From: Loren J. Miller (MILLERL@wharton.upenn.edu)
Date: Wed 25 May 1994 - 15:06:47 EEST
As one of the prime instigators of the relative glorantha movement I
would credit its beginnings to a need to make it easier to play RQ in
Glorantha, not harder. If we have an absolutist Glorantha where
Orlanth (not Humakt, since he cut off all his ties and so his cult is
qualitatively different from other cults---it has no associate or
sub-cults---and so Humakt makes a bad example) is worshipped
identically everywhere then where am I if I write a fun scenario that
delves into a "mystery" of the Orlanth cult and want to publish the
scenario? If I use a publicly known "mystery" then it isn't a mystery,
is it? If I invent my own mystery, then I have just added to Orlanth's
cult, and very likely invented an incompatibility with other
campaigns. Once it gets published you are faced with a choice. If you
decide that Gloranthan cults are objective and uniform then you have
to rewrite the scenario or discard it. If you decide that Gloranthan
cults vary among different worshippers then you can use the scenario
without changing it and without changing the established facts in your
campaign.
In any case there are several pieces of evidence which support the theory that cults vary across the face of Glorantha.
1. There is a fundamentally different earth goddess for every region. 2. Heroquesting changes mythic truth. 3. Heroquesting requires community support for long-lasting changes.Communities are regional by their nature. 4. Some stories are only known in one place or among one group of people. What is a myth other than a true story? 5. Every worship service is a heroquest. (I think I was the first on this forum to state this flat out, but Greg said exactly the same thing at the RQ-Con Heroquesting seminar.) With constant worship there must be constant minor adjustments to the cult. These minor adjustments have to be local in effect, or it would get a lot uglier than regional variations as the cult would change precipitously every year.
Summing up, the relativistic Glorantha is a means to make it easier for game players in Glorantha, not harder. You can still use all the absolute facts you want, AND you can change them too.
whoah,
+++++++++++++++++++++++23 Loren Miller internet: MILLERL@wharton.upenn.edu "Enough sound bites. Let's get to work." -- Ross Perot sound bite ---------------------
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