Filling in the blanks for my first Dragonbane campaign.
A lot of worldbuilding advice starts out with cosmology. I think we’ve all kind of gotten used to a big pantheon with multiple gods as the Greeks and the Norse had in the real world. I gotta be honest- I just don’t see it that way. Why do we need it?
I understand the need for religion as a control mechanism in many societies and cultures sociologically, anthropologically, and psychologically. Early developing beings ask why things happen in the world around them. Conclusions usually include magic, spirits, or the deified. When in doubt, it’s because the Great Sandwich Monster in the Sky said so.
Now, please bear in mind that I still follow the old Gygaxian standard of not including real world religions in my game. Buddhists, Christians, Muslims, Jewish folks, and so many others don’t need to have a religious influence in any fantasy TableTop RolePlaying Games. I came from an extremely low-middle income, small town, white bread, meat-and-potatoes, working family where Christianity was assumed. I also grew up in the 1980s when neon dinosaurs walked the Earth and punks rebelled against systems of control. We had the Satanic Panic to deal with. Inserting Christianity into a fictional world was absolutely unheard-of.
Disclaimer: Statements expressed in this article are strictly my opinion. If you disagree or have a different opinion, that’s okay. I’m not an expert on everything. I’m not always right. I’m just writing from my experience as I know it. Your mileage may vary.
Here’s where I get a little “woo-woo.”
Anyone who has known me over the last ten or so years knows I’m not a fan of organized religion. I believe (*IRL) that everything in the Universe is energy. So, at the end of the day we all report back to the same Source of energy that we spawned from. With that in mind, no dogma, scriptures, or other written holy texts get to tell me how to experience the Earth. Someday I may yet dive deeper into how that effects TTRPGs, but we’ll leave it here for now.
From an Omnist perspective, all religions are correct. (Yay! Now everyone is mad at me.) Omnists take from all religions and form a set of core beliefs. More on Omnism from Wikipedia.
I have several friends who agree that we just don’t discuss religion or politics at the game table. I’m really all about that because my home group used to be three Wiccan, a Christian minister, an atheist, an agnostic and a devout Lutheran. It prevented a lot of arguments to just leave the politics and religion at the door. But then we ran into the problem of these massive pantheons of gods and demigods in various fantasy RPGs.
How to run a fantasy RPG without a big pantheon of gods and demigods.
My attitude changed a lot over the years toward religions in my campaigns and campaign settings. The more my personal real world beliefs expanded, so did my game worlds. My fantasy games took on a Light vs Darkness approach. You were free to make a Cleric of whomever, it’s either A or B as far as I’m concerned. About the only other thing I had to resolve, which I’d been touting for a long time was nature and the spirit world.
Enter Dragonbane! I was tickled pink when I opened that rulebook and discovered there were no priests, clerics, paladins, warlocks, or any other religious casters. I even mentioned that in Part 1 of my review. Link to my Dragonbane page. I love that there are Animists who can heal and talk to the spirit realm. I don’t know if Drakar och Demoner has always been that way, but yay for this edition.
The only additions I want to make in terms of the magic schools in Dragonbane are Druidism, Shamanism, Necromancy, and (it might not be popular) Demonology. The last two being mostly reserved for NPC casters. I’m kinda debating about Witchcraft as a separate school to cover the middle ground, but I think Animism covers it pretty well. I could also probably lump Shamanic and Druidic practices under Animism and just expand that school a great deal. I’m still debating about how to do some of this.
Needless to say, I’m looking forward to whatever official magic expansion for Dragonbane Free League puts out. It was strongly hinted at Gen Con 2024 that there is probably one coming in the next year or two. Until then there are any number of Third Party publications plus whatever I come up with on my own. I have to admit I miss certain spells from other games that I want to see likenesses of in Dragonbane.
What about angels?
Dragonbane opened an interesting can of philosophical worms with the inclusion of Demons. I mean, it’s in the Swedish name (Drakar och Demoner) and would have assuredly caused a panic in the 1980s USA. Dragons are more of a universal trope and somewhat acceptable in Western culture. Demons would have been frowned upon during the harrying days of the Satanic Panic.
Of course, if you really want to see some people poop themselves- have you ever seen the “Biblically correct” depiction of Angels? Check out this depiction on HistoryDefined.net. If one of those appeared to me in the real world, I’d probably have to shake out a pant leg. I’ll stick to dragons, thanks.
While Demons or Djinn are not strictly linked to any one real world religion, Angels are pretty much a Christian thing. Dragons are somewhat international. (Universal?) The real divergence in Dragonbane is the Dragons aren’t associated with benevolence like Angels.
Dragons are, umm… well, they’re DRAGONS. They’re gigantic, meat eating, fire-breathing, flying, intelligent, and ancient beasties. They might have their benevolent moments. At least they might be willing to talk to adventurers as opposed to outright eating them. Unlike other fantasy TTRPGs, Dragons in Dragonbane don’t come in 51 different flavors and colors. Sure, Dragons might have different appearances, but none of them would ever be mistaken for an Angel of any kind in appearance or disposition.
What about cultists, zealots, etc?
I didn’t say there weren’t any gods, Demon Lords, would-be demiurges, etc. There are all kinds of (mostly malevolent) beings out there gaining their assorted cult followings. I mean, Demons gonna demon, right? If there can be malevolence and darkness, there has to be light and spirit as well. There are also dragons about who are just as ancient as any of the above.
Also, I’m not above dropping in (or at least hinting at) Cthulhu-esque Elder type-beings. I’m more than happy to pull in demons, devils, and abominations from various video games and TTRPGs. <koff> Diablo 2 and 3 <koff> I’ve also borrowed monsters liberally from Pathfinder, Ampersand 5E, Old School Essentials, and a half dozen other games so it’s only natural a few of their various “deities,” cults, etc came over with them.
This is just my take on it.
No specific pantheon is the default in Dragonbane. However, as I have said many times before, do what works best for you and your group. There are literally dozens of fantasy pantheon examples out there. There are entire chapters in various Game Master manuals that talk about different fantasy religions and how to construct them.
I like the separation and duality model that I have chosen because it is wide open to interpretation for both players and GMs alike. It’s pretty much the default for Dragonbane give or take. My first campaign is going to depart from the Misty Veil pretty early anyway if all goes well. Taking the campaign to my home territory so to speak gives me cart blanche as to how I want the magic and spirit realms to look.
Thank you for being here today with me. I appreciate you. Please embrace the things that bring you the most joy.
Jeff's Game Box 