Chaos!

[TRose]

[quote=soltakss;2912]Well, yes and no.

Many people like meeting strange and exotic creatures in games.
Well I can think of some exotic creatures I would like to meet. There Sophia Loren, Salma Hayak, Zhang Ziyi and Michelle Yeoh to start .
Good thing my wife does not read these boards.

[Nightshade]

Originally Posted by Atgxtg

Nightshade,

Okay, I can see what your saying now. But I don't quite agree. I don't think that the cultures that created such myths actually disntinguished between "real monster" and high order fiction (or low brow fiction). It was all a bit of a mix. For instance, the Grek gods were often viewd as more fictional characters or writers tools for parables, then as real beings, but were still offered worship.

However, I suspect strongly if you examined the people involved that the people providing genuine worship (as distinguished from the people who were just going through a social ritual) were _not_ the people who thought the gods were simply symbolic. In fact, a religion that has begun to be seen by the majority of its people as entirely symbolic is usually on its last legs (as shown by the way the Roman polytheism was so vulnerable to replacement by mystery cults and Christianity at its end).

[Simlasa]

That would be interesting in a game setting... having the one or more 'official' religions that no one really believed anymore but everyone gave lipservice too... offset against another one that had a growing cult of true-believers.

For most of the fantasy games I've played in the religions were pretty much equally powerful and equally correct... meaning all the gods could grant spells/powers... or even show up in person from time to time...

I think the thing about creatures being real/not real... is part of the mystery that's enchanting about playing in lower tech settings... not naming the creature that is seen but merely describing it and letting the players/characters come to all the wrong assumptions... either mistaking a vagrant for bigfoot or believing the sphinx at the gate is only a statue... oops!

[Nightshade]

Originally Posted by Simlasa

That would be interesting in a game setting... having the one or more 'official' religions that no one really believed anymore but everyone gave lipservice too... offset against another one that had a growing cult of true-believers.

For most of the fantasy games I've played in the religions were pretty much equally powerful and equally correct... meaning all the gods could grant spells/powers... or even show up in person from time to time...

Well, that's the problem; as long as you have activist, concrete gods, you aren't going to get anything that looks really historical; you'll get the myth of religion rather than its reality, if you get my meaning.

[Atgxtg]

Depdns on just how active said gods are. But generally, yeah, most people will believe in Zeus when he shows up, tosses some lightning bolts, grants a DI or two, and provides cult magic.

But you can get something fairly historical in such context. Most ancient cultures were polytheistic. So it wasn't that they didn't believe other gods existed. It the monotheistic religions that have the difficulty, and even that can be worked around by claims that other gods are in fact, lesser entities or demons, masquerading as the divine.

[Simlasa]

I'm picturing some meta-game campaign system that charts the gains/losses in support for the various gods... and distributes power accordingly...
"Zeus used to show up all blood and thunder... and throw lightning bolts... but now that everyone has switched to Zoroastrianism you only see him once in a while... his toga is dirty and all he does is try to grope the farmer's geese."

[drohem]

Originally Posted by Simlasa

I'm picturing some meta-game campaign system that charts the gains/losses in support for the various gods... and distributes power accordingly...
"Zeus used to show up all blood and thunder... and throw lightning bolts... but now that everyone has switched to Zoroastrianism you only see him once in a while... his toga is dirty and all he does is try to grope the farmer's geese."

That's funny!

[Atgxtg]

Originally Posted by Simlasa

I'm picturing some meta-game campaign system that charts the gains/losses in support for the various gods... and distributes power accordingly...
"Zeus used to show up all blood and thunder... and throw lightning bolts... but now that everyone has switched to Zoroastrianism you only see him once in a while... his toga is dirty and all he does is try to grope the farmer's geese."

There was an RPG that did that a few years back. PCs played gods and vied for worshipers/power.

as a side note, Warpworld is set in just such a world, a future Earth, but where the costs for doing miracles is high, so the gods try to impress on a budget.

[drohem]

Oh, that's right...are you talking about The Primal Order perhaps?

I forgot that about WarpWorld. I remember that I liked that aspect of the game: god power levels were based upon mana gained through their supplicants.

[Atgxtg]

Originally Posted by TRose

Well I can think of some exotic creatures I would like to meet. There Sophia Loren, Salma Hayak, Zhang Ziyi and Michelle Yeoh to start .
Good thing my wife does not read these boards.

I want to volunteer to join that "party" of adventurers!
I woudln't want you to handle the danger alone!

Plus, I don't have a wife, so if she sees you facing down a creature you can just say that its my girlfriend.