A brief idea of how I now think fertility works:
In Genertela, since Genert is dead, to get fertility you have to do something about it. So, to be able to father children, you have to be an initiate of a god who emphasizes potency (Orlanth, Yelm, Yelmalio to a lesser extent, Thed to be really extreme). To be able to bear children, you have to be an initate of a goddess who goes in for this: Ernalda and Uleria are the obvious ones from an Orlanthi viewpoint. You can always be an initate of another deity as well: in fact, a lot of people do this.
Next idea: there are several different sorts of Humakti. Those who stay initiates of Orlanth/Ernalda keep their fertility (though it might be reduced a bit), and of course stay members of their clan. Those who don't, don't.
Humakt is god of what? Death, severance, truth, honour, war, dealing with undead... I think initiates could join any of those aspects. Only the severance one insists on leaving one's clan. The Death aspect might well lessen fertility, even if the initate stayed with their original deity as well. Truth specialists would be valuable to their clan (or tribe, more likely) as law-enforcement. The tribal champion might well be a Humakti Honour specialist, but would have to be an Orlanthi as well since it's Orlanth's justice that's being called on.
Even if your potency/fertility has been lessened by proximity to the Death Rune, I'd always allow a ceremony by a fertility specialist to overcome the problem. Joe Bloggs, Sword of Humakt, is married and wants kids: so the couple spend a week in an Ernalda temple being prayed over. And paying for it, of course.
And of course, this doesn't stop wild-eyed maniacs with four swords in each hand claiming that ALL Humakti are celibate/ genderless/ dead/ whatever. Just remember that they mean all REAL Humakti: i.e., the ones like them.
Jane Williams jane_at_williams.nildram.co.ukhttp://homepages.nildram.co.uk/~janewill/index.shtml
End of Glorantha Digest V4 #253
WWW at http://rider.wharton.upenn.edu/~loren/Rolegame/glorantha.faq.html
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