Today, I want to write about something different. I want to write about different topics before I start to talk about horror-specific. So, here's the new topic: God Concept on RPGs.
This is kinda interesting to me, because different cultures and genres have different approach on that concept, so do the game systems.
I watched a TV Show called Hellbound. Without spoilers, all I could say is random people get a death sentence from an entity, which claimed to be an angel. That angel tells you when you die as an exact day and hour, like five days later, 3pm. And there's a community called The New Truth, and they say that it's god's will.
I started to think about religions, religious organizations and cults in roleplaying games, after finished the first season. Because, you know, these kind of stuff could be a nice plot material. What do you think about it? Do you like to play as a religious character? Do you like to play in a game scenario which contains religious or cultic plots?
There's always a religious theme in roleplaying games, because they constantly touch on "good VS evil" theme. And sometimes, it's more like "evil VS more evil", and rarely, everything is gray. This is mostly for satisfying the urge of being hero, defeating evil, saving the day. Also, it's a part of running away from real world and its limits into a bigger fantasy world where the limit is your imagination.
God concept is always there for humanity. Sometimes for needs, sometimes for control. And sometimes for manipulation. It's reality and it's old as the history of mankind. Ancient civilizations had pantheism and mythology. Roleplaying games consume and shape them into a different kind of reality. Let's check them out.
Fantasy Games (like D&D)
In fantasy games, there's a pantheon with different codes inside. Like god of war, god of light, god of underworld, god of fertility, goddess of sea, and goes on. These kind of games actually try to reflect the life of medieval era, but we know that in medieval era, Europe was already dominated by a monotheistic belief. So, it's basically a mix-up era which has medieval's technology and lifestyle with darker eras' belief system. With a certain difference: In fantasy games, good and evil have their strict description and their physical effects. You cannot say that "I don't believe X God, because X God does not exist", because a cleric of that deity could cure your wounds, or bestow a curse upon you.
I would like to ask if you ever seen a player who plays a cleric who is a corrupted man of belief; or, have you ever seen a paladin who lost their god's blessing and seeking for a salvation and be a glorious judgement of their deity again. What would you think if there's a story element like this?
Lovecraftian Games
In Lovecraftian games/scenarios, religion and devotion is kind of different than a classic fantasy game. First of all, Lovecraftian "gods" are not gods, they are cosmic beings beyond a mortal mind's comprehension. Generally, some lucky (unlucky maybe) people discover some evidence of those kind of beings, and put a meaning on that exploration. In result, some of them discover a way to communicate with those beings and believe that their power, knowledge, and judgement is ultimate. You cannot see a physical evidence of monotheistic god's existence, but Lovecraftian beings cause anomalies. And those anomalies are mostly enough evidence of their existence. But, in the other hand, they are beyond a mortal mind's comprehension. That means, three-dimensional perception of a person is not enough to understand some things. And while trying to understand those things, the mind begins to shatter, causes an instable mind. Insanity. These kind of cases mostly end with a death or suicide. But, cult considers it as a sacrifice or casualty.
Author's Favorite: KULT
In KULT, there are ten angels, called archons, and their darker versions, called death angels. These ten entities represent different concepts, and sometimes they affect real world somehow. Cults in KULT are mostly work for them without knowing. Like they're focusing on a surface cause willingly and the outcome of their actions serve to a deeper plot. For example, rise of a religious figure is probably because of affection of Chokmah.
Creating a Cult For Your Games
If you're interested in using "cult" or "god" concept in your games, I can give you suggestions. Just try to answer these questions below:
- What is the powerful entity affecting people? Is it a deity? Or a cosmic being?
- What is the connection between the entity and its believers? Is it promising judgement? Or promising power? Or eternity?
- How much the believers/followers know about this entity and its purpose?
- What kind of rituals they perform? What are their purpose?
- Is the cult (or religious organization) a known community? Or hidden? Is it popular?
- What is place this cult has in your game? Is it a character plot? Is it a story element? Or the main enemy in the game? Are there any characters who sympathize the cult?
- Is there any event related to the cult?
- Where is the headquarter of the cult?
You can add more to expand the concept. Currently I'm working on a document about cults, and after I finish it, I want to expand this concept in here aswell. I would like to learn your opinions, if you're interested in this.
I'll be here with more stuff. See you!
Note: First image is random from internet. Second image is from Call of Cthulhu: The Video Game. Third image is from KULT: Divinity Lost rulebook.