Dungeon Master's Guide
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FORCES AND PHILOSOPHIES<br />
Not all divine powers need to be derived from deities.<br />
In some campaigns, believers hold enough conviction<br />
in their ideas about the universe that they gain magical ·, ·<br />
power from that conviction. In other campaigns, '<br />
impersonal forces of nature or magic replace the gods<br />
by granting power to mortals attuned to them. Just as<br />
druids and rangers can gain their spell ability from the<br />
force of nature rather than from a specific nature deity,<br />
some clerics devote themselves to ideals rather than to<br />
a god. Paladins might serve a philosophy of justice and<br />
chivalry rather than a specific deity.<br />
Forces and philosophies aren't worshiped; they aren't<br />
beings that can hear and respond to prayers or accept<br />
sacrifices. Devotion to a philosophy or a force isn't<br />
necessarily exclusive of service to a deity. A person can<br />
be devoted to the philosophy of good and offer worship<br />
to various good deities, or revere the force of nature<br />
and also pay homage to the gods of nature, who might<br />
be seen as personal manifestations of an impersonal<br />
force. In a world that includes deities with demonstrable<br />
power (through their clerics), it's unusual for a<br />
philosophy to deny the existence of deities, although a<br />
common philosophical belief states that the deities are<br />
more like mortals than they would have mortals believe.<br />
According to such philosophies, the gods aren't truly<br />
immortal (just very long-lived), and mortals can attain<br />
divinity. In fact, ascending to godhood is the ultimate<br />
goal of some philosophies. .<br />
The power of a philosophy stems from the belief that<br />
mortals invest in it. A philosophy that only one person •<br />
believes in isn't strong enough to bestow magical power<br />
on that person.<br />
HUMANOIDS AND THE GODS<br />
When it comes to the gods, humans exhibit a far wider<br />
range of beliefs and institutions than other races do. In<br />
many D&D settings, orcs, elves, dwarves, goblins, and<br />
other humanoids have tight pantheons. It is expected<br />
that an ore will worship Gruumsh or one of a handful of<br />
subordinate deities. In comparison, humanity embraces<br />
a staggering variety of deities. Each human culture<br />
might have its own array of gods.<br />
In most D&D settings, there is no single god that<br />
can claim to have created humanity. Thus, the human<br />
proclivity for building institutions extends to religion.<br />
A single charismatic prophet can convert an entire<br />
kingdom to the worship of a new god. With that<br />
prophet's death, the religion might wax or wane, or the<br />
prophet's followers might turn against one another and<br />
found several competing religions.<br />
In comparison, religion in dwarven society is set in<br />
stone. The dwarves of the Forgotten Realms identify<br />
Moradin as their creator. While individual dwarves<br />
might follow other gods, as a culture the dwarves are<br />
pledged to Moradin and the pantheon he leads. His<br />
teachings and magic are so thoroughly ingrained in<br />
dwarven culture that it would take a cataclysmic shift to<br />
replace him.<br />
With that in mind, consider the role of the gods in<br />
your world and their ties to different humanoid races.<br />
· Does each race have a creator god? How does that god<br />
shape that race's culture? Are other folk free of such<br />
divine ties and free to worship as they wish? Has a race<br />
turned against the god that created it? Has a new race<br />
appeared, created by a god within the past few years?<br />
A deity might also have ties to a kingdom, noble<br />
line, or other cultural institution. With the death of<br />
the emperor, a new ruler might be selected by divine<br />
portents sent by the deity who protected the empire in<br />
its earliest days. In such a land, the worship of other<br />
gods might be outlawed or tightly controlled.<br />
Finally, consider the difference between gods who<br />
are tied to specific humanoid races and gods with<br />
more diverse followers. Do the races with their own<br />
pantheons enjoy a place of privilege in your world, with<br />
their gods taking an active role in their affairs? Are the<br />
other races ignored by the gods, or are those races the<br />
deciding factor that can tilt the balance of power in favor<br />
of one god or another?<br />
CHAPTER 1 I A WORLD OF YOUR OWN<br />
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