From the Book of The Teacher

[Lord Hemlock]

In my attempt to make my new game, I came up with the idea of an elder deity who's followers gain absolute knowledge.  There is a cost to that, but in the sense of the wording, it is absolutely true to gaining knowledge.  I'm trying to get a decent hold on the early texts of the teacher, the ones that would bring followers into the faith. 

An excerpt from the Book of The Teacher

"May he who desires knowledge come to me and learn through me.  Let his mind expand and his thoughts flow.  Let those who learn from me go and tell others of the gift they have received." 

The Enlightened Ones knew the will of The Teacher.  They spread through the land to teach the men of ignorance.  The men of ignorance did not take kindly to the Enlightened Ones.  They were persecuted, for they did not understand.  They hated, because they did not understand. 


For some reason this early stuff gives me a hard time writing it.  I've got the more meaty stuff, what happens to someone when they become an Enlightened One.  The ending of the Book of The Teacher is still rough as well.  Any thoughts or suggestions?

[Atelier]

I don't understand what's happening.

[Lord Hemlock]

I don't understand what's happening.

I'm trying to make a game with an occult aspect.  In order for me to do that, I have to create the mythos of the religion that will be the center point of the game.  This is essentially the "bible" for that religion.  I just need an idea of how to get a nice flow with the wording and ideas as to what the followers could have done or how they were persecuted or anything.

[Hernald]

Have you tried reading the New Testament?
The New International Version is fairly clear, The Gospel of John and the Book of Revelations are the most Occult.

[ruinwen]

History can be great inspiration. I wouldn't go for the Bible so much as to the rejected theologies. Gnostisism might be a good place to start, add some more paganism and/or buddhism. That might also give you ideas about persecution.

[Hernald]

Sure, it's all good. Could you recommend any specific texts/books to Lord Hemlock?

[Abisso]

In my attempt to make my new game, I came up with the idea of an elder deity who's followers gain absolute knowledge.  There is a cost to that, but in the sense of the wording, it is absolutely true to gaining knowledge.  I'm trying to get a decent hold on the early texts of the teacher, the ones that would bring followers into the faith.  

An excerpt from the Book of The Teacher

"May he who desires knowledge come to me and learn through me.  Let his mind expand and his thoughts flow.  Let those who learn from me go and tell others of the gift they have received."  

The Enlightened Ones knew the will of The Teacher.  They spread through the land to teach the men of ignorance.  The men of ignorance did not take kindly to the Enlightened Ones.  They were persecuted, for they did not understand.  They hated, because they did not understand.  


For some reason this early stuff gives me a hard time writing it.  I've got the more meaty stuff, what happens to someone when they become an Enlightened One.  The ending of the Book of The Teacher is still rough as well.  Any thoughts or suggestions?

"May he who seek enlightenment approach my glorious essence and be overwhelmed by my unchallenged wisdom. May his mind thrive and his soul embrace the whole universe. Let the knowledge of my power and glory spread throughout the world of mortals, and rejoice for you have been granted the most precious gift."

Consider that I'm not a native English speaker, but I hope my quick rewrite helps you understand the concepts. You should use more uncommon words and enrich them with adjectives. Don't be afraid to be verbose, and make good use of metaphors and paragons. Also, I think using archaic English would give a touch of "sacredness" to the hole thing.

I could suggest a thousand books. Just search for Occult texts, there's a lot out there. This is a good place to start your research: http://www.esotericarchives.com/esoteric.htm

An excerpt from the Heptameron: "I exorcise thee, O thou creature of fire, by him by whom all things are made, that forthwith thou cast away every phantasme from thee, that it shall not be able to do any hurt in any thing."

[Ezekiel]

Have you tried reading the New Testament?
The New International Version is fairly clear, The Gospel of John and the Book of Revelations are the most Occult.

I think that's a good idea if you're looking for inspiration regarding wording and language patterns. The problem with most pseudo-religious and prophetic writing in pop culture is that it sounds fake. The writers of the Bible or other ancient texts are not trying to sound mystical or spiritual -- they're just trying to communicate. But their writing reflects the language patterns of the ancient world, which sounds elevated and mystical to our ears.

If you are interested in looking to the Bible, I'd recommend the apocalyptic books like Revelation or Ezekiel as well as wisdom literature like Proverbs and prophetic books like Isaiah and Jeremiah. A good contemporary translation to also consider is the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV).

And as it has been recommended, you may want to look at some of the Gnostic gospels (like Thomas, Judas or Mary).  The Gnostics believed that esoteric or intuitive knowledge was the path of salvation from the material world, which they viewed as either corrupt or evil. Since your game involves hidden, secret knowledge (like the Gnostics) that may not be a bad way to go. 

[Ezekiel]

History can be great inspiration. I wouldn't go for the Bible so much as to the rejected theologies. Gnostisism might be a good place to start, add some more paganism and/or buddhism. That might also give you ideas about persecution.

Of course there's plenty about persecution in the Bible too. Jeremiah and Lamentations have long passages of lament because of the destruction of Jerusalem at the hands of the Babylonians. Revelation is a pastoral letter written in response to persecution that the churches in Asia Minor were experiencing and draws heavily from the Jewish apocalyptic tradition.

[Monsieur OUXX]

EDIT: Sorry for digging up. It's all Ezekiel's fault, your honor. ;-)

Have you tried reading the New Testament?

I think that's a good idea if you're looking for inspiration regarding wording and language patterns. The problem with most pseudo-religious and prophetic writing in pop culture is that it sounds fake.

Also, you could try inserting weird concepts/totems/references in your fake religion. Because, additionally to the "sounds fake" thing caused by the wording, there is also that problem that most fake religions are clearly inspired from Occidental/ recent monoteist religions (modern Judaism/Christianity/Islam).

But if, instead, your sacred texts suddenly started stating things like "See the newt. See its black and yellow skin. Your infinite knowledge must be like the newt's skin: Black, yellow and slimy", I can insure you that the gamer's mind would be blown by the unfamiliarity and the exotism.

You don't even need to explain, that's the cool part. Because most religious texts make no sense the first time you read them.

Frank Herbet's Dune is an excellent example of apparently silly rituals or worshippings that shake our notion of religion. In video games, some Myst bits also did that well (but not always, sometimes it was awfully cliché).

[Ezekiel]

Also, you could try inserting weird concepts/totems/references in your fake religion. Because, additionally to the "sounds fake" thing caused by the wording, there is also that problem that most fake religions are clearly inspired from Occidental/ recent monoteist religions (modern Judaism/Christianity/Islam).

But if, instead, your sacred texts suddenly started stating things like "See the newt. See its black and yellow skin. Your infinite knowledge must be like the newt's skin: Black, yellow and slimy", I can insure you that the gamer's mind would be blown by the unfamiliarity and the exotism.

This is good advice -- it's hard for us sometimes to break out of our cultural biases to create something entirely new and unfamiliar.

You may also want to think a bit about the dominant religion/philosophy that your occult group started in. One of the dynamics of many occult/sectarian groups is that they define themselves over and against a dominant culture and that rejection can be a rather powerful influence. A occult group that begins in a Buddhist culture or a Snake Deity culture could look very different from a group that emerges in a Christian culture.

[Khris]

This was dug up and Lord Hemlock hasn't been active since he posted this.
Maybe he'll come back though.

[Ezekiel]

This was dug up and Lord Hemlock hasn't been active since he posted this.
Maybe he'll come back though.

Oh yeah...I didn't realize what date it was.    I guess the critics lounge hasn't been that active lately.