May the Gods be with you, dear adventurer. 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Dungeons & Dragons has many worlds to explore, and that's not mentioning the homebrew world you may have cooked up in that head of yours. However, worlds need people, and that means lots of NPCs need to show up with different appearances, behaviors, motivations, and whatnot. Or maybe you're a player and need to create one of the adventurers that'll lead the story.

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One particular set of NPCs can be a bit hard to roleplay, though: religious figures. How do you properly portray a priest? From minor to major NPCs or even a player character, we've got you covered.

5 Think Of The Character First ♓

A Dwarf Cleric Wields A Warhammer
The Cleric Class from The Player's Handbook via Wizards Of The Coast

You can disregard this tip if you're making a minor NPC who'll probably never appear again and whose backstory is irrelevant. However, when it comes 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:to big NPCs or PCs, it's vital to establish the character first. Don't think of them as a priest but as a person who became a priest.

Who were they? Are they good or bad people? Were they indoctrinated into this life, oꦅr did they choose it? Thinking about their backstory before getting into contact with 🌃religion and just establishing your character will make it a lot easier to create their religious side afterward.

They could be a former criminal seeking forgiveness, for example. Or a good persoꦆn who just wishes to help, or even a terrible person who misuses religion to manipulate people. It all boils down to who they are first. By the way, this tip works for any character, really, and not just a religious figure.

4 💜 Choose An Appropr🏅iate God For Your Plot

A row of figures stand in front of coloured pane glass
The Sundering by Tyler Jacobson

It seems like an obvious thing, we know — and it is. But the neat part about religion is that gods don't choose their followers; people choose to follow them. This is why thinking about the character first is the best idea because now you get to see which deity they'd follow.

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If you need someone who serves Chauntea, ♛for example, that person would likely be good, as the goddess is associated with life. And since people choose their gods, the priest will have the proper characteristics, as they chose this life, not because they were forced to be like that.

Still, you could create compelling plots with things such as indoctrination and have a priest who is unsatisfied with the church they serv💧e. You could even have a redemption arc of a good person taught to pray to an evil deity, making your character quite unique.

3 💞 Create Rules, Customs, And Rituals

a priest offers a prayer for guidance
via Wizards of the Coast by Clint Cearley

Religions preach lots of things to make their followers better people. What does your character's religion preach? Is it okay for you to kill someone just because they're bad, for example?

Depending on the God you follow, you'd have appropriate rules. Is your character allowed to have relationships or children? Is it okay for them to get wasted? What is your religion's view on stealing, even if it is out of necessity?

The same can also apply to little things, such as customs. Maybe every ti🌸me you use a spell, you kneel or put your hands together in prayer. Or you make a quick praise every time you enter a place. Whatever you believe fits your character and their deity.

The best part is creating a few contradictions for your character. Just because they're a good person and follow their god out of their free will doesn't mean they can't have issues with things such as no relationships. Just because these rules exist, it doesn't mean you can't break them. It just means there 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:may be consequences. It's also a perfect opportunity to see where the god and church relationship lies. Maybe your deity doesn't care that you're dating, and these rules were created by people.

2 ⛎ Balance🍨 Your In-Game Preaching

A Dawnbringer cleric heals an ally with holy magic.
Dawnbringer Cleric by Lie Setiawan

Be careful not to overdo your character's preaching when roleplaying them. They should do it, or at least mention their gods occasionally, but doing it constantly will make them annoying or make them feel one-note, and the rest of the players will fail to see all the character development you've built so far.

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The aforementioned customs would be a perfect way to do small actions that show your character's religion without slowing the game down or getting people annoyed. You could even do them quickly with your body language without actually halting the game to do those things.

As for preaching when relevant to the story, we'd recommend focusing on their ideals rather than making a sort of propaganda. Show benevolence, as your deity intends, without necessarily repeating their name constantly, and people will like your character and maybe get curious about your religious side. And if someone is asking, then you're free to talk about it.

Still, for small NPCs, you could make them intentionally annoying by disrupting the party constantly to talk about their god. There isn't a right or wrong here; it depends on how you want to go about it with your character. Just keep in mind that we don't recommend that for NPCs you want your players to like or if you're making a PC because constant religious conversations can get old.

1 ♎Use References ꧙

A cleric with a glowing hand placed on her companion as she helps him up from Dungeons and Dragons
Lords of Waterdeep by Tony Foti

Priests exist in real life — shocking, we know. Any real religion can offer you many of the answers above, from doctrines, customs, and even other details, such as clothes and symbols. It's more than okay to learn about these things for your character, and you can find information about them online with ease.

The same goes for old mythologies, 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:such as Egyptian or Greek, for instance, where you can use them as references, from god creation to customs, in case you don't feel comfortable using a religion you or your friends follow in real life.

You can even use real people as references, from a local priest in your city to even famous religious figures, like popes. Even sacred texts or stories can give you ideas, which you can also find online 💮or watch in places such as𒁃 YouTube.

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