From: Michael Cule (mikec@room3b.demon.co.uk)
Date: Wed 05 Apr 2000 - 02:11:06 EEST
I divided up initiation into three parts. There were most of the women
who went off to do the Earth woman initiation. (In fact looking back on
it this should already have happened in Earth Season.)
Then there were the men and the adventurer type females. They were told
that there were two possible paths they could follow: the path of
Orlanth or the path of Heort depending if they wished to imitate those
who went with Orlanth to Hell or those who stayed and guarded the stead.
They were also told that the path of Heort was easier but less likely to
reward them spectacularly or lead to the cults other than Orlanth. All
of my players (with one cringing unwillingly) chose to go with Orlanth.
(If they had gone with Heort I would have used Jane Williams' excellent
guide to the quest to the Starheart. They would have earned just one
spirit spell at initiation.)
There was one female character who wanted to go with them. She was told
that Vingans normally went on the path of Heort but I decided to use an
Orlanthi all for the purpose of keeping my party unified.
They were then given the drugged mead and armed in cuirbolli and bronze
helms and given a selection of weapons (spear, axe, sword, javelin and
so on) as the priests read from THE ARMING OF ORLANTH. They were then
sent out of the stead with much drumming and shouting.
And when their heads cleared from the drugged mead they found themselves
on a black plain with stormclouds overhead. Listen rolls. And they hear
a man and a woman arguing. As the initiands approached they both turn to
them and cry "My Lord, I request your Justice!" They notice the woman
has a child with her and are reminded of the Six Virtues of Orlanth.
The judgement they have to make is in a case copied from KoDP. The man
has discovered that his wife has born a child not his. He was warned of
her pre-nuptial affair with another but thought this a tactic for
lowering her Bride Price.
(They did rather well at this, both enquiring into Law and offering a
reconciliation based on Honour and Hospitality.)
The satisfied party (in their case the wife) then says to them: "Look
over there and you will find friends to guide you on your way."
Beneath a tree they find a scroll, which contains THE WESTFARING from
the Lightbringers Quest (which is what they are re-enacting) and a
quarterstaff tipped with an Issaries rune. (In my Glorantha they have
already got a 5% RW Sartarite.) Tapping the staff on the ground causes
the path they have to follow to be briefly illuminated. They go on and
enter a dark forest.
They next encountered the puniest Dragonsnail I could generate who had
the Chaotic Befuddle ability which could have been turned back on him by
using their nice polished shield. A nice fight ensued in which one
player (the cringing one) ran into the forest and got himself lost (and
had to be found again with a critical tracking roll).
They next came to a Dark Troll being pushed back towards a cliff by a
group of zombies with mauls. They aided him rather than going on in
safety and helped him throw the zombies off the cliff. They were badly
wounded at this point but the troll healed them and asked if the
cringing character was food as he was feeling peckish. Sadly they said
they had to let him go on with them.
A little way on they found a flask wrapped in green and white ribbons
which contained a Healing potion as a token of meeting Chalana Arroy.
They then saw in the distance a group of people with torches around a
tree in which dangled a figure they recognised as the clan Trickster,
Brigpice. The people were dressed in black and white robes with Law
runes on the hem and seemed hostile to Brigpice. The cringing player was
in favour of talking to them. The others pushed him forward and he
distracted them with debate about Logic and Theology while the others
cut the Trickster down, grappled him as he tried to hop away and made
their escape. (Guess which cult is really interested in this fast-
talking foolish coward?)
After much whining and protest ("You don't wanna go there! You don't
want to do that!") the Trickster showed them to a cave. At the end of
the tunnel was a cave with a deep drop and a stone pillar in the centre
of it about which whirled the winds. On top of the pillar was a golden
crown. Someone pointed out that Piety (one of the above mentioned
virtues) had not yet been tested and on a Cult Lore roll I told them of
the practice of testing your faith in Orlanth by throwing yourself off
Kero Fin and letting the winds carry you. They resolved to jump
together. All did but the aforementioned cringing coward. They all
(all!) failed their jump rolls. I then let them roll POW x 5% in
descending order of POW. The one who made it first got a POW gain roll
and they were carried by the winds up to a ledge on the pillar. By my
fudging things (cowardly of me: I should have killed him) the one who
didn't jump got a second chance and rejoined them. They raised the crown
(bearing the runes Sun and Mastery) together and light flooded back into
their world.
They found themselves on the hills to the east of the Greydog Inn as the
sun both rose in the East and in their hands. Below them to the west
they could see the Heort path initiates rising up from their battle with
the inhabitants of the Marsh and the person who made a critical also
spotted people packing away black and white robes marked with Law runes
and Brigpice staggering back to the Inn for his morning drink.
And then they were back in the mundane world and the crown was only a
wooden replica gilded with gold foil. And they were adults of the tribe.
*****
And for next week: Has anyone done a list of canon (i.e. printed)
Orlanthi/Sartarite names?
- --
Michael Cule
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