The answer I got was that you *don't* "Choose" to become a Devotee in the same way that you might choose to become a weaver. You get called by your god. Without the call, nothing happens. If you're being called, resisting can be bad for all concerned.
Quick disclaimer - I know of nothing in the rules that even suggests this, but it's easy enough to simulate, with a bit of cooperation between GM and player.
What's it like to be called? John Hughes did a nice writeup of a young warrior feeling Humakt's call, somewhere. Omens. Mystical dreams with hidden meanings.
But the main theme to my mind (and that of the various Devotees and wanna-be Devotees I was talking to) is that the link between you and your God, and all magical abilities associated with that link, become more powerful and less under your control. It starts small, but if you don't answer the call, it gets worse. Once you Devote, ability levels "pop" back to their former levels, and you're in full control of them, but it's the stage in between where life gets interesting.
Three affinities - all working, but at the Gods whim, not yours. Or, subconsciously/intuitively/instinctively. Which is very nice when it's a gift for Healing. Much less so when it's a Death or Berserk affinity. A proto-Healer can go on for years without Devoting - the dreams may be troublesome, she'll be noted as being "god-touched", but that's it. A proto-Humakti, you get Devoted, as fast as you can. And all other Humakti around will cooperate, because they're pretty scared of him, too!
The ability to reach the "Other Side" (I'm not getting into defining planes here) -stronger than it should be, and not under conscious control. If you're near a weak spot (like, say a standard religious ceremony you attend as an initiate), you're going through.
For "lesser" hero-cults and so on, Heroforming is an option. If you start remembering battles fought centuries before you were born, as if you'd been there, it's a hint that you're accidentally hero-forming someone who was there.
Myths of your deity - where did you learn that myth? It's as if you've always known it, but no-one taught it to you and no-one else recognises it.
How about the Secret? To be used sparingly and in acute cases only, but how does it feel to *accidentally* use Humakt's Secret and kill someone by looking at them? Once. It isn't predictable.
If you don't recognise what's going on (devotees are *rare*, you won't have seen anything like this before), or can't get to a temple or godi to help, or just don't have the time to answer that call, life is going to get messy. Or interesting, from the player's POV.
Whaddaya reckon, does this fit other people's Gloranthas? At least as an option to be used, if not the norm?
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