(TFT) Difficult topics in Game World

["gem6868" <gem6868@verizon.net>]

"I don't even touch the "religion" bit with a 10 foot pole but rather leave 
that dynamic under the more obscure heading of "the Wizards Guild". Very 
little room for fun play if arguing theology the whole time... at least for 
me. Ergo I valiantly skip it altogether."

One thing to consider: a complete absence of religion is very unrealistic. 
It's a universal human pastime, and there are no human cultures that have 
ever existed or been "discovered" on planet Earth without it (whether shrub 
priests or highly complex sacrificial ones like in the Americas).

If your world is based on Europe high middle ages / Renaissance, then after 
food, clothing & shelter, it is the single most important occupation and 
cultural shaper.  A nice book, albeit a novel that could certainly 
accommodate some juicy dragons and magicians, is The Cornerstone by Zoe 
Oldenbourg and Edward Hyams.  Also, consider that the tension between magic 
and church can make for lots of interesting events.  You can certainly make 
up your own "anti-magic" religion (numerous Greek philosophers and 
authorities condemned magic as they knew it and its practice) and have that 
tension be a brake on the work of magicians simply taking over. (warning; 
Cornerstone has some pretty graphic scenes, that are also historically 
accurate).

Certainly there are difficult topics that any GM has to consider.  A good 
example: GURPS Greece has a section on homosexuality.  (No jokes please, 
we've already sworn off sheep jokes, and besides my Greek friends have 
probably already told me your favorite one).  It gives several different 
suggestions for approaching it in the game world.  However, it is a common 
cultural phenomena so the author chose not to avoid it.  Far as I'm 
concerned, that makes the book a more useful resource.  The role of women / 
female characters is also one that is consistently an issue.  Most GMs work 
around it by making their female one of those Eleanor of Acquitaine types, 
but let's consider that a dynasty doesn't allow it's most precious resources 
to wander around having dangerous adventures.  How does one "free females 
up"?  The only way is to not tie wealth to heredity.

Just a few thoughts that I think are important to world creation.
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