>The spin I'd put on those more extreme cases, without the benefit of
>knowing in more detail what's being referred to, is that they're at
>least more typically caused by breakdown in "diplomatic relations"
>between the different "aspect priesthoods", rather than a squishing
>together of wholly alien cults. If this ever gets to the point
>where, as it were, reciprocal recognition of each others' initiates
>ceases to be, then yes, you have Actual Separate Cults.
This I agree with. Although there is rivalry and differing traditions associated with the Storm Voices of Orlanth the Thunderer and the warrior-priests of Orlanth the Warrior, both priesthoods recognize that the other is worshipping the Big O. Heorl the Priest, a newly recognized Storm Voice, certainly does not believe that when Old Man Varmand and his foll owers invoke Orlanth through their rituals to Vingkot, that Orlanth isn't actually being invoked. Rather, I suspect that the Storm Voices look down upon OtW ceremonies and arrogantly boast that the Thunderer is the core of Orlanth. In a recent ToDP session, we had a little conflict of interest between the Thunderer cultists (led by Heorl the Priest) and the OtW cultists (led by Chief Varmand).
There are some significant weaknesses of the Orlanth the Warrior subcult, at least when practiced on a clan level and using the Vingkot rites. It needs to be led by someone who has undergone the Testing to be recognized as a Wind Lord (I seem to play initiation as a Rune Level to be considerably more iffy than RQ3), which is no sure thing in the tiny clans of the 1350s. A strong OtW subcult also seems to put pressure on being a War Clan, which is not necessarily a good thing. Finally, remember, most of your local men are farmers first, warriors second.
Of course, most of Orlanth's specialized aspects are generally found on a tribal or even an inter-tribal level.
As David Dunham commented:
>Jeff doesn't like the "Adventerous" label, but the subcult definitely
>exists. Jeff calls it Orlanth the Warrior. The subcult has many regional
>variations. For example, the Varmandi worship Vingkot the Victorious.
(This
>will all be detailed in our piece for Enclosure.)
True, I hate the "Adventurous" label and I have done a fair job of trying to eradicate it from my players lexicon. However, I view "Adventurous" as sort of a OtW lite - get some of the Warrior subcult spells without the War Clan pressure. Sometimes, I think it is one of Sartar's many calming influences.
Ultimately, the whole "multiple Orlanths" debate comes down to how you interact with Glorantha. My campaign focus is on the clan and the stead, and as a result differences between the clans and tribal interaction comes out fairly strongly - hence, "multiple Orlanths". A more traditional Orlanth v. Red Goddess campaign or a Pavis County campaign, such differences might not be relevant in the scope of the game.
Jeff
End of Glorantha Digest V4 #351
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