I'm not overly enthralled with the idea that you have to decide what is and isn't a dramatic decision point in this way, since it seems to be pre-judging the issue. Often we can't tell what was the dramatic decison point until we look back on events. But to be completly inconsistant, I don't have a problem with saying, in a game/scenario where the purpose of the initiation is just a form of the player 'levelling up', "Succesfully initiating/devoting to your god is something no self respecting hero will fail at"
>
> Oh, I just remembered that my character once failed to become a
> devotee in HQ1. I can't say that failure was particularly interesting
> or led to new story choices. I just had to wait longer until my
> character could use interesting magic.
>
> By contrast, attaining Rune Lord or Rune Priest in RQ2 was a big
> triumph. I had finally made it! But as I already said, this is really
> a meta-story, it's not part of the scenario.
I'm sure there are countless examples where failing the roll to join or gain promotion within a cult was just a temporary annoyance that prevented your character from developing in the manner you wished at the speed you expected. On the other hand, I fully expect there are counter examples where a characters failure to be accepted by a cult lead the character, and maybe the campaign in unexpected and interesting directions as the character tries to find their place in the world. (What happens to the Storm-bull wannabe when Urox rejects him? Does a failed Humakti reject all notions of honour, or attempt to live by the strictures of the Cult, but without their support?)
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