Dragon 140: Priests (Part III)

THE FORUM


The gods of mythology are an entertaining
addition to many AD&D® game campaigns, and
“Keepers of the Faith” (issue #140) described
their mortal servants richly and well. But it is
possible to have developed realistic ministries
without ever defining “different gods.” Several
“Forum” writers have already pointed out that
religion is intensely personal, even in a game. It
is a sensitive issue whether gamers are traditional
monotheists (like this writer), secularists,
or members of the great world faiths that
revere Vishnu, Kuan-Yin, and others. Thoughtful
DMs have always left the ultimate mysteries
of faith to each player’s understanding. C. S.
Lewis’s Narnia, J. R. R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth,
and The Land of Stephen Donaldson are all
overflowing with religious feeling, yet we seldom
see their characters worshiping or arguing
about theology. What metaphysical creeds unite
and divide people in the D&D® game worlds?
How do D&D® game clerics actually lead worship?
How are faithful clerics given spells, and
erring or hypocritical clerics punished? Who
knows? Who really cares? The truth is that no
adult likes to be told what god to worship, or
how or why.

And for mature players, the aspirations and
faiths of living people are far more interesting
than the caprices of ultrapowerful phantoms.
Perhaps the most exciting thing about the whole
DUNGEONS & DRAGONS® game phenomenon is
the way it has renewed young people’s interest
in different cultures and systems of belief that
exist in our own world. Popular accessories like
Chaosium?s The Gods of Glorantha use imaginary
gods to display different outlooks on life.
GAMMA WORLD® campaigns center on Cryptic
Alliances, and even Steve Jackson Games?
TOON® game characters have their special
beliefs. Frankly, a cleric is most interesting
when he embodies a philosophy of life or a
special mission.

You need only look at our own world to discover
ministries for professional clergy. Every
community will have good clerics caring for the
poor, the disabled, the orphans. An army needs
chaplains, a port has a chapel to aid sailors, and
other ministries can support scholarship, commerce,
art, music, philosophy, or military excellence.
Clerics will be active in all kinds of
politics, and good, brave ministers will serve the
oppressed. Sadly, there will be evil clergy who
support people?s greed, hatred, and prejudices.
Even different alignments of the same sect may
stress very different things. Varying lawful-good
clerics may emphasize struggling for social
justice, practicing nonviolence, doing philanthropic
work, raising a happy and virtuous
family, maintaining a minority identity, or forcing
virtue on one?s neighbors. Some clergy
expect a good living, while others live on alms.

As always, once you have found ministries for
your clerics, you will enjoy individualizing each
group in AD&D® game terms. Your major NPC
clerics will be as useful as ever, and the different
perspectives of your clerics will give you
many ideas for interesting adventures. A new
PC cleric might even define his own purposes
and code of behavior, without any talk of serving
a make-believe god.

Many DRAGON Magazine readers will disagree
very strongly with the idea of using our
own beliefs and goals, rather than those of the
gods, to define our clerics. I am not suggesting
for a minute that every campaign need to scrap
its make-believe pantheon; the gods can still visit
worlds where clerics are defined by their beliefs
and missions. Unique beings that inspire
love or loathing might guide and help particular
sects, whether or not they are objects of special
devotion. Every kind of ministry may have a
place on the vast outer planes to which gate
spells lead.

But ultimately the creatures of DEITIES & DEMIGODS 
are most interesting because they embody
the best and worst in us. For C. S. Lewis and
J. R. R. Tolkien, the gods of fantasy are good and
bad angels. For Michael Moorcock, they merely
proclaim the ambiguities of our own tragic
world. But for most fantasy writers?from
Homer to Fritz Leiber to the writers of TSR®
modules T1-4, Q1, A3, GW7, and OP1?the great
powers of the Outer Planes are grand comic
creations, figures of fun made in man?s image.
As such, they have brought us much enjoyment
through literature, art, and most recently,
adventure gaming.

Ed Friedlander
Kansas City KS
(Dragon #147)