Issaries Lightbringer, also Esrolian Grandmothers

From: valkoharja <rintasaa_at_pOkmZLTCbOPf2LJkQab6sltHF9IMR02hBW2tEjXgUeRTustFVoBtZ_nCZ9NVwI8vbgS>
Date: Wed, 16 Jan 2008 17:27:52 -0000

The player of the Issariesi character is a Glorantha veteran of the RuneQuest 3rd edition era. In RQ a feature was gaining divine spells from allied or assosiated cults. When, several years ago, we tried to figure out how to do this Esrolian trader & explorer character we were still thinking about those things.

What I came up with, eventually, was Gultha Lightbringer. A subcult that emphasised the connection between the lightbringers. One of the three affinities is lightbringer. Under this, the player can learn a single feat from any (or all) other lightbringer cults.

After reading StormTribe, that seemed to make a lot of sense to me. I'm not so sure anymore. Maybe Greg is willing to clarify this for me?

A theistic magician performs feats by having a personal connection to the divinity in question, and by learning to emulate the divinity. Issaries can always find the correct path, and after trawelling with Issaries on the Godplane (or is that heroplane) the cultist has seen how it is done. The cultists can "Be Issaries" enough to bring his power into the mundane world, and perform the same stunt.

So does it make any sense for there to be a lightbringer aspect, or anything like that. If the character want's to be able to staunch bleeding, or stir up a small wind, how does this happen for an Issaries devotee? Let's say the character does have some talent towards the powers of air and harmony, despite being an Issariesi.

Is the only way to gain such powers to have innate magical talents, as they are not Issariesi powers, but those of Orlanth and Chalana Arroy?

  ***

As for Imarja, I feel I may have figured out a satisfying solution. I think I'll treat Imarja like Kero Fin. Kero Fin holds the key to sovereignity over Dragon Pass. Maybe Imarja could be seen as an entity that holds such sway over Esrolia.

The powers of the grandmothers are deep secrets of the Earth. Ways of looking at the world that go beyond and outside the normal ways of Ernalda and Esrola. Basically, Imarja may be something like the mother of Esrola, from a Godlearner point of View. It may even be a way to successfully worship Gata, or Ga, or some other deep power of Earth.

It seems like if I treat the grandmothers as holding deep secrets of the Earth cults, secrets of sovereignity, survival and rulership, I won't go too far wrong. Possibly I'll be able to wrap my brain around the Imarja stories some time in the future.

  -Adept