Poll: Do you worship a God in RPGs?

[agnosticOCD]

Well, worship doesn't exactly have to mean that you believe in the video game god/s that you worship, or even in the gods in your actual religion. I've found some of the principles in the books in Morrowind to have held good advice so from time to time I try to look for the item in the game, and look for something that seems like it's applicable as a personal principle in life. Nothing wrong with that as long as you're not thick in the head enough to kill and/or indoctrinate people to prove the existence of your god/s which has been the case with a few religions (that I will not and do not have to mention) for the last few thousand years... Yeah.

Atheist in real life.

 

[Fetzenfisch]

Most characters have their believes. I only got 1 that isnt familiar with the concept of gods, but he finds it funny and interesting.


"Since im Christain, nope, I say they are real but they are not gods (in game people)" And we really try not to bash christians here because them being stupid is a stereotype....you are not helping friend.

 

[008Zulu_v1legacy]

The Gods in games have more adequate proof of their existence than the "real life" ones.

 

[darth.pixie]

Depends on the character. I've had drow who worshipped Vhaerun, because he's one of my favorite gods, paladins of Oghma because it's odd and I've had characters become gods...in which case it would be silly to worship anyone.

As for Oblivion, I didn't worship because I became Sheogorath. Much more fun that way.

 

[infohippie]

I'm very much an atheist in real life, but depending on the game it can be really fun to RP a true believer.

I used to play a lot of Eve Online, and my main character was a loyalist member of the Amarr faction - sort of like a space-going society ruled by the Spanish Inquisition, who believe they are God's chosen people meant to reunite the galaxy and rule over it in God's name. Other races & factions were considered "lesser beings" to be converted by force, and made into slaves for the greater good of the Empire.

Lots of fun, especially to RP as if you truly believed subjugating other factions was all for the sake of their souls and God's divine plan.

 

[Yopaz]

What's the point? They're not real? Just like any other god in any other religion. Oh snap! Seriously. I don't worship any god. Ever. Why should I worship one that is never meant to be passed on as a real god?

 

[RejjeN]

I play a lot of tabletop Pen & Paper RPG's (well, used to... No one to play with atm... ) and one of my more common characters to play are the "holy warrior" archetype like the Paladin in D&D, in which case I "worship" the god (usually Tyr or Bahamut depending on D&D version) since it's in character. I sometimes make religious characters in games, like Dragon Age for instance.

 

[Timmehexas]

If the game added some kind of benefit to joining said religion I'd totally be into it, so say you made Christianity your primary faith: Zombie Jesus now arrives and joins the fight if you drop below 25% health! I'd totally be into that! But as games currently stand, no I don't.

 

[Sehnsucht Engel]

I did it in Oblivion, but that was mostly to make my character, feel more real and like a person.

 

[Jmurray21]

I am also Christian in Real Life (I think it's real ) but that doesn't affect whether my Characters follow in-game religion. They are in-game so it doesn't affect my real choice of faith. I look at the religions in the game and make the choice for my Character. It's fun and adds extra depth to the world and the Character in which I am Role-playing.

 

[The Gnome Queen]

It really depends on the game and my character, regardless if it's MMO or tabletop RPG.

If I'm playing a paladin or cleric, usually, yes. Yet, sometimes I enjoy playing characters who don't worship a specific diety, but pay homage to several, depending on circumstances (tabletop D&D is a perfect example). My char. might offer a prayer to Tymora while disabling a trap or hail Tempus as I'm charging into battle.

And I've never played Oblivion or Elder Scrolls.

 

[Sovvolf]

Nope, not at all. I can see why people would do it but its just not my thing. I actually find it almost cringe worthy when I hear the npcs worshiping AKATOSH or who ever just like I find it cringe inducing when I hear them say made up swear words or say "By the nines". Its just not my thing.

I don't even worship my own god as a Paladin in DnD... Though given my antics as a Paladin, I'm sure my god hates me.

 

[Joe Deadman]

Where I get to choose a custom one (like in NW1) I go with Banjo.

Any other time: yeah it depends on the character, allignment, class, wether I can be bothered etc

 

[WyndWalker02]

As others here, Dungeons and Dragons in my main example for this. At the moment, the character I play worships Artemis. By simple chance, the other two players in the game also chose greek gods for their characters to worship (Zeus and Apollo), without any of us speaking to one another about the character creation, so it's actually given our DM the chance to get us seriously involved with some of the greek mythology. At the moment, we've been tasked by Hermes, on behalf of the others, to hunt down Ariadne's spool of golden thread which has been stolen by some mysterious group...

 

[Keava]

It all depends on game and character i'm playing, how important the religion is in the setting, how often it is referenced, etc.

Say in DnD Forgotten Realm if i want to play more evil/mischevious characters i'll often pick Shar [http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Shar], which while rarely will be openly said by character will play a big role in how she behaves.

Tho in systems like Cyberpunk or WoD, where religion doesn't have that much impact on game world it will usually be omitted (well unless i play Hunter, then it's hard to not make religious character considering the whole True Faith aspect).

General rule of thumb for me is i start building characters from their psychological background rather than profession/physical, so if i'll often mix deities into it to give my character a valid excuse for some of behaviours.

In computer games, much less so, mainly because those games rarely have a belief system that actually matters, plus RPing fanatical zealot to NPCs is not really fun.

 

[Ein987]

I do sometimes, it just depends on who/what I'm playing. I mean, if I think that character would be worshipping a god or deity of some sorts, then yeah, I try to play that way and make choices/act like a follower of that god would.

 

[Wutaiflea]

It depends largely on the game for me. Particularly for Oblivion, I didn't actively feel involved in the religious side of the setting because I wasn't really required to give it any thought. The only religious things about my characters were purely gameplay related, ie. having the Night Mother's and Nocturnal's Blessings.

In Dragon Age, I did pick religious attitudes for my characters. Because of how the dialogue was put together and how the world was created, it seemed like part of the game to decide on your beliefs. For my human noble, I used Maker-related responses because she would've been raised in that faith etc.
In Mass Effect, the way I perceived my Shepard was that she would be quite skeptical about religion, and I told Ashley so (before I left her to die miserably).

I don't let my own religious beliefs affect my roleplaying decisions though. It's a make-believe world, so I'm not going to take offense at it having its own religions any more than I would having its own races or history.
I will admit though, while I'm happy to yell Drow war cries praising Lloth at LARP, I do find the level to which some people take it to be absolutely insane. I leave them to it and hit the bar.

 

[Ranorak]

Being a Atheist in a world like Oblivion or DnD is just silly.
Not only do gods exists there, They grand powers to their believers.

IRL I don't believe, but my characters usually follow gods. Wicked gods.
With knives.
Pointy knives.

 

[Ganthrinor]

Personally? No.

I may have a CHARACTER that is religious or spiritual or Elementalist or whatever though. That wholly depends on the type of character I'm building though.

For example, in my Pathfinder group I'm playing a Paladin variant called "Warrior Of The Holy Light" who believes in the greater ideals of law, justice and good rather than a specific deity. It's his hope to one day join the ranks of the HellKnights (misleading name, they're not all total bastards) to further the cause of justice and law in a (what he considers) barbaric and unlawful world for the good of all (Carrion Crown Adventure Path).