What is a good Davite? What do you take into consideration when playing a good Davite? How does the Holy Order and Davism factor into your everyday roleplay?
Please limit this to a discussion on playing Good Davites. This is not a place to argue over whether or not Davism is worthwhile or how to play heretics.
Good Davites
The most important thing that seems to be hard for people is stance on mages. A good Davite doesn't think they are being cruel by burning mages. On the contrary, it is very necessary and they are saving the world from a huge danger, the likes of which killed half of the city in a flood and makes handbags out of human skin. They might believe that the mages have no control over what they do, in which case they need to be saved from themselves as well.
This is a subject near and dear to my heart, and one which I'll happily expound upon at great length. So - playing a good Davite?
1) Immerse yourself in the idea of your character's world
People may think they can't play a good Davite because Davism doesn't feel logical. Why would you believe that mages have to be burned to go to the Lord? There's no evidence and no proof for something like that.
But IRL, people subscribe to a huge range of religions that have no evidence or proof either. Why? Well, there are a dozen reasons. For those who choose a religion later in life: because the religion meets a psychological need, or simply feels right and true. For those who have been born into a religion, however? To look at it purely from a sociological perspective: because these religions are a part of their culture and worldview and everything around them is inculcated with them. No less is Davism a part of the social fabric of Lithmore.
People are raised Davist. They go to Mass from an incredibly early age. They're taught the Church's precepts even before they can read - probably many people have only read one book in their life in TI's world, and that's the Erra Pater. Their entire life they've raised knowing these things. And these things get confirmation - plenty of mages turn against the Church, or even against everybody.
Yes, a sophisticated philosophical view can point out that people who are treated as villains become villains so no wonder mages turn their anger on people who never harmed them, but it's worth repeating that your PC has almost certainly grown up steeped in these teachings. Only scholars in TI's world tend to examine their religious views that closely. If you want to play a scholar of religion... well, consider point 4)!
2) Remember that the actual truth of the matter is unknown even OOCly.
Even beyond questions of mere indoctrination, Davism has MORE proof than any real-world religion because magic - the thing it abhors - is real. TI is a place of strange, otherworldly forces and nobody, not a single person, knows what actually happens to the soul after death in it. Davists could very well be right. It is completely possible that you do have to burn a mage to save their soul, because the world of TI isn't driven purely by scientific rules of nature but also all sorts of weird occult stuff. Of course, it is equally possible that it's not true, so one could argue that logic favors not believing. But keep in mind - many of Davism's superstitions are actually facts in the TI world...
3) Embrace and embody the good sides of Davism as well.
You don't have to play a bad, hateful character to play a devout Davite. Many Davites are perfectly good people, and it's worth noting that the Church is a tremendous force for good. It takes huge tithes - and spends that money on a massive outpouring of charity. Religion doesn't mean having to be judgmental, cruel and unpleasant.
If you hear about people sinning, sure, you might glare and disapprove. But it's also acceptable RP to sigh, suggest they go to a confessor and earnestly pray for their soul that they find the right path. It's totally okay to be nice without condoning sin.
4) You DON'T have to roleplay hating mages and believing all mages are terrible.
That said, yes, if you play a devout Davite and you find out somebody is a heretic or a mage, you have to turn them in or become a heretic yourself. And believe me, I know as well as anyone how much this SUCKS. There's guilt and discomfort that can make it hard to justify why your character, a good person, is taking actions that will lead to somebody else's death. But you have options:
a - You can indeed RP hating dem evil mages if you're comfortable with that. As I said earlier and Temi even before me, there is no dearth of examples of evil mages. The Flood, known to be the work of a demon-summong mage, killed 37,000 people.
b - If you're sitting there saying "Well, just because one mage isn't bad doesn't mean they're all bad!" - well. Yep. I faced that same problem myself with following #1. It's also Church doctrine that magery corrupts - that practicing it darkens the soul. So you might believe that mages inevitably BECOME evil by practicing their art. This is backed up by Rasim's awesome stuff.
Or extend that to my own personal philosophy: magery is a taint you are born with - and that's terrible but it happens and it must be addressed by the fire for the person to be saved. It's absolutely awful that people have to die to be saved, but there is no other way, and if you don't save them they'll be lost for eternity. As I've said in Rp before, it's like cutting off a diseased limb to save a patient's life: you inflict pain in the short term, and something is irrevocably lost (the life), but something far greater is saved (the afterlife).
What is the 60 or so years that someone could live on Urth compared to the infinity you could have with the Lord? How could you EVER justify protecting the former at the cost of the latter - especially when it's somebody you love? The only moral thing to do is to be strong and save them by sending them to the pyre.
5) Trials, sins and cleansing suffering - this isn't necessarily 'canon' but it may help you make your RP work
I consider the heart of Davist theology to be the idea of trials, sin and cleansing suffering. That is, life is a series of trials that are difficult and miserable, designed to make you fall from your faith and love for the Lord. (This fits the cruelty of TI's medieval-esque world, which is full of disease and death even beyond magery and heresy.) The more trials you face and conquer without losing your faith, the greater surety you have of joining the Lord after death.
If you fail a trial... well, you're only human so of course you will eventually. To expiate that black mark on your soul, you must be cleansed in a way that causes you enough suffering to make up for your wrong. One could also OOCly consider this as a method that the church developed because it works psychologically: suffer and your guilt goes away. So cleansing has a very real success rate in handling feelings of sinfulness.
Magery is the ultimate trial: if you surmount this trial by turning yourself in to be burned, you are honored beyond belief in the next life. But most people are unable to bear this trial, and must be saved by the hard work of others. Therefore, sheltering a loved one because they are a mage is a terrible sin because 1) you've damned them to eternity cast out from the Lord and 2) you have failed a trial, also damning yourself.
1) Immerse yourself in the idea of your character's world
People may think they can't play a good Davite because Davism doesn't feel logical. Why would you believe that mages have to be burned to go to the Lord? There's no evidence and no proof for something like that.
But IRL, people subscribe to a huge range of religions that have no evidence or proof either. Why? Well, there are a dozen reasons. For those who choose a religion later in life: because the religion meets a psychological need, or simply feels right and true. For those who have been born into a religion, however? To look at it purely from a sociological perspective: because these religions are a part of their culture and worldview and everything around them is inculcated with them. No less is Davism a part of the social fabric of Lithmore.
People are raised Davist. They go to Mass from an incredibly early age. They're taught the Church's precepts even before they can read - probably many people have only read one book in their life in TI's world, and that's the Erra Pater. Their entire life they've raised knowing these things. And these things get confirmation - plenty of mages turn against the Church, or even against everybody.
Yes, a sophisticated philosophical view can point out that people who are treated as villains become villains so no wonder mages turn their anger on people who never harmed them, but it's worth repeating that your PC has almost certainly grown up steeped in these teachings. Only scholars in TI's world tend to examine their religious views that closely. If you want to play a scholar of religion... well, consider point 4)!
2) Remember that the actual truth of the matter is unknown even OOCly.
Even beyond questions of mere indoctrination, Davism has MORE proof than any real-world religion because magic - the thing it abhors - is real. TI is a place of strange, otherworldly forces and nobody, not a single person, knows what actually happens to the soul after death in it. Davists could very well be right. It is completely possible that you do have to burn a mage to save their soul, because the world of TI isn't driven purely by scientific rules of nature but also all sorts of weird occult stuff. Of course, it is equally possible that it's not true, so one could argue that logic favors not believing. But keep in mind - many of Davism's superstitions are actually facts in the TI world...
3) Embrace and embody the good sides of Davism as well.
You don't have to play a bad, hateful character to play a devout Davite. Many Davites are perfectly good people, and it's worth noting that the Church is a tremendous force for good. It takes huge tithes - and spends that money on a massive outpouring of charity. Religion doesn't mean having to be judgmental, cruel and unpleasant.
If you hear about people sinning, sure, you might glare and disapprove. But it's also acceptable RP to sigh, suggest they go to a confessor and earnestly pray for their soul that they find the right path. It's totally okay to be nice without condoning sin.
4) You DON'T have to roleplay hating mages and believing all mages are terrible.
That said, yes, if you play a devout Davite and you find out somebody is a heretic or a mage, you have to turn them in or become a heretic yourself. And believe me, I know as well as anyone how much this SUCKS. There's guilt and discomfort that can make it hard to justify why your character, a good person, is taking actions that will lead to somebody else's death. But you have options:
a - You can indeed RP hating dem evil mages if you're comfortable with that. As I said earlier and Temi even before me, there is no dearth of examples of evil mages. The Flood, known to be the work of a demon-summong mage, killed 37,000 people.
b - If you're sitting there saying "Well, just because one mage isn't bad doesn't mean they're all bad!" - well. Yep. I faced that same problem myself with following #1. It's also Church doctrine that magery corrupts - that practicing it darkens the soul. So you might believe that mages inevitably BECOME evil by practicing their art. This is backed up by Rasim's awesome stuff.
Or extend that to my own personal philosophy: magery is a taint you are born with - and that's terrible but it happens and it must be addressed by the fire for the person to be saved. It's absolutely awful that people have to die to be saved, but there is no other way, and if you don't save them they'll be lost for eternity. As I've said in Rp before, it's like cutting off a diseased limb to save a patient's life: you inflict pain in the short term, and something is irrevocably lost (the life), but something far greater is saved (the afterlife).
What is the 60 or so years that someone could live on Urth compared to the infinity you could have with the Lord? How could you EVER justify protecting the former at the cost of the latter - especially when it's somebody you love? The only moral thing to do is to be strong and save them by sending them to the pyre.
5) Trials, sins and cleansing suffering - this isn't necessarily 'canon' but it may help you make your RP work
I consider the heart of Davist theology to be the idea of trials, sin and cleansing suffering. That is, life is a series of trials that are difficult and miserable, designed to make you fall from your faith and love for the Lord. (This fits the cruelty of TI's medieval-esque world, which is full of disease and death even beyond magery and heresy.) The more trials you face and conquer without losing your faith, the greater surety you have of joining the Lord after death.
If you fail a trial... well, you're only human so of course you will eventually. To expiate that black mark on your soul, you must be cleansed in a way that causes you enough suffering to make up for your wrong. One could also OOCly consider this as a method that the church developed because it works psychologically: suffer and your guilt goes away. So cleansing has a very real success rate in handling feelings of sinfulness.
Magery is the ultimate trial: if you surmount this trial by turning yourself in to be burned, you are honored beyond belief in the next life. But most people are unable to bear this trial, and must be saved by the hard work of others. Therefore, sheltering a loved one because they are a mage is a terrible sin because 1) you've damned them to eternity cast out from the Lord and 2) you have failed a trial, also damning yourself.
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