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Thoughts on how religions should work.

Years ago I played a MUD named Clandestine, where there were no factions but end game PvP revolved around joining a religion and the ensuing religious conflicts. Each religion had a spell or skill only usable by their members, so you would end up, a lot of the time, choosing your class and race to augment your religious spell (from the religion you were aiming to join). Players ran the religions which meant you had to go through an application process and it would suck if after gearing everything towards that religious skill you were denied by some RP god who thought your background story was shitty :P I would love for the religions in Ashes to be that influential on game play.

There were nine religions each one to represent the old school alignment divisions. i.e. lawful, neutral and chaotic good, neutral and evil. I hope the religions will have a similar classification, would really deepen the immersion of the game.

Getting extra skills from the social faction you join would make things even more interesting.

Comments

  • What am I if I believe there is no good or bad. There are rules set by those at power, there is battle for survival and own progress. No one is innocent, there is no "greater good".

    What am I if I fight for myself, and in this fight I spare no one that chooses to be my enemy. I protect my friends because this benefits me (it's good not to walk alone), I show no mercy for my enemies, and I can be both peaceful but also chaotic depending on how situation demands, and how beneficial outcome will be for me.

    What am I then, capable for "good deeds" and "bad deeds" depending on who stands on other side of my sword, while considering how there is no good or bad, but that that is relative to current standards of the society in which you live in.

    Am I neutral? What am I?
  • Great news is that Ashes will have Religions as one of the types of Social organizations we can join.
    Players will not be able to decide whether other players can join. And I doubt that moral alignments will be a focus for the religions we join.
    I expect the focus of interest for the religions we join will be a closer reflection of the racial interests: Civilization; Trade; Culture; Nature; Power; Celestial, etc.

    We will be able to acquire Religious augments for our Adventurer abilities as we progress through the Religions.
    I expect it to be common for people interested in Religion to chose one that supplements their role and playstyle.

  • ArchivedUserArchivedUser Guest
    edited April 2018
    There are also those that live in the past the future and the present.
    So hierarchical vs peer & selfish vs selfless needs an addendum to reflect our outlook ;)
    There are those that would see life prosper and wish other well and those that see others as obstacles and would see others suffer.
    I dont think they were a very accurate portrayal of global variability anyway TBH. I think the language lacks the vocabulary to conceptualise the true dualistic concepts.
  • I took a few online tests and apparently I am a "True Neutral".


    True neutral characters are concerned with their own well-being and that of the group or organization which aids them. They may behave in a good manner to those that they consider friends and allies, but will only act maliciously against those who have tried to injure them in some way. For the rest, they do not care. They do not wish ill on those they do not know, but they also do not care when they hear of evil befalling them. Better for others to suffer the evil than the true neutral and his allies. If an ally is in need, the true neutral will aid him, out of genuine love or because he may be able to count on that ally a little more in the future. If someone else is in need, they will weigh the options of the potential rewards and dangers associated with the act. If an enemy is in need, they will ignore him or take advantage of his misfortune.

    A true neutral character may use poison as long as there is an overwhelming need. He will help those in need if it is in his best interest and works well alone or in a group. He responds well to higher authority until that authority attempts to use the law to hamper his ability to pursue his own self-interest. He will follow the law unless breaking it is in his best interest and he's reasonably sure that he will not be caught. He will never betray a family member, comrade, or friend unless the situation is dire. True neutral characters are indifferent to the concepts of self-discipline and honor, finding them useful only if they can be used to advance their own interests.


    It fits.
  • ArchivedUserArchivedUser Guest
    edited April 2018
    As far as alliances go, I'd prefer not to ally myself with evil characters (as they could easily stab me in the back), however I'd also not ally myself with too good characters, they would be kind to me, but they might also be kind to an enemy which could bounce back to my own head. I'd also not ally with any chaotic character as they are unpredictable.

    As far as alliances go I'd prefer true neutral or lawful neutral allies.
  • Yeah from my understanding you can acquire skills, etc with the religion system. It makes me wonder how many social organizations you can really become a part of and how many there will be. I can see a lot of people just becoming parts of these organizations....or well all of them because of the perks and how "good" will those perks be.
    I personally would have zero interest in joining a religion in a video game but if I am going to get perks from it then I definitely would. 
  • @Ezenkrul87 yeah the MUD i was talking about was a role play one so you had no choice in the matter really and being an atheist would just leave you out in the cold so to speak. you pretty much had to join just to get the extra skill/spell. As far as I understand the religion in Ashes, you can actually avoid it but the perks is enough of an insensitive to convince you not to. It can work very well though, as I said it will add alot to the immersion factor.

    @Gothix my friend, I believe you are the epitome of the yingyang philosophy and you would fall smack dab in the middle of the alignment scale. which is true neutral as you say. Religions based on those alignments would make things very easy in identifying like minded people. guilds, social organisations and religions not based on this premise is gonna have a huge variety with no idea what they really stand for untill it is probably too late for you :p

    @Rune_Relic I don't know, obviously there is a sliding scale and there can be an infinite amount of subsections for each alignment but without being too hung up on the details those 9 alignment scales are pretty accurate.

    @Dygz If our political system is run by players then the same should apply for our religions. and perhaps applications cannot be denied but what happens to players who betrays the faith shall we say? There should be a mechanic  to get rid of them or punish them surely.

  • Religions will not be run players such that players can kick people out of the religion or prevent players from joining a religions. Just as players can't kick citizens out of a node, AFAIK. (Other than taking over a node via sieges).
    I wouldn't be surprised to see options to lead player-established Temples. But, that's not the same thing as preventing players from joining the religion itself.
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