Queen Cristanos

[SK_Lafree]

<p>I was wondering is their any additional Lore around Queen Cristanos other then what is on the wiki?  That she sealed Neriak, created the Arasai and thinks she is a goddess?</p><p>Where did she get that huge avatar life familiar?  Is one of the gods yanking her chain with that?  Has she been involved in any past live events?</p>

[Pyra Shineflame]

<p>There was a lore story about her reaction to the Shard of Hate opening, as well as the circumstances surrounding the Darklight Pact between her and Lucan (one condition was to take Opal off her hands but not to do so publicly). There is the old stuff, such as the Battle of Cauldron Hollow where she attempted to have her son killed. And about the goddess thing, there is that scroll in the K'Lorn library that the factions are arguing over and when the priest claims that it should go to Inny because Cristanos is no god, the Dead say "Not yet." So maybe it's not much of A God Am I but more of a I WILL be one. She hasn't really been involved so far...which is disappointing.</p>

[SK_Lafree]

<p>Yea disapointing is the word.  Thanks though for the info.  I really wish there was more.</p><p>(Nice TV Tropes reference.)</p>

[Kamimura]

<p><cite>SK_Lafreeze wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p>Where did she get that huge avatar life familiar?  Is one of the gods yanking her chain with that?  Has she been involved in any past live events?</p></blockquote><p>If I remember correctly, she is one of two (at least in Neriak) who can summon that type of familiar from.. the plane of hate, I believe? There is a necromancer who is teaching a group of students out back of the palace, she summons a similar familar while saying only she and the queen have the power to do that.Ah, she does.. "Constructs of Hate from the third sphere are incredibly difficult to summon. Only the Queen and myself have mastered this feat."</p>

[SK_Lafree]

<p>Ahhhh that is why they look so similar to Inny's avatar!</p><p>I really, really apreciate you tell me.  I've just started this game and I am soooo far behind on the Lore and when you check the Wiki sites it bascially tells you nothing about the back story of an NPC when you look them up.</p><p>Many thanks!</p>

[Meirril]

<p>As kind of related information: the gods took a 500 year trial seperation from Norrath to fix the damage adventurers caused to their planes of existance. Having your avatar punched in the face daily tends to do that.</p><p>While the gods were away, certain people got the idea in their head that they would take their place. Cristanos, Lucan D'Leer and Veneril Sathier openly stated they were gods and demanded worship from their followers. Veneril was slighly more successfull than the others in his fabrication of Sylok (a universal soul of the Iksar race which does lend him an incredible amount of power). We have yet to see if Cristanos or Lucan have actually gained any odd abilities from their "worship".</p><p>Cristanos is probably in the most tenuious position of the three. Quite simply, the father of their race has returned and the entire Teir'Dal race is waiting to see if Cristanos is going to get smote for her decleration. Some factions are positioning themselves to take advantage of her fall, and possibly to cause it. Others are throwing themselves in with Cristanos simply because it is too late to distance themselves from her. Nobody is questioning her authority as Queen, so the best bet for her opposition is to wait for Innorruk himself to take action. In a way, every day that Cristanos continues to breath free and rule Nerriak is proof of her Divine claim. After all, Innorruk hasn't smote her for ursurping his followers.</p><p>Or it could be causing greater hate, thus pleasing Innorruk? Wheels within wheels turn.</p>

[SK_Lafree]

<p>Lucan seriously declaired himself a god?  Geeze I guess I missed that what with me arriving right when someone takes him out.</p><p>Hmm how does Inny feel about her new Unselee race?  The Asarai seem to worship Cristanos rather then Innorruk.  (Which I totally think should be an ingame option for characters in Neriak.)</p>

[Cusashorn]

<p><cite>SK_Lafreeze wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p>Lucan seriously declaired himself a god?  Geeze I guess I missed that what with me arriving right when someone takes him out.</p><p>Hmm how does Inny feel about her new Unselee race?  The Asarai seem to worship Cristanos rather then Innorruk.  (Which I totally think should be an ingame option for characters in Neriak.)</p></blockquote><p>Yeah pretty much. When Lucan took over Freeport, it was well acknowledged by that point that the gods had withdrawn their presence from Norrath. He declared that anyone who lives in Freeport is free to worship any god, but they must worship him first and foremost. To place any other diety above him would be grounds for severe punishment.</p><p>I don't know how Innoruuk feels about the Arasai race, but the lore we got when the Shard of Hate opened up can be summed up like this:</p><p>Dark Elf scientist: "Something is happening in Nektulos Forest. His presence is returning! The forest seems as if it's alive with pure hatred! We must tell the Queen."</p><p>Advisor: "Your majesty, Innoruuk's presence has returned, and he's come back to reclaim his children."</p><p>Queen Christanos: "OH CRAP! I am so screwed!"</p>

[Zabjade]

<p><span style="color: #00cc00;">He also had the mages(Druids?) under him cause rain that changed the commonlands slightly to have more rain, this was further changed when the Druid Ring became active and Sparks of Growth appeared.</span></p>

[SK_Lafree]

<p><cite>Cusashorn wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p>I don't know how Innoruuk feels about the Arasai race, but the lore we got when the Shard of Hate opened up can be summed up like this:</p><p>Dark Elf scientist: "Something is happening in Nektulos Forest. His presence is returning! The forest seems as if it's alive with pure hatred! We must tell the Queen."</p><p>Advisor: "Your majesty, Innoruuk's presence has returned, and he's come back to reclaim his children."</p><p>Queen Christanos: "OH CRAP! I am so screwed!"</p></blockquote><p>Haha!  Thanks.  Well lets hope we get some more lore soon.  I'm loving this and Anashti Sul's storyline a LOT but I feel like they've only scratched the surface with Cristanos and the Asarai.</p>

[Lodrelhai]

<p><cite>SK_Lafreeze wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p>Lucan seriously declaired himself a god?  Geeze I guess I missed that what with me arriving right when someone takes him out.</p><p>Hmm how does Inny feel about her new Unselee race?  The Asarai seem to worship Cristanos rather then Innorruk.  (Which I totally think should be an ingame option for characters in Neriak.)</p></blockquote><p>While it makes sense from a story/rp perspective to allow folks in Neriak to worship Cristanos, it doesn't really fall in with the diety mechanics.  She doesn't grant blessings or miracles, and what would be her pet?  An arasai in their little pixie form?</p><p>I'd view worshipping her in the same way as worshipping the Nameless - strictly an RP choice.  Make an altar to her in your house (there's one in her throne room where the arasai leave gifts for her) and go for it.</p>

[SK_Lafree]

<p><cite>Lodrelhai wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p><cite>SK_Lafreeze wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p>Lucan seriously declaired himself a god?  Geeze I guess I missed that what with me arriving right when someone takes him out.</p><p>Hmm how does Inny feel about her new Unselee race?  The Asarai seem to worship Cristanos rather then Innorruk.  (Which I totally think should be an ingame option for characters in Neriak.)</p></blockquote><p>While it makes sense from a story/rp perspective to allow folks in Neriak to worship Cristanos, it doesn't really fall in with the diety mechanics.  She doesn't grant blessings or miracles, and what would be her pet?  An arasai in their little pixie form?</p><p>I'd view worshipping her in the same way as worshipping the Nameless - strictly an RP choice.  Make an altar to her in your house (there's one in her throne room where the arasai leave gifts for her) and go for it.</p></blockquote><p>Hey the devs are paid to figure out this sort of thing not me.  If I had all the answers I'd be working at Sony rather then posting on the their forums <img src="/eq2/images/smilies/283a16da79f3aa23fe1025c96295f04f.gif" border="0" /> but if they came to me and said "Lafreeze please give us a suggestion for this we think your noob ideas could be a big help" I'd say make a sort of demi-god class of deities that people could pick from instead of the normal gods for things like Cristanos and Lucan.</p><p>To reflect their not quite god status I'd probably have them hand out something like a special adornment or charm with one shot effects that can be recharge through more offerings basically giving them simulated blessings and miracles.  As for pets I'd probably give them DoT dumb fire or temp pet instead of the familiar like stat boost pets to give them a different but related feel to the true gods.</p><p>Obviously though the easiest thing to do would be to just have a storyline where Cristanos became a god and add her into the Pantheon in the next expansion if the devs really wanted to give people the option to worship her.  It would certainly be the least messy way to handle it but I get the feeling that she is probably not going all goddess storyline or otherwise at least in the near future given how under used she seems to be.</p>

[Cusashorn]

<p><cite>SK_Lafreeze wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p><cite>Lodrelhai wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p><cite>SK_Lafreeze wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p>Lucan seriously declaired himself a god?  Geeze I guess I missed that what with me arriving right when someone takes him out.</p><p>Hmm how does Inny feel about her new Unselee race?  The Asarai seem to worship Cristanos rather then Innorruk.  (Which I totally think should be an ingame option for characters in Neriak.)</p></blockquote><p>While it makes sense from a story/rp perspective to allow folks in Neriak to worship Cristanos, it doesn't really fall in with the diety mechanics.  She doesn't grant blessings or miracles, and what would be her pet?  An arasai in their little pixie form?</p><p>I'd view worshipping her in the same way as worshipping the Nameless - strictly an RP choice.  Make an altar to her in your house (there's one in her throne room where the arasai leave gifts for her) and go for it.</p></blockquote><p>Hey the devs are paid to figure out this sort of thing not me.  If I had all the answers I'd be working at Sony rather then posting on the their forums <img src="/eq2/images/smilies/283a16da79f3aa23fe1025c96295f04f.gif" border="0" /> but if they came to me and said "Lafreeze please give us a suggestion for this we think your noob ideas could be a big help" I'd say make a sort of demi-god class of deities that people could pick from instead of the normal gods for things like Cristanos and Lucan.</p><p>To reflect their not quite god status I'd probably have them hand out something like a special adornment or charm with one shot effects that can be recharge through more offerings basically giving them simulated blessings and miracles.  As for pets I'd probably give them DoT dumb fire or temp pet instead of the familiar like stat boost pets to give them a different but related feel to the true gods.</p><p>Obviously though the easiest thing to do would be to just have a storyline where Cristanos became a god and add her into the Pantheon in the next expansion if the devs really wanted to give people the option to worship her.  It would certainly be the least messy way to handle it but I get the feeling that she is probably not going all goddess storyline or otherwise at least in the near future given how under used she seems to be.</p></blockquote><p>That's the thing though: Neither Lucan or Christanos are gods. They're not dieties. They just rule with an iron fist and tell the citizens to worship them above all else. Yes, I know Christanos has a demon voice, but we have nothing to prove what that actually is.</p>

[SK_Lafree]

<p><cite>Cusashorn wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p><cite>SK_Lafreeze wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p><cite>Lodrelhai wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p><cite>SK_Lafreeze wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p>Lucan seriously declaired himself a god?  Geeze I guess I missed that what with me arriving right when someone takes him out.</p><p>Hmm how does Inny feel about her new Unselee race?  The Asarai seem to worship Cristanos rather then Innorruk.  (Which I totally think should be an ingame option for characters in Neriak.)</p></blockquote><p>While it makes sense from a story/rp perspective to allow folks in Neriak to worship Cristanos, it doesn't really fall in with the diety mechanics.  She doesn't grant blessings or miracles, and what would be her pet?  An arasai in their little pixie form?</p><p>I'd view worshipping her in the same way as worshipping the Nameless - strictly an RP choice.  Make an altar to her in your house (there's one in her throne room where the arasai leave gifts for her) and go for it.</p></blockquote><p>Hey the devs are paid to figure out this sort of thing not me.  If I had all the answers I'd be working at Sony rather then posting on the their forums <img src="/eq2/images/smilies/283a16da79f3aa23fe1025c96295f04f.gif" border="0" /> but if they came to me and said "Lafreeze please give us a suggestion for this we think your noob ideas could be a big help" I'd say make a sort of demi-god class of deities that people could pick from instead of the normal gods for things like Cristanos and Lucan.</p><p>To reflect their not quite god status I'd probably have them hand out something like a special adornment or charm with one shot effects that can be recharge through more offerings basically giving them simulated blessings and miracles.  As for pets I'd probably give them DoT dumb fire or temp pet instead of the familiar like stat boost pets to give them a different but related feel to the true gods.</p><p>Obviously though the easiest thing to do would be to just have a storyline where Cristanos became a god and add her into the Pantheon in the next expansion if the devs really wanted to give people the option to worship her.  It would certainly be the least messy way to handle it but I get the feeling that she is probably not going all goddess storyline or otherwise at least in the near future given how under used she seems to be.</p></blockquote><p>That's the thing though: Neither Lucan or Christanos are gods. They're not dieties. They just rule with an iron fist and tell the citizens to worship them above all else. Yes, I know Christanos has a demon voice, but we have nothing to prove what that actually is.</p></blockquote><p><span style="font-size: 9pt; color: #ffffff;">If the ancient Greeks could figure out how to simulate miracles with steam power and clockwork I happen to think Lucan and Cristanos could come up with something.  (Provided the developers wanted to take the series in that direction.)</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 9pt; color: #ffffff;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: 9pt; color: #ffffff;">At least in Cristanos's case she managed to wrestle up a sort of mini-avatar from the plane of hate so she is clearly already thinking in that direction.  Her familiar seems to me to be her best attempt to make herself a little stand in avatar to impress the small folk.</span></p><p><span style="color: #ffffff;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: 9pt; color: #ffffff;">But the developers don't seem to be very interested in going in that direction so it is a moot point.</span></p>

[DukeOccam]

<p>I think it would be pretty cool if people could "really" worship Cristanos or whatever else. I also think there should be a way to remain competitive while remaining agnostic/atheistic. I know the option to RP is there, but I think if they worked out a way to make atheism work (a series of quests with a cloak and pet as well as some substitute for miracles), then it would open up lots of other opportunities, including Cristanos, Lucan, or whatever else. The main hurdle would be figuring out what to do in place of blessings/miracles.My ranger's very independent...the thought of him kneeling before any deity just doesn't sit right. And yet there are so many benefits to be had by choosing a dps-friendly one.</p><p>Edit: Actually, I'll be interested to see what Theer does when he comes back. He's not technically a god as far as I'm aware, but the fact that he presents such a threat to the other gods makes him someone my Ranger might be willing to throw his lot in with. Maybe they could work out a way for him to be "followable."</p>

[denmom]

<p><cite>Cusashorn wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p> Yes, I know Christanos has a demon voice, but we have nothing to prove what that actually is.</p></blockquote><p>Too long breathing in stale cave air. <img src="/smilies/283a16da79f3aa23fe1025c96295f04f.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></p>

[The_Cheeseman]

<p>I fail to see any benefit (or even logic) in remaining atheistic in a setting where deities literally appear before you in person and display evidence of their power that is beyond reproach. Kinda seems like putting your hands over your ears and shouting "I'm not listening!" Seems to me that it's prudent to at least pay lip-service to the gods, just to make sure you don't annoy them, even if you don't choose to become an avid follower.</p><p>I also tend to divorce my character's role-playing back story from the actual game mechanics. My monk is a devout follower of Quellious, ever since his days among the Ashen Order in EQ1, but that hasn't stopped me from completing every deity quest line available to good-aligned characters, simply out of curiosity. It also doesn't stop me from swapping-deities as-needed when a given challenge I undertake calls for a certain miracle (I doubt I could have soloed Darathar without the extra regen granted by one of Karana's blessings, for example).</p>

[Cusashorn]

<p><cite>The_Cheeseman wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p>Seems to me that it's prudent to at least pay lip-service to the gods, just to make sure you don't annoy them, even if you don't choose to become an avid follower.</p></blockquote><p>Citizens all over Norrath and throughout it's history have always done just this. Members of the Qeynos Guard have asked Rallos Zek for blessing in battle even though they don't worship him. Druids pay respect to all of the gods of Nature, even if most of them follow Karana or Tunare for the most part.</p><p>I've done all the non-evil diety questlines as well for both curiosity and quest completion, but I went back to Quellious as my preference. It's a game mechanic that prevents us from having more than 1 diety. It'd be too overpowering for starters.</p>

[Meirril]

<p><cite>The_Cheeseman wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p>I fail to see any benefit (or even logic) in remaining atheistic in a setting where deities literally appear before you in person and display evidence of their power that is beyond reproach. Kinda seems like putting your hands over your ears and shouting "I'm not listening!" Seems to me that it's prudent to at least pay lip-service to the gods, just to make sure you don't annoy them, even if you don't choose to become an avid follower.</p><p>I also tend to divorce my character's role-playing back story from the actual game mechanics. My monk is a devout follower of Quellious, ever since his days among the Ashen Order in EQ1, but that hasn't stopped me from completing every deity quest line available to good-aligned characters, simply out of curiosity. It also doesn't stop me from swapping-deities as-needed when a given challenge I undertake calls for a certain miracle (I doubt I could have soloed Darathar without the extra regen granted by one of Karana's blessings, for example).</p></blockquote><p>The largest benifit to being an agnostic was when religions were polarized and you easily made enemies by which diety you worshiped. This was a huge issue for EQ1, but not so much in EQ2. In EQ1, dieties wern't good vs evil. It was "This diety opposes this list, and is opposed by that list". The lists were usually about 3 to 4 dieties long. In a setting where you had over a dozen different dieties that ment that each diety had a few enemies, not that they belonged to a side.</p><p>This was a bigger issue in cities that had both evil and good worshipers in them. Being agnostic ment that you could avoid some of the internal conflict built into a lot of cities. Now? Qeynos has purged its population of Necromancers, Shadow Knights, and the Circle of Unseen Hands. Freeport has purged itself of the Order of Truth, the Order of Marr, and kicked the Ashen Order out. Even the Steel Warriors were disbanded and the League of Antonican Bards is no more. It is a lot easier to understand who is your enemy and why now. Unfortunately, it is also impossible to gain the trust and respect of your enemies like you could in EQ1 where you could raise almost any faction.</p>

[DukeOccam]

<p><cite>The_Cheeseman wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p>I fail to see any benefit (or even logic) in remaining atheistic in a setting where deities literally appear before you in person and display evidence of their power that is beyond reproach. Kinda seems like putting your hands over your ears and shouting "I'm not listening!" Seems to me that it's prudent to at least pay lip-service to the gods, just to make sure you don't annoy them, even if you don't choose to become an avid follower.</p></blockquote><p>I think you have a point if you're talking about agnostic, but all "atheist" really means is "against god." In EQ2 I agree that there's no denying they exist, but it seems perfectly reasonable that someone wouldn't want to worship any of them, even for the "perks" or whatever. I sort of went back and forth in my terminology, but maybe from an EQ2 character's perspective, agnostic could mean they don't have any particular affiliation with one god, while atheistic could mean they specifically refuse to follow any of them.</p><blockquote>I also tend to divorce my character's role-playing back story from the actual game mechanics. My monk is a devout follower of Quellious, ever since his days among the Ashen Order in EQ1, but that hasn't stopped me from completing every deity quest line available to good-aligned characters, simply out of curiosity. It also doesn't stop me from swapping-deities as-needed when a given challenge I undertake calls for a certain miracle (I doubt I could have soloed Darathar without the extra regen granted by one of Karana's blessings, for example).</blockquote><p>I agree; I don't want to have to go without the benefits you get for worshipping a deity. Something just doesn't sit right with me that the gods were absent for so long, then when they come back everyone is supposed to begin worshipping one of them. This is why I'd like to see an alternative to worshipping a deity, where you can still get miracle-like effects without actually calling them miracles.</p><p>I'm not worried about choosing a deity based on RP; that's why my Ranger is currently a follower of Tunare. My original plan for him was to sort of follow in his ancestor's footsteps (I played a High Elf Paladin of Tunare in EQ1). Since then, though, my ideas have changed...and I don't particularly feel like he'd be the time of person to follow any deity.</p><p>I suppose I might try to choose a good-aligned one that is still good for a dps class (kind of sucks that the best dps ones seem to be evil-only), but I'd prefer to be able to remain atheistic (or whatever you want to call it) and still get those benefits.</p>

[Cusashorn]

<p><cite>Caethas@Permafrost wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p><cite>The_Cheeseman wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p>I fail to see any benefit (or even logic) in remaining atheistic in a setting where deities literally appear before you in person and display evidence of their power that is beyond reproach. Kinda seems like putting your hands over your ears and shouting "I'm not listening!" Seems to me that it's prudent to at least pay lip-service to the gods, just to make sure you don't annoy them, even if you don't choose to become an avid follower.</p></blockquote><p>I think you have a point if you're talking about agnostic, but all "atheist" really means is "against god." In EQ2 I agree that there's no denying they exist, but it seems perfectly reasonable that someone wouldn't want to worship any of them, even for the "perks" or whatever. I sort of went back and forth in my terminology, but maybe from an EQ2 character's perspective, agnostic could mean they don't have any particular affiliation with one god, while atheistic could mean they specifically refuse to follow any of them.</p><blockquote>I also tend to divorce my character's role-playing back story from the actual game mechanics. My monk is a devout follower of Quellious, ever since his days among the Ashen Order in EQ1, but that hasn't stopped me from completing every deity quest line available to good-aligned characters, simply out of curiosity. It also doesn't stop me from swapping-deities as-needed when a given challenge I undertake calls for a certain miracle (I doubt I could have soloed Darathar without the extra regen granted by one of Karana's blessings, for example).</blockquote><p>I agree; I don't want to have to go without the benefits you get for worshipping a deity. Something just doesn't sit right with me that the gods were absent for so long, then when they come back everyone is supposed to begin worshipping one of them. This is why I'd like to see an alternative to worshipping a deity, where you can still get miracle-like effects without actually calling them miracles.</p><p>I'm not worried about choosing a deity based on RP; that's why my Ranger is currently a follower of Tunare. My original plan for him was to sort of follow in his ancestor's footsteps (I played a High Elf Paladin of Tunare in EQ1). Since then, though, my ideas have changed...and I don't particularly feel like he'd be the time of person to follow any deity.</p><p>I suppose I might try to choose a good-aligned one that is still good for a dps class (kind of sucks that the best dps ones seem to be evil-only), but I'd prefer to be able to remain atheistic (or whatever you want to call it) and still get those benefits.</p></blockquote><p>There are no "Good DPS" deities. The Tribunal, Karana, and Bristlebane are the best options, and they're neutral.</p>

[Meirril]

<p><cite>Caethas@Permafrost wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p><cite>The_Cheeseman wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p>I fail to see any benefit (or even logic) in remaining atheistic in a setting where deities literally appear before you in person and display evidence of their power that is beyond reproach. Kinda seems like putting your hands over your ears and shouting "I'm not listening!" Seems to me that it's prudent to at least pay lip-service to the gods, just to make sure you don't annoy them, even if you don't choose to become an avid follower.</p></blockquote><p>I think you have a point if you're talking about agnostic, but all "atheist" really means is "against god." In EQ2 I agree that there's no denying they exist, but it seems perfectly reasonable that someone wouldn't want to worship any of them, even for the "perks" or whatever. I sort of went back and forth in my terminology, but maybe from an EQ2 character's perspective, agnostic could mean they don't have any particular affiliation with one god, while atheistic could mean they specifically refuse to follow any of them.</p><blockquote>I also tend to divorce my character's role-playing back story from the actual game mechanics. My monk is a devout follower of Quellious, ever since his days among the Ashen Order in EQ1, but that hasn't stopped me from completing every deity quest line available to good-aligned characters, simply out of curiosity. It also doesn't stop me from swapping-deities as-needed when a given challenge I undertake calls for a certain miracle (I doubt I could have soloed Darathar without the extra regen granted by one of Karana's blessings, for example).</blockquote><p>I agree; I don't want to have to go without the benefits you get for worshipping a deity. Something just doesn't sit right with me that the gods were absent for so long, then when they come back everyone is supposed to begin worshipping one of them. This is why I'd like to see an alternative to worshipping a deity, where you can still get miracle-like effects without actually calling them miracles.</p><p>I'm not worried about choosing a deity based on RP; that's why my Ranger is currently a follower of Tunare. My original plan for him was to sort of follow in his ancestor's footsteps (I played a High Elf Paladin of Tunare in EQ1). Since then, though, my ideas have changed...and I don't particularly feel like he'd be the time of person to follow any deity.</p><p>I suppose I might try to choose a good-aligned one that is still good for a dps class (kind of sucks that the best dps ones seem to be evil-only), but I'd prefer to be able to remain atheistic (or whatever you want to call it) and still get those benefits.</p></blockquote><p>It is funny. There is a small percentage of the population of EQ2 that forgoes all benifit from the diety worship system as a choice. They are the avatar raiding guilds. Every time you kill an avatar you take a faction hit. You need faction to get miracles. Either you sacrifice a ton of stuff every time you kill an avatar, or you just don't worry about it. The great majority just don't worry about it. They are handsomly rewarded in the form of equipment they can use each and every encounter instead of at most twice in an hour, and more realistically once in a blue moon.</p><p>The only time I reach for miracles on any of my characters is when I'm trying to solo something. In a group, it just doesn't seem like I'd need one.</p>