Bell Digest v930327

Date: Sat, 27 Mar 93 17:15:07 +0100
From: RuneQuest-Request@Glorantha.Holland.Sun.COM (RQ Digest Maintainer)
To: RuneQuest@Glorantha.Holland.Sun.COM (Daily automated RQ-Digest)
Subject: The RuneQuest Daily, Sat, 27 Mar 1993

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From: jacobus@sonata.cc.purdue.edu (Bryan J. Maloney)
Subject: Excommunication for trivial reasons.
Message-ID: <9303261833.AA11993@sonata.cc.purdue.edu>
Date: 26 Mar 93 08:33:22 GMT

If I may pull out a real-world similar situation:

In pre-Vatican II Roman Catholicism, one could be excommunicated for not
attending Mass weekly.  One could be excommunicated for a LOT of things.
However, such excommunications were very rarely, if ever, done.  I would
suspect that the "attend or go to hell" attitude is more a mechanism to
control the Paeones of the cult.  If a character seemed pious enough and simply
could not make it to a temple, I am sure that the vast majority of priests
would do their equivalent of "Say two Apostle's Creeds and drop a fiver into
the Poor Box on your way out".

If the absence were to be constant, or accompanied by impiety, then watch out.

As for "rent-a-shrines", there is a "rent-a-shrine" in Pavis!

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From: wroberts@magnusug.magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu (William C Robertson)
Subject: Re: The RuneQuest Daily, Fri, 26 Mar 1993
Message-ID: 
Date: 26 Mar 93 11:07:07 GMT

The Mystic Musk Ox writes...
Gark! Doesn't anyone play ordinary characters? You know, the ones with
stats of 9-12, skills of 50%-75% and no money? When you start pushing...

"Gark!" do you worship him/her/it?  Chaos!!!  Kill!!  snort rage berserk.

Sincerely,
Storm Khan Thorvold

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From: tzunder@cix.compulink.co.uk (Tom Zunder)
Subject: Cult Services
Message-ID: 
Date: 26 Mar 93 20:55:00 GMT

I feel that the reasons for inactivity make a lot of difference. One
can be an inactive member of a cult in RQ3, ie just not ticking over.
If neglect or dispbedience then atonement may be required otherwise
it'll probably be okay, especially if a dispensation was given. Rune
Level characters interact with their gods on a one-one basis and will
have negotiated such leave.

Excommunication is for when you've been a very bad boy and they don't want
you back, but not quite naughty enough to want to kill you.


--------------------------------------------------------------------
                                        tzunder@cix.compulink.com.uk 

                               "May the Red Moon Illuminate You All!
--------------------------------------------------------------------

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From: mace@lum.asd.sgi.com (Rob Mace)
Subject: Re: Holy Days and Adventuring
Message-ID: <9303262208.AA28994@lum.asd.sgi.com>
Date: 26 Mar 93 06:08:38 GMT

> 
> The bottom line:
> If you want to tie characters down and make them hop from temple to
> temple, unable to enter foreign lands for more than a few days at a
> time then you can play it that way.  The impression I get is that very
> few people want to play this way.  Let's just assume that things get
> handled in a practical and pragmatic manner in Glorantha and these
> problems vanish.

Well I sure did not do a very good job of explaining how we do it.  In
short I agree with you.  The above would better read:

	No excuse:			Lose cult status.

The RQIII rules basically say that you lose cult status it you miss
the holy days.  I was trying to give a less restrictive rule that
allowed people to travel by looking at what the needs of a Cult/God
are.

If you have a decent reason that you need to miss a Holy Day ritual
your Cult/God should not be all that upset.  They probably would like
you to try harder to make the next one.  If the only reason you don't
show up is that you did not feel like it, I doubt your God is going to
be all that pleased with you.

The holy day ceramonies of a cult strengthens the cult.  Worshipping a
god strengthens that god.  In return the god grants poweres to the
worshippers.  Gods need worshippers, but if a worshipper stops
worshipping there is no reason for the god to keep giving that
worshipper power.  So they lose cult status.

Anyway using this type of interpretation we have never had a problem
with not being able to travel in our campaigns.

> The cash problem: where does cult money go?  Is far more interesting.
> I have always had my way of doing things, not necessarily the same as
> the examples above, probably not the same as yours.  How do you do it?

Cult money can go to a lot of places depending on the Cult.  Here are a few.

Gaurds (Not all cults are warrior cults)
Buildings (Both construction, and upkeep)
Everyday items (Food, clothing, pots, pans, furniture, etc.)
Cerimonial items (Alters, icons, cerimonial robes, etc.)
Hired help (servants, cooks, scribes, etc.)
Armory
Politics (depending on cult and location)
Buying anything else the temple needs.

Some of this would be done on a non-cash barter basis.  In cults that
give half price or free training we have the recipients of the
training spend time doing cult work in exchange for the cheap
training.

Cults will also often exchange thier specialty.  A Humakt temple might
have some of its members stand gaurd at the local Chalana Arroy
Temple, since they know that the Chalana Arroy Temple will heal their
members if needed.  The same Humakt temple might have a contract to
provide gaurd service to a Lankor Mhy Temple in exchange for knowledge
and scribe work.

Rob Mace