Religion in FF

[CharlesX]

This thread is prompted by the use of the temple of Logaan, the Neutral God who is the one-and-really-good option for Secrets Of Salamonis, and the strong presence of Libra in the Sorcery! saga. As I say, the single option of one deity contrasts perhaps with the Cretan Chronicles where Gods play a role that is close to primary. I think I've mentioned more than once my parents felt FF has non-Christian themes - but obviously they haven't read FF, other than the blurb on the back, because as we know there are literally just two FF where you play a 'bad guy' in the most D&D tradition. I like the treatment of religion in Titan, I always thought growing up it was comparable to other ancient myths and legends in authentic history. IIRC there are two FFs in which you play a priest, Dead Of Night (one passing the approval of parents), and Spellbreaker, which reads a bit like Maelstrom. Spellbreaker is Jonathan Green's Crypt Of The Sorceror where a cool enough gamebook is remembered instead for its heavy difficulty.

   From You Are The Hero there were FFs planned in which you could play a Paladin-esque hero but these were unfortunately never produced. Most of the time the two new FFs reward you with good behaviour and penalise you if not kill you if you behave unchivalrously (counter-examples: conning people with the coin trick in Secrets Of Salamonis, maybe getting 30 gold instead of 20 gold for the key in Shadow Of The Giants).

[johnbrawn1972]

Nov 4, 2022 16:21:23 GMT CharlesX said:

This thread is prompted by the use of the temple of Logaan, the Neutral God who is the one-and-really-good option for Secrets Of Salamonis, and the strong presence of Libra in the Sorcery! saga. As I say, the single option of one deity contrasts perhaps with the Cretan Chronicles where Gods play a role that is close to primary. I think I've mentioned more than once my parents felt FF has non-Christian themes - but obviously they haven't read FF, other than the blurb on the back, because as we know there are literally just two FF where you play a 'bad guy' in the most D&D tradition. I like the treatment of religion in Titan, I always thought growing up it was comparable to other ancient myths and legends in authentic history. IIRC there are two FFs in which you play a priest, Dead Of Night (one passing the approval of parents), and Spellbreaker, which reads a bit like Maelstrom. Spellbreaker is Jonathan Green's Crypt Of The Sorceror where a cool enough gamebook is remembered instead for its heavy difficulty.

   From You Are The Hero there were FFs planned in which you could play a Paladin-esque hero but these were unfortunately never produced. Most of the time the two new FFs reward you with good behaviour and penalise you if not kill you if you behave unchivalrously (counter-examples: conning people with the coin trick in Secrets Of Salamonis, maybe getting 30 gold instead of 20 gold for the key in Shadow Of The Giants).

I am not sure being a Del Boy coining a good deal is really evil more buyer meets seller in a cushdy deal.

I always treated the books more like ancient Greece where you are a plaything of the Gods in a vast panorama.

[CharlesX]

Nov 4, 2022 16:30:15 GMT johnbrawn1972 said:

Nov 4, 2022 16:21:23 GMT CharlesX said:

This thread is prompted by the use of the temple of Logaan, the Neutral God who is the one-and-really-good option for Secrets Of Salamonis, and the strong presence of Libra in the Sorcery! saga. As I say, the single option of one deity contrasts perhaps with the Cretan Chronicles where Gods play a role that is close to primary. I think I've mentioned more than once my parents felt FF has non-Christian themes - but obviously they haven't read FF, other than the blurb on the back, because as we know there are literally just two FF where you play a 'bad guy' in the most D&D tradition. I like the treatment of religion in Titan, I always thought growing up it was comparable to other ancient myths and legends in authentic history. IIRC there are two FFs in which you play a priest, Dead Of Night (one passing the approval of parents), and Spellbreaker, which reads a bit like Maelstrom. Spellbreaker is Jonathan Green's Crypt Of The Sorceror where a cool enough gamebook is remembered instead for its heavy difficulty.

   From You Are The Hero there were FFs planned in which you could play a Paladin-esque hero but these were unfortunately never produced. Most of the time the two new FFs reward you with good behaviour and penalise you if not kill you if you behave unchivalrously (counter-examples: conning people with the coin trick in Secrets Of Salamonis, maybe getting 30 gold instead of 20 gold for the key in Shadow Of The Giants).

I am not sure being a Del Boy coining a good deal is really evil more buyer meets seller in a cushdy deal.

I think I'm going to have to u-turn\drop about that point because as you say being borderline capitalist isn't evil.

There's even a counter-example I can think of in Portal Of Evil where you can steal but lose Initial Luck if you do (so, it's heavily inadvisable).

[Pete Byrdie]

Interesting topic. As I've learned more of medieval history, I've often thought it's a pity we rarely see religion having a tighter hold on certain areas of Titan, with certain behaviours forbidden, fundamentalism and segregation.

Also, do all areas of Titan believe in much the same pantheon? Aren't there any monotheistic cultures? Perhaps they've thought religious wars might touch a nerve, and it's safer to have evil wizards and the like causing all the conflict. More likely, an open, non-proscriptive pantheon is better escapism given we live in a world where religion is still a source of discontent, oppression and political conflict.

EDIT After posting this, it occurred to me there is a significant difference between a world in which deity doesn't exist or operates without making its existence apparent, and a world in which gods and magic are a part of every day experience. Perhaps it makes sense that everyone in Titan would recognise the same pantheon.