On Thu, 15 Jan 1998, Fredrik Lundberg wrote:

> I know it has come up before but please bear with me any way. I don't
> remember exactly what Ed Stark said about the departed gods cerillia but
> I think it where something along the line that since they where dead
> their priests didn't get any spells.
> My question is:
> According to The Complete Priest's Handbook faiths are divided into
> three categories according to what they worship: Gods, Forces and
> Philosophies. Philosophies are faiths worshipping an idea, or a set of
> ideas but doesn't all religion have a set of ideas and if so if their
> god died couldn't they be considered to worship a philosophy with the
> same portfolio and area of command as the dead god as long as they still
> worshipped the ideas of their dead god?
> The priesthood magical power wouldn't be as great as if the god was
> alive but the priests would still have some magical powers?
> Assuming that the reasoning above is true, what spheres would Adurian
> priest's who still worships dead gods have access to? [...]

You have offered the same basic conclusion I did in my post of Fri, Jan 9
(Priests of Serpent, Azrai, Druids). Since Anduiras, Reynir, and the rest
of those on the forces of good gave their portfolios to thier champions,
there is little *need* to employ the forces, &c. I recomend using as many
forces as you feel comfortable with. It gives bards, sages, and scholars
somthing to do in the game.

"The standards of the bold shall never waver." Why, its a formula of the
old philosophy of courage which lost its following after the epiphany of
Cuiraecen. This old hall must date to the time of the Golden Orchid!

But, Azrai (a dead god) and the Serpent (not a god) need some kind of
explanation, and forces and philosophies do that without the DM having to
re-invent the wheel.

But I'll admit, I prefer to create most of my forces and philosophies as
forces of darkness. By complicating the adversaries the PC's must face
they have to give jobs to those bards, sages and scholars I mentioned
above. Its probably just a response to the tought academic job market.

Kenneth Gauck
c558382@showme.missouri.edu