From: Alex Ferguson (alex@dcs.gla.ac.uk)
Date: Fri 15 Jul 1994 - 23:04:52 EEST
Sandy:
> In my campaign today, the cult of Elmal is a "lost" religion,
> waiting to be reawakened or discovered. Only the Lhankor Mhy sages
> even know of its existence, and most people, including most
> Yelmalions, assume that Yelmalio has "always" been the sun god of the
> high country.
I don't adhere to this course myself, but I Highly Commend it to those people feeling Hosed/Tinkered/Switcherooed/Gregged/Bolluxed Up/Other by Mr. Stafford's latest brainchild. I'm 99% certain that the Cult Of Greg's spirit of reprisal does not act in such instances. Or at any rate, I've not heard from any survivors if it does.
> Klyfix:
> >I suspect that those famed illuminated Humakti broos would be more
> >honorable than many humans. even an illuminated broo priestess of
> >Chalana Arroy will be pacifistic and compassionate.
> Why would you possibly suspect this? By both nature and
> nurture, a broo is the inverse of honorable by any human standards.
This ignores, however, the alleged philosophical and psychological effects of illumination, for both chaotic and non-chaotic beings. "Freeing them [the latter] from their hate", as Lunar propaganda would have it. While such change is purely internal, and mental, I don't think it's negligible: after all, illuminates recognise each other by their _behaviour_, not by any direct magical or inherent means.
Mind you, I'm sure many people do become illuminated from (or despite having) cynical motives. I'd put not only power-crazed chaotics in this category, but also "anti-illumination" Arkati, becoming illuminated in order to prevent or monitor others doing so. (Sandy's cult of St. Arkat takes all the fun out of this, note, and I'd play that joining this cult is conditional on, or synonymous with, becoming illuminated.) Then add in all the people who are illuminated for "good" reasons, or inadvertantly, and are then subsequently Led Astray by the temptations...
The Hellwooders aren't (written as being generally) illuminates, though. I'd say their worship of Aldrya was not so much "cynical", as just highly warped. When your whole nation worships in the same "abusive" way, whether it offends against the CoP description becomes somewhat academic.
I did quite like the Krjalki material in Dorastor: it combines the "chaos horror" and "traitor" aspects quite neatly. My main quibble would be that only "advanced" Hellwood elves are presented as worshippers, while it'd much more sense to me that rather more were co-opted to such worship, and that the "Krjalki" themselves would get reusable rune magic.
> An illuminate must still obey the requirements to enter a
> cult. Only afterwards can he abuse it.
Depends what sort of "requirement" you have in mind. I'd think being illuminated would certainly help out with divinations concerning past actions or status, as well, obviously, as letting "chaotics" join non- or anti-chaotic cults. It's not gonna help you with pretending to be a troll if you're an elf, or a master of Animal Lore if your zoological knowledge stops at "It was kinda big and hairy". Likewise, I don't think Illumination helps you get away with conduct offensive to your cult once you're in it: the other _people_ in your cult, more particularly.
The description of Belvani in Sun County is puzzling to me: he seems to ignore the "social" mores of his cult (his weapons and his opinions), while obeying the magical ones (his geases and the like). Just confused, I reckon.
Alex.
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