Ok, a quick question here. Lets say a Godless person is killed on gnolls. If he goes to the fuege, in theory, hes perma-dead. But respawning also represents a near-death expiriance, doesn't it? So, do the godless go perma all the time?

Respawning is simply nothing more than coming up out of a near death experience. It doesn't have anything to do with a deity or a deity bringing you back to life. Anyone can respawn.

ExileStrife Respawning is simply nothing more than coming up out of a near death experience. It doesn't have anything to do with a deity or a deity bringing you back to life. Anyone can respawn.

Ok. Thanks for the clearing up of confusion there. Guess i should have put this in DM q&a though.

Everyone should pick a deity! >_<

I often times like to revere several deities at the same time, so any kind of script for respawning would recognize me as being godless when I have in fact several.

Pretty sure that you can -technically- only have one patron, everything else is insulting to the gods. (Don't get me wrong, I do that all the time, writing multiple deities into that field)

Someone correct me if I'm wrong?

Nah, one patron. The deity field has the final say in where your character retires. Unless you've been a bad boy and played with devils. Of course, as a follower of Torm, nothing prevents you from worshipping Ilmater and Tyr, either (and, indeed, everybody should revere more than one god).

Everyone should pick a deity! >_<

I disagree. I've played concepts in the past of people who actively chose -not- to worship a god! It works out. <_<

Or people who honor the gods, not one god only. I've played a monk on another server for 2.5 years whose principles agreed with the teachings of Eilistraee and Lathander both, and as such he became a supporter of both of those gods though the last time he had actively worshipped or prayed was when he was a Lolth worshipper.

Paying lip service to multiple gods is one thing. Just doing this you still count as faithless and will become another brick in the wall of the faithless when you die, if the devils/demons don't get you in the mean time.

You must -worship- (not just pay lip service to) one diety in order to avoid the fate of a faithless. In saying that though being faithless has no major effect on respawning or getting ressurected or whatever.

Though this is starting to slide majorly off topic sorry.

Gonna have to disagree with alot of this...

Forgotten realms is a Polytheistic world. Obviously there are multiple gods who make their presence known. This cannot be disputed. But what does this mean for the people of the realms?

Basically, your average layman is going to offer prayers to any and all gods who are involved with whatever problem they are having. He may lean towards prefering the teachings of one deity, but he will not hesitate to offer thanks to other gods during his life time.

For example. Let's take a general in an army. He's not evil, per se, but his people are in the process of taking over another nearby city. Not destroying it but actively taking the land and attempting to rule the people there. An act of conquest. He may very well offer prayers to Bane to see his conquest through successfully. He might pray to Gond when he is ordering the production of arms and armor for his army. He might even offer prayer to Helm that his warriors are victorious in battle.

Once the conquest is over and the general retires to a large plot of land to farm away the rest of his days, he might begin to offer prayers to Chauntea that his crops grow strong and healthy.

It isn't an issue of the gods being good or evil, really. This alignment is only caused by the general view of the world. Conquest involves overthrowing a nations leaders and often killing many people... however a fair and just ruler may overthrow a lazy and ultimately useless king who has pissed away his countries wealth for his own personal gain. It's an evil act for a good outcome.

Edit: The part I almost forgot too... No offering a prayer to your non patron god does not make you faithless. If anything it makes you more faithful. You believe in the gods and seek the ones who can help you in your times of need. Believing in -no- gods, despite the evidence of their existance is where people become faithless.

I said this and was rebuked faster then I could blink Oona. Depite how much sense it might make. >_>

Ahhh yes, this is going to become another rant I sense...

I should clarify. You don't necessarily need to have only one deity in that slot, but listing something is far more interesting for me to see when I'm scoping out a PC and getting an idea what he or she is all about.

It's fine to type: "Tempus, Red Knight, blah blah,"

"Deities of violence, cruely, Cyric, Beshaba."

"The Machine"

"Dunwarren"

"Frederick Bresley"

etc. etc.

Just list something.

Ebok I said this and was rebuked faster then I could blink Oona. Depite how much sense it might make. >_>

Seems we're the minority then. LeSigh

What Sherry said is a great idea though that I don't think many people think of. Listing multiple deities or even something 'odd'. Sure no one can see it but DMs, but it does give them a little better understanding of your character.

I am in agreement with Oona. I always found the religion part of Forgotten Realms (and my more familiar Greyhawk) more than a little preposterous in a lot of ways, to say nothing of being way overdone and colorless. (The idea that elves, dwarves, gnolls or whatever all have their own pantheons and creation myths, all supposedly simultaneously relevant...ugh)

lazycat_1984 I am in agreement

I'm not sure you do. I never said anything about it being absurd. It's simply different from the normal One God belief that is common in this world we live in.

How many creation myths do you think exist on Earth? You don't honestly believe that the one in the Bible is the -only- one, do you? Near every native American tribe had their own. Thousands of different creations probably still exist in Africa. This is a fact of life. Every culture is going to have their own way of explaining where they came from and what they hold dear... It gives the culture an identity.

No, it's not absurd for the elves, the dwarves, the gnolls... and even different human populations to believe in and worship entirely different gods. It's actually quite normal. All of these different societies in Forgotten Realms have their own backgrounds. They all have their own identities... Therefore they will all create their own unique view of the world and how they fit into that world.

Are they all simultaneously relevant? No. Not at all. That would be like a man from ancient egypt worrying about the gods of the celts and whether or not he's pleased those foreign gods. That -is- absurd. Dwarves should worship their gods and not give a damn about other gods. Elves as well. Gnolls too! Why does a gnoll give a damn about Helm? It's absurd to believe he would. Helm doesn't represent any sort of ideal within the gnoll society.

No. Not at all. That would be like a man from ancient egypt worrying about the gods of the celts and whether or not he's pleased those foreign gods. That -is- absurd.

Actually, even that is still good <_<

Egyptian Pantheon, Greek Pantheon and Roman Pantheon... All the pantheons were accepted, but those of your pantheon were more relevant for your nation or territory... A peasant might not even be aware, but an educated man would not dare of insulting Egyptian gods, especially while traveling in Egypt. Of course- we are talking about civilized nations of antiquity...

You could compare gnolls to Germanic barbarians... or more tribal cultures.

Mort

No. Not at all. That would be like a man from ancient egypt worrying about the gods of the celts and whether or not he's pleased those foreign gods. That -is- absurd.

Actually, even that is still good <_<

Egyptian Pantheon, Greek Pantheon and Roman Pantheon... All the pantheons were accepted, but those of your pantheon were more relevant for your nation or territory... A peasant might not even be aware, but an educated man would not dare of insulting Egyptian gods, especially while traveling in Egypt. Of course- we are talking about civilized nations of antiquity...

You could compare gnolls to Germanic barbarians... or more tribal cultures.

I disagree. Even if an Ancient Egyptian were aware of the ancient Celtic gods... He wouldn't have given a damn about them. For him, the weren't real. They were the blasphemous beliefs of a heathen culture. Even a scholar wouldn't be looking on them as real... He may respect the customs of the culture if he is visiting... for his own safety. But that is a far cry from actually believing that the other cultures gods are real or have any power over them. Now, in FR it does get a little complicated... Because all the gods -are- real. There is no dispute of their reality.

However... consider this. A dwarf is raised amongst his clan. He's raised to give praise and thanks to the dwarven gods. These gods may be the only gods he knows until he sets out studying other cultures. He likely wouldn't have heard much, if anything, about the elven gods, or even human gods. These are not the gods of his culture. These are not the gods that look after all things dwarven. And he sure as hell wouldn't know squat about some dirty gnolls filthy dog gods. Your average dwarf just wouldn't care! Same with an elf, or a halfling. They're going to worship their own gods and pretty much ignore all the other ones floating around. The other gods don't really represent the cultures ideals.

Now, a dwarf raised in a human settlement... that is another story. This dwarf may well be aware and even give thanks and pray to the human gods. This is no different than say.. an immigrant family coming to the united states. They'll keep their own culture and customs alive and well, but slowly, over generations, it will be influenced and changed by the presence of outside pressures.

Gah, I just realized how badly I've derailed this thread...

Rather.

So, let us re-cap!

People who do not have a patron deity may(will) make extensive use of the respawn function as it represents not actual death, but a near-death experience!