Whenever enough new folks join the Dreamland RPG Facebook group or Discord server, I’m going to be posting new Dreamland material (the FB and/or Discord folks get to vote on what it is). In celebration of the Facebook reaching 425 folks, here is a brief post on religious customs of Dreamland.
As described in a previous blog post, most Dreamland cultures are highly religious: the most common forms of observation are idol-worship, saint-worship and demon (spirit)-worship. Idols and priests that can actually perform magic are rare (though almost all claim to have real magic), but for that reason, all the more wondrous when they appear.
There are certain gods that are commonly worshipped across different areas of Dreamland (such as Kib, Roon, Mung and Tyche, Goddess of Cities), but as the gods rarely if ever appear to mortals, there is little agreement on who these gods are, what their names are, or what they do. Most Dreamland cultures have their own pantheon which positions their people and their region as the center of the universe.
This table is part of a set of worldbuilding tables I used to construct Dreamland cultures for my own campaign. Originally I made some results more probable than others in the name of ‘naturalism’, but I’ve modified it to produce 100 discrete results. If you want, first roll 1d10 to see the superficial form of the culture’s religion: 1-5=idol worship; 6-7=saint worship; 8=demon worship; 9=some combination of the above, such as worshipping idols of saints; 10=none of the above, for instance iconoclasts). If the 1d10 roll produces conflicting results with the 1d100 roll, reconcile them in whatever way seems logical, or at least logical enough for religious dogma.
For more interesting results, roll twice.
100 Religious Customs
1 idol-worshippers: obsessed with building increasingly colossal idols
2 idol-worshippers: mechanical (or magical?) idols which move
3 idol-worshippers: each worshipper possesses a lifesize, mannikin-like idol that resembles themselves
4 idol-worshippers: the bronzed or plastered bodies of the dead (or perhaps their cremated ashes, or guts turned into paste) are used as the base to construct idols
5 idol-worshippers: idols magically appear in a different form to everyone who looks at them; such visions may indicate the viewer’s faith, or the god’s plan for that person
6 idol-worshippers: fabulously precious jeweled and/or golden idols (heavily guarded within a temple or temples)
7 idol-worshippers: idols magically consume food and drink which is placed before them, roll 1d6 (1=human flesh and blood; 2=animal flesh and blood; 3=sweets and fruits; 4=grains or vegetables; 5=wine, beer or liquor; 6=heavily processed foods only, such as packaged snacks)
8 idol-worshippers: idols sing, speak or produce voicelike sounds (humming, moaning)
9 idol-worshippers: idols magically change shape and mutate as their believers’ beliefs shift, or to express societal moods (warlike, celebratory, etc.)
10 idol-worshippers: idols are made of recycled or reinterpreted materials left by a previous culture (i.e. television sets, car parts, aluminum cans, department store dummies)
11 idol-worshippers: living people are sacrificially transformed into idols either by magic or a physical process (i.e. being covered in wax or plastic, bodyparts progressively replaced with idol prosthetics, etc.)
12 worshippers of anamorphic (shapeless) idol (i.e. a strangely shaped log, a boulder, a twisted tree, a stain in the ground)
13 worshippers of ‘the world’ in the form of an idol shaped like a giant map or globe
14 fire-worshippers or similar (1=volcano-worshippers, 2=gasoline- or naphtha-worshippers, 3=explosion- or fireworks-worshippers, 4=tend a sacred continual flame, 5=seek to burn everything, 6=sometimes spontaneously combust during religious ecstasies)
15 electricity-worshippers (either through a high level of technology, or through natural manifestations such as lightning; some regions of Dreamland may also have local magic, weather patterns or geological phenomena which produce electricity more frequently than stormclouds)
16 worship the sun, moon or another celestial object
17 worship a possibly manmade celestial object (a space station, an orbital satellite, a balloon, a flying billboard created by a previous culture, etc.)
18 demon-worshippers: demons physically alter the bodies of priests or those they possess, turning them into angelic, monstrous or bestial forms
19 demon-worshippers: demons possess and speak through sacred animals
20 demon-worshippers: demons communicate through stigmata, such as glyphs or bumps appearing on the skin of the possessed; or the demon-possessed speak in a strange language
21 demon-worshippers: omnipresent demons may enter the bodies of careless people in the region (1=through an open wound; 2=through an open wound caused by a holy weapon; 3=through the mouth or nose, worshippers wear veils or gasmasks; 4=through the mouth when certain words, holy or blasphemous, are uttered; 5=through the bare feet of those who step upon the soil; 6=through unwashed hands; 7=through the eyes if a sacred object is looked upon; 8=through the ears if a particular song or sound is heard; 9=whoever reads a particular book; 10=through the dreams of anyone who sleeps without certain precautions)
22 demon-worshippers: only those of a certain holy bloodline have the privilege or curse of being possessed
23 demon-worshippers: invisible demons constantly perch on worshippers’ shoulders and whisper to them telling them what to do
24 ancestor worship: pray at altars or shrines decorated with keepsakes of the dead
25 ancestor worship: worship the dirt, for it is made up of the dead
26 ancestor worship: the dead are buried beneath the houses of their descendants and are consulted through prayer or through a pneumatic tube in the wall; they may or may not answer
27 temples are automated and religious services are carried out by machines
28 practice ritualistic religious mutilation (1-4=on themselves, 5-6=on strangers)
29 tend & worship sacred beasts (choose type of beast or roll 1d10: 1=housecats; 2=snakes; 3=crocodiles or giant lizards; 4=birds; 5=bats; 6=monkeys or apes; 7=lions, tigers or other big cats; 8=elephants; 9=dogs, jackals or wolves; 10=fish)
30 tend & worship sacred plants, roll 1d6: (1=man-eating plants; 2=humanoid plants, either sentient, or merely taking human form due to centuries of selective breeding; 3=hallucinogenic plants, 4=poisonous plants, 5=crops and vegetables, i.e. fertility worship; 6=a gigantically oversized version of a common plant, such as a 50-foot tall geranium)
31 tend & worship sacred people who are incoherent or unable to communicate (roll 1d6: 1=inbred to the point of imbecility; 2=lobotomized; 3=brain-damaged or stunted growth by constant drugging; 4=people with mental problems are gathered and revered for this purpose; 5=clones; 6=not actually human but humanoid fairies, robots or artificial beings)
32 city/town is off limits to infidels/heathen who do not follow the same religion
33 priests spend most of their time in an altered state to communicate with the gods, roll 1d6 (1=asleep like the great dreamer Mana-Yood-Sushai; 2=drunken or drugged; 3=in the womb, priests are babies who either must leave the priesthood when they are born, or who unnaturally remain in the womb into adulthood; 4=priests can never sleep, and are mad from exhaustion; 5=in constant motion, whirling, spinning or seasick; 6=dead, maybe undead)
34 priests guard advanced technology or secrets unavailable to the common people (roll 1d6: 1=reading and writing, 2=radio, 3=television or film, 4=modern medicine, 5=LLM-style AI programs, 6=knowledge of the waking world)
35 worshippers are forbidden to leave their sacred homeland; they may hire outsiders to perform simple tasks that would require a journey; perhaps worshippers actually will die if they leave
36 transcendent religious imagery may leave outsiders Obsessed or Spellbound (roll 1d6: 1=beautiful idols; 2=beautiful temples; 3=beautiful music, 4=drugged incense, 5=beautiful hymns and music; 6=hypnotically convincing scripture)
37 a particular type of beasts come to their temple and tend it or share in religious services (choose type of beast, or roll same table as on #26)
38 worship water (rivers, springs or a sacred lake or sea)
39 worship each day the first thing they see in the morning
40 worship a powerful unique monster (i.e. a chimera, dragon, manticore, multiple-headed beast which may be semidivine, etc.)
41 worship the principle of Death
42 worship light, or a lamp
43 worship the underworld or the Earth (1=a sinkhole or volcano, 2=believe caves are sacred spaces, 3=fungus-worshippers, 4=make pilgrimage to the great bonepile in the Vale of Pnath or another supernatural underworld site, 5=their graves/catacombs are actually portals to the underworld which are ‘tended’ by ghouls or similar creatures, 6=shun the open sky and prefer to live in caves or to otherwise cover the sky, out of fear of falling into it)
44 worship fairies (roll 1d6 to see what they think fairies are: 1=ancestral spirits, 2=angels, 3=spirits of nature, 4=thoughts in the mind of God, 5=ascended beings who are closer to the gods, 6=omniscient visitors from the future)
45 burn incense and/or gather sweet-smelling flowers for religious reasons
46 holy sites are on high mountains
47 pacifists: believe violence is sinful
48 sacrifice animals for religious reasons
49 sacrifice fellow townsfolk for religious reasons (1-3=children only, 4-6=adults and children)
50 sacrifice strangers for religious reasons
51 temple with sacred bed where the Great Ones are rumored to sleep with mortals
52 practice religious prostitution as part of their worship
53 phallus/yoni worshippers
54 practice ritual sex
55 worship the household gods; each house has its own shrine
56 each household is considered a microcosm of the “divine family” and people openly attempt to emulate the family behavior of the gods
57 people must move and build things in a particular ritualistic pattern (f.x. Feng Shui)
58 monasteries with industrious monks who produce special goods (add a special export)
59 play music & dance in their religious ceremonies
60 omen-readers (they seek omens in turtle shells, snake’s skins, the flight of birds, etc.)
61 religious restrictions on food & drink (rigorously enforced)
62 religious restrictions on food & drink (with numerous workarounds)
63 pious worshippers do not need to eat, being sustained by the power of the gods; this may be a technological or demonic trick
64 venerate preserved bodyparts of priests or saints (1=teeth, 2=hair, 3=nails, 4=head, skull, skullbones or brain, 5=fragments of skin, 6=entire preserved corpse)
65 venerate former possessions of priests or saints (1=alms-bowl, 2=spittoon, 3=staff or weapon, 4=robes or trousers, 5=crown or headpiece, 6=ID card or birth certificate)
66 heavily commercialized religion where worshippers vie to collect huge amounts of religious relics and/or idols (“Gotta catch ’em all!”)
67 local legend regarding miraculous construction of religious site/church
68 local legend regarding miraculous salvation
69 commit suicide for religious purposes (roll 1d6: 1=before certain events such as a war or festival, 2=after finishing a pilgrimage, 3=to appease the gods in time of trouble, 4=to take a message to the afterlife; 5=to offer their own bodies for human sacrifice, 6=to attempt to become bodiless spirits to possess others)
70 pilgrims circumambulate holy sites
71 believe the end of the world is coming soon (1=by fire or nuclear fire, 2=by the stars/sky falling, 3=by rain or flood, 4=by the direct hand of God, 5=by an invasion of avenging angels or devils, 6=other or all of these things simultaneously)
72 worship a monument or object which (according to legend) used to be a human being
73 worship a saint/deified mortal who used to be a (choose or roll for a Role)
74 priests preach that nonbelievers will suffer eternal damnation
75 memorize and recite sacred texts
76 believe the holiest possible deed is donating money/possessions to the church
77 delight in religious debate and argumentation (roll 1d6: 1-5=everyone, 6=priests only, common people don’t know the scripture)
78 worship a sacred painting, carving or image
79 anchorites: priests or holy people brick themselves up inside caverns/cells
80 practice religious orgies and debauchery/intoxication
81 light lamps/candles on religious holidays
82 fast on religious holidays
83 fight ceremonial battles on religious holidays
84 believe that morality only applies to members of their own religion
85 priests must refrain from sensuality (1-2=voluntary ascetic lifestyle, 3-4=castrated/eunuchs, 5-6=temporarily castrated while performing priestly duties, either chemically or by having their genitals removed and reattached later)
86 stop to pray numerous times per day (roll 2d10, rerolling all results of 10 and adding them; this is how many times they pray daily)
87 priests have strange clothing (1=priests go naked, 2=priests wear bizarre costumes, 3=priests’ clothes shine too brightly to look upon, 4=priests wear giant clothes/frameworks like mecha which make them appear huge, 5=priests wear masks, 6=priests wear masks or veils and their true faces are never seen)
88 priests have strange grooming (1-2=never bathe or cut their hair, 3-4=shave their heads, 5-6=ritually clean to the point of obsessiveness or germophobia, perhaps assisted by advanced technology)
89 priests seem to know actual prophecies of the future (1=worshippers of Trogool, God-Thing of Fate; 2=worshippers of Sish, God of Time; 3=well-guarded holy books contain true prophecies; 4=time is cyclical and the priesthood claims to have preexisted the current iteration of the universe; 5=priests do not really know the future, but use magic or mind control to make their ‘predictions’ happen; 6=they only know prophecies of the waking world, as the priests have knowledge of the waking world at a far future time)
90 priests are incredibly wealthy
91 Heaven and/or Hell are known and visible to the worshippers, perhaps through a magic window, or “Heaven” existing literally above them on a cloud while “Hell” is in a hole in the ground
92 people smear themselves with ashes, paint or another substance for religious purposes
93 lightning is considered a mark of divine favor (1-3) or disfavor (4-6)
94 idols are not created by humans but seem to appear magically (1=given by fairies or other inhumans, 2=dug out of the ground or washed up on the shore, 3=grown magically out of the rock or from plants, 4=falling from the sky, 5=found within the bodies of the dead like pearls within oysters, 6=dreamt of and then magically appearing, perhaps created by dreamers)
95 outsiders will be invited or pressured to attend highly ritualized, time-consuming religious services
96 outsiders will be pressured to marry locals but must then convert
97 obsessed with forcing religious pamphlets and books upon outsiders; outsiders may be locked up and forced to read lengthy religious texts
98 their religious cosmology incorporates a confused vision of the waking world (roll 1d6: 1=the waking world is heaven, 2=the waking world is hell, 3=dreamers are angels, 4=certain waking world people or objects are gods, 5=their origin story incorporates waking world history, the waking world is ‘the world at it was’; 6=the waking world doesn’t exist but is actually a metaphor for how to live and how not to live)
99 worship a sacred symbol (1=circle or spiral, 2=crescent, 3=cross or star, 4=alphabet letter or hieroglyph, 5=impossibly intricate symbol, 6=other)
100 multiple, feuding religious groups (roll twice more on “Religious Customs”; each result characterizes a different group) or other