Re: Big God Secrets

From: Charles Corrigan <glorantha_at_...>
Date: Tue, 06 Jun 2000 13:59:08 -0000

> How do people think the Big Transcendent Secrets are supposed to
> work? Granted no player character is ever likely to want to learn
> them but I want to know for NPC motivations.

I think that these secrets actually involve heroforming, BUT who heroforms what? Usually (i.e. its actually very rare) a person who achieves the secret and uses it, heroforms and is overwhelmed by the power of the Great God and is permanently pushed onto the Hero/God plane by the Compromise.

Occasionally the character that achieves the secret is of great personal power, the Great God "rolls" a 1, the character rolls a 20 and spends a hero point and therefore is in control. This happens in times of great need (about once every 500 years, see Alakoring at Castle Blue, in King of Sartar) and therefore the Great God actually wants a "mortal" in control to avoid the Compromise and so was not really trying anyway.

What I think that Lokamayadon tried to do (and came very close) was to reduce Orlanth's abilities by diverting all worship of Orlanth to himself and stopping that worship that he could not divert. In HW game terms, this gave him, say, a +100 on his "Be Air" ability and a similar -100 on Orlanth's. Add this to his own abilities plus further rituals and he was probably close (Orlanth's skills are supposedly in the 200 range).

It is probable that the God Learners achieved this swap for lesser gods (the Goddess Swap anyone?) but never for a Greater God. My personal opinion is that Orlanth was a lesser being in God Time that did this very self same thing to Umath by gathering the support of what is now known as the Storm Tribe.

regards,
Charles

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