Hey, folks, Alex ("I'm not quite dead yet") Ferguson brings up the whole Humakt geas business. I have a question:
When you get a Humakt (or Yelmalio, or Thanatar) gift and geas, how do you know what it is? Do you open a fortune cookie ("You will find happiness in a new love" or "Stick with your wife")? Spin the Wheel of Destiny? Cast the rune sticks? Fortune cookies and wheels of destiny are out, because the gods sometimes give other gifts and geasa than the ones shown in the charts.
Divination is out, because the priest could always lie. Now, since these are truth cults, one would not expect this to happen often. Maybe it's rare enough to be merely a plot device. But what if the priest misunderstands the Divination? And most of the gift/geas combinations are more than seven words, so the Divination has to be telegraphic. Don't forget, too, that it takes time to regain divine magic, and if they have to cast divination for every (or almost every) initiate, the priests aren't going to get much else done.
Thus, I propose that the temple spirit manifests and delivers the gift(s) and geas(a). With the Humakti, a ghostly sword appears, or perhaps the big cross over the altar speaks. With Yelmalio, a hawk might manifest or just a glowing ball ("I am a being of pure energy"--just like on Star Trek). This would be merely the climax to the ritual, however. Anyone want to propose a ritual? I have some ideas, but I have to wait until after I use them in my game before I can post them.
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