tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326833531919898477.post452558892921728126..comments2024-03-27T23:43:30.204-07:00Comments on Dungeons and Digressions: Your Own Personal Deity, Part 2.ze bulettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15603716850479808633noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326833531919898477.post-15792689200198363292011-01-09T00:26:19.728-08:002011-01-09T00:26:19.728-08:00That is the problem isn't it? Not only does it...That is the problem isn't it? Not only does it vary by deity, it varys by player and DM. Still, you've inspired me to try something like this in my game, so that's something. I'll let you know how it works for me, but don't take it hard if it doesn't work well. I've never really DMed before.C'nor (Outermost_Toe)https://www.blogger.com/profile/01580315916281876117noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326833531919898477.post-16410646268688602522011-01-08T14:03:51.104-08:002011-01-08T14:03:51.104-08:00I think to answer this you'd have to decide ho...I think to answer this you'd have to decide how <i>you</i> personally envision her relationship with Death. Is she a gatekeeper, just guiding those who have died into her domain, or is she actively trying to create more death in the universe? Maybe her dreams would act as a guide, attempting to lure unbelievers into mortally dangerous situations, but true believers are guided towards situations where they will be more able and likely to kill (rather than be killed themselves).ze bulettehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15603716850479808633noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326833531919898477.post-53170668702872273572011-01-07T01:37:31.530-08:002011-01-07T01:37:31.530-08:00Well, one of the reasons you may be unfamiliar wit...Well, one of the reasons you may be unfamiliar with Senahein is that the name is actually Sehanine. Anyway, what I was wondering was: What kind of things would The Raven Queen <i>do</i>? The god of thieves provides details on getting into (and out of?) a bank, but what would the goddess of death send in a dream?C'nor (Outermost_Toe)https://www.blogger.com/profile/01580315916281876117noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326833531919898477.post-48353648695122285372011-01-05T18:50:02.873-08:002011-01-05T18:50:02.873-08:00I must confess to being unfamiliar with Senahein, ...I must confess to being unfamiliar with Senahein, though re: the Raven Queen, I don't know that your example would be useless - what about when a party has to sleep underground to rest (perhaps in a crypt or near a graveyard?). Gods with more loosely described interests might be more challenging to deal with though.<br /><br />My knowledge base is mostly 1st edition AD&D and earlier... When describing a deity's area of interest and influence above, I was probably unconsciously thinking of their "sphere of control" as outlined in the "Clerical Quick Reference Chart" in the back of the AD&D Deities and Demigods book. To answer your question more directly, I'd say that this is something best left to the discretion of the individual DM - after all, one DM may have an entirely different vision of a god's area of influence than another, even regardless of the god's basis in actual mythology.ze bulettehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15603716850479808633noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326833531919898477.post-29587714356221730282011-01-03T18:42:50.717-08:002011-01-03T18:42:50.717-08:00Hmm. What would, say, Senahein's areas of infl...Hmm. What would, say, Senahein's areas of influence be? Places near the ocean, as the moon controls tides? What about the Raven Queen? Graveyards and crypts seem appropriate, but fairly useless as far as dreams. Maybe anywhere large groups of people/things, or someone/something important died?C'nor (Outermost_Toe)https://www.blogger.com/profile/01580315916281876117noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326833531919898477.post-84437668864166236302010-12-31T18:42:09.118-08:002010-12-31T18:42:09.118-08:00@Telecanter: There’s some similarity, but there ar...@Telecanter: There’s some similarity, but there aren't requirements as with rituals, just positive modifiers if the PC is in surroundings or a situation that corresponds to their gods sphere of interest or influence. Also, dreams happen whether or not they’re desired, and everyone has them, not just clerics - although these have a much greater chance of communicating with their gods. With everyone else, it’s a cable whose origin is less certain. It is a ritual in the sense that you might go to a place with the intention of getting closer to your deity though. If you’ve a goddess of the desert, then she’s less likely to speak to you at sea, or vice versa. It gets more complicated if you have a god of poetry or the like.<br /><br />Re: “Tyranny of description” - that’s a good phrase for it. There seem to be two ways to deal with the problem. The one way is what you suggest and I’ve proposed here - using more description more often in the hope of camouflaging and making less certain the things we hope to use as game hooks. The interesting thing about that approach is that what we might think is irrelevant, the players might think is anything but - and the game might take an unexpected twist for both sides. <br /><br />The other way is in acknowledging the obvious (Zak’s proposal for fortune-telling for example) rather than trying to obfuscate it or create doubt about its perception, and dealing with the elephant in the room by mutual agreement. “Look, we all know that there’s an elephant in the room, but if you do this, then I’ll agree to (not) do this, and nobody gets hurt (feels railroaded).”ze bulettehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15603716850479808633noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326833531919898477.post-87772344999999771672010-12-31T09:22:55.593-08:002010-12-31T09:22:55.593-08:00The sleeping across from the bank idea is interest...The sleeping across from the bank idea is interesting: essentially calling a dream is a ritual with a certain chance of success and different requirements for different deities.<br /><br />I was thinking about this since your last post. There is a kind of tyranny of description, in that what ever DMs say players really pay attention to. So what if we sneak in info when they are expecting detail, like descriptions of treasure found, interactions with npcs, and room descriptions. If a god had as a totem an elk and the party just happens to find gold cups with elk in relief and gold coins with elk and the npc they meet on the road is hunting elk . . .<br /><br />The players would catch on but it might be more subtle, especially if these details are spread across sessions.Telecanterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07238356788092725244noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326833531919898477.post-74239973912170816852010-12-31T03:31:56.320-08:002010-12-31T03:31:56.320-08:00Great discussion. I like the idea of treating dre...Great discussion. I like the idea of treating dreams like wandering monsters (with modifiers), though I can definite advantages to letting the dice decide at time and just having the DM decide at times.Treyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04647628467658839351noreply@blogger.com