Latter-Day Saints in Yrth

[oldgringo2001]

Mormons have always been suspected of conspiracies, so why not add a "real" one, sort of a non-Catholic complement to what we all know the Jesuits or the Templars are really up to.

Let's suppose that Mormons began coming to Yrth in the 1840s--and that there has been limited two-way traffic since then, not only between Yrth and Homeline, but between several worlds with a Mormon presence. Few Mormons are initiated into this particular mystery of the church, but the elders have always been in on it. Who would uncover such goings on, the FBI? Have you noticed how many Mormons are in the FBI now?

As for polygamy, there has been serious discussion of relaxing the rules on that by our Catholics. Jesus is on record against divorce, but if he said anything about having more than one wife, it hasn't been set down in any of the currently accepted Gospels. And we already know that Megalos, the home of the Mother Church on Yrth, has been ruled by emperors with harems for a long time.

[combatmedic]

Originally Posted by Asta Kask

I propose a somewhat unorthodox theory - that the Banestorm does not actually snatch, but copies. This solves problems about removing large segments of the population from Earth.

This also allows for copies of famous people to be taken, although that's obviously not typical (given that only the common people are actually common). But what if a copy of Joseph Smith was taken as his life was ebbing away on June 27th 1844?

I'll assume that the atheist version of history is right - Joseph Smith is not the actual Prophet. However, he must have been an intelligent and charismatic person. He also had the good fortune to land in an Elven village, where he was healed. They knew Anglish and he picked it up while recuperating. He also picked up Elvish...

Today there are a number of Elven villages that follow the Church of Latter-Day Saints in the Southwestern parts of the Great Forest. A lot of human settlers live there as well, but they are prevented from exploiting the area overmuch by the Elves. There has been a number of revelations showing without a doubt that Yrth is the New Promised Land and that Elves are the Chosen people. Megalos is the great whore and the muslims are 'dark and hideous' - a fallen race. But the main threats to the faithful are a) the Dark Elves - who view any Elf following the words of a Human as an abomination; and b) Orcs.

According to neo-Mormon theology, Dark Elves are fallen Elves - they have turned from the path of the Lord and chosen to worship themselves. Their pride in using magic rather than faith exposed their folly when the Banestorm appeared. While all other Elves are potential converts, Dark Elves are to be killed on sight.

Orcs are the direct offspring of the Devil, set here as a test of faith. This theological innovation has explained a lot of things to the neo-Mormon Elves who didn't have the very useful tool of the Devil before. Setting up the Orcs as an example of the Ultimate Evil sat very well in their view of the world.

That's all very interesting. You might want to be careful with it if you have LDS gamers in your group.

But I'm guessing that you probably don't. Eh?


Mormonism includes ideas about other inhabited worlds with humanlike inhabitants. That might help Mormons adapt to Yrth.

[combatmedic]

Originally Posted by oldgringo2001

Mormons have always been suspected of conspiracies, so why not add a "real" one, sort of a non-Catholic complement to what we all know the Jesuits or the Templars are really up to.

Let's suppose that Mormons began coming to Yrth in the 1840s--and that there has been limited two-way traffic since then, not only between Yrth and Homeline, but between several worlds with a Mormon presence. Few Mormons are initiated into this particular mystery of the church, but the elders have always been in on it. Who would uncover such goings on, the FBI? Have you noticed how many Mormons are in the FBI now?

As for polygamy, there has been serious discussion of relaxing the rules on that by our Catholics. Jesus is on record against divorce, but if he said anything about having more than one wife, it hasn't been set down in any of the currently accepted Gospels. And we already know that Megalos, the home of the Mother Church on Yrth, has been ruled by emperors with harems for a long time.

\

A concubine is not a wife.

[Anders]

Originally Posted by combatmedic

That's all very interesting. You might want to be careful with it if you have LDS gamers in your group.

But I'm guessing that you probably don't. Eh?

Nope. I've only met two LDS (that I know of) and they failed to convert me. They happened to come visit on the same day the Jehova's Witnesses stopped by - all I had to was get the popcorn and watch the show. :)

But yeah, I would never run a game that I knew would offend the beliefs of one of my players.

[combatmedic]

Originally Posted by Asta Kask

Nope. I've only met two LDS (that I know of) and they failed to convert me. They happened to come visit on the same day the Jehova's Witnesses stopped by - all I had to was get the popcorn and watch the show. :)

But yeah, I would never run a game that I knew would offend the beliefs of one of my players.

I didn't think that you would.

I like that you inserted an 'let's assume that the atheist version of history is true' clause for your scenario. That's a classy move.

[ericthered]

Why do you specifically want Mormons? As in, what aspects of them do you want in the campaign, because when you decide to pull them into yrth will depend a lot on the answer to that question.

Are you looking at weird theology? Polygamy? a cult that won't disintegrate with the death of its leader? Missionaries?

A couple of notes:

if you pick anytime during Joseph Smith's lifetime you won't have much polygamy practiced openly, though it will be present.

Mormons theology quite explicitly does not allow for literal offspring of the devil. They will however, make references to "marks" upon people for one reason or the other, and will steadfastly believe that there is one ancestor of orcs who started their foul ways. If Elves are the chosen people, they will likely get a tribe of Israel assigned to them or be declared to be from before the flood (explaining hundred year lifespans recorded in Genesis).

[jason taylor]

Originally Posted by malloyd

They don't. In fact many of them are classed as more evil than outright pagans.

Depends on how many come. The great prophet Samuel Colt with his disciples sulfer, saltpeter, and charcoal might go far toward persuading people to respect Mormons in low-mana areas.

[ericthered]

Originally Posted by jason taylor

Depends on how many come. The great prophet Samuel Colt with his disciples sulfer, saltpeter, and charcoal might go far toward persuading people to respect Mormons in low-mana areas.

You might actually get some living on the edges of the great desert if you pull from small utah towns. That would give you a very segregated feel, though, and if you give them weapons they'll be a magnet for new banestorm transportees and underground engineers.

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by Polydamas

I suspect that polygamy would be a sticking point.

Eh. That might or might not be a big deal; it's not like there aren't any other cultures in Yrth which might plausibly have polygamy. Most likely it just winds up being a line item in the litany of heresies they're accused of.

[jason taylor]

Originally Posted by Anthony

Eh. That might or might not be a big deal; it's not like there aren't any other cultures in Yrth which might plausibly have polygamy. Most likely it just winds up being a line item in the litany of heresies they're accused of.

Yrthling Moslems already practice polygamy, just like Earthling ones.