I feel like it’s overlooked that there are religious elements in Lost Mine of Phandelver and Dragon of Icespire Peak, but no real guidance on how to portray them. And I’m not talking about Sister Garaele and her Shrine of Luck. I’m talking about elements that players struggle against, rather than benefit from.

For instance, the Anchorites of Talos. These are religious fanatics who believe destruction is sacred. Think about that. Each wanton act of violence and slaughter honors their god, Talos. Burning a village is sacramental. Slaughtering its people is a hallelujah. The kind of carnage that might inspire someone to lament to themselves, “So much death. What can men do against such reckless hate?”

It’s no easy task for Dungeon Masters to convey something like that in their games when there’s nothing more to an encounter with these cultists than rolling initiative and subtracting hit points.

One can build up to a showdown with the Anchorites of Talos by having the characters come across atrocities by those who venerate the God of Storms, such as farmsteads razed to the ground, with lightning graffiti scrawled across what little remains. Or the stories told by refugees who recount how murderous men and monstrous boars set upon their homes during the worst storm in recent memory, smashing, burning, and murdering anything or anyone who crossed their paths in the assault.

Wanton destruction. Storms. Lightning-themed graffiti. Any character proficient in Religion would recognize the works of those faithful to Talos.

Then, when the characters finally confront these evil religious zealots, there are the things that they say before it comes to a roll for initiative:

(In response to a distant rumble of thunder) “Hear that thunder? That is approval.“

“Your gods promise protection. Ours promises truth.”

“Destruction is purity.“

“We are the thunder’s chosen.“

“Every burned hovel is a hymn.“

“Civilization is a sandcastle waiting for the tide.“

“Mercy is the lie of clear skies.“

“All things fall. We simply hasten the fall.”

You don’t need a speech explaining the tenets of Talos. You need only a few things a rabid fanatic might shout before a fight to give the characters a glimpse of the madness they’re facing.

The pantheon of gods in Dungeons & Dragons can be hard to work into an adventure. But the gods or their power need only be on display through the works of their most ardent followers.

If you want to make religion more prevalent in your own game, consider making the gods something the characters oppose, rather than something they benefit from.

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