The trick would be to make sure that they do have full authority and to choose a moral code that could be coloured by issues of death.
In Ditv we have:
Pride (injustice) > Sin (demons)> False Doctrine > False Priesthood > Hate and murder
In certain areas such as the Lismelda lands from Tales of the Reaching Moon, there could be such a strong threat from undead that it may be possible to portray all evil in this manner.
In a land where the moral code stands in guard against the creeping corruption of the grey area between life and death; sin could be seen as inviting in the restless dead; leading to departing from the moral code and leading a corrupted way of life; leading to twisted religious practices that now seem reasonable; eventually escalating to social breakdown and manifest undead.
Pride > Sin (restless dead) > Corrupted living > Non Sanctioned Worship > Manifest Undead.
It might seem easier to use chaos and more established religions like Orlanth/Ernalda, but I like the idea of a land so paranoid of zombies and vampires that they drift into strange and horrid propitiatory practices in a desperate act of appeasement, or corrupted ancestor worship that leads to unholy possession, or misguided fears of death leading to arcane life extension.
The possibilities may not be as limitless as Dogs, but to me it feels very consistent with Gloranthan themes.
Another possibility would be to create a hybrid DitV/HQ system. (They are close cousins already.) Remove simple contests and adapt Extended contests to support giving and provide fallout instead of success levels. Remove HPs or adapt them as purely a means of escalating conflict within ECs e.g. "you are loosing this exchange unless you spend a HP to escalate".
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