#in the end they're still defining themselves by the god they worship

[annalyticall]

Not done with bg3 so maybe my opinion will change but right now I think that while bg3 is a great game and has so much to offer in terms of character and story, I also just... vibe with the world of Dragon Age more. Like bg3 is by far the more fun game to play and it has meaningful themes about cycles of abuse and realizations of self-worth. But dragon age. I don't know. It feels more concise about what it wants to say. Bg3 throws everything and the kitchen sink at you which means some things get lost in translation or are so obvious that it beats you over the head with it. But dragon age is, for the most part, about religious authority and oppressive systems stemming from that authority, and it's entire world and story and cast of characters are built from that one premise to explore dozens of different perspectives on the same theme, and I feel like I can connect with that approach to worldbuilding so much more

[foone]

Many people don't understand the difference between a paladin and an inquisitor. I mean, they're both religious warrior guys, right? What's the difference?

I mean, a lot? It's their whole motive and origin story, really.

A paladin is someone who has dedicated their life to a quest, to an oath, and they have done this out of a sense of religious devotion. They have said to their god that they believe this cause is righteous and holy and they will put their life and soul on the line for it, and their god has agreed with them, and given them boons and powers and protection in service of that mission. Paladins are deeply religious people, but you'll never see them praying: for them, their worship is in every swing of the sword, in every innocent protected, in every wrong righted. Their prayer is devotion to their cause.

Inquisitors... Are different. They didn't devote themselves to a cause so strongly it feels like dogma. They didn't take an unbreakable oath to stay on the one path for the rest of their days. They're someone who, at the end of their rope, prayed to the one thing they could still believe in and asked their god to give them a weapon that could destroy everything wrong in the world.

At their lowest moment when everything but their faith had been shattered, they used the last of their strength to ask for something, anything, to renew their purpose in this world. With nothing left to lose, they cried out to the heavens... In response, the clouds parted and glorious light shone down and God handed them a pistol.

A paladin is devoted to a cause, when can be everything from "the lich much be destroyed" to "the city's orphans need protection and food and shelter". Inquisitors are instead people who cried out "beloved god, the world is horrible and broken and full of sin!" and their god said "You're right. Take this sword and go kill the problem."

At the end of the day, a paladin is someone who is defined by an absolutely willingness to do whatever it takes to follow their oath.

An inquisitor is instead someone who has only one singular solution to every problem in the world, and it's kept very sharp.

[bonefall]

Could Firestar break out of Starclan like One-Eye did, and become a god of fire?

Yes! Hypothetically, any spirit could!

For that to happen, he would need to be continually worshiped for hundreds of generations. Midnight, Rock, Sol, and One Eye were not the only gods in their own pantheon, so long ago; they're just the only ones that survived the destruction of the Lake Kinships.

On Breaking Orbit;

To "break orbit" is like becoming an adult bird. You're able to leave the nest, take flight, and survive on your own. It's EXTREMELY rare that this happens, and defines the ceiling of a God's abilities. You don't get stronger than this.

Once you hit this level though, a few things happen;

You can't die in a way that matters. There is only the "becoming" of something else. Sol and Fallenleaf might fuse one day, but Sol will never be destroyed. Sharptooth will also come back in-full one day. You can't kill a god; you can only trap them. (Was Ashfur strong enough...? We'll just have to see...)

You become strong enough to "walk where you please." There's no way to keep a god out of an afterlife without fighting it back. The Meadow of Young Stars was an effective way to gently keep Dark Forest demons out of StarClan (before Ashfur's big spooky ass broke it), but if One Eye WANTED to, he could force his way in.

You have immediate, tangible effects on the world around you. So you better learn how to control yourself, if you didn't learn already from your centuries of incubation. This is how you get Fallenleaf accidentally sneezing her wife pregnant. StarClan spirits can influence the natural world, but not nearly as powerfully as a fully-fledged God.

Somehow, you can bring form to Demigods and impact souls themselves. I still need a name for this type of "entity." It's what Star Flower, Brokenstar, and Hollylark are, and to an extent, Jayfeather, Lionblaze, and Dovewing as well. There's probably two 'categories,' souls made from something inanimate, and preexisting souls that become god-touched.

Every soul ends one of two ways; either they break orbit and become a god, or, they fade and re-enter the reincarnation cycle*.

*= (OR they do whatever canon plans to do; I will abide by it and fix it as always.)

On the Reincarnation Cycle; (until canon contradicts me and I change this to match)

Most ghosts don't have an Afterlife System. They simply fade away once there's nothing interesting to observe as a ghost, and are re-born fully into a new body.

(In Tallstar's Collapse, the group Talltail travels with is going to be objectively correct about this. They basically have default-worship.)

Ghosts that DO have an afterlife system fade into it, like a bullion cube into soup. They end up fueling the Heaven system and adding to the collective power of the unfaded cats within it. This is why older, larger Heavens are more powerful. StarClan "crafts new souls" by shaping sparkling mud from a large river that goes through their territory.

Heavens are naturally occurring in BB; but Hells are not. Every Hell that we will see, such as the Place of No Stars or the SkyClan Rat Storm, was created by another supernatural entity.

Intentionally, or unintentionally.