Like other aspects of a fantasy world, religion can be very important to making it feel believable and alive.  Often religion is used as a hook to start various adventures.

One caution I would make would be to try to give it as original a feel to it as possible.  In our world there are many, many religions and as many viewpoints about it as there are individuals on the planet.  Most of us, if we are religious, have a monotheistic view, but in reality our definitions of deity are so varied that we may as well worship a dozen different divinities.  The point I am making is that it is okay to draw upon the world around us in order to get NPC’s or PC’s with realistic feelings and reactions to religion.

Most people who get a knock at the front door by missionaries from one church or another do not respond favorably.  We have reasons.  We have purposes.  We just don’t care.  Often we play practical jokes on them.  More often we just ask them to go away.  Sometimes we get harsh, even violent with them.  Sometimes we invite them in and willingly listen to their messages, seeking something better in our lives.

The same thoughts and feelings also affect people in fantasy lands.  Most don’t attend church – unless they have to.  Most of them who do don’t follow everything the church says unless there are strong social consequences.  Some follow the teachings because they are strong believers.  Even these people struggle with aspects of the teachings.  They have temptations.  They have weaknesses.  Most of the time they succeed, but sometimes they fail.

Bringing a bit of this realism to a character can really give them a feel that goes beyond the numbers and the statistics.  A rogue who was raised by a cult somewhere may still struggle with guilt about leaving them behind.  Perhaps he hates the life he has chosen, but lacks the strength of character to change.  Maybe he has tried before and failed.  Maybe he is just waiting for the right person to push him over the edge.

Perhaps the cleric that you play is devoted only in word but not in feeling.  She has studied and goes through the motion, but really doesn’t have any conviction.  Perhaps she is a corrupt priestess or maybe just happy to live a comfortable life living off of the donations of the followers – until forced into an adventure.

Taking a different view of religion – other than blind devotion – can take your character to a new dimension of interest and playability.  At some point most of our characters will react with a cleric of some faith or another.  Put a little thought into how the character really feels about it and the session might go a bit differently than expected.

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