>Powergamers are players who wish to gain power simply because they like to be
>hard and bully people. Its an ego kick and is very very dull.
OK, but though Deville's mission in life may be pure, he is hard and he does bully people. Is a story where the hero kicks the shit out of the Black Fang and Thanatari head-hunters, humilities and executes members of the Lunar establishment, talks back to Sor-Eel, and fights Argrath to a standstill, not an itzy little bit of an ego kick? ;>)
Cat Fighting:
Michael Raaterova:
>Apologies if i sounded too vitriolic.
Don't worry I'm sure I do and will!
>Nonsense. They still need the old ways, but now they don't have to rely
>solely on hunting and gathering. Even hsunchen have crafting, cities (of a
>sort anyway, more like religious centres), trade (albeit limited), laws and
>institutions.
They don't need the Old Way. Farming and herding are enough, and Issaries can provide the rest. Sure, the Old Way's good to fall back on in real bad times, but it isn't necessary.
To suggest that the hsunchen are as civilised as the Orlanthi is foolish. There is a pattern of evolution in Glorantha from primitive societies to more civilised societies. One common path is hsunchen to Orlanthi. I don't say this is the only path or that a temporary reversal back to Old Ways might not happen in some cases. However the general movement in Orlanthi society is toward a more modern and "civilised" society. It's the only way to survive when faced by societies like the Dara Happans, Lunars, Henotheists or Rokari.
>First, i don't think gods need food in that way
I'm not talking about the gods, I'm talking about the worshippers. For me to devote myself wholly to the worship a god in Orlanth's pantheon other than Orlanth then that god has to provide a specialisation that I can make a living at.
So, for example:
Humakti are the clan housecarls fed by the clan. Or they are paid for
mercenaries.
Heler priests provide the rain for the crops, so the clan feeds them.
Uroxi either take what they need or are more often employed as
Berserkers/specialist Chaos killers.
Chalana Arroy healers are paid or fed for their healing.
Issaries trades and lives off his profits
etc. etc.
Yinkin *must* be a Hunting God. It's a sub-cult of Odalya (or in some cases supercedes Odayla as *the* clan hunting cult). Surely we can agree on this? His perceptive and scouting skills come from/are at the heart of this emphasis on hunting. Yinkini worshippers primarily live by hunting.
>>But, the point is that Yinkin is a sub-cult of Odayla and Orlanth. There
>>is no cult of Yinkin. HIS CURRENT ROLE DOESN'T WARRANT ONE [my emph].
Let's recap. As Yinkin is currently written up in official sources he is not a hunting cult. In fact all he has is a wishy washy "perceptive" role. In that regard Yinkin is not important enough to warrant a cult write-up since there is no reason for a substantial number of initiates of his cult to exist - for all the reasons given before.
Instead I would write him up as a minor god hero cult/sub-cult of Orlanth and/or Odayla which rune lords or priests can join to learn perceptive rune magic. Like the weapon sub-cults of Orlanth, hero cults of Humakt, or spirit cults of Prax.
*BUT* if Yinkin *is* a hunting god then he will be important enough to warrant a full cult write up. His cult will have viable place in the world and ecology. So for the Lismelder I will be writing up the Cult of Odayla and Yinkin: One man and his cat.
>David, this was one of the silliest replies i have ever read. Every god or
>spirit that has myths and can provide magic are worthy of writing up.
For gawds sake READ my posts. Did I say Yinkin was not worthy of writing up AT ALL? I said he was a sub-cult. Maybe you don't write up sub-cults but I do...
On the subject of of some gods/spirits not warranting *full* cult write-ups this is still valid. We must move away from the Chinese menu approach to cults. The current cult write-up format suggests they are all of equal importance and equal membership. That's just not true.
IMO in the Orlanthi pantheon the Cult of Orlanth and Ernalda provides an overcult to which all other gods of the pantheon are linked. Within the pantheon there are various specialised gods (e.g. Humakt, LM, CA, Issaries, Vinga) who are important enough in their own right to have many worshippers and their own cult hierarchies. There are even specialised aspects of Orlanth: Adventurous, Thunderous, etc.
However, many minor gods in the pantheon have roles that are on the wane, limited, or purely mythic that do not lead to them having any separate cult hierarchy or numbers of worshippers. I see these gods as being worshipped through the Orlanth overcult as sub-cults or hero cults.
FREX Mastakos is a minor god who has to a large extent lost his role since most Orlanthi no longer use chariots. His role these days is on Orlanth's Ring and in playing his part in myths and heroquests. I don't think he has initiates in his "cult", only a priest. And that priest is an Orlanthi worshipper who has joined the Mastakos sub-cult and taken that sacred role on the Clan or Tribal Ring.
Do you see where I'm coming from? I'm suggesting that minor gods don't warrant *full* cult write-ups because they are worshipped via Orlanth and Ernalda. Their write-up should be a part of the Orlanth and Ernalda cult because the god's role in the world and ecology is wholly wedded to O&E.
All Hail the Reaching Moon!
David Hall
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