[Fantasy] Standard Fantasy Setting

[demonsbane]

Originally Posted by Kenneth Latrans

The first approach looks roughly like what I believe; a single, real God and multiple other entities (real and fictitious) that aren't.

Glad to be helpful in any degree.

The post(s) that I mentioned to you takes in account real life metaphysics, theology and angelology (in that order), between other things secondarily related to all that.

Originally Posted by Kenneth Latrans

I also don't personally mind some such entities not actually posing as gods, even if some people mistook them for that, but instead being loyal servants of their Creator;

I understand. Besides, such approach isn't truly different nor incompatible with traditional Christianity –you already know, "angels". Most often than not an untrained human individual would take an "angel" for "God", even if that isn't expressly intended –which can have consequences or not (for instance an "angel" being a "throne-vehicle" of "God" and it being mistaken for the later, could pose no problem at all).

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Also, for the shake of genericness, you may want to consider that in many contexts, the term "god" doesn't carry by itself the meaning of the One nor of the Supreme Being, and that such term not always betrays a polytheistic worldview: generally speaking, these plural "gods", as for instance the Hindu (and also Buddhist) devas, are heavenly beings –sometimes, too, spiritual stations of sainthood or esoteric knowledge–, without any intention of deceptively posing as the Supreme Being (there is a difference between Iswhara –"the Lord"– and deva), nor they are trying to usurp that "role" –of course there are always exceptions, but then there is also Lucifer–, and according to many comparative studies deva has been translated as "god" (in the aforementioned "restricted sense") and as "angel" too, in the same way than their opponents, the asuras, have been translated as "demons", and also as "titans".

(It goes without saying that I'm mentioning this in a nutshell (it can't be treated exhaustively), I'm not mentioning here etymology nor history of terms implying its variations of meanings through the centuries, and in any case, my intention isn't to overcomplicate the subject.)

[Flyndaran]

Originally Posted by Gef

I've heard of quite a few. A heckuva lot of scholarship has gone into the ones I know of, like Judaism, Catholicism, Mormonism, Buddhism, and Islam. People may argue over the details even as they fail to produce concrete evidence for them, but that's not the same as being vague on the detail. Admittedly, the laity may be unconcerned with the fine points, but even a lay Catholic will know the highlights of the life of Christ from the stained-glass windows if nothing else. Certainly there are vague religions, but do they not too accrete detail if they endure?

GEF

I was talking about providence being vague rather than doctrine.
Since there is no proof whatsoever of any religion being right, or of miracles occurring ever, faith in providence is vague by definition rather than concrete.

[Flyndaran]

Stating up front that your game has a single omnipotent creator blows generic-ness out of the water.

[Kuroshima]

Originally Posted by Flyndaran

Stating up front that your game has a single omnipotent creator blows generic-ness out of the water.

The world doesn't even need to have a single creation myth. More properly generic would be to leave it vague. However, how the world came into being is not an issue. In almost every fantasy setting (so that bodes well for genericness), "Gods" are inhumanly powerful beings that people believe in, and that maybe can be convinced/coerced/willing to produce supernatural effects. It is irrelevant that they actually are the supreme being/creators of the universe. It is irrelevant if they are something different from simply immaterial "wizards" that use the same tools to produce supernatural effects.

People being people, they will search for answers for that they don't understand. Some sort of religion will exist, more so in a world that includes supernatural powers and beings (something you already accepted).

Now, it's possible that in such a world, no such creature has formed a cult around it, but that certainly looks contrary to human nature, and so probably very "ungeneric". If said creatures grant powers to their most devout, then you have "empowered clerics" and "empowered paladins".