Thanks, guys, for saying that it's good. I think it's good because all I have to do is some up with a simple little plot, like "characters venture into countryside to visit ancestral shrine", sit back, and watch you all ham it up with cheesy overacting and demented ravings. I am now certain that Shargash does impart an aura of subtle violence to all his children, because Manliarvus, Dave Pearton's cadaverous and sallow Buserian initiate, is far better known for his accusatory cry "first against the wall when the revolution comes!", than he is for imparting any celestial wisdom. That is MGF.
As for the nature of the Shargash & Yelm cults, my model is based on our (Northwesterners + Dennis Hoover) interpretations of GRoY and FS, as well as some ideas from Greg, which actually might be mostly applicable to the Second Age. It's our model, and is in no way official. So much for the discalimer.
I talked with Rob Heinsoo at Chicago, and he said that Greg is working on a lot of Lunar/Pelorian material now. I pointed out how frustrating it is to play without being able to write up a cult that will gel with the future rules, because there are no rules. He aknowledged this, and agreed that we are basically stuck. SO - I say, go ahead and write up your own Yelm/Shargash/Lodril cults if you need them. They will be Gregged, but then again, maybe not as much as you think, especially if you use GRoY & FS. Share them if you like. But realize there will be lots of different versions.
FWIW, I use Yelm Imperaturs as true RuneLord/Priests of Yelm, and likely they are initiates of the Red Goddess, too. They are heads of families or parts of families, and rule with a peculiar Dara Happan blend of indulgence and brutality. My PC's fear their Imperatur, Uncle Thomastus, (or "Big Tom"), more than any savage barbarian, Lunar demon, or Imperial spy. Thomastus is Imperatur because he had the skill and the will to beat out his brothers and cousins, (mostly Sun Lords themselves), for the position. If the PC's were to ever go before Big Tom's boss, the High Imperator Urashzagam, they would likely need a toga change.
I use the printed Yelmic "subcults" of Saggitus and Hetasus, or whover, as localized godlets who are associated with the sky. They may be called on by soldiers, or even revered by groups of men or special military units. But a soldier worshipping Saggitus to become a better archer is not required to be decended from Yelm. There are over 100 deities in the DH pantheon, nearly 1/2 of whom are somehow related to Yelm! But in my Dara Happa, actual Yelm initiates are relatively few.
Your Glorantha may vary.
Pam
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