I've been listening to the audiobook of A Travel to the Middle Ages, and its description of what, by the late Middle Ages, is essentially a travel industry built up around pilgrimages to Christian churches and holy sites is really interesting. One fascinating detail is the cheap, metal pins or badges pilgrims could buy to commemorate their visits. There were also more risque, erotic novelty badges sold too, as a quick internet search can show you.
All of this religion-focused travel got me thinking of something interesting to do with the standard Outer Planes. Given their nature, they would certainly fit the bill as "holy sites." Maybe a lot of planar travel is in pilgrimage? This is a take that wouldn't be congruent with all views of the planes, certainly, but I think it would fit with a Planescapian sort of attitude, with planar types taking advantage of the clueless Prime visitors.
All you would need is these sorts of visitor-catering facilities and services to be present on each plane. They don't necessarily have to be particularly safe or even particularly customer friendly, really, if real history is any indication.
Of course, there would need to be things for pilgrims to see. Certainly, there are a lot of wondrous (super)natural phenomena described in any D&D planar book, but I think some sorts of dubious relics are in order here, just like in the real world. Accoutrements of gods? Maybe even relics of martyred ones?
3 comments:
D&D's inherently polytheistic structure with countless competing pantheons doesn't feel like a great fit for pseudo-
historical style pilgrimages to me, especially when you're talking about visiting your own faith's afterlife while still alive. As a god you certainly don't want your precious worshippers wandering the Outlands where other gods' followers and servants can easily get at them. At least on the Prime Material they're a little safer.
Not even sure "faith" is an appropriate term, really. There's never much reason to doubt if your god exists when they're granting spells to clerics on a daily basis. The question is whether you're worshipping the right deity for you, or if you'd be better off with someone else. All worship is very transactional by real-world standards, and the deity better pay off or their followers will leave in droves. Even placatory worship to make some malicious god not torment you better actually have demonstrable benefits, turning the religion into a protection racket.
D&D's "polytheism" isn't typically anything like actual polytheism but more henotheism. People are typically dedicated to one god, so I don't think that's a barrier to pilgrimages.
Likewise, whatever their historic origins, the planes don't really act much like afterlives in the real world sense. People with diabolic sensibilities go to hell to be with the likeminded, not because they are punished sinners.
A pilgrimage is obviously dangerous isn't for your average adherent.
Hot. What if ALL planar travel is a kind of pilgrimage?
Post a Comment