18.1.24 Shouldn't a player's choice of Deity have an impact on the playing experience, in addition to selection of class and race?

I'm going to make a statement that may be unpopular so brace for impact!

Many people seem to think that Deity Choice / Religion should be a key component of character development and gameplay. A majority of the arguments for this tend to hinge around making the game make more sense from an RP perspective or simply creating more "variety" in character.

I think the stance that must be taken is: What does this add to the gameplay of the game? Does it make sense when applied to all roles? What role do gods have in your game world in the first place?

In my opinion it does not make sense to modify gameplay abilities based upon a followed deity. If you have a class called the Sniper, or Warrior in your game, that has nothing to do with religion, why should his chosen belief system change his gameplay experience? If the world setting warrants the modification and it does not negatively affect gameplay or create confusion as to what a class is supposed to be doing I suppose it is ok.

I think there is a huge difference in creating a NEW class that fulfills a role based upon lore, and modifying a core pre existing class based upon lore. In other words, if the world calls for there to be evil dark priests that eat flesh and do blood rituals make the Evil Dark Priest class - maybe this class is lumped into the role of a damage dealing class, not a healer. - Bill W. Fisher, Lead Game Designer

View Printable Version