On faith, and your PC.

[Illuminus]

While I'll be taking the time to format this better, and will undoubtably update and edit it, but here's something that I've noticed is lacking in the average pc.

Not just anything, a key point in conflict, with many opportunities for characters to spend much time delving into. What can this be?

Faith

Yes, what I have noticed, in these last eight or so months in my time here, is that with the exception of Cleric / paladin pc's, who are required to have gods, there's not much faith based conflict in the player base.


Now, you might ask why this is a problem, when things like Race and Sex aren't often considered as much as they probably should be? Well, unlike in real life, where priests and holy warriors are unable to call upon the literal divine might of his or her patron, Neverwinter Nights is based around DnD, in which, every single god has power to change the world, they are there, and unless you have a low wisdom or low intelligence pc, it's undeniable that they exist.

How does this effect your pc? Well, unless your pc is specifically Atheist, or from that one section of the world that bans the gods, your pc is going to worship one god or another. Why? Because, unlike real life, there is 100% certainty what is going to happen after you die. Either you go to hell / the abyss, you go to your patrons plane, Or you wander the planes until you are destroyed, as can be seen with the "Restless Dead" that can be found across the surface.

As to the Restless dead: With the death of Kelemvor, and the Wall of the Dead, (Which is a Kelemvorite construction, as I have been made aware, this pertains specifically to EFU.) Those dead with no deity or planar being to claim them after death wander the planes as the Restless dead, most are destroyed, eaten, or otherwise are not prevalent, but it is not uncommon to find them in the plane of Toril.


So if I don't want to deal with the Wall of the Damned mess, and I don't want to be paladinic / priestly, what should I do? You don't have to do much! While some pc's will be more religious than others, such as layswords or druids, the common person will largely not have much to do with it, paying tithes, observing holidays and keeping the tenants of the faith as they see fit.

How does going through the effort to choose a god, and role play it in my character, benefit me and the experience? Well, in Neverwinter Nights as a whole, Faith plays a big role in the personality and how a person acts and reacts. Lets say, for a Tyrian for example, He or she is going to be more Law based, paying careful attention to the laws and to the keeping of them. He or she may be more "Good citizen" esque, with the upstanding standards and rules and regulations, and if he encounters the lawless or slovenly or crude, he or she may react with either despair or distress ( if he or she is empathetic) over the persons evident lack of care, or contempt or simply ignore them ( if you are not).

If, say, your a faithful of Malar and you run into a follower of Selune, do you automatically change to hostile and begin fighting? Not always! While your pc may or may not immediately do so, remember, Your pc is /not/ the god or, in the case that your a paladin / priest, does not have to follow all the tenants. The Absolute most you have to do is /not/ break those tenants. So if that means being respectful of another pc who is a follower of a hostile god, and it's IC ( and fine ooc), to do, then that's fine! You do not have to be the god, you personify how he is viewed, not the other way around!

Now, as RwG touched on, Faith plays a big goal in player to player goals and interaction, as in the Why someone is doing something, and occasionally the How. It gives a reason for conflict to form, like, If one pc is a Lathandarite, and he or she encounters the undead, it gives him or her a reason to actually hate and want to destroy those dead, rather than... "Because they're undead." It gives an entire new realm of possibilities to explore!

So, in conclusion, take the time to find a god for your pc. It may not effect him or her much, heck, it might not at all! But if you don't, your cutting yourself off from a whole range of possible interactions and experiences, and a whole new depth of characterization.

Also: If any of you have anything to add to this, or want to edit something, don't hesitate to ask! send a pm and I'll likely make the change.

[Illuminus]

On the Faithless, and the Darkenings effect on many Pc's and Faith.

On the Faithless, Pre-Darkening: Before the world degenerated into what it is now, there were clear cut boundaries between the Faithless, and the Faithful. Those who worshiped no god, or actively set themselves against one or more gods, ( not to be confused with being faithful to one god, and setting him or herself against another opposing god, such as Lathander and Valsharoon) are considered Faithless. Those who worship one or more gods, not actively going against the tenants of their faith, are the Faithful. As such, they are separated post-mortem by the God of the Dead, being Kelemvor pre-darkening, to separate fates after death. ( unless they are taken by Devils or Demons during life), Those two places being 1: To their patron deity's home plane or 2: To the Wall of the Damned, if they are faithless / heretics.

However, the darkening has diluted this: With many gods dead, including the god /of/ the dead, or otherwise incapacitated and unable to interact with mortals on the plane of Toril, the  newly dead are in disarray, with the Faithless / Faithful being mixed with none to separate them. While gods or the messengers of the gods may go find specific persons, (See: Balfour / Tacitus / Gylin / Abala), It's generally chaos in the Realm of the Dead, previously governed by Kelemvor, assuming that Jergal has not taken over. More on that would be speculation, best found out IC.

However, One thing that can be said, is that many gods of many races have been incapacitated, or are likely swamped in the shear number of things going on and unable to se to every single detail on toril, and as such, the Faith of those on Toril is undeniably suffering. Devote followers of gods across Toril are being slain, their lively hoods destroyed, or enthralled, and often there is no divine intervention to save them or their friends and family.
As such, many of the survivors from the Surface may find their faith shaken, and in severe cases, shattered, and this must be taken into account when deciding on your background and faith, and indeed, even your personality.

While this too, will allow for more conflict, It must be noted that the Adventurer "Caste", for lack of a better term, often is not the most devote, and is more likely to be unfaithful than any other. However, by the same flip of the coin, those veteran adventurers are also likely to pay homage in some form, knowing how easy it is to die and knowing that at any moment, it could happen to them, or, in the case such as Brandobarians, their reason for becoming adventurer's is often faith itself.

These are all things to take into account when creating your character, for it can greatly shape his or her personality, background, history, faith, and interaction and lead to greater characterization and conflict!

Also: if any of you have anything to add on to this, or want to edit something, don't hesitate to ask! send a pm and I'll likely make the change.

[Illuminus]

On Patron Deities, and your Pc.


While it's more common to have a patron deity than not, such as a Farmer worshiping Chantau primarily, it's perfectly acceptable to have no patron deity! While the gods are undeniable influences, it effects some people more or less than others, those less effected may decide to pay lip service to many different gods, or simply pay tithes to one or two and keeping in good standing with them.

However, this said, in EFU it is often best to place one major or "patron" deity as the one you worship most and to whom your soul would go to, and have other minor deities that you worship on the side.

For example, many mercenaries are the down to earth, pragmatic types, in it for the gold and self-enrichment. You may have one or two who is more religious than others, but the vast majority ( who are intelligent enough to grasp the concept that they just might not be invincible) of those who are not will likely only donate to the temple of their choice and generally on good standing with that faith, on the off chance that they do happen to die.

Also: if any of you have anything to add on to this, or want to edit something, don't hesitate to ask! send a pm and I'll likely make the change.