Cults and Magic

From: johnjmedway (jjm@zycor.lgc.com)
Date: Mon 08 Nov 1993 - 23:38:09 EET



INITIATION



>> Sam Phillips cleverly disguised as J.Ditton@vme.glasgow.ac.uk
>> X-RQ-ID: 2166
>>
>> Personally I see nothing wrong with two power sacrifices. For each one
>> you get cult skills, cult spells *and* faith, freinds & family. Power
>> sacrifice is just to represent devotion, a magical emotional tie. I

I have to agree with this. POW gains have not been very cheap in the past few games I've played, and they're not going to be cheap in the game I'm running now. Nevertheless, a point of POW sacrificed to initiate into a pantheon seems reasonable. Another point to establish a more specific relationship with a god/ sect seems like a fairly minor deal.

>> From: 100270.337@CompuServe.COM (Nick Brooke)
>> X-RQ-ID: 2180
>>
>> Chatting with Steve Thomas, and we thought maybe the simple solution was
>> that initiation into the god of your culture, people and religion (opposed
>> to Cult) was free on reaching maturity. This gives an advantage to people

This work in much the same way ( though cheaper! ). In that more initiates into the oddball cults (as opposed to the pantheon or its leader) will be the oddballs who have higher than normal POW. I'd say that it makes some sense for them, as they start off different level of connection to the world, and would be more likely to chart a different course.

DIVINE INTERVENTIONS



>> From: graeme.lindsell@anu.edu.au (Graeme A Lindsell)
>> X-RQ-ID: 2179
>>
>> Re appropriate DI's: if we were to limit people to those DI's
>> that are within the power of their god, then should PCs be
>> able to DI to associate gods in their pantheon? This might

This or similar sounds like a good one. There should be a difference, though, between calling on the rest of the gang. I'd say it should be possible, but either made more difficult, or of lesser effect. We need to keep some spiritual gain from initiation into a specific cult within a pantheon.

>> From: 100270.337@CompuServe.COM (Nick Brooke)
>> X-RQ-ID: 2180
>>
>> Maybe part of the answer is that POW lost to gain Divine Intervention is
>> set aside by your God for your use in the afterlife, but isn't of any use
>> to you in mortal existence (i.e. Ever). This way, someone who'd DI'd
>> several times in life, and attracted his deity's attention a lot, would be
>> looking forward to a really nice time after death. Saves this biz about
>> "Those whom the Gods love, die young with shrivelled up souls and no real
>> prospects".

Nice rationalization. It did always seem odd that you expended the good-will of your deity when serving his causes.

>> From: paul@phyast.pitt.edu (Paul Reilly)
>> X-RQ-ID: 2188
>>
>> The other PC's were amazed to see the horrible transformation of the Voria
>> priestess into a shrieking axe-wielding (All the Earth temples have a sacred
>> axe over the entrance, even Voria) maniac. Even the dice cooperated - as
>> she ran around attacking the outlaws (w/ Axe Trance and Slash) we always
>> seemed to roll location 9, (lower abdomen), appropriate for a BG avenger.

But when the dust and body parts settled, was she again a Voria priestess?

CULT MAGIC



>> From: drcheng@sales.stern.nyu.edu (David Cheng)
>> X-RQ-ID: 2187
>>
>> Disclaimer: I am very willing to be a heavyhanded GM when it comes to
>> rules rape like this. "Orlanth asks you why you want that 5th point
>> of Extension, when you have only one point of Divination, and no Cloud
>> Call at all."

Of course!

>> Of course, with RunePower, you don't sacrifice for specific spells...

Hmm, using RunePower, how is a characters *use* of 5 points in an extension questioned/kept in check if they'll not have enough left over for SunRipen or some other culturally useful spells.



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