How exactly would a Religion of a god of theives work?

[malloyd]

Originally Posted by Disliker of the mary sue

Meh it might also just come down to the player, they are more used to idea of worshiping one god since the only pantheon I think still is a major religion is hindu

In fact most of Hinduism is henotheistic - for about the last 10 centuries or so it's been the norm to pick a favorite god as a target of most of your devotion - ista-devata bhakti.

Henotheism is probably the norm for polytheistic religions. Most Shinto or Chinese traditional practitioners have a favorite temple too, and it will have a primary god it is dedicated to. People will still worship other deities for specific festivals or life stage ceremonies, but day to day prayers or religious expression that isn't organized as community activity usually *do* end up directed to one favorite god (or family genius or lineage founder or patron saint or whatever).

Edit - I expect there is a strong element of how you view your relationship with the gods in this. Transactions that are primarily commercial (I trade sacrifices for miracles) are likely to be shopped around, but if you see your faith as forming some sort of ongoing individual relationship, you are likely to focus on one power - after all you mostly only have one or two parents or patrons or best friends too.

[Rocket Man]

Originally Posted by robkelk

"No, don't worry about the collection plate being passed - we already got your donation. You didn't notice, did you?"

Actually, a temple for a god of thieves would have little need for a collection plate. Instead, it would be the place for worshippers to fence their loot, with the priests likely getting a far better cut than the usual tithe.

[Rocket Man]

Originally Posted by Agemegos

When I wanted my players to actually pay attention to the setting brief and not default of vanilla I started by making everything everyone knows about fantasy-land not true. When the setting was a tropical archipelago on a world with no horses, occupied by people of a ~south-east-Asian racial type, where aristocrats owned ships and made their fortunes from trade and kings rode elephants and not horses, and when religion was exploded (deconstructed, I'm told) into three different an unconnected things, then players would believe what I wrote about social structure and government.

I would love to see more about that setting sometime. By any chance, are you a fan of Ursula K. LeGuin? There seems to be a bit of an Earthsea influence.

[Peter Knutsen]

Originally Posted by Disliker of the mary sue

Hm true but bards I don;t think are the most beloved of people.....but then again I know nothing about medieval history so I'll leave that on a professional.

Travelling singers and storytellers were extremely popular. Keep in mind, back in the medieval period there was no television, no radio, no cinemas, no books or pulp magazines. Entertainment was mindbogglingly scarce.

Furthermore, all travellers, not just bards in particular, could bring news of recent events. That in itself is also interesting, for medieval peasants who never go anywhere (remember Sam Gamgee from the movie, the added scene where he tells Frodo that if he takes one more step then he'll be further away from his home that he has evern been before?).

Bards probably did seduce rather more than their fair share of unwed village girls, with their charm and smooth singing voice, and glamourous travelling life style. But in general the villagers would put up with that, or in grave cases just lynch the particular bard without developping strong hostility towards the very concept of the travelling bard.

[Peter Knutsen]

Originally Posted by Disliker of the mary sue

Okay so I was wrong as usual....

Well, we've been somewhat harsh on you. Me very much included.

I and Agamegos, and Combatmedic and others, tend to go from a historical perspective, whereas you can reasonably, I think, be said to "just want to play D&D".

Just wanting to play D&D is perfectly legitimate, and my contributions were not meant as attacks, but simply as opportunities for you to slightly enrich the world in which your campaign takes place, make it slightly more history-shaped, if you are interested in that.

[combatmedic]

Some suggestions for D&D thief gods:


1) Check out Olidammara and Kurrell. They are both Greyhawk gods. Both have some myths associated with them, gaming write-ups that include some details of cults and rituals, mechanical stuff. I could get links for you in a jiffy.

Olidammara is a wine , women, and song merry trickster type. He works equally well for thieves and bards.

Kurrell is darker, a scorned god, obsessed with getting even. His story connects with the Oeridian wind deities, among others.



2) Hermes, as somebody mentioned upthread


3) Maybe a mortal who stole divinity?


4)Maybe an immortal who stole something precious and gave it to humans, like Prometheus and fire?

[combatmedic]

Originally Posted by Peter Knutsen

Well, we've been somewhat harsh on you. Me very much included.

I and Agamegos, and Combatmedic and others, tend to go from a historical perspective, whereas you can reasonably, I think, be said to "just want to play D&D".

Just wanting to play D&D is perfectly legitimate, and my contributions were not meant as attacks, but simply as opportunities for you to slightly enrich the world in which your campaign takes place, make it slightly more history-shaped, if you are interested in that.

Now I want to write a story about a bard like that who finds himself forcibly attending his own "crossbow wedding."

[Peter Knutsen]

Originally Posted by combatmedic

Now I want to write a story about a bard like that who finds himself forcibly attending his own "crossbow wedding."

I think you quoted the wrong message. But I might be interesting in beta reading that story. And I believe you have my email address...

[combatmedic]

Originally Posted by Peter Knutsen

I think you quoted the wrong message. But I might be interesting in beta reading that story. And I believe you have my email address...

Cool. :)

If I write it, I'll take you up on that offer.
I'm trying to write a lot of new material this term.

And, yes, I quoted the wrong message. I meant to grab this:

Originally Posted by Peter Knutsen

Bards probably did seduce rather more than their fair share of unwed village girls, with their charm and smooth singing voice, and glamourous travelling life style. But in general the villagers would put up with that, or in grave cases just lynch the particular bard without developping strong hostility towards the very concept of the travelling bard.

[Disliker of the mary sue]

Don't worry I ask on this thread because I know nothing about history and everyone here seems to have esoteric knowledge about a lot of obscure things. Something I like to joke to friends that on this forum their actual rocket scientist debating the gurps rules on rocket physics