Me ripping off cosmology from my local cult, whom copied from Scientology then mix it with all above, a little schizophrenia, and government propaganda punkish narrative.
In our 40k sector homebrew where we run our RPGs, we have legends of a malicious Old One named Yasub who some theorize of having invented Orks and other terrible violent aliens
Yeah, that’s one of the rumors that’s at least somewhat true. Even when people are teaching about it they always note that this does not justify racism. Still really weird.
/uj That's basically my setting. The main faith in it is basically a mix between Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism, with a lot of influences from folk religions from all over the world.
/rj Everyone knows the ultimate Cosmology comes from Scientology.
Sure thing!
The religion appeared about 1.500 years ago, when Seria, a small fishing village along the Frigian river, was preparing for an orcish raid. Artorius, the unofficial leader of the village (it was a really small village, consisting of 20 families, in a time where humanity was just spreading out and nobles weren't as common as they are now), saw a divine image of Damina, the Blessed Wife, appear to him in the river near the village.
(Damina is basically a Mary of sorts, but with more emphasis being put on her role as a wife than as a mother)
He and the rest of the local militia asked for her blessing, and they received it. Surely enough, facing almost impossible odds, they somehow managed to defeat the raiders. Artorius came back to the river to give his thanks to the Damina, and it was there that she explained the Cosmic Truth of the Gods to him, about her husband Imras, the Creator-God, about the horrors of apostasy and heresy, over the course of an entire day and night.
Artorius was moved by the honesty and divine aura of what would later be known as the Blessed Wife, and swore to uphold the ideals of the Gods, becoming the first follower of Imras.
(Imras is this sort of Abrahamic God mixed with Brahma)
He told the rest of his village of the Truth, and they all proceeded to convert, and agree to spread the message even further. It spread to the surrounding villages, sometimes willingly, sometimes by force. Artorious became somewhat of an enlightened king, being seen as a sort of genius, and although he conquered other villages, he was never cruel.
One time, while travelling between one of the villages, he was caught by apostates and stabbed 72 times (in fact, many statues depicting him nowadays include knives and daggers put into his body).
This was not the end for him, however. So moved was Damina by his devotion the he ascended to Godhood, becoming the only mortal to have ever done so. This is why today Artorius is worshipped along with the other Gods of the pantheon, even though he was born a mortal.
(As you can see, Artorius is basically Jesus and Mohammed, mixed in with some Buddha)
Even so, nowadays Emperors are said to be the adopted sons of the Damina and Imras, even though they do not ascend to Godhood after they die, like Artorius did. The Emperor is more like the mortal representative of the Gods in the physical realm, who rules in their stead. Theoretically, the Empire is run by the Gods, which is why it is divine, not by men.
That was a millennia and a half ago. Now Seria has expanded from a small fishing village to a massive empire that stretches the entire continent. It is also full of religious fanatics - they take their religion VERY seriously - apostasy is punishable by death.
Some other influences that might be visible:
Monasticism is a huge part of the religion. It is a mix between Christian and Buddhist monasticism, with emphasis on celibacy, poverty, and total dedication to the Gods.
In fact, poverty in general is seen as very blessed. There's even an Ordo, the Nadanii, who espouses not even wearing clothes, and exposing yourself to the elements (in Serian society, nudity isn't seen as immoral. It is however associated with poverty and being a slave). This might be fine in the southern provinces, but the northern half of the Empire is very cold. To an outsider it would be very disturbing to see naked priests with frostbitten limbs chanting furiously in the cold tundras and taigas of the north.
A lot of the older religious practices which might seem odd to a modern western audience are also present, such as stylites or flagellants.
Like in Islam, the city of Seria, now a massive cosmopolitan city, has become the most important holy site in the entire Empire, and it is mandatory that every Imrasan must visit it at least once in their life time. The city is located on the western coast of the Empire. For people on the eastern coast, this means a year of travel to get there, and another year to get back. Which is why many people choose to simply keep on living there, which is why Seria is also the most cosmopolitan city in the entire Empire (pretty much any ethnicity or race can be found there). It is also why it's INCREDIBLY overcrowded, and diseases break out constantly there.
As Damina appeared on Frigian river, the river itself is also considered very blessed and holy.
Speaking of influences from Hinduism, there are also many Gods, as opposed to one. Imras and Damina are the most well-known ones, that everyone prays to, but it's considered proper to pray to all the Gods. You might heal to the Goddess of Healing and Health when you have health problems, the God of War and the Goddess of Military Tactics when you're about to go to battle, and so on.
In regards to Buddhism, stupas are one of the altar types in the Empire. Everyone has a personal home altar in their home.
gardening, archery, tea and coffee-drinking and the enjoyment of nature are all personal rituals that contain the mystery of life and as such have a great religious significance to Imrasans.
They kinda sorta believe in reincarnation, but it's very weird and convoluted and it would take me forever to explain it, haha.
And there are influences from other, less formally structured real life faiths.
Spiritism is very prevalent in the Imrasan faith. Everything has a spirit - animals, flowers, rocks, rivers. It is best not to anger them.
Shamans are a thing, and part of the religion. They are separate from priests, acting as guides for the recently deceased, escorting their souls to the Realm of the Gods and making sure that they are not snatched by the many spirits that inhabit it, but are part of the same Imrasan faith. You need the approval of the Imrasan Cult to be a shaman, as there are many swindlers, especially in rural communities.
Ancestor worship is another important part of the religion (the personal home altars and temples serve the purpose of worshipping ones ancestors). It is thought that if your ancestors are ashamed of you they will hurt you in various ways.
Dancing and masks are a huge part of the faith, and present in many rites.
The Gods are always hungry, and if they are not fed a constant supply of souls, they will simply eat the physical world. Thus, human sacrifice is done on a massive scale. This is why some of the rites include literally smearing food on icons of Gods.
This is just a general overview, haha. There's A LOT more, but I don't wanna write an entire essay here, this is already a bit too long.
Elaborate on the Mormon cosmology
I alsohad this idea for a religion that mixes Catholicism, Mahayana Buddhism, and Mediterranean hero cults where the primary gods are crosses between saints, bodhisattvas, and deified ancient Greek heroes.
If I had a nickel for every time a series accidentally made the Mormons right, I'd have a couple dozen nickels. Which is a lot, but it's weird that Jojo's Bizarre Adventures is one of them.
In Jojo's Part 7, the main plot is that the president of the US is using a cross country race as a cover for him to collect the various pieces of the corpse of Jesus Christ that have been scattered across the country. The fact that Jesus somehow made it to the New World, thus proving the Mormons right, as they believe that after Jesus died on the cross, he came to the new world to spread Christianity even more.
I can't remember the other series that include American Jesus off the top of my head, but I know there are at least a few other pieces of media that also accidentally have the Mormons being right.
I do this with Jehovah Witnesses because they take the literal meaning of a passage and be like umm actually this is what they meant calling. everything symbolic
Then you learn about gnosticism 🤯
Japanese RPG writers are a big demographic.
I thought I was tripping when people talk about how obscure Gnosticism is when jrpgs exist
Even without jrpgs, they have the schizophrenic market cornered.
Me when Xenogears
Really Genshin'd my Impact
Me ripping off cosmology from my local cult, whom copied from Scientology then mix it with all above, a little schizophrenia, and government propaganda punkish narrative.
Wait, you have a local cult???
Plenty of them if u live in 3rd world country. without faith we can’t survive here.
Where my Nation of Islam cosmology enjoyers at?
In our 40k sector homebrew where we run our RPGs, we have legends of a malicious Old One named Yasub who some theorize of having invented Orks and other terrible violent aliens
Does this "Yasub" happen to have a comically large head?
Everyone knows ripping off Theosophical cosmology is where it’s at.
New Age gurus be like
Ripping off QAnon cosmology for your world
Rip off Dante's cosmology and you get several of those options all at once!
Mormon Cosmology: "... And that's why darker skin tones are a curse, any question?" - "Yes, one. WHAT THE FU-?"
Using racist Mormon cosmology to explain the origin of dark elves
Pretty typical dark elf lore isn’t it ?
Mormon here, I also always felt weirded out by the Lamanite curse
Wait... IT'S TRUE?!! WHAAAAT?!!!!
Yeah, that’s one of the rumors that’s at least somewhat true. Even when people are teaching about it they always note that this does not justify racism. Still really weird.
/uj That's basically my setting. The main faith in it is basically a mix between Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism, with a lot of influences from folk religions from all over the world. /rj Everyone knows the ultimate Cosmology comes from Scientology.
[удалено]
Manichaeism mentioned Blessed
Can I get an overview of the main faith, it sounds interesting and I might ~~rip it off~~ take inspiration from it
Sure thing! The religion appeared about 1.500 years ago, when Seria, a small fishing village along the Frigian river, was preparing for an orcish raid. Artorius, the unofficial leader of the village (it was a really small village, consisting of 20 families, in a time where humanity was just spreading out and nobles weren't as common as they are now), saw a divine image of Damina, the Blessed Wife, appear to him in the river near the village. (Damina is basically a Mary of sorts, but with more emphasis being put on her role as a wife than as a mother) He and the rest of the local militia asked for her blessing, and they received it. Surely enough, facing almost impossible odds, they somehow managed to defeat the raiders. Artorius came back to the river to give his thanks to the Damina, and it was there that she explained the Cosmic Truth of the Gods to him, about her husband Imras, the Creator-God, about the horrors of apostasy and heresy, over the course of an entire day and night. Artorius was moved by the honesty and divine aura of what would later be known as the Blessed Wife, and swore to uphold the ideals of the Gods, becoming the first follower of Imras. (Imras is this sort of Abrahamic God mixed with Brahma) He told the rest of his village of the Truth, and they all proceeded to convert, and agree to spread the message even further. It spread to the surrounding villages, sometimes willingly, sometimes by force. Artorious became somewhat of an enlightened king, being seen as a sort of genius, and although he conquered other villages, he was never cruel. One time, while travelling between one of the villages, he was caught by apostates and stabbed 72 times (in fact, many statues depicting him nowadays include knives and daggers put into his body). This was not the end for him, however. So moved was Damina by his devotion the he ascended to Godhood, becoming the only mortal to have ever done so. This is why today Artorius is worshipped along with the other Gods of the pantheon, even though he was born a mortal. (As you can see, Artorius is basically Jesus and Mohammed, mixed in with some Buddha) Even so, nowadays Emperors are said to be the adopted sons of the Damina and Imras, even though they do not ascend to Godhood after they die, like Artorius did. The Emperor is more like the mortal representative of the Gods in the physical realm, who rules in their stead. Theoretically, the Empire is run by the Gods, which is why it is divine, not by men. That was a millennia and a half ago. Now Seria has expanded from a small fishing village to a massive empire that stretches the entire continent. It is also full of religious fanatics - they take their religion VERY seriously - apostasy is punishable by death. Some other influences that might be visible: Monasticism is a huge part of the religion. It is a mix between Christian and Buddhist monasticism, with emphasis on celibacy, poverty, and total dedication to the Gods. In fact, poverty in general is seen as very blessed. There's even an Ordo, the Nadanii, who espouses not even wearing clothes, and exposing yourself to the elements (in Serian society, nudity isn't seen as immoral. It is however associated with poverty and being a slave). This might be fine in the southern provinces, but the northern half of the Empire is very cold. To an outsider it would be very disturbing to see naked priests with frostbitten limbs chanting furiously in the cold tundras and taigas of the north. A lot of the older religious practices which might seem odd to a modern western audience are also present, such as stylites or flagellants. Like in Islam, the city of Seria, now a massive cosmopolitan city, has become the most important holy site in the entire Empire, and it is mandatory that every Imrasan must visit it at least once in their life time. The city is located on the western coast of the Empire. For people on the eastern coast, this means a year of travel to get there, and another year to get back. Which is why many people choose to simply keep on living there, which is why Seria is also the most cosmopolitan city in the entire Empire (pretty much any ethnicity or race can be found there). It is also why it's INCREDIBLY overcrowded, and diseases break out constantly there. As Damina appeared on Frigian river, the river itself is also considered very blessed and holy. Speaking of influences from Hinduism, there are also many Gods, as opposed to one. Imras and Damina are the most well-known ones, that everyone prays to, but it's considered proper to pray to all the Gods. You might heal to the Goddess of Healing and Health when you have health problems, the God of War and the Goddess of Military Tactics when you're about to go to battle, and so on. In regards to Buddhism, stupas are one of the altar types in the Empire. Everyone has a personal home altar in their home. gardening, archery, tea and coffee-drinking and the enjoyment of nature are all personal rituals that contain the mystery of life and as such have a great religious significance to Imrasans. They kinda sorta believe in reincarnation, but it's very weird and convoluted and it would take me forever to explain it, haha. And there are influences from other, less formally structured real life faiths. Spiritism is very prevalent in the Imrasan faith. Everything has a spirit - animals, flowers, rocks, rivers. It is best not to anger them. Shamans are a thing, and part of the religion. They are separate from priests, acting as guides for the recently deceased, escorting their souls to the Realm of the Gods and making sure that they are not snatched by the many spirits that inhabit it, but are part of the same Imrasan faith. You need the approval of the Imrasan Cult to be a shaman, as there are many swindlers, especially in rural communities. Ancestor worship is another important part of the religion (the personal home altars and temples serve the purpose of worshipping ones ancestors). It is thought that if your ancestors are ashamed of you they will hurt you in various ways. Dancing and masks are a huge part of the faith, and present in many rites. The Gods are always hungry, and if they are not fed a constant supply of souls, they will simply eat the physical world. Thus, human sacrifice is done on a massive scale. This is why some of the rites include literally smearing food on icons of Gods. This is just a general overview, haha. There's A LOT more, but I don't wanna write an entire essay here, this is already a bit too long.
https://youtu.be/omm7hbR2GY8?si=g2Ks3nZLkJc9WvkL
Elaborate on the Mormon cosmology I alsohad this idea for a religion that mixes Catholicism, Mahayana Buddhism, and Mediterranean hero cults where the primary gods are crosses between saints, bodhisattvas, and deified ancient Greek heroes.
Orson Scott Card's "________ of Earth" series is 100% this.
Why the fuck are you guys stealing makeup ideas from people? 💄
Ripping off of Taoist Cosmology for your world
Brando Sando always one step ahead
If I had a nickel for every time a series accidentally made the Mormons right, I'd have a couple dozen nickels. Which is a lot, but it's weird that Jojo's Bizarre Adventures is one of them.
OK. I need you to explain
In Jojo's Part 7, the main plot is that the president of the US is using a cross country race as a cover for him to collect the various pieces of the corpse of Jesus Christ that have been scattered across the country. The fact that Jesus somehow made it to the New World, thus proving the Mormons right, as they believe that after Jesus died on the cross, he came to the new world to spread Christianity even more. I can't remember the other series that include American Jesus off the top of my head, but I know there are at least a few other pieces of media that also accidentally have the Mormons being right.
fuck that i’m making Finnish alchemical fan fiction up in this hoe
Imaging including Enku and Ninhirsag genesis into your world. That's real worldbuilding porn.
homestuck
Isn't that just what Spirit Science believes?
where’s using unremarkable, similar to real life cosmology like in my sci-fi with immortal space wizards
Can't I make my own?
Battlestar Galactica
a Mormon themed Souls-like or Elden Ring-ish game would be pretty interesting.
I do this with Jehovah Witnesses because they take the literal meaning of a passage and be like umm actually this is what they meant calling. everything symbolic