Episode 262 – faith
by Dan Repperger
* (0:29) First round results from the Power 16 III. You can vote on the second round here. Second round voting ends at 6:00pm Central time on Tuesday, April 3rd.
* (6:32) A (hopefully unnecessary) disclaimer.
* (7:06) Dan’s impeccable moral clarity regarding urban fantasy. I’ll let you guess who writes these show notes!
* (20:51) Faith in a roleplaying game. The importance of creating expectations about what it can do, how it works, and how it will be measured. The advantages of using mechanics or pure RP. The role of the GM in interpreting a character’s faith. Separating faith from sacrament. Dealing with religious views that exclude competing truth-claims, particularly when held by a player at the table.
* (1:04:17) Faith in games that don’t overtly deal with the supernatural.
Hosts: Chad, Chris, Dan, Pat, Wayne
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I have a book, Fantasy Wargaming by Bruce Galloway from 1981, that describes an actual faith mechanic. The book describes the background of the middle ages and then provides rules. Faith is a stat and defined as “This is your intuitive understanding of the Ethereal Plane and the hidden workings of the universe. It is a prime characteristic for clerics and Mages.” There are almost 50 pages spread over 5 sections on religion including descriptions of Christian and Norse pantheons, what you need to roll to appeal for miracles and divine intervention. You gain piety that can provide you with Divine Grace (positive piety) or Devil’s Favor (negative piety). “It reflects absolutely the degree to whcih your power wants to support you, rather than merely feeling obligated to do so to maintain the position of his church.” There is even a section what happens after you die and becoming a saint or demon.