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Old 09-26-2019, 08:47 PM   #1
b-dog
 
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Default How to add Monotheism to the Nordlands?

So I want to add some monotheistic fun to the Nordlands. I am curious about to do this. The religion I want to add has absolute good and absolute evil. It views the Nordland religions as false and this makes three major power structures, good, evil and those capable of both. The Nordland religions want to survive so they sometimes ally with either good or evil to counter balance the other. Good is very intolerant and will try to defeat both evil and the Nordland gods and faerie. Evil will try to seduce the Nordland gods into evil and they will try to kill the forces of good.

Does anyone have any tips for books about the conversion of the Norse lands to Christianity? Thanks.
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Old 09-27-2019, 08:38 AM   #2
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Default Re: How to add Monotheism to the Nordlands?

Well, it would pretty much have to be monolatry in DF, since there unquestionably are other deity level powers floating about … but that's no obstacle.

Presumably you'd need a high tier deity with a broad portfolio to make up for all the different kinds of cleric spell lists you could no longer have. After that, all you require is one successfully converted chief and a succession of victories … I seem to recall references in Anglo-Saxon literature to "The God Christ, who is a mighty warrior and defeated the gods of our ancestors in battle, taking their lands and their people" and suchlike. However weird that looks to modern sensibilities, that's entirely congruent with many forms of polytheism. And there was always Constantine and his in hoc signo vinces dream...
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Old 09-27-2019, 09:00 AM   #3
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Default Re: How to add Monotheism to the Nordlands?

The specific request involved is very much up to b-dog to make for himself.

The question of competing or new religions, and they fit into the cosmology where the gods are real, walk the earth, and the 'creation myth' of the universe/realm is not a myth at all is a pretty good one. Doubly so if you're not creating a world to play in, but porting Nordlond as one country/kingdom into an existing setting to save yourself some work.

So, a few thoughts:

Monotheism and Competing Divinities in Norđlond
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Old 09-27-2019, 10:46 AM   #4
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Default Re: How to add Monotheism to the Nordlands?

Ok thanks. I think Ars Mágica has the pagan gods being demoted to faerie status. They have a lot of power and they walk the Earth but the Divine is much more powerful. I don’t know how I would have the Norse gods be the Divine but I might have it so that the whole cosmology is true where the Norse gods have power but the cosmology is the way the Divine wills in areas where it controls. The idea that I like is that in ordinary towns where the Divine holds power, magic is subdued and the supernatural too. But outside of that in the countryside and forests the Norse gods have power and magic is strong. That keeps the towns boring and the country side filled with magic and adventure. But in the areas where the Divine does not have much power it allows the Infernal to set up outposts and this causes the conflicts and adventures that PC want. If the Divine gets power over the whole world then it will drive out all the faerie and Norse gods and the Infernal and there wont be much adventuring.
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Old 09-27-2019, 11:05 AM   #5
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Default Re: How to add Monotheism to the Nordlands?

If there were a war between the Norse gods and the Divine, would the Norse gods have valkyries as their troops while the Divine would have angels?
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Old 09-27-2019, 11:17 AM   #6
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Default Re: How to add Monotheism to the Nordlands?

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Originally Posted by b-dog View Post
If there were a war between the Norse gods and the Divine, would the Norse gods have valkyries as their troops while the Divine would have angels?
I'd say no. The Valkyries are not combatants in proper Norse myth; they are "choosers of the slain," a transport force that brings the spirits of the dead to Asgard, where Freyja gets one-third and Odin gets the rest. Those spirits themselves are the warriors of the gods, the Einherjar.
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Old 09-27-2019, 11:41 AM   #7
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Default Re: How to add Monotheism to the Nordlands?

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Originally Posted by whswhs View Post
I'd say no. The Valkyries are not combatants in proper Norse myth; they are "choosers of the slain," a transport force that brings the spirits of the dead to Asgard, where Freyja gets one-third and Odin gets the rest. Those spirits themselves are the warriors of the gods, the Einherjar.
That would be even cooler. The ancestors of the Norse people would be literally fighting to keep their religion and culture alive.

Last edited by b-dog; 09-27-2019 at 12:26 PM.
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Old 09-27-2019, 12:44 PM   #8
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Default Re: How to add Monotheism to the Nordlands?

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If there were a war between the Norse gods and the Divine, would the Norse gods have valkyries as their troops while the Divine would have angels?
Depends which gods. In general any of the participants in Ragnarök, on either side, are appropriate (for that matter, there's nothing preventing demons from hell getting involved either).
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Old 09-27-2019, 01:14 PM   #9
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Depends which gods. In general any of the participants in Ragnarök, on either side, are appropriate (for that matter, there's nothing preventing demons from hell getting involved either).
I guess that is what interests me most about having two religious cosmologies clash, you never know who will side with who. Maybe Loki and Thor will unite to stop the Divine from taking over? Maybe the trolls and evil faerie and demons from the Norse myths will fight against the demons from the Infernal? Or maybe the evil will unite to attack the forces of good of both the Norse gods and the angels and Divine? Maybe they will betray each other too. There are a lot of possibilities for gaming.
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Old 09-27-2019, 01:17 PM   #10
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Default Re: How to add Monotheism to the Nordlands?

Thor says "Thurs is Thurs and Aes is Aes and shall remain so until Ragnarok comes." I find it difficult to believe that the thursir will side with the Aesir - there's just too much bad blood. Remember that Thor has slain thousands of thursir. It's more likely that the aesir will ally with demons.
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