Humakti Status and Custom

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From: Martin Crim (CRIMMARTI@urvax.urich.edu)
Date: Fri 18 Jan 1991 - 09:56:33 EET 

                    HUMAKTI STATUS AND CUSTOM

        The central feature of the Humakti status system and the
customs of the Humakt cult is ritual boasting. Every time a Humakti engages in a fight, he must boast about it to his temple. The process runs like this: on every Godsday, all the temple gathers together. After a brief liturgy, the officiating Sword calls for boasters to come forward. (Because of the importance of the rite, Humakt never imposes the geas of Never Speak on Godsday.) One can, but need not, boast if one has not fought recently. The boasters come to the front of the hall, following a strict order of precedence in coming forward. Swords go first, beginning with the officiating Sword. Then Daggers (see notes below) boast. Then initiates may boast. Non-initiates may not boast.

        Within any of the three groups, the order of precedence depends on the swordsman's status, which in turn rests on what deeds he has boasted of. Humakti seem to have a feel for where they are in the precedence ladder. When conflicts occur, the assembled congregation chants the honor name of the one they think should go first. (Thus, it is important to have an honor name, and to have one that is easily chantable--see the note, below.) If the congregation divides, the officiating Sword places his sword between the two and touches it to the one who will go first.

        This precedence determines who among qualified candidates will be called to an open Dagger or officiating Sword position, allowed to lead a company of mercenaries, or given some other honor. See the note on Humakt's loot.

        Boasting has three salient characteristics. It is accurate, detailed, and poetic. It is also loud, so having a good speaking voice is important to advancing in the cult.

        Humakti demand accuracy in their boasting. This means telling the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Humakti have a special vocabulary for describing techniques, tactics, and all other aspects of combat. They use their swords to punctuate the boasting and, sometimes, to demonstrate particular actions.

        A description of a fight usually begins with a recitation of who the speaker is, whom he has fought (and killed) in the past, and who was with him when he fought. It often takes five times as long to describe a fight in the minute detail required as it took to fight it. The boaster ends with a summary of the outcome of the fight, what loot and prisoners were taken, and what scars he has to show. Winning the fight is good, but valiant fighting is more important.

        Everyone in the congregation accompanies the boasting by beating on a drum or a shield, and the boaster usually follows a standard meter. Alliteration and metaphor are the primary poetic elements. Advanced boasters employ metonymy and repetition, and employ flowery words. Musically gifted boasters will sing all or part of their boast.

        The value of a boast depends on the deeds boasted of and the boaster's adherence to the three characteristics of boasting. A certain amount of boasting is required to maintain one's status. That amount depends on how active the temple's members are. After a boast, one's friends evaluate the boast privately, and reexamine where the boaster ought to fall in the boasting hierarchy.

        "Stale boasting" refers to boasting about an event that the person has already boasted of. It usually only occurs with regard to very impressive acts, and if an initiate often engages in stale boasting, it usually signifies that he has retired. If a temple can only muster stale boasting, people take it to mean that it needs to attract more active initiates.

GAME MECHANICS: A successful boast requires a roll less than both the character's Speak [language] skill and his Orate skill. If he sings, he must make a separate Sing roll. If a character has an Orate skill below 5%, the temple will train him up to the 5% level for free. No one wants to listen to really inept boasting. A successful boast merits skill checks in all skills that succeeded.

NOTES Honor Names
One does not choose one's own honor name, although one can hint at what it should be. One's friends in the temple choose it, based on a particularly boast-worthy exploit or salient characteristic. Honor names tend to stick, unless the person does something to undo or outdo it.

Humakt's Loot
Certain Humakt holy items must remain in use but within the cult. Most iron, all items bearing Humakt spirits, and all weapons and armor bearing Humakt gifts are Humakt's loot. (Note that a Humakti who uses a gifted thing must observe the associated geas.) When the current owner dies, such items do not descend to his heirs. They return to the cult, where the Swords decide who shall receive them. Certain traditional rules keep the items divided amongst the Swords, Daggers, and initiates. If the owner becomes an apostate or even just inactive, the ownership reverts to the cult. If he does not return the property, the cult will send someone to take it. A successful Divination will always reveal the item's current location.

Daggers (Acolytes)
Each temple has a number of Daggers. The maximum is one for every fifty initiates. Daggers provide magical support in battle and maintain the temple, its sacred objects, and its writings. Temples vary in the financial ability to support a Dagger.

        A Dagger must have the following skills at 50% or better: a Sword Attack, Read/Write [whatever the temple's language is], First Aid, and Orate. In addition, he must have a POW of at least 10, 50 percentiles in ritual skills, and five points of Divine Magic from Humakt. He must pass the Test of Holiness, which requires a 500 p. fee and is abstracted as POW x 5%.

        A Dagger gains an allied spirit, whatever Humakt's loot his predecessor had, and his choice of armor and weapons from the armory. He may take one Gift and its associated Geas. He has all the other benefits and burdens of being an Acolyte.

omitted spells

        GoG omitted descriptions of two Humakt spirit spells, even though it mentions them in the Gifts and Geases table. 

Parry                                                    variable
Ranged, temporal, passive
Each point of this spell adds 5% to the parry skill used with the targeted shield or weapon. It also adds 1 AP to the item, which does not protect the item, just its user. 
Detect Undead                                             1 point
Ranged, temporal, active
Causes the caster's focus object (usually his sword) to point toward the nearest undead creature. Like other detect spells, it is blocked by solids 3 meters thick or thicker.

necessary spell

        This spell is key for Humakt, but could be important in other cults, as well. 

Transfer Blessing                                         1 point
ritual (ceremony)
Transfers any one Humakt gift, tied to one item, to another item. If no part of the original item is available, the caster's skill is halved for this ritual. If the roll fails, the gift cannot be transferred until the next holy day. If it fumbles, the gift is lost. If the ritual succeeds, the original item shatters, unless magically protected.

spell notes:
1. Turn Undead, on a failure, Demoralizes the target. This works even if the undead is not normally demoralizable. 2. Create Ghost is a Humakt Special Divine Spell. If the spirit belongs to a Humakti, the caster need not defeat it in spirit combat. The ghost of a Humakti will remain with and protect the regimental regalia, if created nearby.
3. Humakt does not teach Berserk.

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