[OOC] Mid/High Casual - Divinus: The Deity Roleplay Mk.II

[Kho]

Guys guys guys. I just discovered this cool new word.

Gnosticism.

The plot thickens.

[Muttonhawk]

............................
Gnosticism.
............................

@Kho

[Lauder]

Oh, yeeeeessss, I got the perfect idea for a Keriss post. It shall be a great surprise!

[Kho]

@Muttonhawk Oh shiz, could it be that...that...

Mutton is a gnostic heretic! Kill it!

My Hider

I joke. Of course.

I just thought this is very cool:
'Gnostic doctrine taught that the world was created and ruled by a lesser divinity, the demiurge, and that Christ was an emissary of the remote supreme divine being, esoteric knowledge (gnosis) of whom enabled the redemption of the human spirit.'

[Bright_Ops]

...At some point, are we going to have a Council of Nicea situation pop up? Because that would be interesting to say the least. Even more so when you consider that we have numerous gods with their own followings who could actually be in attendance themselves.

[Slime]

<Snipped quote by Bright_Ops>

The Cursed, as made by Vestec, actually keep their personalities from when they were alive. No part of Vestec's curse forces the undead to become mindless or evil. Some may choose to become evil, though, but that's a personal choice.
But yes, you still have lots of reasons to hate Vestec.

Also, found Death's Shards:
http://www.roleplayerguild.com/posts/3766332, under Vestec, Creations.

@BBeast

I had no idea a god of death could be recycled in so many ways.

[Antarctic Termite]

...At some point, are we going to have a Council of Nicea situation pop up? Because that would be interesting to say the least. Even more so when you consider that we have numerous gods with their own followings who could actually be in attendance themselves.

@Bright_Ops

I'm not sure if we have enough prominent religions, and religions that are separate enough from the deity they worship for that deity not to provide an answer through prophets, for mortals to host a debate on the nature of the gods. So far I think what religions we have are-

-Chippers, Hain followers of Teknall, who believe (correctly) that he wants them to learn, travel, and teach others

-The Grand Parade, a Shalanoir-based travelling religious order dedicated to promoting culture and technology under Ilunabar and the Divas

-Sin cults in Xerxes, dedicated to hedonism, and general worship of Enas Amartia as a god-emperor in that area

-Zephyrionic monotheism in Vetros, where the nature of djinni is fairly well understood and the belief in other deities is heretical (but practiced anyway on the low-key) (Probably the best candidate for a Nicene debate now I think about it)

-Djinni cults, in which powerful local djinni are prayed to for good harvests and safe weather and such, probably worldwide

-Vestecian hordes seem to consider themselves personally tasked with spreading chaos in Vestec's name

-There's some residual worship of Elysium, the heir of Logos, among humans (who came from Arcon); She's later also called Lysiuh, and the Realta are considered her purifying light in Xerxes and beyond

-Urtelem pray to their patrons Callused Hands (Teknall, their creator) and Spiral Palms (Jvan, who stimulated their cultural growth)

-Hain know of Slough as the Life Deer, but I don't think they pray to her so much as just acknowledge her role in the cycle of life

-Presumable Toun-worship thanks to his contributions to Rovaick civilisation. Sularn's Vow might count as a religion, though it's more of a practical set of ideals taken by Rovaick to protect themselves from White Giants.

-Mesathalassan shamanism, an animist tradition of celibacy held mostly by hunters, I think, borrowing aspects of Djinni and Life Deer worship as well as Chipper dedication to helping others

-Lifprasil is considered a deity in Alefpria, though this is more just a plain fact, since he's mostly a very practical governor

It's worth noting that while Sculptors are also called the 'Jvanic Cult', they're not a religious order, just a species that's very closely tied to a deity. Sculptors are probably the least likely creatures to worship Jvan, as they know her personally, and ultimately know the volatile, human mundanity of her personality.

[Kho]

...At some point, are we going to have a Council of Nicea situation pop up? Because that would be interesting to say the least. Even more so when you consider that we have numerous gods with their own followings who could actually be in attendance themselves.

@Bright_Ops

I don't know about Councils and whatnot specifically, but I know that (at least in my forthcoming plots) there are plenty of heresies and differing interpretations of religion and whatnot.
In addition to three current collabs I'm involved in at the moment (T-T) I'm actually also planning a fourth regarding the development of the Eskandars with a focus on religious doctrine. I've done a bit of meddling in religious stuff here and there in my posts, but this will be unprecedented >:)

No Council of Nicea, but much meaty religious debates (that no one is obliged to read, really. 'tis just for the giggles) :D

[WrongEndoftheRainbow]

Technically the Dwarves are religious as well, as the psychics worship Lazarus to retain their power and they in turn lead the rest of the dwarves.

[Muttonhawk]

Amongst Sularn and his folks, Toun worship and Teknall worship are definitely there. Intermingled, even.

Also sprinkled in is a small sect of goblins who have a sort-of respect and worship dynamic going on with Conata. Although, she's in the position of a pop-idol surrounded by slavering otakus in that sense. The reverence might develop into something more mature and doctrinal if she starts leading them around or something.

[Mardox]

So I'm reading these religious descriptions and I realize that Vakarlon didn't do enough to get worshippers. This is a problem.

[Kho]

@Antarctic Termite As we're discussing existing religious practices:

Elysium Worship on Arcon: We know Arconians worship Elysium to the exclusion of all others, but other than the Eskandars we don't have details.

Eskanadrian Elysium Worship: Followers of Eskandar worship Elysium, who is known to them as 'the Moon-Mother'. They follow in the footsteps of a Prophet-Patriarch called Eskandar. His death and subsequent politics means that understanding of the religion has undergone radical interpretations and re-interpretations as time went on, to be discussed in planned post mentioned above.

Vowzra's Victors and Inhabitants of New Chronos: Generally, all the inhabitants of New Chronos worship Vowzra, Belruarc, Illunabar, Belvast, and the Bard. They recognise the existence of the other gods and demigods but do not worship them. Their beliefs have been explored somewhat in previous Vowzra's Victors posts.

Pronobii Reathos Worship: The Pronobii are extinct on Galbar, but are extant on New Chronos. Along with the orthodox religion of the other inhabitants, the Pronobii here also worship Reathos. This has not been canonised, but is implicit due to pre-existing canon regarding Pronobii religion.

Treemind Life Worship: Treeminds worship an abstract entity called 'the Life'. It is not clear what has happened to this religion after their exodus to New Chronos.

Thulemiz and Friends: It's not really a religion, as only Thulemiz seems to follow it, but he seems to glorify Death in an abstract way, removed from its embodiment in any god or whatnot. This will probably develop as he gains more of a following and grows in power. But as he sees (or will eventually see) himself as the manifestation of the beauty of death, it will become something of a self-worship thing for him, and him-worship thing for others. Distinct from a God-Emperor like Lifprasil in the sense that Lif doesn't worship himself, but others worship him.

[Lauder]

@Mardox

Do not fret. Keriss will most likely not get any worshippers, everyone would be dead before they had the chance

[Bright_Ops]

Farxus might get a following... I have plans for him. He isn't much of a 'Rule' kind of god, through his distaste for those who intentionally raise and enslave the dead is going to put him against Thulemiz soon enough.

[Mardox]

@Mardox

Do not fret. Keriss will most likely not get any worshippers, everyone would be dead before they had the chance

@Lauder

That's my girl!

[Bright_Ops]

Out of curiosity, is there anything of importance around the Southern Pole of the world?

[Kho]

@Bright_Ops I believe that it underwent a sudden oceanification. In other words, there is no south pole, just a sea. I would assume that the sea's surface is frozen over due to the intensity of the cold. Point is, there is no landmass of note there anymore. Other than a few islands that Rainbow has yet to draw properly >.>

[Bright_Ops]

@WrongEndoftheRainbow

Hey Rainbow, Lazarus currently has Reathos's Wraith Stone, right?

You want to do a collab to help bring Faxrus into the world?

[WrongEndoftheRainbow]

@WrongEndoftheRainbow

Hey Rainbow, Lazarus currently has Reathos's Wraith Stone, right?

You want to do a collab to help bring Faxrus into the world?

@Bright_Ops

Sure! Just PM me a google doc link or something. I don't do piratepad or titanpad as they have a tendency to time out on me.

[Slime]

Right, since titanpad will be going away next year here's a link to the pad I use. Not sure if you guys tried it before, but it's very stable for me, although it has a tendency of forgetting who you are from time to time so you have to set up a name and color again.

public.etherpad-mozilla.org