Fantasy settings without dieties?

Simlasa · April 05, 2011, 09:20:26 PM

I can't think of any fantasy RPG settings where there are no 'gods' to worship or where it's clearly stated that the worshiped beings are merely imaginary.

Anyone know of any?

What about scifi/space games that do have actual 'gods' that answer prayers/worship/sacrifices? Only thing vaguely like that I can think of is Spelljammer.

PaladinCA · April 05, 2011, 10:13:04 PM

Dark Sun. They have some sorcerer kings that act like gods, but for all intents and purposes, the original gods of the world left or died off ages ago.

richforest · April 05, 2011, 10:19:00 PM

Cidri, the default setting in The Fantasy Trip, has no true gods by default, though the referee has the option of adding them in. The default assumption that's baked into the setting, though, is a godless world. The "priest" talents confer social benefits but no miraculous powers. There is a super advanced magical / high tech progenitor race, but they have more of a sci fi vibe.

arminius · April 05, 2011, 11:15:44 PM

What about Yrth, the fantasy setting for GURPS? I don't remember it having much in the way of actual gods who'd do anything, give anyone any powers, etc.

IceBlinkLuck · April 05, 2011, 11:36:02 PM

SwordBearer has the social structure for religion in it, but there are no magical/miraculous benefits to being a member of the clergy.

I'm pretty sure the same is true of DragonQuest. There is certainly no 'cleric' option for players.

Also Tunnels and Trolls doesn't have a specific priestly class and pretty much doesn't mention gods at all.

Esgaldil · April 06, 2011, 11:03:11 AM

There's an RPG for the Tales of the Black Company books, in which there are extremely powerful beings but not really gods, if I recall correctly. Gods tend to be absent, fictional, or ambiguous in the stories of Robert E. Howard, as well, which is hopefully reflected in whatever product allows you to call yourself a Cimmerian.

boulet · April 06, 2011, 11:12:45 AM

Reve : the Dream Ouroboros (Reve de Dragon) presents a fantasy world where there's no deities. You could create religious people/organisations within the setting but that would be a significant departure from the game intended flavor.

Benoist · April 06, 2011, 11:17:02 AM

Quote from: boulet;450361Reve : the Dream Ouroboros (Reve de Dragon) presents a fantasy world where there's no deities. You could create religious people/organisations within the setting but that would be a significant departure from the game intended flavor.

I somehow didn't know that Rêve de Dragon was available in print from Lulu. That's pretty cool.

boulet · April 06, 2011, 11:23:32 AM

Quote from: Benoist;450362I somehow didn't know that Rêve de Dragon was available in print from Lulu. That's pretty cool.

And they're working at translating more scenarios too. Les Miroirs des Terres Medianes don't seem to be a priority which is a bit sad but I hope they'll get to it as some point.

misterguignol · April 06, 2011, 11:38:13 AM

BECMI/Cyclopedia D&D has "Immortals," not deities...but the distinction seems a bit fine.

Also, Eberron's gods are necessarily really gods. Or so I'm told; I haven't read anything from the setting, just heard other people mention this around.

arminius · April 06, 2011, 12:35:50 PM

I'd say that any version of D&D has gods (or at least a god) by virtue of the existence of the cleric class. One could argue otherwise, but the most straightforward interpretation is that god(s) exist(s) and that's where clerics get their powers. Same for Paladins.

hanszurcher · April 06, 2011, 12:51:35 PM

Quote from: misterguignol;450369BECMI/Cyclopedia D&D has "Immortals," not deities...but the distinction seems a bit fine.
...

Yeah, the Immortals were more like an organization of superheros. But they would often play the roles of gods, Immortals even taking turns at the same role. The primary job of Immortals on the Material Plane was to guide and challenge mortals that may one day become Immortals themselves. At least that is how I remember it in the immortals box set.

Koltar · April 06, 2011, 12:59:50 PM

Quote from: Elliot Wilen;450305What about Yrth, the fantasy setting for GURPS? I don't remember it having much in the way of actual gods who'd do anything, give anyone any powers, etc.

No, YRTH has the 'big' familiar ones: Allah, God of Moses, Jehovah, Yahweh, and the Christian version of God.

You get the idea.

- Ed C.

arminius · April 06, 2011, 01:24:38 PM

Yes, now that you mention it, Yrth has religions as social phenomena, since all the humans were imported from Earth and brought their beliefs with them. But I don't think the setting gives any guidelines or rules for "supernatural" powers deriving from the religions, or for the various gods taking any sort of direct action.

So while (IIRC) Yrth doesn't clearly state "that the worshiped beings are merely imaginary", the setting as written is agnostic at best. This is a lot different from D&D, where clerics are supposed to get their powers from god(s), and where certain versions of the rules have explicit guidelines for divine intervention.

Mathias · April 07, 2011, 01:17:43 AM

Quote from: misterguignol;450369BECMI/Cyclopedia D&D has "Immortals," not deities...but the distinction seems a bit fine.

Also, Eberron's gods are necessarily really gods. Or so I'm told; I haven't read anything from the setting, just heard other people mention this around.

I don't know if they've changed anything or revealed more information since the original 3.5 setting book, but as I recall Eberron's deities are indeed gods, they're just more abstract in that they don't have stats or quantified powers and you can't meet them by traveling to the outer planes.

Except the Silver Flame. I think there are some hard facts on what that is, but I don't remember the details.