Religion is a divisive topic at times, but in D&D there are ways you can make it essential to worldbuilding. Today I will be focusing on Purify Food and Drink, a spell as a DM I have overlooked but can be used in worldbuilding very effectively. It alone can create an entire relationship between Clerics and Monks, either working with or against each other.
Alcohol, and Drink
In ancient times brewing alcohol was seen as essential. It could purify drinking water and allow the villagers to drink without worry of disease. But, with this spell, this is something you don’t have to worry about as much. With a Cleric in the village, you have a ritual source of clean food. You can ignore a lot of the diseases that plagued small villages with this.
What it Doesn’t Fix
Rotten and spoiled food. These will not be fixed with Purify Food and Water. It rids diseases and poison, but it doesn’t reverse the natural decay of time. This means that creatures threatening crops and cattle still work. A basilisk on the fringes of the village killing cattle is a threat, after all, any Cleric can cast Purify Food and Water.
How To Add this In
Each small village that has a Cleric, is healthier than ones that don’t. Describe how it is more populated, people are a little happier than the last dingy town that loses tens of people a year to disease. This can also add to a simple feeling of the church having a reason to exist. People worship yes, but people would still doubt.
With something like this, however, you have an extra reason to believe. The Cleric also gets a measure of power, you have an evil Cleric secretly worshipping devils? The townspeople don’t care. If you kill their only source of clean food and water, they will run the PC’s out of town. This isn’t something new either, Monks especially were known for brewing good alcohol in the middle ages.
Monks and Monestaries
This also gives a new purpose to Monks. Many people don’t have many monasteries in worldbuilding even in most official adventures. However, if you want there to be a decent spattering of Monasteries, base them around religion and alcohol. Real-life is often the best place to find inspiration for things like this.
Have traveling Monks that are wise, but don’t forget to add in the one’s carting beer to the villages or hamlets. Some of them are too small to have a Cleric, and instead rely on traveling Monks to bring them clean drinks.
Clerics VS Monks
The Monks who are not graced with the divine power of their gods could have a believable conflict with the Clerics, or work in tandem. It all depends on what exactly you’re looking for in your worldbuilding. I think it adds an interesting dynamic if they’re competing, the people who read the word and study it, versus the people who are naturally chosen and blessed. Two sides that compete for people’s needs.
This continually pushes the Monasteries into more remote regions, as Clerics are found in more civilized regions. A town founded not too far from a major settlement will have Clerics, but a frontier town will rely on a monthly delivery from a Monk.
So, if Clerics and Monks can’t live in unison easily, then what rivalry should they have? Some may get along fine. Others, especially any Clerics that push the frontier may not be welcomed in the monasteries.
Alcohol in Towns
Now we have two variations of this. Monasteries could integrate into the towns and villages, making breweries. Or normal people could make their own variations of alcohol as well. Just like other classes having access to Purify Food and Drink can make variations of the type of setting.
I see the relationship between Brewers and Monks to be a more amicable one. The brewers sate the needs in the big cities and the Monks on the fringe. In certain cases, they could even exchange recipes. But I see no reason why they would argue or fight often, they both make alcohol and like drinking it. Maybe an aggressive brewing company is trying to expand and hurt the Monk’s business? But they both serve the same purpose in two widely different settings.
The Quest’s
You can make many interesting quests using this idea. A group of bandits is now raiding the Monks’ supply line, and the villagers hurriedly contract the band of intrepid adventures to stop the vile bandits and get their booze back! Or, a Cleric is secretly worshipping Asmodeus, and summons’s small imps that plague the town. The elders of the village know this but let it happen, as they rely on him for their food.
The list goes on and on, but this is just the most basic of ideas. The fact that an idea this simple can lead to so many quests really show’s the strengths of our hobby.
The First of Many
To start worldbuilding, all it takes is a simple idea. The current world I am building takes place years after humanity’s fall. I don’t know if this idea will translate into it, or if it will be a part of the past. What it was like before the other races rose up and destroyed humanity. But every good world starts with an Idea. And this is my Idea, one of many.
I am currently working on three posts, a follow up to One Piece D&D, expect that next, a general rundown of my newest campaign Idea, and an article related to the gods of that world. Thanks for reading!
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