’t assume anything. I have played with a devout Christian who tried to live up to the best of his faith each day. You might expect him to be skittish about playing a religious character. After all, there’s that provision about false gods and whatnot. However, he played the most excellent Paladin of Torm - complete with prayers, tithe paying, charitable works and the occasional attempt to convince the “wicked” to change their ways. I’ve also played with an atheist, whom you might expect to be fine with the whole concept; however, he wouldn’t touch fictional religion with the metaphorical ten-foot-pole. That said, he had no objection to others in our group grooving on (in-game) religion provided they didn’t hog the spotlight with it.
Ultimately, the decision to up the amount of detail on religion depends on the gaming group. Neither a lone player nor the GM can make such a decision for the group. If you like the idea, explain it and offer suggestions of how it could be used in play but ultimately, the group has to agree that is a good idea. Again, communication is key and that requires you to talk with the players and/or GM about it.
Closing Thoughts
If your group consists of a Mormon just back from his mission, a Catholic who teaches the catechism, a Wiccan priestess, an atheist who is a fan of Richard Dawkins and an agnostic GM, … honestly, you have to tell us how that group even came together. Seriously though, even if you are playing with a fairly monolithic group (religiously speaking), remember to respect peoples’ real life faith or lack thereof. If you can do that, then open communication may just unlock a new tool for great tabletop play.
This column will tackle the following items (but not necessarily in this order):
- Choosing the appropriate level of religion for your game (Next Month's Topic)
- Guidelines for creating religions in your game
- Example religions
- Advice on playing a religious character (without bringing in your own RL faith or imitating your religious neighbors)
- Playing a paladin without being a complete
priuh, stick in the mud - Alternative alignment systems
Legalese: Dungeons and Dragons, World of Greyhawk, Pelor and Torm are all copyrighted by their respective owners.
