Cult ecology

From: Benedict Adamson <ben_at_cd.co.uk>
Date: Mon, 17 Mar 1997 13:08:28 +0000


Paolo Guccione <teigupa_at_tss.tei.ericsson.se> wrote: ...
> 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? Yes, the Ernalda priestess can heal minor
> wounds, but can she cure the sick and treat the poisoned? I think that a
> _real_ healer should be attached to every clan,...

If you mean by a healer an initiate, I agree, but if you mean a priest, I don't.
I did a back-of-an-envelope calculation some time ago, which showed that a clan can support about 3 priests (because ~100 initiates required per priest, with some people initiates of more than one cult). I assume there is an Orlanth priest, an Ernalda priestess, plus one other from the pantheon. The third priest would be appropriate for the 'style' of the clan. Thus, in my campaign, the Varmandi are aggressive and so their third priest is a Sword of Humakt. Clans have different 'styles', so a tribe has a priest of each of the most important gods of the pantheon.

Could lead to interesting intra-tribal politics and MGF: the Chalana Arroy healer (priestess) is likely to be in a different clan. That clan has power by controlling access to the healer 'resource'. The tribal king would mediate dispute about access, and requests might have to pass through him (how good is your Oratory?).

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