Realms Society Religion
RELIGION & DIVINE MAGIC
Use this page to determine the main religion of the realm and what role divine magic plays in the realm. You can use it to detail individuals such as deities and major priests.
You might want to note the realm's Piety Modifier here as well as in the At a Glance section. This modifier should have some influence on the number of temples and divine casters are present and how religious the general population is.
Religions and View/Role of Divine Magic
Determine the main religion of the realm. Outline whether divine magic plays a major role in the realm and how it is viewed. Are there other religions? How are they viewed?
Choose or roll the dominant religion of the realm. You might wish to also roll a religion for each of the racial groups in your realm.
| d100 Roll | Form of Religion | Description | Game Mechanics |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01-35 | Standard/Loose Pantheon | Use the base religion as set out in the Player's Handbook or one that was written for the setting or a similar setting. | - |
| 36-43 | Cultural/Tight/Unique Pantheon | The realm has its own specific set of deities. You may wish to use appropriate historical religions or ones from other settings (such as the Nyambe orisha for an African setting). You could base this on the Model Culture you determined in the Core Features section or use a racial pantheon if rolling for a specific race. | +1 Piety |
| 44-48 | Nature/Primal/Spirits | The people worship nature as a living force (making druids the standard priest). The belief may be that everything has a spirit, or a specific set of nature spirits is honoured, such as animal totems or elemental spirits. | +1 Nature Connection |
| 49-54 | Ancestor Worship | This is the belief in drawing power from those that came before. The people might believe these spirits are still with them. This also includes hero worship, where people of historical significance have achieved demi-god status. | +1 Historical Lore |
| 55-57 | Alternate Fantasy Pantheon | Use a pantheon from a random fantasy setting. | - |
| 58-59 | Alternate Historical Pantheon | Use a pantheon from a random mythology. You could roll on the Model Culture table again (on the At a Glance page). | - |
| 60-64 | New Pantheon | Develop a complete new pantheon or put one together from random deities. See ‘Idea Charts & Resources’ below for creating own pantheon. | - |
| 65-68 | Force/Philosophy | The peoples’ beliefs are hard to define. They have faith, and can get power from that faith, but it is not harnessed from one supreme being. Such philosophies could be alignment based, cultural (where all things important to the people have their own guidelines), a monastic tradition, an akashic memory or hive mind, etc. | - |
| 69-72 | Creature-based | The people follow beings often considered lesser than the deities, but all the more important to them. Egs: Devils, demons, primordials/elemental beings, aberrations of the Far Realm, archons, angels, or even mortal creatures such as dragons or elves. | - |
| 73-77 | Supreme Being/Monotheism | The people see one being as superior to all others. This may be the only god, where all other beings are simply greater immortals or spirits. | +1 Piety |
| 78-82 | No Religion | The people of the realm do not believe in deities. They simply consider greater beings more advanced vessels and none are therefore worthy of worship. Alternatively the realm may be seeking to bring down the deities and opposes the deities' worshipped by surrounding realms at every opportunity. | -2 Piety |
| 83-86 | Dead or Abandoned Entities | The people believe the gods or spirits have abandoned them (or the people may have in fact turned away from the deities). There is no established religion, but cults may exist. Roll again to see what religion was in place before the separation. | -1 Piety |
| 87-92 | Any/Many | There are no restrictions upon religion and many types are practiced in the realm, with no particular form of worship dominating. You may just state there are hundreds of gods and let players select any deity from any other pantheon, make up their own deity, or base their religion on any of the other options above. Your realm might be set up where every city or place of significance has its own deity. | - |
| 93-00 | Roll Twice | Roll twice and either combine the results into one religion or the two religions operate separately by equally. You can roll a third and so on with further rolls of 93+ or simply ignore any rolls. | - |
Example Pantheons
| Pantheon | Type | Resource |
|---|---|---|
| Dawn War | Standard/Loose | 5E D&D Dungeon Master's Guide p9; 4E D&D Dungeon Master's Guide p162; |
| Dawn War - variation | Standard/Loose | 5E D&D Explorer's Guide to Wildmount p20 |
| Lesser Idols | Creature-based | 5E D&D Explorer's Guide to Wildmount p31 |
Idea Charts & Resources
| Names & Descriptions | Resource |
|---|---|
| Cult Generator | Sly Flourish The Lazy DM's Companion p45 |
| Cults | AEG's Ultimate Toolbox p24, 70, 320 |
| Deity Spheres of Influence | 2E D&D World Builder's Guidebook p88 |
| Deity Spheres of Influence | AEG's Ultimate Toolbox p70-1 |
| Deities | AEG's Ultimate Toolbox p68-9 |
| God Generator | Sly Flourish The Lazy DM's Companion p43 |
| Holy Orders | AEG's Ultimate Toolbox p23 |
| Monastic Orders | AEG's Ultimate Toolbox p27 |
| Paladin Orders | AEG's Ultimate Toolbox p23 |
| Pantheon Involvement | 2E D&D World Builder's Guidebook p87 |
| Pantheon Name & Type | AEG's Ultimate Toolbox p68 |
| Pantheon Organisation | 2E D&D World Builder's Guidebook p85 |
| Pantheon Types | 5E D&D Dungeon Master's Guide p10-13 |
| Religious Order tables | Eberron Rising… p95 |
Examples & Samples
| Name | Type (Level) | Known Traits/Features | Resource |
|---|---|---|---|
| Healer's Guild of House Jorasco | Organisation (6-8) | Healing, medicine, halflings | 5E D&D Explorer's Guide to Eberron p43 |
| The Shining Crusade | Organisation (4-6) | Militant arm of good aligned churches | 3E D&D Dungeon Master's Guide 2 p216 |
| Cult of the Dragon | Organisation (5) | Followers of dragons and fiends | 5E D&D Eberron Rising… p188 |
| Lords of Dust | Organisation (12) | Fiendish cabal aiming to release their masters, inc maps & tables | 5E D&D Eberron Rising… p215 |
Individual Religious Figures & Casters
Name and detail any important divine casters in the realm, their role in the realm and what stats you would use for them (if needed).
Idea Charts & Resources
| Names & Descriptions | Resource |
|---|---|
| Clerical Titles | AEG's Ultimate Toolbox p128 |
| Evil Cultists & Priests | AEG's Ultimate Toolbox p320 |
Sample NPC Stat Blocks
| Name | CR | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Cultist | 1/8 | 5E D&D Monster Manual p345 |
| Acolyte | 1/4 | 5E D&D Monster Manual p342 |
| Frontline Medic | 1/4 | 5E D&D Guildmaster's Guid to Ravnica p231 |
| Void Cultist | 1/2 | 5E D&D Creature Codex p407 |
| Cult Fanatic | 2 | 5E D&D Monster Manual p345 |
| Cult Priest of Asmodeus | 2 | 5E D&D Monster Manual Expanded II p296 |
| Cult Priest of Demogorgon | 2 | 5E D&D Monster Manual Expanded II p298 |
| Death Priest (of Orcus) | 2 | 5E D&D Monster Manual Expanded II p302 |
| Priest | 2 | 5E D&D Monster Manual p348 |
| Riptide Priest | 2 | 5E D&D Ghosts of Saltmarsh p248 |
| Hellfire Disciple (of Mephistopheles) | 3 | 5E D&D Monster Manual Expanded II p300 |
| Martial Arts Adept | 3 | 5E D&D Volo's Guide to Monsters p216 |
| Shadow Fist Initiate | 3 | 5E D&D Monster Manual Expanded p323 |
| War Chaplain | 3 | 5E D&D Creature Codex p410 |
| Graveslayer (dwarf) | 5 | 5E D&D Creature Codex p400 |
| Oracle | 4 | 5E D&D Mythic Odysseys of Theros p328 |
| Cleric of the Brew (dwarf) | 5 | 5E D&D Creature Codex p400 |
| Frostmaiden (of Auril) | 5 | 5E D&D Monster Manual Expanded p319 |
| Inquisitor | 5 | 5E D&D Monster Manual Expanded p322 |
| Kraken Priest | 5 | 5E D&D Volo's Guide to Monsters p215; 5E D&D Ghosts of Saltmarsh p240 |
| Storm Priest | 5 | 5E D&D Monster Manual Expanded p326 |
| Cult High Priest of Asmodeus | 6 | 5E D&D Monster Manual Expanded II p297 |
| Cult High Priest of Demogorgon | 6 | 5E D&D Monster Manual Expanded II p298 |
| Doomspeaker | 6 | 5E D&D Creature Codex p399 |
| Hellfire Steward (of Mephistopheles) | 6 | 5E D&D Monster Manual Expanded II p301 |
| High Death Priest (of Orcus) | 6 | 5E D&D Monster Manual Expanded II p303 |
| Divine Trickster | 7 | 5E D&D Monster Manual Expanded p317 |
| Blood Witch | 7 | 5E D&D Guildmaster's Guid to Ravnica p248 |
| Death Priest | 7 | 5E D&D Monster Manual Expanded p317 |
| Firepriest | 7 | 5E D&D Guildmaster's Guid to Ravnica p231 |
| Void Speaker | 7 | 5E D&D Creature Codex p408 |
| Blackguard | 8 | 5E D&D Volo's Guide to Monsters p211 |
| Stormlord | 8 | 5E D&D Monster Manual Expanded p327 |
| War Priest | 8 | 5E D&D Creature Codex p411 |
| War Priest | 9 | 5E D&D Volo's Guide to Monsters p218 |
| Dreadmaster | 10 | 5E D&D Monster Manual Expanded p318 |
| Cult Head of Demogorgon | 11 | 5E D&D Monster Manual Expanded II p299 |
| Death Priest Exarch (of Orcus) | 11 | 5E D&D Monster Manual Expanded II p303 |
| Hellfire Master (of Mephistopheles) | 11 | 5E D&D Monster Manual Expanded II p301 |
| Cult Exarch of Asmodeus | 12 | 5E D&D Monster Manual Expanded II p297 |
| Shadow Fist Assassin | 12 | 5E D&D Monster Manual Expanded p324 |
| Dread Lord (of Bane) | 13 | 5E D&D Monster Manual Expanded p318 |
| High Inquisitor | 16 | 5E D&D Monster Manual Expanded p321 |
| Shadow Fist Master | 17 | 5E D&D Monster Manual Expanded p324 |
Holy Sites, Temples, Churches, etc
Describe any significant holy sites or places of worship.
Idea Charts & Resources
| Names & Descriptions | Resource |
|---|---|
| Churches | AEG's Ultimate Toolbox p126-8, 72 |
| Druid Circles | AEG's Ultimate Toolbox p26, 276 |
| Eldritch Stone Formations | AEG's Ultimate Toolbox p277 |
| Ghost Ships & Wrecks | AEG's Ultimate Toolbox p217 |
| Haunted Gravestones | AEG's Ultimate Toolbox p109 |
| Monuments | AEG's Ultimate Toolbox p103, 107 |
| Realms of the Dead Names | AEG's Ultimate Toolbox p73 |
| Religious room dressing | 1E D&D Dungeon Master's Guide p218 |
| Temples - religious structures | House document attached under Files at bottom of the page City - Districts, Buildings & Businesses; 5E D&D Dungeon Master's Guide p113 |
| Temple rooms | 5E D&D Dungeon Master's Guide p294 |
| Tomb rooms | 5E D&D Dungeon Master's Guide p295 |
Examples & Samples
| Name | Type (Level) | Known Traits/Features | Resource |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-Seeing Eye Temple | Dungeon (1) | Teleporting temple to ancient destiny/knowledge goddess | 5E D&D Kobold Press Book of Lairs p32 |
| Canyon Shrine | Wilderness (1) | Remote shrine to bestial deity. | 5E D&D Mythic Odysseys of Theros p154 |
| Coastal Temple | Dungeon (1-2) | Seaside cliffs. | 5E D&D Mythic Odysseys of Theros p174 |
| Forest Shrine | Wilderness (1) | Remote shrine to nature deity. | 5E D&D Mythic Odysseys of Theros p158 |
| Graveyard Temple | Civilised (1) | Graveyard & temple with charts to populate | 5E D&D Mythic Odysseys of Theros p126 |
| Oracular Conflux | Civilised (1) | Temple to observe stars, planes, weather. An observatory. | 5E D&D Mythic Odysseys of Theros p142 |
| Sun Temple | Civilised (1) | Temple in mountains with charts to populate | 5E D&D Mythic Odysseys of Theros p130 |
| Temple of Mystery | Dungeon (1) | Remote temple full of puzzles and traps. | 5E D&D Mythic Odysseys of Theros p150 |
| Temple | Civilised (1) | Full complex, no dedicated deity | Sly Flourish The Lazy DM's Workbook p44 |
| Volcano Temple | Dungeon (1-2) | Includes large forge. | 5E D&D Mythic Odysseys of Theros p171 |
| Warforged Ossuary | Civilised (1) | Place of rememberance for those that fell in war, inc map and tables | 5E D&D Eberron Rising… p212 |
page revision: 57, last edited: 02 Oct 2023 23:21
