Religious Constraints (Rules)

This article is based on a discussion in rec.games.roguelike.development to which the following individuals contributed:

Michael Blackney [michaelblackney@hotmail.com]
Josh Fishman [fishman@ext.rlab.cs.nyu.edu]
Dani????l L????wenstein [dlowen@xs4all.nl]

• No cheat: will not try to scam people when buying/selling/trading items.
• No kill: will try not to kill other members of the same race.
• No kill any: will try not to kill other creatures of any race.
• Honour elders.
• No lie.
• No steal.
• No take: will not pick up objects from the ground.
• Fight evil: will attack who it conceives to be its enemies on sight.
• No retreat.
• No surrender.
• Caste: only speaks/interacts with others if they are of a similar social standing.
• No gluttony.
• No greed: will give away items if they think others need them more.
• No revenge.
• No fighting.
• Fair fighting: like the knights/samurai in Nethack.
• Silent.
• No trespassing: will understand not to enter others property uninvited, and will also not like others to enter their property uninvited.
• Poverty.
• No blood: will not use weapons which draw blood (swords, etc.)
• Monotheist: may only follow up to one god.
• No magic.

– Michael Blackney

• No stimulants (haste, might, speed potions)
• No poisoning others
• No consorting with demons (summoning, etc.)
• No “death magic” (necromancy or whatever)
• Vegetarianism (no meat)
• No medicine (potions of healing or whatever) (like Christ.Scientists)
• No going into debt (like Mormons)
• No unnecessary cruelty (napalm on the living, explosives, “pain” spells)
• No killing normal animals
• No ESP / Telepathy / other psionic powers / effects

– Josh Fishman

(From the classic religions)

• Taking a pilgrimage walk (with restrains like unarmed or with heavy religious objects) to a distant location
• Pray for at least “X” times a day (visit the church/temple each day/week)
• Sacrifice to the gods an amount of food equal to the amount you eat (half ration)
• Self mutilation for breaking any of the religious rules
• Crusade, kill everyone with a different religion (and destroy their temples)
• Scoring points for the afterlife, do quests for your god/priest, convert people to your religion and build temples

(From the New Age nonsense(with all respect of course)

• Only allow negative/positive energy in your aura (maintain a minimum distant from evil/good creatures)
• Eat only food you’ve grown yourself (don’t pick up any food in the dungeon, you don’t know where it’s been!)
• Put skill points/experience into stats that don’t have any benefits in the game (like soul and spirit)
• Don’t use a mobile phone (or any other object that contains evil/good magic energy)

– Dani????l L????wenstein

Ten Commandments (using the Orthodox division):

1. Monotheism, do not have any other gods
2. Do not make an idol or worship to idols
3. Do not make wrongful use of the name of your God
4. Keep the Sabbath day holy
5. Honor your parents
6. Do not murder/kill
7. Do not commit adultery
8. Do not steal or kidnap
9. Do not bear false witness (do not lie)
10. Do not covet anything belonging to your neighbor

Some additional ones:

• Do not kill members of a specific race/species/category
• You cannot carry more than a specific amount of items (or of a specific type of item)
• Don’t read or write
• Balance positive and negative energy (or balance Yin and Yang)
• No armor
• Do not cast spells on anyone other than yourself
• You must perform certain rituals in order to do certain actions, taking up time
• Do not eat unless you are starving
• Do not touch dead things (corpses)
• Do not fight someone who surrenders or is running away or isn’t hostile

– zzo38