I lived in Peru for two years and ate chicken and rice every day … at least once a day. When I got back home to the US, my loved ones asked what I wanted to eat. I replied, “Chicken and rice,” without thinking about it. Turns out with a few tweaks and the right spices you can take the same basic ingredients and turn out a series of fantastic meals. Meals that are different enough that people not only don’t mind eating the base ingredients multiple times per day but would voluntarily choose them over other, more varied foods. What was the most common form to eat chicken and rice? Soup, of course.

So, what does that have to do with the price of tea in China? Last month’s column talked about building religion into your game and keeping the detail to a manageable level for your gaming group. I made several comparisons to physical building terms. Well, in this month’s column I’ll discuss how to cook up various religions so you can serve the needed amount of religious detail and give your gaming group a nice cup of sacred soup.

Sauté the Core Vegetables

When making most soups there are core vegetables that go in at the very beginning. These are usually cooked in either oil or butter to help release their flavors and give their essence to the soup. For example, in Louisiana, onions, bell peppers and celery are known as the “holy trinity” when making étouffée, gumbo or jambalaya as all of them start from this base. (I am well aware that not all of these would qualify as soup.)

You’ll need to sauté the core elements of the religion you are cooking to reach a unique essence for the rest of the religion. Generally, your “holy trinity” for religious “soup” is the extent of the deity’s power, his or her concern(s) in the realm of mortals and how jealous the deity is. That may seem like an unusual combination so let’s break each one down.

Power – What level of power and/or influence does the deity have over the mortal realm? While some deities might only have power over small aspects such as bodies of fresh water, another deity might be omnipotent and have the power to reshape the mortal realm with impunity. Typical fantasy deities fall somewhere in the middle of the spectrum. They have phenomenal powers but are not all powerful, nor all knowing. Keep in mind that truly omnipotent,omniscient deities are either far removed from mortals or are acting in opposition to another deity – which limits the mojo they provide your heroes. Otherwise, balance can be extremely hard to maintain.

Concern(s) in the mortal realm – What does the deity want to accomplish in the realm of mortals? There isn’t really a right or a wrong answer; however, avoid boring answers that don’t suggest a reason for the deity to interface with mortal folk. If the deity’s only concern is gathering worshippers, then he/she should provide some perceived benefit to those of the mortal realm. For example, someone has to drive the sun chariot across the sky each day. However, a more interesting answer might be that a given deity wants to increase the number of his true believers to so that critical knowledge about the pending demon invasion is preserved.

Jealousness – This may seem more like a deity’s personality trait rather than a corner stone of a faith; however, it is focused on the deity’s attitude toward believers – or in some cases, the religious authority’s views on behalf of the deity. If the deity is part of a known pantheon then he won’t have a problem with one of his believers making an offering to another deity in the pantheon. However, a solitary deity may have issues with the same thing. In fact she might be a bit upset at the “two-timing” her so-called believers are offering her. And finally, there are those deities that do not recognize that other deities exist. Furthermore, they refuse to allow their follows to do so either.

What if the religion I’m creating doesn’t have a deity? Glad you asked! Envision the outlook of the faith and answer the same questions. Do the animal spirits have power in the city? Do they want to merely protect the forest or slash out at the sawmill? Do they expect devotion to a given path of life? For that matter, could a city slicker call on them?

Add the Base to the Pot

A base can be chicken stock, tomato puree, cream, etc. It gives the soup a certain feel and imparts some nice flavors. In cooking up religions, you are looking to create a base that gives a certain feel to your new faith. It sets up the spiritual side of the faith and can be mined for metaplot as the need arises. This is different from the ins-and-outs of worship; we’ll cover that in a moment. The base imparts the overall appearance and attitudes of both the deity as well as the followers. It colors the overall experience in a way that can be tied to or independent from the nuts-and-bolts of the believer’s life.

Example:
Let’s assume we have two potential faiths that share the same mix of core traits. Both have power only over forests, prohibit the worship of death deities and advocate for the preservation of the wild. While sharing the same core traits, we can differentiate them by the use of different bases.

Bridgit’s Chosen from last month’s column is a good example of a religion focused on a deity. It also has the advantage of a few trappings that have already been described. The base here could best be described as peaceful worship of a nature goddess.

Another faith could be focused on nature spirits that have given shamans the directive to expand the forest lest The Way be lost to mortal kin. The spirits could advocate violence to any who come into the forest with the intent of despoiling it. The base here could be described as militant opposition to the despoiling of nature.

Stir in the Meat

The meat – or if you are vegetarian, the protein source – adds texture and flavor to the soup. In the same way you should strive for some texture and flavor when describing the various faiths used in your game. Each should have doctrines and practices that make them easily recognizable. Why? So your holy folk can role play the expectations of the faith. Pick a handful of points of possible contention and decide where the faith stands on each one. Why? Because tension sets up the possibility for more role playing.

Some possible points of contention: sex, marriage, theft, charitable giving, murder. The list could go on for quite a long time. Use this as a guide for the faith’s attitude toward each item. Also decide if any of them constitutes a sin or if the religion even has the concept of sin. However, don’t overdo it or you might end up with an in-game argument that could easily have been a real life one. This step also includes any requirements or prohibitions of the faith as well as any religious ceremonies.

Example:
Bridgit’s Chosen, strive to live in harmony with nature. They do not have any prohibitions against eating meat; however, they prohibit needless or wanton killing. They will not cut living trees for wood nor will they eat any meat that has been killed by another. They are required to say a prayer of thanks over any kill and drain the blood back into the forest before harvesting the meat. Services are simple: they are held in a clearing in the forest and are nearly devoid of liturgy and ceremony. Services are led by a pregnant woman who represents Bridgit in her effort to bring forth life. There is no particular day for worship.

The Way celebrates each season in its time and each of the animal spirits as the great wheel of the sky turns. The shamans commune with nature and advise the leaders of the will of the spirits. Those who listen are considered wise while those who forge their own path are considered foolish. Some have whispered that the leaders are merely figure heads but this is seen as an outsider’s perspective as the leaders deal with temporal matters while the shamans deal with spiritual matters. The only major crime is murder which results in banishment and a complete removal from society. Even to the point that the offenders name is removed from all records and is considered a pariah. One of the minor crimes of the faith is to give something without taking payment. Outsiders consider this a rejection of charitable giving but those in the faith see it as a form of pride on the part of the giver.

Additional Vegetables, Starch, and Spices

No soup would be complete without a few more ingredients. Those ingredients could be more veggies, some rice, or perhaps noodles. And, let’s not forget the all important spices. In various faiths, here is where you can allow the creativity to flow because anything goes. Add detail about the color and/or cut of priestly robes, the need for sacred chalices to be carved from ash wood or why only pure silver can be used for the altar. These are the details that are most likely to stick in your player’s minds.

Example:
The Way is attacking those who use the forest but they take the corpses with them. They bury the offenders and plant a sapling above them. In this way, the nature spirits get what they have asked for and the forest gains new strength. But – here comes some metaplot knowledge – what the shamans don’t realize is that the nature spirits of the forest have been corrupted by an ancient evil trapped there. As it turns out, the shrinking forest allowed this evil to touch a few spirits and thus a few shamans. Yes, the forest is being re-grown; however, followers of The Way are killing people. This, in turn, means that each foe thus slain will pull more spirits under the control of this ancient evil. If it can permanently taint the forest, it will unlock its millennia old prison and once again walk the mortal realm.

Have fun cooking up your own soup!

Next month’s menu could bring us some more example religions or perhaps some advice on role playing those holy folk. Looking forward to your comments.