Procreating Avatars of Death

From: Joerg Baumgartner <joe_at_toppoint.de>
Date: Tue, 4 Mar 97 23:38 MET


Pam Carlson utters
>Much agreement w/ David Hall about Babeester Gor losing her fertility.
>I would also say the same of Humakt. He is the god of death and
>endings, after all - pretty much the antithesis of fertility and birth.

The fanatics of these cults will be infertile, sure. However, the origin of the cult of Humakt is via the birth of Arkat Humaktsson.

>Fertilty in Glornatha is a magical thing - a gift from the ancient gods
>of life.

True. Is procreation? Mostali do it (reluctantly).

>If the above view is too extreme for your Glorantha, you could have
>initiates of these cults be fertile only on certain days, or only at the
>lower levels of cultic initiation.

Depending on the variety of the cult you attend, I suppose. Humakt the soldier needn't be celibate in any way - in the real world the passing of an army results in increased fertility.

>Frex, Humakti men may be somewhat
>fertile until they become Swords, or until they sacrifice for their
>first "Sever Spirit" spell.

Perhaps: Children sired by or born to worshippers of these (sub)cults become tools of death.

>Or Humakt and Babs may be temporary paths
>which people undertake until they have completed an oath or a vengeance
>mission - then they revert to their former Orlanth/Ernalda selves.

Any person joining the cult only temporarily ought to bear scars from the experience, magical as well as bodily, but this needn't end all fertility.

>You can, of course, do whatever you like in your Gloranthas, but do
>consider the full implications of the cults that your PC's flock to.

I must be lucky then - none of my players in their right mind chose any deity of death. The ones not in their right mind chose Yelmalio or Orlanth Adventurous...

>Glorantha is a magical world. Can a person really master a realm
>(death, life, fire, darkness) without some sacrifice to its opposite?

Yes. It's called Illumination.

But seriously, Death is not the opposite of Fertility, but its logical partner. Death creates Fertility. Best in Dragon Pass - the bloodier the battles, the better next year's harvest.


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