An Initiate might be able to call on 2 different gods, or the entire pantheon, a devotee cannot. A godi who is a devotee can't call on another God for help - for himself or the community. He can call on his *own* god to help the community, sure, but frex, an Elmal Devotee/Godi can't call on Issaries for trading magic to aid the clan.
While this may seem pretty stupid (The best worshipper can't be a priest?!?), look at the range of possibilities that an Orlanthi can call upon without "asking another god" - Orlanth covers the whole spectrum, from farming to warfare to weather to leadership. He doesn't *need* to ask another god for day-to-day help. Even Elmali have some different subcults that a devotee can call upon for help, though not nearly as many.
>More specifically for Heortlings, devotees of Orlanth or Ernalda
>(who act devote themselves to as their deity and to acting as their
>deity did), should be able to ask the other members of Orlanth's and
>Ernalda's pantheons to act on behalf of the community. Similarly,
>Issaries - I seem to remember recent sources suggesting that
>Issaries was often invoked before contacting the gods - I do not
>have any of my sources available at the moment and cannot look it up.
You call on a godi/devotee/initiate/pantheon worshipper of the proper gender (background, occupation, what have you)/pantheon worshipper of no speacial qualifications (in descending order of appropriateness) of the appropriate god to "stand in" and call on their god, you don't do it yourself.
RR
It is by my order and for the good of the state that the bearer of this has
done what he has done.
- Richelieu
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