Re: Glorantha Digest V1 #89 from Mike Cule on 1995-01-16 (Glorantha Digest Vol 01)

From: Mike Cule <mikec_at_room3b.demon.co.uk>
Date: Mon, 16 Jan 1995 15:55:07 GMT

Argrath_at_aol.com writes wanting to discuss gifts and geasa saying (among other things):
>
> 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?
>
> Divination is out, because the priest could always lie.

Now, hold on just one dang minute thar! A priest is bound mind and soul to his god even more tightly than an initiate is. The god knows what his priest is thinking at all times and the fast way for a Sword of Humakt to find his most precious possession shattering in his hands is to play fast and loose with his god's wishes. No, even if Divination does play a part the worshipper can (assuming the Priest isn't an Illuminate) count on an honest reading to the limit of the Priest's skill and intelligence.

I would assume that the gaining of the gift and the corresponding geas would happen during the initiation ceremony (or the Rune Level ceremony). These events are actually mini-heroquests like all High Holy Day and Godtime ceremonies. For cults where there is a choice I should imagine that the new Initiate or Rune Lord comes to a path in the ceremony where they can choose which of the god's mythic feats he is to recreate. For cults where the outcome is 'random' then the god would send a random encounter for the Initiate to overcome and prove himself worthy.

8888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888

Later on we had Issaries as Skald being discussed. If you read the full Donanader cult write-up then you will see that there are three sub-cults of the primal minstrel god. The god of folk music is associated with the Earth Cults and his shrines can be found in Ernalda temples. The god of courtly music is associated with the Sky cults and his shrines can be found in Yelm temples. The god of war music, Drogasi, is associated with the Air gods (who else?) and his shrines can be found in Orlanth temples.

While I suspect the neatness of this may indicate that this is a God Learner artifact, this is the Truth as currently revealed.

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Personal Trivia: I'm forty, an actor by trade. (I was in the TV series of THE HITCH-HIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY and had my head explode in MAX HEADROOM but I'm not famous.) I've been gaming since 1976 and played Portin Dunbar, the herald of Boldhome in the first run of HOME OF THE BOLD, the Gloranthan freeform at CONVULSION I.
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Mike Cule