Author Topic: What D&D settings have done Fantasy Christianity/Islam/Judaism?  (Read 3028 times)

Offline Libertad

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What D&D settings have done Fantasy Christianity/Islam/Judaism?
« on: January 20, 2016, 04:18:31 PM »
I don't mean in the sense of aesthetic values, like "the folks have a Church and call high-level Bishops but worship Tavleox the God of Green Leafy Vegetables," but more in the sense of borrowing more than lightly from the traditions of the big three monotheist religions.

Monte Cook's Ptolus had the Church of Lothian, which was pretty much the Roman Catholic Church in all but name.  They believed that other deities were little more than really powerful spirits, their holy symbol's a dude crucified to an ankh (Egyptian cross-like thing), the city has Sisters of Battle who dress in nun-like apparel, and they have a close relationship with the setting's Empire.

Greyhawk had a deity named Al'Akbar (Arabic for God the Greatest), a Baklunish deity whose followers split into two main factions, the Exalted Faith and True Faith (Sunni and Shi'a being the major Muslim sects).  They also have a series of major rules known as the Five Feet of the Dragon (like the Five Pillars of Islam), their temples are referred to as mosques, and clerics are typically referred to either as qadi or mullahs (both types of judges in Muslim lands) depending on their faction.

There was a 3rd party Pathfinder supplement called Stats for Jesus which gave 4 different stat blocks for Jesus Christ based on variant interpretations of him.

Aside from these big names, I never really seen other examples, and I can imagine the reasons why.  I have never seen the Jewish religion, or fantasy counterpart Jews, get put into D&D settings at all really.

Offline Keldar

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Re: What D&D settings have done Fantasy Christianity/Islam/Judaism?
« Reply #1 on: January 20, 2016, 06:22:56 PM »
Eberron's Church of the Silver flame is fairly Catholic.  Right down to the shameful witchlycanthrope hunts.  And it even has centralized authority, a founding martyr who serves as the messenger for their god and its very own Satan.  Church sponsored exorcists.   And schisms, heretics and monotheism.  In a polytheistic setting.   And most importantly fancy dress.  No blatant sexism though, an 11 year old girl is in charge.

If Al Quadim didn't have a specific religion that was Islam, its cultural background was certainly rooted in Islamic Arabia.

I can't think of anything blatantly Jewish.

Offline Samwise

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Re: What D&D settings have done Fantasy Christianity/Islam/Judaism?
« Reply #2 on: January 20, 2016, 09:11:36 PM »
Seconding Keldar on the crypto-Islam in Al Qadim.

The BoED struck me as trying to work some Gnostic themes into the "core" cosmology via the ruling Archons.

Inverted a bit with some of the organization and Dukes of Hell in AD&D/2nd ed/Planescape. That is, they use the usual Christian sources for names, but of course that is more "Satanism" than Christianity.

There were also the Historical Reference Sourcebooks for 2nd ed., including Charlemagne's Paladins, A Mighty Fortress, and The Crusades. They weren't extensively detailed, but they all referenced Christianity, plus of course Islam in The Crusades.


Offline awaken_D_M_golem

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Re: What D&D settings have done Fantasy Christianity/Islam/Judaism?
« Reply #3 on: January 21, 2016, 05:04:40 PM »
Hash-hash-iyya or hash-hash-ins are quite exactly the Assassins ;
of myth and legend.  I don't think they wanted to opium-ize anything.
So that's 7-er Shia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassins


"Fate" the semi/perhaps over-deity of al-Qadim , is closer to one
very small aspect of Sunni theology, than anything resembling
the jahiliyya ignorance era stuff.  This part of a wiki entry is ~correct.
"Although humans possess free will (or, more accurately, freedom of intention), they have no power to create anything in the material world as only God can. This doctrine is now known in Western philosophy as occasionalism." 
Manat = Fate = feminized version of Egyptian Ma-at (but clearly was not greater than the other 2 daughters or Hubal or ...)

There was so much overwash of Greek/Latin/Egyptian all around
the Mediterranean, mixed in with locals, that the Sun Moon Earth
Venus Mars=War Jupiter=Highgod etc , were universal.
Al-Uzza = Aphrodite = Venus


1e Deities+Demigods Indian Mythos section may have
some rather more Islamic than Hindu influenced stuff,
but idk what ; I lack such a fine toothed comb.

Athena is Libyan.  The Phoenix is Phoenician,
that's Lebanon, but all throughout that area.
Ba'al(s) deserve a mention with 3+ millennium coverage,
including the New Testament and various Hadiths.
Not much Persian stuff, lots of material to work with.
« Last Edit: January 21, 2016, 05:15:00 PM by awaken_D_M_golem »
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Offline awaken_D_M_golem

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Offline Keldar

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Re: What D&D settings have done Fantasy Christianity/Islam/Judaism?
« Reply #5 on: January 23, 2016, 09:32:03 PM »
Many Demon Lords and Archdevils are out of Ars Goetia which makes them all quasi-Christian.  (Or are old gods that have been demonized, like Pazuzu.)  Not that D&D really used much more than the names.  At least until Binding in ToM turned much of the remainder of the list into vestiges.

Offline Braininthejar

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Re: What D&D settings have done Fantasy Christianity/Islam/Judaism?
« Reply #6 on: February 08, 2016, 08:12:15 AM »
I think there was The Black Company setting for D&D - the novel series happens largely in what is basically India with serial numbers filed off, so you'd probably have some Islam / Hinduism there.

Offline awaken_D_M_golem

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Re: What D&D settings have done Fantasy Christianity/Islam/Judaism?
« Reply #7 on: February 09, 2016, 05:04:54 PM »
hmm (googles) found this list :
http://www.darkshire.net/jhkim/rpg/dnd/settings.html
... a few other possibilities.


Anyone could claim the standard d&d setting
is the collapse of the western roman empire
into the dark ages era, having all sorts of direct
historical 'ports.
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