like could my CN character worship a NG god? or a LE character worship a LG god? l ask cause l have a CN character worshiping (or at least have them listed under the faith part of the character sheet) a NG goddess and a N god (l asume you can follow more then one deity at once)
(ps the character in question is a wizard worshiping Mystra, goddess of magic & Oghma, god of knowledge)
(this edit is not meant to stop the amazing discussion below,just to give more info about why l asked: my character(who is a CN elf) ls obsessed with learning and is a wizard,so part of that learning is of new spells, so because of this,l decided that her giving praise to the deitys of knowledge and magic would be a good idea. Her brand of worship is less "oh great goddess of magic,plz grant me the power to bring my friend back to life" but more like "oh man,magic is so cool and useful,thanks mystara for making it possible to shoot fire from my hands and raise the dead". in short,its less praise with the expectation of gaining something in return,and more of a "my life is devoted to gaining knowledge and magic,everything l do,is because of you two."
that said,feel free to continue to discuss the nuance of worship and who should worship what below)
That’s a valid point. My gut reaction was to say “no” if your moral trailblazer (your god) blazed a path that runs a certain way, the path you walk as a follower of theirs runs that same way. However, there have been far too many real world examples of people who have lived LE while associating themselves with an LG God.
We also have the example of the Cassalanters in WDH. They are publicly known to worship one god and secretly worship the one that gives them their true alignment. So maybe if a PC cleric’s alignment doesn’t match the god that gives them their domain, it’s because they secretly use another god as their moral compass, but serve their domain’s god in public matters. Or maybe they are new to the faith and you get to RP the evolution of their character’s realignment.
In order to make sense, the alignments should not be too different (an LG worshiping an LE god for example), but their are no rules against it in any case.
The gods of D&D are rather proactive. Being unworthy in the dieties' eyes can have consequences depending on the god.
Then you have tricksters who delight in leading a flock astray.
So, yes. ...but it might be unwise.
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Human. Male. Possibly. Don't be a divider. My characters' backgrounds are written like instruction manuals rather than stories. My opinion and preferences don't mean you're wrong. I am 99.7603% convinced that the digital dice are messing with me. I roll high when nobody's looking and low when anyone else can see.🎲 “It's a bit early to be thinking about an epitaph. No?” will be my epitaph.
As others have said, there are no rules against it in D&D 5.
If you are playing a cleric or paladin or otherwise very religious person I would try to stay within one step on the alignement chart, though.
So if you worship a Lawful Good god, you should imho stick to LG, NG, LN and pure N character alignments for this kind of characters.
Especially clerics, since they receive their powers from their gods. While I can see a CE character worshipping a LG god without realizing he is the polar opposite of his deity, I just can't see such a deity granting them any powers.
A darn near perfect example is that with the alignment system in 5th edition states most humans are Neutral, how many of those worship gods that are of a different alignment such as Neutral gamblers worshipping Tymora the luck goddess in hopes of winning. With so many gods in the game some gods may be sharing worshippers with other gods and your character depending on what he is doing may offer a prayer to the god or goddess most associated with that activity.
Worshiping... Like the priesthood, just because you flap you gums doesn't mean the entended god hears or cares. Or maybe is another "entity" playing the role.
More then one deity is doable in areas where pantheons are accepted. Other places not so much, to varying degrees.
The alignment part... would depend on the story aspect of your character. Not "being in alignment" with a deity and wanting to interact with them could cause problems or have no effect at all.
Came across a scenario where the player's character was essentially pressed into the service of a god as compensation for a mishap in that god's temple. As long as the character is doing what was asked of her, the god is granting her the necessary clerical powers (holy-clerical, not financial-clerical), but she's doing it all begrudgingly.
So technically, there's an alignment mismatch there, but the sum of actions are still alignment-aligned even if the sentiment-alignment is not.
Though... the character will take any opportunity of duress to try to convert people to the faith she's forced to follow to satisfy some quota she must fulfill as part of the deal. Whether or not the Good-aligned god approves of this method has yet to be seen.
For any limitation, creativity can find a solution.
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Human. Male. Possibly. Don't be a divider. My characters' backgrounds are written like instruction manuals rather than stories. My opinion and preferences don't mean you're wrong. I am 99.7603% convinced that the digital dice are messing with me. I roll high when nobody's looking and low when anyone else can see.🎲 “It's a bit early to be thinking about an epitaph. No?” will be my epitaph.
Under normal circumstances I would expect you to worship a God with one of your alignment, though I would exclude being different in both axis (i. a LG god would tend to be worshipped by LG, LN and NG but less likely pure N).
Having said that you could create an interesting backstory. For example a good aligned character (probably with a low religion score) could be convinced by an evil character to worship a God who is said to be good but is in fact evil as as the game progresses forces try to corrupt the character to do evil which he might either succumb to (changing his alignment) or fight against . If you watch critical role...
This could be something like the relationship Fjord had with his patron Uk'otoa
For a Cleric / Paladin this could be the evil God using these powers to tempt the character, initially they could be asked to perform acts which are, or appear to be good but gradually get more and more evil.
Characters can worship gods of any alignment. The world is full of people that acknowledge that good is better than evil while still being neutral or evil themselves. The most striking example in the planes would be all the lawful good celestials that serve chaotic good gods.
The more interesting question is of clerics. Anyone can believe in a god, gaining clerical power happens when a god believes in you. This will almost certainly mean the cleric is at least similar in alignment to the god.
Back in the (AD&D) day, I believe our group's house rule (or maybe we got it from a Dragon mag article or something) was that you had to match your patron deity in one alignment exactly, and must be non-oppositional in the other alignment. For example, a Lawful Neutral god would take Lawful anything (LE, LN, LG), since nothing is oppositional to Neutral, and non-chaotic neutral, i.e., LN, NN (true Neutral). Thus a LN god would accept LE, LN, LG, and N. He would not take chaotic. Similarly, a CG god would take CN, CG, or NG. But would not take CE, or LG (because E and L are opposite to the god's alignment).
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Because of the above (a paraphrase from Orwell) I no longer post to the forums -- PM me if you need help or anything.
Under normal circumstances I would expect you to worship a God with one of your alignment, though I would exclude being different in both axis (i. a LG god would tend to be worshipped by LG, LN and NG but less likely pure N).
Having said that you could create an interesting backstory. For example a good aligned character (probably with a low religion score) could be convinced by an evil character to worship a God who is said to be good but is in fact evil as as the game progresses forces try to corrupt the character to do evil which he might either succumb to (changing his alignment) or fight against . If you watch critical role...
This could be something like the relationship Fjord had with his patron Uk'otoa
For a Cleric / Paladin this could be the evil God using these powers to tempt the character, initially they could be asked to perform acts which are, or appear to be good but gradually get more and more evil.
can you plz edit that to say which season it was a spoiler for. l am only on ep 22 of S2,and have not watched any of S1,so knowing that you were spoiling the season l was watching wold have been nice.
I mean, that's what we call nuance, right? Remember, that these characters can't see their character sheets. They don't know that they're Lawful Good or Chaotic Evil. There are plenty of reasons for a person to find a religion compelling that might not be "I have a compatible ethical philosophy". Maybe your character has a different interpretation of those god's behaviour that allows them to reconcile their own beliefs with the god's perceived beliefs. Maybe your character doesn't believe in those gods, so much as they hope that study and worship might reveal some truth about those gods' pantheons, which they find very important.
It's your game. You can do anything you want. So, do what feels right.
Back in the (AD&D) day, I believe our group's house rule (or maybe we got it from a Dragon mag article or something) was that you had to match your patron deity in one alignment exactly, and must be non-oppositional in the other alignment. For example, a Lawful Neutral god would take Lawful anything (LE, LN, LG), since nothing is oppositional to Neutral, and non-chaotic neutral, i.e., LN, NN (true Neutral). Thus a LN god would accept LE, LN, LG, and N. He would not take chaotic. Similarly, a CG god would take CN, CG, or NG. But would not take CE, or LG (because E and L are opposite to the god's alignment).
This. :)
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Rule for drama. Roll for memories. If there isn't a meaningful failure condition, do not roll. Ever. (Perception checks, I'm .... clunk, roll, roll, roll, stop... 14, looking at you... maybe?)
Since the OP invoked Mystra and Oghma, let's start with FR.
There is no problem with worshipping more than one deity in the Realms, especially when one is considered subservient to the other (for instance, Mystra and Azuth). Though there was always the one "major" deity because that determines where you go in your afterlife. Remember, in FR gods are a known commodity and being faithless is extremely rare. In our real life terms it would be like knowing for a fact that not worshipping a god will land you in a purgatory.
So, there is no problem with your character being, say, a worshipper of Mystra who prays to Oghma from time to time. It's not uncommon for many Faerunians to pray to different deities much like ancient Greeks - each god has their own domain so if you'd like some success and prosperity in specific domain, you'd pray to them on a case by case basis.
Your example is quite easy to resolve because every wizard in the realms nods to Mystra as she is the Wave from which they take their spellcasting abilities. The Church of Mystra welcomes all followers regardless of their alignment.
Situation would be different if you were a divine spellcaster. That requires dedication to a specific deity because in the Realms divine magic comes from gods. It's not stated mechanically but it is so lore-wise. There is no reason for a LG deity to grant spells to a CE character even if they pray to them in the morning because they do not advance or uphold the ideals said deity believes in.
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like could my CN character worship a NG god? or a LE character worship a LG god? l ask cause l have a CN character worshiping (or at least have them listed under the faith part of the character sheet) a NG goddess and a N god (l asume you can follow more then one deity at once)
(ps the character in question is a wizard worshiping Mystra, goddess of magic & Oghma, god of knowledge)
(this edit is not meant to stop the amazing discussion below,just to give more info about why l asked: my character(who is a CN elf) ls obsessed with learning and is a wizard,so part of that learning is of new spells, so because of this,l decided that her giving praise to the deitys of knowledge and magic would be a good idea. Her brand of worship is less "oh great goddess of magic,plz grant me the power to bring my friend back to life" but more like "oh man,magic is so cool and useful,thanks mystara for making it possible to shoot fire from my hands and raise the dead". in short,its less praise with the expectation of gaining something in return,and more of a "my life is devoted to gaining knowledge and magic,everything l do,is because of you two."
that said,feel free to continue to discuss the nuance of worship and who should worship what below)
Oh sure. I mean... even in real life we have plenty of people whose personal beliefs don't perfectly align with their worship.
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true.
That’s a valid point. My gut reaction was to say “no” if your moral trailblazer (your god) blazed a path that runs a certain way, the path you walk as a follower of theirs runs that same way. However, there have been far too many real world examples of people who have lived LE while associating themselves with an LG God.
We also have the example of the Cassalanters in WDH. They are publicly known to worship one god and secretly worship the one that gives them their true alignment. So maybe if a PC cleric’s alignment doesn’t match the god that gives them their domain, it’s because they secretly use another god as their moral compass, but serve their domain’s god in public matters. Or maybe they are new to the faith and you get to RP the evolution of their character’s realignment.
By the rules? Sure. Does it work in your game? That's between you and your DM.
"Not all those who wander are lost"
In order to make sense, the alignments should not be too different (an LG worshiping an LE god for example), but their are no rules against it in any case.
The gods of D&D are rather proactive. Being unworthy in the dieties' eyes can have consequences depending on the god.
Then you have tricksters who delight in leading a flock astray.
So, yes. ...but it might be unwise.
Human. Male. Possibly. Don't be a divider.
My characters' backgrounds are written like instruction manuals rather than stories. My opinion and preferences don't mean you're wrong.
I am 99.7603% convinced that the digital dice are messing with me. I roll high when nobody's looking and low when anyone else can see.🎲
“It's a bit early to be thinking about an epitaph. No?” will be my epitaph.
As others have said, there are no rules against it in D&D 5.
If you are playing a cleric or paladin or otherwise very religious person I would try to stay within one step on the alignement chart, though.
So if you worship a Lawful Good god, you should imho stick to LG, NG, LN and pure N character alignments for this kind of characters.
Especially clerics, since they receive their powers from their gods. While I can see a CE character worshipping a LG god without realizing he is the polar opposite of his deity, I just can't see such a deity granting them any powers.
A darn near perfect example is that with the alignment system in 5th edition states most humans are Neutral, how many of those worship gods that are of a different alignment such as Neutral gamblers worshipping Tymora the luck goddess in hopes of winning. With so many gods in the game some gods may be sharing worshippers with other gods and your character depending on what he is doing may offer a prayer to the god or goddess most associated with that activity.
This was my thought exactly.
Worshiping... Like the priesthood, just because you flap you gums doesn't mean the entended god hears or cares. Or maybe is another "entity" playing the role.
More then one deity is doable in areas where pantheons are accepted. Other places not so much, to varying degrees.
The alignment part... would depend on the story aspect of your character. Not "being in alignment" with a deity and wanting to interact with them could cause problems or have no effect at all.
Came across a scenario where the player's character was essentially pressed into the service of a god as compensation for a mishap in that god's temple. As long as the character is doing what was asked of her, the god is granting her the necessary clerical powers (holy-clerical, not financial-clerical), but she's doing it all begrudgingly.
So technically, there's an alignment mismatch there, but the sum of actions are still alignment-aligned even if the sentiment-alignment is not.
Though... the character will take any opportunity of duress to try to convert people to the faith she's forced to follow to satisfy some quota she must fulfill as part of the deal. Whether or not the Good-aligned god approves of this method has yet to be seen.
For any limitation, creativity can find a solution.
Human. Male. Possibly. Don't be a divider.
My characters' backgrounds are written like instruction manuals rather than stories. My opinion and preferences don't mean you're wrong.
I am 99.7603% convinced that the digital dice are messing with me. I roll high when nobody's looking and low when anyone else can see.🎲
“It's a bit early to be thinking about an epitaph. No?” will be my epitaph.
Under normal circumstances I would expect you to worship a God with one of your alignment, though I would exclude being different in both axis (i. a LG god would tend to be worshipped by LG, LN and NG but less likely pure N).
Having said that you could create an interesting backstory. For example a good aligned character (probably with a low religion score) could be convinced by an evil character to worship a God who is said to be good but is in fact evil as as the game progresses forces try to corrupt the character to do evil which he might either succumb to (changing his alignment) or fight against . If you watch critical role...
This could be something like the relationship Fjord had with his patron Uk'otoa
For a Cleric / Paladin this could be the evil God using these powers to tempt the character, initially they could be asked to perform acts which are, or appear to be good but gradually get more and more evil.
Characters can worship gods of any alignment. The world is full of people that acknowledge that good is better than evil while still being neutral or evil themselves. The most striking example in the planes would be all the lawful good celestials that serve chaotic good gods.
The more interesting question is of clerics. Anyone can believe in a god, gaining clerical power happens when a god believes in you. This will almost certainly mean the cleric is at least similar in alignment to the god.
Back in the (AD&D) day, I believe our group's house rule (or maybe we got it from a Dragon mag article or something) was that you had to match your patron deity in one alignment exactly, and must be non-oppositional in the other alignment. For example, a Lawful Neutral god would take Lawful anything (LE, LN, LG), since nothing is oppositional to Neutral, and non-chaotic neutral, i.e., LN, NN (true Neutral). Thus a LN god would accept LE, LN, LG, and N. He would not take chaotic. Similarly, a CG god would take CN, CG, or NG. But would not take CE, or LG (because E and L are opposite to the god's alignment).
WOTC lies. We know that WOTC lies. WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. We know that WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. And still they lie.
Because of the above (a paraphrase from Orwell) I no longer post to the forums -- PM me if you need help or anything.
can you plz edit that to say which season it was a spoiler for. l am only on ep 22 of S2,and have not watched any of S1,so knowing that you were spoiling the season l was watching wold have been nice.
Season 2
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I mean, that's what we call nuance, right? Remember, that these characters can't see their character sheets. They don't know that they're Lawful Good or Chaotic Evil. There are plenty of reasons for a person to find a religion compelling that might not be "I have a compatible ethical philosophy". Maybe your character has a different interpretation of those god's behaviour that allows them to reconcile their own beliefs with the god's perceived beliefs. Maybe your character doesn't believe in those gods, so much as they hope that study and worship might reveal some truth about those gods' pantheons, which they find very important.
It's your game. You can do anything you want. So, do what feels right.
This. :)
Rule for drama. Roll for memories.
If there isn't a meaningful failure condition, do not roll. Ever. (Perception checks, I'm .... clunk, roll, roll, roll, stop... 14, looking at you... maybe?)
Since the OP invoked Mystra and Oghma, let's start with FR.
There is no problem with worshipping more than one deity in the Realms, especially when one is considered subservient to the other (for instance, Mystra and Azuth). Though there was always the one "major" deity because that determines where you go in your afterlife. Remember, in FR gods are a known commodity and being faithless is extremely rare. In our real life terms it would be like knowing for a fact that not worshipping a god will land you in a purgatory.
So, there is no problem with your character being, say, a worshipper of Mystra who prays to Oghma from time to time. It's not uncommon for many Faerunians to pray to different deities much like ancient Greeks - each god has their own domain so if you'd like some success and prosperity in specific domain, you'd pray to them on a case by case basis.
Your example is quite easy to resolve because every wizard in the realms nods to Mystra as she is the Wave from which they take their spellcasting abilities. The Church of Mystra welcomes all followers regardless of their alignment.
Situation would be different if you were a divine spellcaster. That requires dedication to a specific deity because in the Realms divine magic comes from gods. It's not stated mechanically but it is so lore-wise. There is no reason for a LG deity to grant spells to a CE character even if they pray to them in the morning because they do not advance or uphold the ideals said deity believes in.