Spiritualism in the OTU

[Keklas Rekobah]

... CHA religions focus on the force of personality. The chosen one.
SOC religions focus on appointed hierarchy. The high priest.
CAS religions focus on heredity. Grandfather.

...

"Those Vargr and their Prophet of the Month club! Bah!"
"Those Vilani and their Shugilii-for-life! Bah!"
"Those Droyne! Always mooning over some mythical Grandfather! Bah!"

I think you're on to something. I may incorporate the following IMTU...

Each Vargr Prophet would remain popular only as long as its adherents were more successful than the adherents of other prophets. Some Vargr dens would exhibit a plethora of symbols, each relating to a different prophet. Vargr religion would be ever-changing and dynamic, and would often be in conflict with itself, even within the same context.

Each Vilani sect would feature a Trinity -- The Aristocrat (Ruler), The Shugilii (Provider), and The Merchant (with his/her Host of Ideals, each one representing the perfection of a single merchant activity: exploration, negotiation, exploitation, et cetera), in a rigid hierarchy. "Heresy" would be the incorporation of anything into the religion that was not an extrapolation or interpolation of established doctrine. Vilani religion would change slowly, and be internally consistent.

Each Droyne Oytrip would concern itself with Grandfather, his teachings, and their meanings. And while Droyne everywhere would venerate Yaskoydray, he would not actually be deified. Droyne "Fatalism" would play an important role ("Grandfather Willing" or "Grandfather will find a way" or "When Grandfather returns"), as would the Koyns and Caste. Droyne religion would be rigid, with few differences between Droyne worlds.

...

How could these Traveller stereotypes be developed into fictional religious concepts?

K'kree -- "When a <filth> dies, he dies alone. But when a <perfection> dies, we are all diminished." (The K'kree word for "Carnivore" is the same as their word for "Filth" IMTU. Same for "K'kree" and "Perfection".)

Hiver -- "Nothing is as it seems." and "A riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma is a good place to start."

Aslan -- (Male) "As the land endures, so does the man." (Female) "Anything worth having is worth sharing."

Zhodani -- "The Consulate is everything." and "The Tavrchedle is your Friend!" and "It is easy to take a prole out of the provinces, but taking the province out of the prole requires a little more effort."

 

[Gray Lensman]

Aslan -- (Male) "As the land endures, so does the man." (Female) "Anything worth having is worth
Sharing."

I really like this one. Now I have to spend some time thinking about how to incorporate the upwards and downwards fealty built into thier society.... Oh yes, and thinking about it being a single religion or two separate or single with two aspects... hmmmm

Edit: After browsing thru [CT]AM01 Aslan, I see where I must also build the Aslan honor and dueling into the religion as well. I don't own the Solomani and Aslan book but I do own the Gurps Alien books... ah, more reading

 

[Icosahedron]

Aslan -- (Male) "As the land endures, so does the man." (Female) "Anything worth having is worth sharing."

Sounds like a form of 'living planet' faith to me. Males bring ever larger tracts of the Divine Mother under their protection while the females share the Mother's bounty.

Of course, being an ATUer, I've read little to nothing about OTU aliens so I could be wide of the mark.

 

[Andrew Boulton]

Each Vargr Prophet would remain popular only as long as its adherents were more successful than the adherents of other prophets. Some Vargr dens would exhibit a plethora of symbols, each relating to a different prophet. Vargr religion would be ever-changing and dynamic, and would often be in conflict with itself, even within the same context.

Heh, I like the idea of a whole pantheon of squabbling gods, with believers following it like a cross between a soap opera and a sport!

 

[Keklas Rekobah]

Heh, I like the idea of a whole pantheon of squabbling gods, with believers following it like a cross between a soap opera and a sport!

Like a pack of canines, with each member competing to be the "Top Dog", eh?

 

[robject]

Heh, I like the idea of a whole pantheon of squabbling gods, with believers following it like a cross between a soap opera and a sport!

The Greek must have had a bit 'o Vargr in them...

 

[Andrew Boulton]

Like a pack of canines, with each member competing to be the "Top Dog", eh?

Or Top God! It's the perfect Vargr religion.

 

[robject]

Or Top God! It's the perfect Vargr religion.

But wouldn't it be "God Pot"?

 

[JustinInOz]

Isn't the plural of shaman - shaman?

What about shamen?

 

[rancke]

What about shamen?

According to Merriam-Webster, the plural of shaman is shamans.


Hans

 

[Peter Schutze]

According to Merriam-Webster, the plural of shaman is shamans.


Hans

yep

I have seen in several scholarly works eg the portion of the sacred area reserved exclusively for the tribe's shamen during preparation for ceremonies but since its often Australian articles written by archaeologists .... ymmv

 

[E.D.Quibell]

According to Merriam-Webster, the plural of shaman is shamans.

Hans

The OED Agrees.

Regards,

Ewan

 

[Keklas Rekobah]

What? Not Shamaniti?

Next you'll be telling us that the plural of "human" is "humans".

 

[Andrew Boulton]

Then there's the shawomen...

 

[fiat_knox]

Travellers themselves could have religions, cults, philosophies and beliefs centered around their being Travellers.

Examples:

The Wanderlust Brotherhood;

the High Sodality (mostly space-based, rarely set foot on an actual planet's surface, tending to prefer high tech orbitals);

The Order of Vagrant Hospitallers (who offer shelter to Travellers in distress and in need of food, shelter, medical treatment and a reliable comm to contact their shipmates);

Neo-Asceticism (Virtues: Never stay on one world for more than a month; eschew complicated technology, yet always remain its master; never refuse a Traveller unless he is known to be a thief);

the Seekers (a small cult of degenerate sybarites seeking new forms of sin and debauchery among the far-flung stars);

the Church of the Knapsack (has branches and shrines in most Startowns; for a nominal fee of Cr. 10, will send prayers to the Great Spirit to protect an individual, Cr. 50 to protect a small ship's crew, Cr. 500 to protect an entire Starship plus crew).

 

[Keklas Rekobah]

The Listeners -- A Scout Service Religion

The Listeners

This "religion" is common among Scouts, especially those who travel alone for months at a time, who believe that divine inspiration can come to those who hear voices in the depths of space. Some adherents will go so far as to turn off all non-essential ship's systems while in jumpspace, and do nothing but float around the silent interior, listening. Scouts have been known to tap into the output of the ship's accelerometers, and then route that signal into multi-channel audio recorders, thus turning the ubiquitous Type-S Courier into a giant, space-going microphone.

Most of the time, the scouts succeed only in recording the creaks and groans of their ship as it flexes while underway. On very rare occasions, however, the equipment records what sounds like voices -- usually whispered, and usually in some unknown language. One recording in particular (the now-famous "Pixie Seneschal" recording of 1005), is of a recognizably female voice reciting a prayer that originated on Terra, several thousand years ago. The recording was allegedly made while in jump "somewhere" along the Spinward main, and it's authenticity among skeptics is dubious, at best. However, it has become iconic among Scouts, many of whom -- believers and unbelievers alike -- recite the same prayer as they dim the lights before jump.

 

[Seriayne]

There's DGP's Worldbuilder Handbook's Religious Profile with definitions and ratings each for; Godview, Spiritual Aim, Devotion Required, Organization Structure, Liturgical Formality, Missionary Fervor and Number of Adherents. It was primarily there for defining the nature of a government based on religion as rolled up in a UWP, but works just as well for other scenarios. Very nice, pat method of quantifying the reach and nature of any religion for any RPG actually.



I also ended up with a copy of BITS 101 Religions, which is at times a fascinating and funny read, breaking religions down into the same broad types as Worldbuilder (Chapter by Godview), gives a name, general description, referee's description and one to three adventure scenarios based off of each faith.

 

[jawillroy]

The Listeners

Oooh! I like that.

 

[Gray Lensman]

The Listeners

This "religion" is common among Scouts, especially those who travel alone for months at a time, who believe that divine inspiration can come to those who hear voices in the depths of space. Some adherents will go so far as to turn off all non-essential ship's systems while in jumpspace, and do nothing but float around the silent interior, listening.

:rofl: Correct me if I am wrong, but would not this be a good one to post in the "what do X-Boat Pilots Do During Jump" thread?
:rofl:
:rofl:
:rofl:

See Andrew, we can have fun with this WITHOUT GOING THERE

edited to say this: I don't suppose there is any way to de-synchronize the ROFLs is there?

 

[aramis]

See Andrew, we can have fun with this WITHOUT GOING THERE

edited to say this: I don't suppose there is any way to de-synchronize the ROFLs is there?

Unfortunately, a few people don't seem to be able to.