> I suspect the difference between an initiate chieftain and a devotee of a
god's leadership role would be seen more in how much religion influenced
day-to-day decision making, goals and objectives than ih his ability to
govern. If you elect a devotee as your leader you are going to see a lot
more religious influence in the way the clan is governed day-to-day - after
all he is spending 60% of the time leading in the way his god would have
done. That might manifest itself in a variety of ways such as a propensity
to do more divinations before making important decisions, making more
sacrifices and ceremonies before undertakings, supporting more heroquests
etc. The seperation of church and state dissappears in a way that a modern
western audience probably wouldn't approve.
I don't think there is much of a Church-State seperation, even in a Initiate-led clan. The king has many ritual obligations (more than just thowing out the first shinty ball of the season). I think the difference would be more in who does what - in a Dar-led clan, the chief has certain helper magics that a Barntar clan chief wouldn't, so the Barntar clan would need someone else to do certain ritual stuff.
Think Homeric Greece for the leader's magico-religious roles. *Someone* has to do the rituals. If not a Dar chief, then an appointed GodTalker.
> Also don't forget that under the occupation a leader who is a devotee of
an Orlanthi cult is going to have a harder time hiding his worship when
meeting with Lunar officials etc.
Well, since the Lunars are stupid enough to believe that Barntar is a separate god from Orlanth, you can probably get away with Dar worship...
RR
C'est par mon ordre et pour le bien de l'Etat que le porteur du pr�sent a
fait ce qu'il a fait.
- Richelieu
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