From: JLROGERS@utkvx.utk.edu (Jim Rogers)
Subject: Another Cult
Message-ID: <01H2MPBP07MQ8ZGO13@utkvx.utk.edu>
Date: 6 Sep 93 10:06:59 GMT
X-RQ-ID: 1550
Daily Gang,
Following is a copy of a cult created by our old GM, Charlie
Domino. He was wary of having it posted to the Daily, but two of us
convinced him. He did want it known that the cult writeup was done about
the time of the release of RQIII, and is predominantly in the RQII spirit.
I agree. Gyzar makes more sense in RQIII with sorcery, possibly as an
Eastern cult along the lines of Godunya. Still, it is a good balance to
the Orlanth, Urox (Storm Bull to RQIIers), Humakt triad that Charlie was
getting a little sick of dealing with.
Feel free to use and comment, saving only the copywrite.
Jim Rogers
___________
THE CULT OF GYZAR
Copywrite: Charlie Domino, 1993
GYZAR
Master of the Fist, Destroyer of Weapons
I. MYTHOS AND HISTORY
BEFORE TIME
The Storm Age was a time of conflict as the Storm Gods and
the Young Gods set about conquering or creating their own realms
of influence. Opposing them were the older deities of Fire, Sky,
and Earth. They indulged in contests of supremacy that caused
much destruction and hardship, and the soon-to-be-mortal races
became dependant on the gods for survival.
One minor deity who saw this and was concerned was Gyzar.
None know who his father was, but his mother was named Raelia,
and said to be more beautiful than any except Uleria. Although
he was one of the Young Gods, he grew afraid of the consequences
of the strife. He approached Orlanth and Yelm in a futile
attempt to bring peace to the cosmos, but was rebuffed by both.
Indeed, of all the deities, only Chalana Arroy and her son Arroin
would listen, but for naught. At that time, she held to her
beliefs in passivity and refused to act, but Gyzarian cultists
believe that it is his moving lament on the plight of the cosmos
that later led her to act.
Failing to halt the destruction of the Gods War, he set
about teaching the descendants of Grandfather Mortal how to care
for and protect themselves. In return he accepted their worship.
It was his hope that by doing this, he would save enough of the
Golden Age to allow a return to the tranquility known before.
Fate had it otherwise. For his hopes, he has been called naive,
but perhaps at that time, he had a reason to hope. Prescience is
not a godly attribute, and only Flesh Man knew of the disaster to
come.
When Humakt discovered the power of death, when he used it
on Grandfather Mortal, Gyzar was perhaps one of the most shocked
of all divine beings. Then Orlanth gained the power, and with it
slew Yelm. In that one act, Gyzar's worst fears came true. The
incoherent prophecies of Flesh Man came about, and there was no
returning to the Golden Age, ever.
Blind with rage and agony, he threw himself against the
brothers Orlanth and Humakt, hoping perhaps that he himself would
die and not see the Lesser Darkness which now descended on
Glorantha. Orlanth arrogantly mocked him though:
"So, now does the little one attempt to chastise me again?
I, at the height of my prowess? I, who have destroyed Yelm, and
now am supreme in the Cosmos? I tremble! In fear I should
abandon the Cosmos to others, such as you!"
So saying, he struck Gyzar a heavy blow which wounded him
sorely. But Humakt was strangely silent and did not raise his
hand against Gyzar.
Ever since this time the powers of Gyzar have been lessened
because of his injury. Due to his revulsion against the powers
of Death and the weapons which now carried it, he forswore all
weapons of offense. Only the dwarf invention of armor would he
withstand, for it exemplified passive resistance, as opposed to
active resistance with weapons.
Many mortals were also in fear of the powers of weapons, and
he gained new followers who he taught how to defend themselves
with minimum hurt to other. Most later overcame their fear and
took up weapons in the extremity of their plight. Few gods and
fewer mortals could survive the Greater Darkness and the advent
of Chaos without the advantages of the new weapons.
Times were long and hard before the Chaos Wars ended, and
Time began when the Lightbringers returned from their quest to
Hell with a resurrected Yelm. Thus the Dawning saw only a few
surviving Gyzarians; mostly these were in areas that were less
wrecked by the horrors of the conflict.
SINCE TIME BEGAN
With the advent of Time, the deities bound themselves by
certain restrictions and left the world to mortals. In this
period, many felt that there would be no more need for conflict,
and indeed, a new Golden Age seemed to be at hand. A large
number of mortals thus embraced Gyzar as a pacifist cult (which
it really wasn't) and the cult flourished as it never has before
or since. Most of these new worshippers were human, but elf,
dwarf, and even a few morokanth worshippers were known to exist.
No troll was ever known to be recorded as a member, perhaps
understandably.
Of course such hopes proved false, and when the Gbaji
conflicts spread, his followers began to decrease. Some of the
less pacifistic took the side of the trolls and dragonewts, but
these were largely slain since they refused to use weapons. When
Arkat's armies spread through Ralios and Dragon Pass, Gyzarians
suffered greatly at the hands of both armies.
At no time did they side with the Council, for they felt
that its attempt to return to the Godtime threatened a return to
the God Wars as well. For this they were persecuted by the
Second Council, as were other races and peoples.
They entered the Second Age reduced to the status of a minor
cult. Only three temples were known to exist, one each in
Ralios, the Shadowlands (Esrolia), and Dragon Pass. It is said
that the Only Old One promoted the temple in Esrolia as a way of
pacifying the human population he ruled. Whether that was truly
his motive is not certain, but peculiar though it seems, the
temple did receive some troll aid and flourished, becoming the
largest of the three.
The Dragon Pass temple was not so lucky. It was utterly
wiped out in 1100 by the invading Invincible Golden Horde for the
crime of defending the dragonnewts. Not one worshipper lived to
see the Dragonkill war, which came barely too late to save them.
Since the reopening of the pass, the ruins (near the modern site
of Dunstop) have been the site of an occasional lonely pilgrimage
by a worshipper. These most often searched for lost records and
artifacts.
In Ralios, the temple there was of sufficient strength (and
remoteness) to maintain its independence from the warring forces
of the Dark Empire and the Jrusteli. Despite this, its members
areas often suffered and the temple entered the third age reduced
in strength.
The Third Age was only a little less disastrous to the
Gyzarian cult. The temple in Ralios survived the period mostly
intact by virtue of refusing to fight the troll armies
approaching from the east. Amazed by the human actions and their
sincerity, the troll leaders listened to the counsel of the Xiola
Umbar priestesses and spared the humans. Perhaps in this, they
were influenced by the example of the Shadowlands temple and the
Only Old One's policies. A more likely explanation is the
successful challenge issued by Myrila Stonefist, Rune Lord,
against Torkag Gor, an important general in the troll armies.
Dressed "only in a knot of hair and a scrap of cloth" she
defeated the mighty warrior in single combat. That the troll
would except such a challenge shows the respect that they held
for "the insane skinny ones."
The Shadowlands temple itself was not as fortunate. Caught
in the upheavals caused by the arrival of Belintar, it was razed
by an army of marauding trolls who maintained that it was aiding
the human forces against trolls. The truth of the charges is
unknown. Despite the destruction, many worshippers survived, and
a few can be found there today, even though the temple was never
rebuilt.
The modern period is one in which the cult has dwindled into
insignificance. Some hold that it is on the verge of dying out,
and if the end of the Third Age is as violent as that of the
preceding two, it may well be true. Others (especially the
cultists themselves) believe that while mortals still aspire for
a less violent world, and the scattered worshippers in Esrolia
congregate once a year at a shrine established at the site of the
old ruins.
LIFE AFTER DEATH
Gyzarians believe that those who hold best to their god's
hatred of weapons will go to the Place of Waiting for a time.
From there, they will be reborn into a more peaceful existence.
Away from weapons, they will be able to purify themselves further
through continued cycles of existence, until they join Gyzar in a
new Golden Age. Those who fail to purify themselves will be
condemned to endless cycles of violent existence until they
manage to fully reject the evil of weapons which permeate their
culture.
RUNIC ASSOCIATIONS
The runes of Gyzar are Mastery, which symbolizes their
control of self; and Harmony, which represents their constant
striving for peace and a return to the Golden Age.
II. NATURE OF THE CULT
REASON FOR CONTINUED EXISTENCE
The cult of Gyzar persists today as a center of belief for
those who feel most strongly that no conflict should be settled
by bloodshed. If peace may not be attainable in the normal
sphere of life, then at least it does not have to be soiled with
the finality of a violent death. Those who believe in absolute
pacifism or merely strength in the natural ways of the body (as
opposed to weapons) may find solace here.
SOCIO-POLITICAL POSITION AND POWER
The cult has no power east of Ralios and precious little
there. Militarily, it maintains only a small band of apprentices
and masters who live at and defend the temple. In extremity it
could call on all its worshippers, but there exists the question
of whether or not it would do this.
PARTICULAR LIKES AND DISLIKES
The cult has a range of beliefs from absolute pacifism to
simple abhorrence of weapons. Regardless of the degree of
commitment, Humakt and Orlanth are particularly despised for
their actions in Godtime. So is the Lunar Empire, for it is an
empire built by conquest at scimitar-point. Any war-oriented
cult is disliked. The dueling rituals of Humakti are considered
to be barbaric lies, a poor attempt to legitimize the use of
weapons for violence by showing a false restraint.
Great prejudice exists against dwarves due to their
proclivity for designing weapons of death.
Those cults devoted to healing and growing are held to be
special, and have been defended in need by individuals form the
cult. Chalana Arroy and Xiola Umbar are particularly special to
Gyzarians.
III. ORGANIZATION
INTRA-CULT ORGANIZATION
As there is only one temple, there can hardly be said to be
any organization. There has been some talk of rebuilding the
temple in Esrolia, but funds are lacking. If this were to be
achieved, temple superiority might well be up to the GM. The
relative leadership strengths of the High Priests would probably
determine the issue, with a bias toward the Ralios temple.
INTRA-TEMPLE ORGANIZATION
The organization is largely up to the High Priest. At
present, the temple's High Priest is assisted by two other
priests and two Rune Lords. The most capable of these (in terms
of combat ability) is the Master of Students. The few Rune Lords
and Priests that wander the countryside quietly attempting to
spread their beliefs also answer to the High Priest of the
temple.
CENTER OF POWER, HOLY PLACES
The main center of power is the temple in Ralios, in the
northern part of what was once the Dark Empire. The remains of
the Shadowlands temple, west of Smithstone, are often a place of
pilgrimage. So are the ruins of the third temple in Dragon Pass.
Many other shrines have been lost or destroyed. Legend tells of
a fourth temple once located in northern Peloria which was
supposed to have been destroyed by the magics of the Broken
Council, but no traces of it were ever found, and no heroquest
has ever revealed its existence.
IV. LAY MEMBERSHIP
REQUIREMENTS TO JOIN
Lay membership is open to all intelligent beings not of
Chaos. Humans, elves, and most beast people are treated equally,
but morokanth must overcome the prejudices against them.
Abstract their chances to join as (App-10)+(2XPow) or less on
d100. Cult prejudice against trolls is even worse due to their
brutal culture. Except for worshippers of Xiola Umbar and Argan
Argar, use the formula above but divide by two (round up) to
determine their final chance. Trolls of those two cults have the
normal chance to become lay members. Dwarves must apply as do
morokanth.
REQUIREMENTS TO BELONG
Lay members must never worship Chaos. They must attend
services each holy day, sacrificing one magic point to Gyzar and
paying five Lunars or the equivalent in goods to the temple.
They must swear not to attack any living creature (except Chaos)
with weapons for the next season. Food animals and most non-
sentient plants are exempt insofar as butchery and harvesting
tools are considered. Permanent lay membership may be attained
by foreswearing weapons as above for life, and paying 100L. If a
permanent member becomes apostate by absence, he will undoubtably
listen to a sermon or two. If he takes up weapons again, he will
be removed from the rolls and may never become an initiate. He
may rejoin as a lay member. Twice violating the stricture
against weapons will result in permanent loss of membership.
MUNDANE BENEFITS
Lay members may call on the nearest initiate or rune level
for healing once per season. They may reside and eat at the
temple in extremity, but not for more than two weeks. A lay
member may call on assistance if in danger, but the exact scope
of that assistance is up to those who render it.
SKILLS
Lay members may receive training in Fist Attack, Kick, and
Dodge, all at usual prices.
SPELLS
Lay members may also purchase the following spells at the
usual prices: Ironhand, Protection, Shimmer, Healing, Strength,
and Vigor. Permanent lay members forget any weapons enhancement
spells they know, except Ironhand.
V. INITIATE MEMBERSHIP
REQUIREMENTS FOR INITIATION
A worshipper who wishes to become an initiate must first
have been a permanent lay member in good standing for two years.
He must pass a test abstracted as (Pow + Dodge% + Read/Write)/2.
The prospective initiate must make a gift to the priest (at least
100L in value) regardless of his acceptance. If this test is
failed, it may be tried again after one season, so long as the
lay member remains in good standing.
REQUIREMENTS TO REMAIN INITIATED
Initiates must tithe to the cult and sacrifice two magic
points to Gyzar every holy day. They must never use or carry
weapons, not even to parry with. The only exceptions to this are
shields and staffs, which may be parried with only; attacks are
forbidden. They may not wear plate, scale, brigadine, or chain
mail.
They must heed all requests for assistance from fellow
cultists, but most especially from Rune Lords or Priests.
Initiates may not knowingly speak to initiates or higher of
the following cults without permission from a Mind or Fist, for
this may cause "contamination": Orlanth, Humakt, Yelmalio, Zorak
Zoran, Yanafal Tarnils, Storm Bull, or any chaos cult. They must
also treat any member of Chalana Arroy with respect and honor.
Once in their life, they must spend at least one year of
wandering, during which they must demonstrate the traits of Gyzar
to a brutal world badly in need of civilizing influences.
MUNDANE BENEFITS
Initiates may receive shelter from the temple, but not
permanently unless they are appointed to a temple position. The
cult will pay a ransom of 500L in addition to any funds the
cultist has. They may call on Gyzar for assistance (divine
intervention), but only once per year. Other benefits are as lay
member, but to a greater extent.
SKILLS
Initiates receive 80 hours of free training per year in the
skills of Dodge, Fist Attack, Kick, Jump, Orate, Shield Parry,
Staff Parry, or Martial Arts. Of course, such training may also
be purchased normally, and initiates have preference in the cult
schools of learning. He will also be trained in Xu-ram and Xu-
rai, special combat techniques originated and closely guarded by
the cult. These two skills are only available to initiates (and
higher) of the cult. Beginning success chance with both skills
is 0%, and the initial training takes two weeks each. This will
train the new initiate to 15% + bonus. Xu-ram is an attack
skill; Xu-rai is an agility skill.
Xu-ram: This skill is taught to all new initiates of Gyzar
at no additional cost. Successful use of this skill allows all
damage done by a martial arts attack to be non-lethal, even the
adds from an Ironhand spell. Subsequent teaching is at the
standard price.
A special success gains the additional benefit of paralyzing
the portion of the target struck, as follows: If an arm is
struck, STRX3 must be rolled, or any item held is dropped, and
the arm may not be used to attack or parry whether or not the STR
roll was successful. A leg hit is treated at the "hit points
equalled or exceeded" result on the damage charts. A strike to
the head, chest, or abdomen will cause the target to be stunned.
No attacks or spell casts may be made, and parrying is at half
value. All of the above effects last for 2d6 strike ranks.
A critical with this skill makes the paralysis last 1d6
rounds, in addition to other effects. A critical to the head
will result in unconsciousness for 25-CON full turns, regardless
of whether or not enough damage was done.
Only one die roll is used to resolve all three skills: Fist
Attack (or Kick), Martial Arts, and Xu-ram.
Xu-rai: This skill allows the user to deflect or grab small
missiles out of the air if they pass within one meter of him.
The missile must not weigh more than 1.0 Enc and must be material
(thus only the original arrow from a Multimissile could be
affected, not the magical ones). Because of the speed of the
act, only one-quarter normal damage is taken from a burning or
Firearrowed missile.
A special will allow the item to be caught in the hand if
wished, but the attempt to hold the item must be declared before
the dice are rolled.
A critical will shatter any missile not made of a rune
metal, or the character may make a catch (as above) without
needing to make a prior declaration.
Use of this skill does not count against a character's
attacks and parries, but it may not be used in the same strike
rank as an attack or dodge.
NOTE: Use of the skill assumes that the character was aware
that the attack was coming, and that it came from the front or
side. Gamemasters are well within their rights to call for
perception or DEX rolls, or to disallow use of the skill entirely
in cases where it is ridiculous or absurd.
SPELLS
Initiates also receive one free point of spirit magic each
five years from the following list: Shimmer, Protection,
Ironhand, Countermagic, Dullblade, Healing, Strength, Vigor, and
Coordination. They may purchase them at the normal prices as
well.
VI. RUNE LORD MEMBERSHIP
A Fist of Gyzar is a living example of the philosophy of
anti-violence (as distinguished from non-violence). It is his
duty to show the world a lack of need for the destruction and
death of weapons, and attempt to find a peaceful solution
whenever possible. When not, the method of least bloodshed
should be followed, and this philosophy often finds them
intervening in minor disputes in order to resolve them. Because
of their active role, they are often thought by outsiders to be
the cult leaders, rather than the priests. This is not the case.
Ultimate responsibility lies with the priests, and their word is
law.
REQUIREMENTS TO BECOME A RUNE LORD
Candidates for Rune Lord must have been initiates for at
least two years, one of which must have been spent wandering as
described in the initiates section. They must have a 90% Martial
Arts, Xu-ram, Xu-rai and Dodge, plus one of the following skills
at 90%: Fist Attack, Kick, Jump, Orate, Staff Parry, or Shield
Parry. They must have a Pow of at least 15, and never have
violated the conditions of being an initiate or lay member. If
all of these conditions are met, then the prospective test
abstracted as (average of Xu-ram and Martial Arts skill%) divided
by five and then multiplied by four. Less than or equal to this
number must be rolled on D100; if failed, further attempts may be
made each season until successful.
RESTRICTIONS
A Rune Lord of Gyzar must spend one season of the year
helping the Master of Students teach skills to lay members and
initiates for free. It is permissible to teach at a place other
than the temple, especially if the Fist lives nowhere near it.
Fists may not teach the skills of Martial Arts, Xu-ram, or Xu-rai
to any but initiates, and may not teach any skills to those cults
especially disliked (listed in the initiates section).
If a Fist meets a Sword of Humakt, he must immediately issue
a challenge to the Humakti similar to a Humakti duel, but until
unconsciousness occurs, rather than first blood. If the Fist
wins, he will take the best weapon of the Humakti; if the Sword
wins, the First must act as a servant and obey all of his orders
(except those that would violate cult vows) for the next season.
The Humakti, of course, may refuse the duel. Weapons won by the
Gyzarian in this fashion are melted down. This custom has made
the Gyzarians very unpopular with those Humakti aware of them.
Rune Lords may not carry any weapons other than a staff, nor
shields larger than bucklers. They may not cast attack spells
that cause lethal damage (i.e., do hit point damage, such as
disrupt) on any creature not of Chaos. They may not wear any
armor but leather or cuirbolli.
Upon meeting a Healer of Chalana Arroy, a Fist must ask if
aid is needed. If he is then given a task, he must carry it out
to the best of his abilities, no matter what the danger. It is
permissible to gain help from others before doing so, of course.
In addition to the above, 90% of the Fist's income is given
to the cult, which pays for the benefits given below. He must
also obey any Priest of the cult.
BENEFITS
A Rune Lord of Gyzar gets the usual benefits of an allied
spirit, divine intervention on D10, and the use of iron. The
allied spirit is usually placed in the staff. Fist Lords may
continue to improve themselves so that they may become a Priest.
More mundane benefits they receive are room and board from
the temple, a ransom of 2000L (in addition to their own), and
cult spells for free. They also receive free training in any
cult skills and literacy in their native tongue. They do not get
a piece of iron, as do most cult's Rune Lords. They may call on
other cultists for assistance when needed.
Fists also get the following rune spells reusable: Shield,
Stonefist, Hands of Bineah, Feet of Bineah, Awaken, and Sixth
Sense. They may also obtain (non-reusable) any Priestly spell
not specifically restricted to the Mind Lords.
Stonefist
1 point
Touch, temporal, stackable, reusable
This spell gives the attacker an extra D3 damage with fist
and kick attacks as well as +5% to Xu-ram and Martial Arts
percentages per point stacked.
Hands of Bineah
1 point
Touch, temporal, non-stackable, reusable
This spell allows the user to touch and do damage to things
that normally require enchanted or Rune metal weapons such as
Telmori, vampires, etc. This spell also allows the user to
deflect the non-material missiles created by a multimissle spell
(but of course they cannot be caught).
Awaken
1 point
range 10m around caster, duration until awakened, stackable,
reusable
When cast before falling asleep this spell will awaken the
caster instantly if anything approaches within 10 meters with
hostile intent (including theft). Each additional point after
the first will awaken one Rune Level or initiate of Gyzar who is
sleeping within the 10m range of the caster.
Feet of Bineah
2 points
touch, temporal, non-stackable, reusable
This spell doubles the dodging ability of the user, and in
addition, he also gains a free extra dodge at no penalty. (i.e.,
the user may dodge twice and either attack or parry once, or he
may attack, parry and dodge once each, or he may attack or parry
twice and dodge once.) The extra dodge may be split normally.
Sixth Sense
3 points
self only, temporal, non-stackable, reusable
This spell extends the caster's aura in such a way that he
can detect any incoming missile or melee attack from any
direction, no matter what the conditions of visibility are.
Sufficient warning is given to allow the caster to spin about and
face the attack, or dodge an attack from behind. This will work
even versus a surprise attack from a character using Darkwalk or
a similar spell, though it will not otherwise alert the caster to
a presence. This spell assumes that the caster is awake and
conscious; it is not an alarm spell.
VII. RUNE PRIEST MEMBERSHIP
Priests of Gyzar are known as Mind Lords. Having trained
the body into becoming a living weapon, they now turn inwards to
purify and strengthen the mind. The Mind Lord is the ultimate
embodiment of anti-violence. It is his duty to cleanse himself
and as much of the world as he can of weapons, but he is not a
fanatic about this. Realizing that the world about him is
tightly bound to its violent cycle, he leads by example and gives
an appropriate push whenever possible. Mind Lords are
responsible for the survival of the cult in an unfriendly world,
and therefore are the final mundane authority on dealings with
it.
REQUIREMENTS FOR ACCEPTANCE
The prospective priest of Gyzar must have been a Rune Lord
for at least three years and have a power of at least 18. He
must have never violated the conditions of any form of membership
he has held, and be sincere. He must be able to read and write
his native language at 85% skill, and meet all other requirements
of priesthood at a minimum, plus have oratory at 90%. If these
conditions are met, he must then pass the usual tests to become a
priest.
RESTRICTIONS
A Mind Lord of Gyzar is under the same weapons and armor
restrictions as a Fist. He is responsible for the leadership of
the cult and must see to the well-being of his congregation.
However, Gyzar realizes that the world is a hostile place, and
therefore the temple is organized differently. Many of the
administrative duties normally performed by priests in other
cults are here performed by senior initiates, thereby giving the
priests more time to practice their skills. As a result of this,
their combat skills (including Xu-rai and Xu-ram) are limited to
Dex X 5% (or present level, if higher), rather than the usual Dex
x 3%. Non-combat skills are still limited normally.
BENEFITS
Priests of Gyzar are supported by the cult. They receive
first portion of all meals, and keep all initiation gifts given
to them. They receive an allied spirit. They are given an iron
shod staff with the cult runes and the magic rune engraved to
show their status.
RUNE SPELL COMPATIBILITY
Mind Lords receive all common one point divine spell, as
well as all cult specialty spells, including these below:
Minor Mind Block
1 Point
Self only, temporal, non-stackable, reusable
This spell protects the caster against all spirit magic
spells affecting the mind or nervous system, such as demoralize,
Coordination, Mobility, Binding, Harmonize, etc. The caster may
still cast such spells on himself (as may his bound and allied
spirits), and any spells in effect when the Block is cast remain
in effect.
Lesser Mind Block
2 points
self only, temporal, non-stackable, reusable
This spell protects the caster as does a Minor Block, but is
also effective against sorcery spells such as Palsy and Command.
Command Worshippers
3 Points
ritual summoning spell, range 100km, duration instant, non-
stackable, reusable
This spell affects all members of the cult. Casting it
signals all Gyzarians to finish their business and report to the
caster within 2-5 days (depending on distance). During this
time, the summoner must remain in the same spot or the spell
disperses and the worshippers are released from their obligation
to report. This spell is given only to the High Priest at the
Ralios temple and a few wandering priests. It is a privilege and
may only be used for emergencies or celebrations, or to announce
a worship service by one of the wandering priests.
Greater Mind Block
3 Points
self only, temporal, non-stackable, reusable
This spell works as the previous two Mind Blocks, except
that the caster is almost totally invulnerable to any spell
affecting his mind or nervous system. These include (but are not
necessarily limited to ): Harmonize, Sleep, Befuddle,
Demoralize, Madness, Fear, Mind Blast, Mind Read, Peace, City
Harmony, True-speak, Fumble, Command, Palsy, and the Elemental
attacks of fearshock and madness. Estatic Communion is protected
against for the duration of the Block. This spell is no
protection against the Thanatar Consume Mind and Create Head
spells.
Catatonia
3 Points
self only, duration until awakened, non-stackable, non-reusable
This spell will throw the caster's mind into a state of
totally unreachable withdrawal until brought to a place of safety
and an eight-hour ritual correctly conducted to bring the
priest's mind back. At this time, the priest conducting the
ritual must succeed in a Ceremony roll and the priest under the
spell must make an Intx5 roll, or the mind will refuse to re-
emerge, ever. Divine Intervention is the only way to cure this.
The benefit of this spell is that when in effect, none of
the Thanatar knowledge stealing rituals or spells will have any
effect (although a severed head is still a severed head...). The
priest's mind is so far withdrawn that no conceivable spell or
combination of spells can have any effect on it whatsoever. He
is thus assumed to be under the protection of the Greater Mind
Block, but one that does not protect the nervous system, only
the brain/mind. Therefore Harmonize and Palsy spells do affect
the comatose priest. He will normally assume a fetal position
when under this spell. Only priests of Gyzar may obtain this
spell.
VIII. SUBSERVIENT CULTS
BINEAH TOOM
This First Age hero fought alongside the dragonewts during
the Gbaji wars. He is the source of the two spells which bear
his name.
SPIRITS OF REPRISAL: RATALAN SYR
Initiates and Rune levels who leave the cult or use
prohibited weapons will suffer the penalty of being hindered by
this spirit for a year from the date of the last offense. In the
case of a severe violation, the offender will suffer loss of all
rune magic as well as magical attack by the spirit. Ratalan will
cast a special Glue 3 spell on the offender's shoes/feet that
will affect bare flesh whenever he is in combat. This has the
effect of negating any chance of dodging. Lesser violations will
result in the spirit casting up to a Dispell Magic 8 on his
defensive spells. In this case, there is only a 50% chance of
the spirit's appearing at a given battle, though he will show at
least once for each offense.
IX. ASSOCIATED CULTS
Gyzar has no associated cults.
X. MISCELLANEOUS NOTES
WANDERING PRIESTS
Mind Lords usually remain in the temple except when on a
pilgrimage, but wandering priests are not uncommon, especially in
Esrolia. Even the temple-bound priests will often leave for a
year or two to undertake pilgrimages in distant lands. None have
been known to be further east or north then Dragon Pass since the
Second Age, however.
THE CULT ELSEWHERE IN GLORANTHA
Although this description has dealt solely with the northern
continent (site of virtually all publications by Chaosium and
Avalon Hill to date), several temples are believed to exist
elsewhere in the world. Most of these are in the human areas of
Pamaltela and the East, but must be considered beyond the scope
of this article.