From: HEDDERLE (duncan.hedderley@afrc.ac.uk)
Date: Fri 02 Sep 1994 - 13:38:12 EEST
Hi
First, a disclaimer: I'm coming back to RQ after about 10 years away (or at
least only in infrequent contact), so my opinions might be tinged with nostalgia
or convenient forgetfulness. However...
All this cult discussion (eg the Vinga thread) seems a bit too PRECISE for my
taste. We're talking about myths and symbols here, and all this highfalutin'
theology takes the magic and mystery away. Detailed delineations of the subcults
and lesser gods in a pantheon might be appropriate for the more regulated/
sophisticated cultures, but out in Dragon Pass/Prax I wouldn't be surprised
if I rode into a village and found they were interpreting Vinga or the Garzeen
aspect of Issaries completely differently (Well, I s'pose I WOULD be surprised,
and maybe a bit offended, but I SHOULD accept the possibility). I don't know
how you'd fit this in with the RULES - either the cults have to take on a
more social aspect (OK, Vinga cult protects and supports it's type of people,
even if it doesn't have some unique magics to offer - just the usual stuff
available to all more-or-less Orlanthi), or to make them both flexible and
magically distinct we'd need some guidelines for Heroquesting (so that once
you've got your own interpretation of Vinga, you can go out and cook up - or
rather, try to get from/thru her Spirit - a Unique Magical Sales Package
((Gives an entirely new meaning to Medicine Bundle to all you economists out
there!)) ) - or alteratively some GM flexibility.
This also sems to stray onto the Decent Thief Cult thread - a thief cult
(with special magics for nicking stuff) seems unlikely (it doesn't fit into
the social ecology); but in a world like Glorantha there must be magics which
will help a thief (or there aren't many thieves!), so how do they get them?
Through spirit cults like the Black Fang maybe (could a powerful gangster
hire a shaman to track down a spirit to teach him some magical trick?), or
as a side-effect of hellraising cults like Orlanth Adventurous/Vinga. Niche
cults like Lanbril seem a bit unlikely (especially since RQ 3 tightened up
the requirements for recovering runemagic - somehow the idea of a Lanbril
temple, and high holy days seems dafter than moose to me)
Maybe I'm on entirely the wrong track here; maybe in a world like Glorantha
priests CAN just pray to one of their pantheon and get the inside story on
whether Vinga is Orlanth's sister (older or younger) or daughter, and whether
it's more appropriate that you throw great parties or gather in the harvest
to honour her
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