Cult of Conquering Daughter (pt 2)
by Harald Smith
Cult Ecology:
The Conquering Daughter represents the stabilizing influence of the
Lunar Empire. Her runes emphasize this side of her cult. Hwarin
provides harmony and fertility to the land by controlling the waters and
nourishing the earth. She provides stability to Sylila by linking
cities and villages with her roads and by training soldiers to protect
the land. She provides opportunities and balance for both men and women
by training them to produce bounties from the land's wealth.
Hwarin Dalthippa is friendly with many other Lunar cults, excluding demons like the Crimson Bat. While she acknowledges the aid those powers gave to the Red Goddess, she has no love of them. There is a friendly rivalry with Yanafal Tarnils and other Lunar war cults.
The cult of the Conquering Daughter has not been at the forefront of Lunar expansion since the Daughter's Road Campaigns. Yara Aranis, goddess of the Reaching Moon, was next to take that roll and now Jar-eel has done so. Instead, Hwarin's cult stabilizes conquered lands once there is a sizable Lunar population, particularly within southern Peloria where she is strongest.
The Conquering Daughter is friendly with most earth cults. As a typical Lunar cult, there is a strong conflict with the gods of the air. Hwarin has fought them and has liberated many into the light of the Red Goddess. There is a rivalry with solar and sky cults, since those cults believe Hwarin to have stolen their powers. There is a long-standing conflict with river cults, unusual for a Lunar religion. Symbolic of Hwarin's many struggles with Nestentos, the ancient river, Hwarin's followers must always struggle to prove their worth to the river folk.
The Cult in the World:
Worship of the Conquering Daughter covers most of the Lunar southern
provinces, being particularly strong in Sylila, Imther, and Vanch. In
those lands, Hwarin Dalthippa is the favorite goddess. The cult's power
stretches into Talastar and Lunar Tarsh. There is little influence in
the north or east of the Lunar Empire apart from the army.
The heart of the cult is in the city of Jillaro. Here the Sultan and Sultaness of Sylila reside and preside over both the province and the religion. They report directly to the Red Emperor and receive reports from all high priests. Jillaro is also home to Hwarin's Well, where initiates and priests can brave the terrors of the pit to receive oracles from Hwarin herself.
Temples exist across the southern provinces. These temples range in size from the great temple in Jillaro to small shrines at the edges of
Imther. Lunar regiments usually support shrines or minor temples. Shrines teach Finecraft or, in the army, Shield.
High priests and/or chief priests lead the temples depending on the temple size. The former are responsible for all smaller temples within their domain. Army temples follow priests who have joined the subcult of the Road Warriors. There is also a special temple and army unit called the College of Engineers led solely by a priest called the Chief Engineer.
Hwarin's prime image is that of a helmeted woman with a third eye on her forehead. In one hand, she holds a spear while at her feet rest her shield and distaff. Other common images show Hwarin standing upon a mount holding a serpent in her hand; Hwarin bearing a bowl while a serpent entwines itself about her body; and Hwarin riding a horse upon a bridge above a river.
Initiation:
To become an initiate of the Conquering Daughter, a candidate must
either have a parent in the cult or pass the standard test. The test is
based on the skills of Ceremony; a Cult Craft; Devise or a second Cult
Craft; Spear Attack or Shield Parry; and World Lore. The Cult Crafts
are Cooking, Mapmaking, Masonry, Pottery, Sculpture, Shieldmaking,
Stoneworking, and Weaving.
Spirit Magic: Coordination, Detect Water, Endurance, Glue, Protection, Repair, Strength.
(I've skipped the Acolyte status for now.)
Priesthood:
To become a priest of the Conquering Daughter, a candidate must have
sacrificed for at least ten points of divine magic, must be skilled to
at least 50% in each of four skills, must have at least 50 percentiles
of ritual magic, and must know Read/Write New Pelorian (Lunar) at 50%.
The candidate must then pass a test of holiness equal to or less than
the character's POW x 3.
Priests may learn all Common Divine Spells. Note that Divinations can only be performed when in contact with water.
They may learn the following Special Divine Spells: Command/Summon Grief Spirit, Find Water, Finecraft, Mark Path and Suppress Grief Spirit.
Special Divine Magics:
Finecraft: 1 pt, touch, one day, nonstackable, reusable. This spell doubles the normal skill percentage of the target in all Cult Craft skills for the spell's duration. It does not affect skill bonuses.
Mark Path: 1 pt, ranged, one-day, nonstackable, reusable. Cast on a person's or an animal's feet, the path taken by that
individual or beast will detect as magical for the duration of the spell.
Suppress Grief Spirit: 1 pt, ritual ceremony, nonstackable, reusable. Cast on an individual possessed by a grief spirit, this spell will suppress the grief spirit's effects for the duration of the spell. For each magic point cast with the ritual, use the Duration Table to determine the length of time the spirit is suppressed.
Subcults: (I've only included the key ones here.) Spirit of Reprisal--The Lamented: When Hwarin passed into Hwarin's Well, the city of Jillaro was struck with grief. Many people were inconsolable and followed Hwarin into the crevice and died. Their souls became the Lamented, Grief Spirits serving the will of the Conquering Daughter. Hwarin sends one to attack in spirit combat any cultist who slays another cultist or who breaks a geas. They have a POW of 3d6+6. They attack until they reduce their foe to zero MP (at which point they possess their foe) or until they are reduced to zero MP. If blocked from attacking by spells, they continue to haunt their foe until they can complete their mission or until one week ends.
Grief Spirits: (Note--these were written before Lords of Terror.) These spirits are Passion Spirits and look like shimmering blue-green faces hovering in the air. The continually weep and moan. If they possess a target, the victim is always conscious of a general melancholy in his soul and of a desire to end his life. This reduces all skills by a number of percentiles equal to the spirit's POW. Once per season, match the spirit's POW against the POW and INT of the possessed person, if the spirit succeeds, the person attempts to kill himself.
College of Engineers: this subcult forms part of a special Lunar Provincial Army unit. This unit has the ability to quickly extend roadways and bridges in support of the regular army units.
To join, the initiate must have 75% skill in two Cult Crafts and 50% in both Enchant and World Lore. Access to cult divine spells depends on whether the person is an initiate or priest. In addition, Enchanters gain two special spells reusably.
Special Divine Spells: Bless Lunar Road, Create Road Stone.
Bless Lunar Road: 2 pts, ritual enchant, nonstackable, one-use. This ritual must be cast over a road and takes one week to complete. It requires the sacrifice of 10 magic points per kilometer per day into the road. If there is a Road stone in the road when the ritual is cast, the enchantment affects any cult initiate, otherwise it only affects cult enchanters, priests, and Road Warriors. The enchantment does not affect non-cult members.
Once finished, any cult member standing on the enchanted road has her/his hit points, fatigue points, and magic points raised by one as long as she/he maintains some contact with the road. If she/he steps completely off the road, she/he loses the enchantment's benefits until she/he steps back onto it.
All the Road stones must be broken to end the effect upon initiates. The entire road must be torn up to eliminate the effect for runemasters.
Create Road Stone: 2 pts, ritual enchant, nonstackable, one-use. This ritual is performed over a specially carved stone placed within a road and is primarily used with the Bless Lunar Road spell. The ritual requires one magic point to be cast into the stone for each point of the spell every night for one week. Anyone standing on the enchanted Road Stone gains 1d6 percentiles for every point stacked in the spell in both Spear Attack and Shield Parry.
Road Warriors: Those citizens of Sylila who followed the Conquering
Daughter to war became the first Road Warriors. They carried the magics
Hwarin took from the solar temples and established this special subcult.
An initiate who has 90% skill in three of the following: a Craft
(Cooking, Mapmaking, Masonry, or Shieldmaking), Devise, Shield Parry or
Spear Parry, Spear Attack, and World Lore can become a Road Warrior.
Road Warriors gain three Divine Spells reusably.
Special Divine Magic: Roadstrength, Shield, and Truespear.
Roadstrength: 2 pts, ranged, one-day, nonstackable, reusable. This spell doubles the target's base STR, with no restrictions or maximum limit. The target must be in contact with a road to receive the spell's benefits when the spell is cast. She/he may move off the road subsequently and retain the STR advantage each time they return to the road while the spell lasts.
End of Glorantha Digest V1 #333
WWW material at http://hops.wharton.upenn.edu/~loren/rolegame.html
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