>Cult specialization is for more civilized folks- - and there are plenty of
them in Glorantha.
For me, the issue of cult specialization is identical to the issue of labor specialization - the Orlanthi of ToDP don't have enough surplus wealth to support much full-time specialization. Instead they rely on sort of an "amateur" approach. Farmer/herder + lawspeaker, Farmer/herder + warrior, Farmer/herder + crafter, Farmer/herder + leader, etc. Within the small clans of ToDP, the speciality positions are basically the chief and his household warriors. That's about it - and even they watch the chief's herd!
>However, I have two questions and a suggestion.
>DH stated that most Humakti temples in Sartar are shrines in Orlanth
>Great Temples. But I have always thought that in Maniria Humakt had
>permanently severed his kinship to Orlanth and was no longer part of the
>Storm Tribe (he is still connected to Orlanth in Ralios, this I know for
>sure). What is the source of David's statement?
Simply because Arkat created his own cult out of Humath, which he severed from its storm associations in order to keep Lokamayadon from taking the cult over, doesn't mean that the Heortlings don't think Humakt is part of Orlanth's pantheon. I mean, they think Humakt is the name of Orlanth's sword! Humakt is not Orlanth - Arkat proved that. That doesn't necessarily mean that the Humakt shrine is segregated from the tribal sacred sites.
>JR said that in his ancient Sartar initiates of non-Orlanth are found
>onnly at tribe and kingdom level. But, seriously, do the clans really
>miss a specialized Healer?
Yep. In my ToDP game there are NO priestesses of Chalana Arroy wandering around Quiviniland. None. Period. End of Statement. There are a handful of initiates (I think three or four) who wander about and are considered great holy folk by the locals, but that is it!
Personally, I don't like healing magic being easily available and I HATE the resurrection spell. How I handle Chalana Arroy cultists reflects my desire to introduce some grit and realism into my campaign.
>Yes, the Ernalda priestess can heal minor
>wounds, but can she cure the sick and treat the poisoned?
Minor wounds? Theya Two-Mothers saved Boranthos and Korol from mortal wounds by calling upon the Earth Mothers mighty healing powers and, I believe, saved chief Varmand from near-death by her ministrations! In my campaign Heal Body is mighty magic.
As for the sick - I like having my player characters terrified of broo diseases and evil spirits. Of course, my campaign is notorious for having issues like "do we have enough hay to feed our livestock during the winter", or "will we have enough food to keep the children fed during the winter?" The local Ernalda gyda cannot cure the sick without going on a pilgrimage and she can't treat the poisoned and that's the way I like it!
> I think that a _real_ healer should be attached to every clan, possibly
going on
>frequent pilgrimages to the tribe's temple to regain his magic.
Every clan chief would love to have a real healer but that's just wishful thinking in the 1350s. Tribal kings are lucker to have a healer.
>Each clan jarl should also keep an advisor/lawspeaker at his side, too,
and
>shouldn't he be a follower of the Gray Lord?
Nope. The clan lawspeaker is probably a follower of Orlanth Lawspeaker and, if the clan is lucky, an Orlanth godi. Again, in ToDP you can count the initiates of Lhankhor Mhy on the fingers of one hand. There is one shrine to LM in Colymarland and that's it for Quiviniland. A wealthy tribal king tries to keep a learned Southerner (usually Hendriki) at his hall, but there aren't that many wealthy tribal kings in Quiviniland.
Now this changes with Sartar, who definitely introduces the Grey Sages to his Principality.
> I think that the _source_
>of these cults is definitely the tribe, but cultists could be employed
>at clan level, too. Or do you consider them to be outside the clan like
>Tricksters?
In Ormsthane Vale we have two Heortlending settlers who are initiates into Orlanth and another cult (Lhankhor Mhy and Issaries). In both cases, the other cult has been subsumed into Orlanth subcult status (Lawspeaker and Goodvoice). The only Lhankhor Mhy sage in my campaign is a tribal retainer and not a member of any clan. The Issaries rune priest, Barntradus the Traveller, is a tribal thane and associated with a clan because he is also an Orlanth initiate.
Yours truly,
Jeff
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