Quite legitimately Mark wondered -
> In any event, and more to the point, I'm not at all certain why
>Jeff would have thought the non-existence of a Greek thief god would have
>any Glorantha ramifications. If Glorantha thieves get the chance to
>worship an entity that can make their work more productive, I'd imagine
>they'll do so.
OK, here's my point in a nutshell. My reason for bringing up RW cultic practices is to provide some context to my ideas of Gloranthan cultic practices. I don't believe that amongst the Orlanthi, at least, there is a class of people called "thieves" that "worship an entity that can make their work more productive". Most Orlanthi, even urban Orlanthi, worship the traditional pantheon with some foreign or regional cults thrown in. Certain "clans" of Orlanthi might sacrifice to an entity (say Lanbril) to gain blessings - but I think that the label "thief god" is a misnomer. Further such "cults" would be restricted to members of a "clan" or "guild" association - not to outsiders. It would be like the Varmandi letting non-clan members offer sacrifice at their clan shrines.
For folk with a penchant to take other folk's property who are not members of these clannish associations, I don't think there is are any special cults. They would worship their traditional clan and tribal deities as well as any "cosmopolitan" cults (like the Seven Mothers).
Finally, I hate the idea of a generic "thieves' cult" - as much as I hate idea of a generic "thieves' guild". The idea of a Theyalan "patron of criminals" (besides Eurmal) just struck an aesthetic nerve!
Jeff
Powered by hypermail