I was only using an Orlanthi ritual as a handy example. The same comment could be made of most characters in myth. The point is that a person (PC or follower) going on a quest doesn't need to be mapped on to an actual character on the quest - he can be mapped on to a part of a character. I think most cultures have rituals that allow a group to form a single character for a quest - each taking the role of one aspect or item. If only for MGF reasons.
>the myth in question actually makes a comment about the god
>learning how rotten loneliness is...
If the myth explicitly requires loneliness, then followers make little sense. There are various quests where the PC should be literally alone - initiation/devotion/similar quests being the most obvious example. They make a pretty poor basis for play, though, and I try to skip over them quickly.
However, could your myth be easily shifted to a small group learning how rotten it is to be cut off from society and friends? Loneliness doesn't necessarily need a single person to work.
> >In general, I'd allow a follower (or other PC) to take any role within the
> >myth - even if in the original it is a part played by an object or skill of
> >the main character. It seems to me to be about the only way to turn
> >solitary heroquests into a meaningful group activity.
>
>Not at all -- "All of us, our band, shall be Bonborn," says Hengal.
>[HQ.194] In this example, it's hard to tell if Bonborn has followers.
>It seems that the players don't when they go questing.
The example in the book is an example of what I mean - the PCs are taking on roles from the myth that were originally supposed to be seperate skills of a single character. Sorry for not being clearer.
Cheers,
Graham
-- Graham Robinson graham_at_... Albion Software Engineering Ltd.
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