Next to Shaolin monks, religion is the most incongruent element I find in typical fantasy games. The typical fantasy game follows a pseudo-Western European medieval or renaissance model, which historically was strongly monotheistic. Certainly there were different religions (Anglicanism, Greek Orthodox, Islam, Judaism, Lutheranism, and Roman Catholicism, to name a few), but they all professed a belief in the same God. Remnants of earlier, polytheistic religions were driven to remote areas of the continent, and stamped out when encountered. There is also a strong undercurrent of religion in medieval/renaissance times. Religion was an aspect of everyday life, and could not be ignored. One was defined by one’s religion.

Yet, the typical fantasy medieval campaign has a plethora of unrelated gods. Religiously, most fantasy communities resemble a modern American town in that they have many temples within walking distance of each other (in modern America, of course, this is mostly due to the many branches of Christianity). There also seems to be an understanding amongst these many gods, or at least indifference, since clerics/priests of many different faiths can walk in and out of these communities unmolested (except in cases where the latest Dark Deity starts a forcible conversion program).

From its conception, the cleric (I'll use the Dungeons & Dragons term here) was treated as little more than the team medic and back-up fighter. The god he worshipped was not much of an issue (alignment was usually considered more important) and there never was any discussion of the rites and rituals involved except for an arbitrary and universal weapon limitation (no edged weapons) and the fact that he needed to pray every morning for his spells. There was no guidance on how to emulate a religion. Indeed, the closest thing that fantasy gamers have for a fantasy bible (The Lord of the Rings) is conspicuously silent on religion.

Now, 1974 was a long time ago and certainly roleplaying games have addressed religion to varying degrees since. However, whenever I join a new fantasy campaign, I often find the cleric or priest sitting in the background, her goddess one among many, and no "feel" for the religion she professes. Most of this is due to the trouble of translating key religious rites and taboos in a game. For example, in the real world, a person who keeps kosher finds it affecting almost every aspect of his life, from what he can eat, where he can eat it, who he can accept it from, and how it affects his relationship with other people. In an RPG, a player simply says "my character keeps kosher," and that’s pretty much it (beyond a possible point or two for a social disadvantage).

So how do we make religion an integral part of a campaign? (I’ll dispense with the "should we make religion important?" question, as the aforementioned LOTR renders it moot). Here are a number of ways to make religion more "visible" in your campaign.

Characters should choose religions, not gods.

Ask any priest or cleric about his profession, and invariably you end up with "I am a priest of (insert name here)." Fantasy characters have a tendency to pick a god or goddess and devote all of their time to him or her, rather than the entire pantheon to which he or she belongs.

This is unrealistic, as historically people paid homage and offered prayers to all of the deities in a pantheon. While there certainly were distinctions (one could be a priest of Osiris in the Egyptian pantheon), everyone prayed according to a god's sphere of influence. A farmer might wake up at dawn to welcome the sun god back over the world, set aside a portion of his breakfast in thanks to the harvest god, perform a dance for the weather god to bless his crops, pray to the love god in the hopes that a good man will marry his daughter, and offer a sacrifice to the night god so that the predators of the night stay away.

When designing a game world, GMs should think in terms of religions. A religion provides a worldview, and the gods should be incorporated in it. A Lutheran and a Muslim believe in the same God, but their personal beliefs and practices are very different. They would not feel comfortable attending a worship service that belonged to the other.

A religion allows characters to have diversity and unity at the same time. All of the adventurers might be members of the Fantasian faith, but the warrior might devote himself to the Battle Maiden while the swashbuckling rogue constantly offers prayers to Lady Luck. The priest of Mother Wisdom will offer advice to both. But, once they encounter the holy crusader of the Good God of Imaginarianism, they will regard him with suspicion and contempt.

A religion also allows a priest of one god to justify healing a character of another god. Mother Wisdom may frown on dishonesty among her own devoted priests, but she understands that Lady Luck has looser standards and will not bar her priests from tending to Luck’s devotees (although they may get lectures on the wisdom of honesty while they are being healed). Conversely, Mother Wisdom may not allow its priests to heal a devotee of Imaginarianism unless they are willing to convert.

Taking another cue from the real world, there could be several religions but just one set of gods. The gods of Fantasia might be the only gods, but very different religions may evolve in different areas in the world, especially if the faiths diverged in prehistoric times or a new religious text was introduced to one culture.

Hey, you look familiar!

Building on the above, there’s a reason why the Christian Devil is often portrayed as a satyr. Ba'al used to be a local god in Canaan before he got pasted in the Hebrew Bible. I also have a sneaking suspicion that there's a reason why Set and Satan sound similar.

In a fantasy game, worshippers of rival faiths may find their good gods treated as vile demons in another faith (conversely, the God of Evil in Imaginarianism may be hailed as a heroic god in Fantasianism, since he works to bring down the Imaginarian faith).

The Day of Rest

Many real world religions have a day of rest, where work is supposed to cease and organized religious services take place. A fantasy religion would probably have one as well (assuming that each god doesn’t want their own day, which isn’t very practical). How does a GM make this day special?

Imagine this: The Fantasian religion has one Day of Rest a week. Since worshippers are supposed to be praying and giving thanks, Mother Wisdom has decreed that no magic will be performed during this day. All magic items cease to function and all spells simply will not work. How would this affect the society? How would it affect player characters in a game?

Warring armies may call a truce for the duration of the day. Fearful nobles may insist that their house soldiers remain at their posts for fear that a rival may take the opportunity to attack (thus giving the soldiers a conflict of interest; Mother Wisdom says "rest" while their superior says "work"). Powerful mages may lock themselves in their towers for fear of an assassin’s arrow. Mercenaries or brigands can turn quite a profit if they are willing to risk life or limb, especially in the wee hours of the Day when magic is only an hour from being available again. What will the player characters do when they are in the fourth level of a dungeon and the Day of Rest is upon them?

One thing is certain; the Day of Rest will not be ignored or taken for granted in the game.

When priests aren't just clerics

Real world religious figures are rarely warrior-medics. In Judaism, for example, most congregations are led by a rabbi (learned teacher) and a cantor (singer). As a result, many rabbis are also cantors. This diversity can be reflected in a fantasy campaign.

The Fantasian religion may require all ceremonies to be performed by a cleric/priest and a bard. The bard’s role is to remind the congregation of the great deeds the gods have done for them. Some villages (or adventuring parties) may not have two officials. Instead, they have a single priest who doubles as a bard (through multi-classing or a larger spread of skills).

This can be expanded further. A warlike culture may require all of its priests to also be warriors. A learned culture may require all of its priests to also be wizards.

Everyone keeps the Faith

In Dungeons & Dragons, a cleric, druid, or paladin who misbehaves will find themselves stripped of all spells and class features. What if every class would suffer the same fate? What if a wizard devoted to the chaotic Fire God would lose her spells if she supported a lawful regime?

All magic is religious

Another strange fantasy trait is to segregate priestly magic (miracles) from scholarly magic. In a sense, wizards are treated as scientists, while priests need to placate gods. What if all magic was miracle-based? What if the wizard class simply ceased to exist, and all spells were available to priests (or in a Dungeons & Dragons game, all priestly powers were given to wizards, making them more scholarly than back-up warriors)?

Conversely, what would happen in a game world where a priest discovered no retribution for disregarding his god’s wishes and figured out that his ceremonial rituals were merely fancy versions of normal magical rituals? Such a revelation could shake the foundations of a fantasy world.

Keeping Kosher

All in all, I hope that I’ve sparked some thoughts on treating priests as more than just medics and second-string warriors. May your players cower in fear the next time you announce a Day of Rest!

Good Gaming!