H e r e s y

[BoredBrit]

Genuine question, why is it that in a world where gods are known to exist and have presence.. So many people are 'not quite religious' or just outright heathen?

This makes little sense to me. Please help me reach enlightenment.

 

[Sankera]

Gods are big babies with powers, me not likey

 

[Vincentius]

I'm more personally irked by outright atheistic characters when in a world like Altera, but I guess that's just how characters are designed sometimes.

 

[BoredBrit]

I suppose I can understand it for newer players to a degree, those who haven't yet fully familiarised themselves with lore. But I honestly don't understand the big craze. Our own middle ages was rife with religious antics and we had NO Proof of our God(s) its just weird.

 

[Cymic_]

Well, I could see a player think the gods dissolved somewhat but uh, perhaps the "gods never existed", there was a theory like this for game of thrones.

 

[Tomato150]

I suppose I can understand it for newer players to a degree, those who haven't yet fully familiarised themselves with lore. But I honestly don't understand the big craze. Our own middle ages was rife with religious antics and we had NO Proof of our God(s) its just weird.

Maybe that's why. People actually see them, realise they aren't a bag of dicks like God is in the Old Testament, not much fear infusing sermons from what I see ... Nothing like the gooooood ol' day with the puritans

They're pussies compared to the God who was portrayed as killing a shit load of Egyptian children so some slaves could run away.

Just my take (reasoning) to why my characters aren't all god fearing madmen

 

[BoredBrit]

they should be tom, they shouldbe.

 

[Baron]

Twice in living history the church got too powerful and had to be taken down, and there was a time when gods were corrupted by the foul energy of the Nether, and tried to dominate the world. People don't worship them so much because gods were douches.

 

[BoredBrit]

Twice in living history the church got too powerful and had to be taken down, and there was a time when gods were corrupted by the foul energy of the Nether, and tried to dominate the world. People don't worship them so much because gods were douches.

people are bigger douches

 

[Sankera]

people are bigger douches

yeah but people are people, not divine beings

 

[BoredBrit]

yeah but people are people, not divine beings

yeh but ignis is hot

 

[Sankera]

yeh but ignis is hot

 

[ToastySpam]

I think its reasonable for certain characters, particularly those in lower tiers of society who are more focused on just getting through day-to-day life, to not concern themselves with the presence of deities, to the point where they don't actually believe in them. The world of Altera is presumably filled with many myths that are also false, so it makes sense that some people might view stories of personal godly encounters as just that - stories.

Then again, I've only been here since like March, so I might be wrong just because I haven't fully grasped the lore. But I could easily see agnosticism to the point of atheism taking place.

 

[Sankera]

Also Shoreless is really damn sexy

 

[TyoungBD]

I'd say it's just contemporary humanism creeping into rp. People are probably just going by the West's tolerant views on religion because religion's always a bit of a touchy subject.

 

[Sir Arc]

Crusade??

 

[Baron]

Crusade??

Crusade was made by a lynch mob murdering Kilrox and Korigon. When living memory has a god being killed by regular people you get less devout types.

 

[Magiik]

It could be several factors. On the one hand, yes, the gods do exist. That is a fact many people can confirm. However, until recently, they haven't been too active in the world. Any characters or players that came to be after a certain point in the past few years (time blends together for me, so I don't really know how long it's been) never saw the gods with their own eyes. It's fairly easy to dismiss something that you've never seen. It's even easier to place faith in something with power that you've actually seen, like the elementals.

Another important detail is that the gods are fallible. They aren't perfect beings, and that is enough to lead some characters to believing that they may just be really powerful people masquerading as gods, rather than being actual gods themselves. Some have even been killed, which just adds to it.

Finally, there's the general perception of characters. A lot of us play heroes, be they nobles, knights, or, in my case, doctors. The walking legends of the world, regularly doing impressive, sometimes nearly impossible things because it needs to be done. The gods appear to us, bless us. We've walked and sometimes fought alongside them. But some people play more peasant types. Innkeepers and brewers, farmers and weavers. Ignis isn't going to appear to some guy trying to plow his field when there's a perfectly good knight dedicating his life to the flame. The only touch this peasant may feel from Ignis is through the knight and the church, and a lot of the time that's either "worship Ignis or burn" or "pay your taxes or burn." He's probably not going to want to feel the holy light after that sort of interaction, so he may just not recognize Ignis as an actual deity.


I don't know for sure why other people play heretics or atheists. These are just my best guesses, or options for those who want a good reason to play a heretic or atheist. I can talk about my own character's perceptions, though
My main, Ater, believes the gods exist and are gods (he's seen Rahas with his own eyes), but doesn't do much active worship. This is because his god of choice is Jax, and, through his experience and death (aboard the ship Jax's Luck), he's come to believe that Jax prefers those who don't bother him for luck or fortune every five minutes, instead blessing those who have gone out and done all the hard work already. After all, bettering your life tends to involve effort on your part, not waiting for someone to drop it on your lap.

 

[Rue]

 

[BoredBrit]

i am liking the responses given so far please continue