Religion

Spirituality is a core theme of the fantasy genre. Religion forms an important element of cultural identity in a setting where deities openly empower their emissaries with magic. Deities are often invoked to recognize newborns, sanctify marriages, conduct souls to the afterlife, bless major battles, and so forth. Their names are taken in vain in the form of curses and epithets. While they are normally disconnected from the mortal world, they take subtle action when their followers are threatened by apocalyptic events. Showing this in-game adds realism to a story, but it can be hard to do while also keeping the campaign centered on the players. Here are some methods for that:

Artwork. When creating jewelry, artwork, weapons, armor, or similar objects consider adding religious elements to them. These embellishments add realism while also driving home themes of religion. 

Customs. Incorporate small religious superstitions into common events, the simpler the better. There’s no need to go overboard with this. A few select examples are enough. 

Elitism. Portray certain NPCs as proud because they are convinced of their favored status. Telling players their gods are weak or inferior will naturally get a rise out of them. 

Holidays. Toss in public holidays, village festivals, and similar events while the characters are traveling. Using events like these as a backdrop generates interest. 

Quests. Establish temples and religious leaders as quest givers early on. Consider having high-level zealot NPCs support the party with divine magic, and reiterate their deity's patronage and ethos. 

Deities

Deities are divine entities that reside in the outer planes and embody key elements or concepts of mortal existence. While some can manifest avatars, most rarely choose to do so. Instead, they operate through intermediaries, using spirits or mortals invested with divine power to further their interests in the cosmos. Most deities (including evil ones) abide by ancient pacts prohibiting direct conflict, and severe punishments are levied against those gods who violate them. These pacts are enforced by older and more powerful entities, known as elder gods, who do not answer prayers and refuse to interact with mortals at all. 

The best advice we can give on how to roleplay deities is this: don't. While it might be tempting to introduce a god as a bombastic force of nature to advance the plot or add color to your game, it breeds familiarity and demystifies them. Worse still, trying to depict the power of a deity may come across as grandstanding in situations where the focus should remain on the players. Several old world religions depict deities as childish, selfish, entitled, violent, and narcissistic. If this is how you want to portray deities in your game (because you want your players to hate them) you are of course free to do so, but such flawed and immature entities do not inspire true faith. If you need to narrate the manifestation of a deity for some reason and wish to preserve their dignity and mystique, we recommend the following tricks:

Stay Alien. Deities do not exist on the same wavelength as mortals. They do not perceive time the same way. Most do not have bodies unless they exert tremendous effort to manifest an avatar, and even the most anthropomorphized gods are so old and intelligent that they come across as strange and unemotional. This doesn’t mean they don’t understand mortals or that they are uncaring. Deities simply view things on a macro level. Shepherding millions of souls across multiple planets is a serious task, even for evil deities, and they do not shirk from it. A simple way to make deities feel alien is to avoid giving them humanoid aspects; make them faceless, animal-like, a huge mass of blinding white light, a red eclipse, a geometric shape, a star constellation, or whatever.

Stay Hidden. Not everybody needs to meet the deity. Consider having only select characters hallucinate their encounter with the god, or use a dream visit to communicate. Perhaps time seems to stop and the character has an out-of-body experience in which they encounter the deity before snapping back into their body, only to discover that a split second has passed in the real world. This is often more impactful than a bombastic appearance. 

Use Omens. Deities often prefer to communicate through omens, which anyone with the religion skill or suitable cultural lore can recognize and interpret. If a bitter wind blows, a two-headed calf is born, the bonfire turns purple, a red heron is spotted, a cathedral bell is heard across the land at the stroke of midnight during the witching hour, or whatever….it is proper for the party’s zealot to recognize these signs for what they are. Interpreting signs for information or clues can be a useful way to factor in the theology skill. Success means the character notices and correctly interprets the influence of these invisible powers. 

Act & Leave. If a deity needs to act directly for some reason, it always exerts the least amount of effort needed to achieve its goals without any fanfare and then departs. It does not speak unless there is a compelling reason; instead, it delivers its messages in an instant of telepathic understanding without the need for words. It is appropriate for a deity to understand the entire situation the instant it appears and to know what every character present thinks and wants, so there is no need for explanations or any sort of build-up. 

Old Ways. Every deity is mired in ancient covenants they must observe. If the proper ceremonies are performed and the right sacrifices are made, they adhere to tradition and do their part (even the evil ones). It is proper to depict a deity as very set in its ways and formal in its actions. Always remember that a god is supposed to embody its ethos. Upholding covenants and advancing their divine sphere of influence is what deities mainly concern themselves with.