Daniel McCluskey :
>I would have to answer that it absolutely DOES change the god.
>Humakt is probably the very best example of that change... Arkat (our
>token Hero going nuts) went and took some obscure storm godlet,
>surgically removed him from Orlanths Kin, and gave him a 'rilly spiff
>sword. Even if you are unwilling to accept that Humakts "character"
was >largely CREATED by Arkat for his own purposes, Arkat DID change
>the god in the course of his heroquesting.
Unfortunatley, the Humath-Arkat > HumaArkat > Humakt theory is not supported by Greg, and so cannot be considered to be canon untill such time as he is persuaded of it. Or untill he comes up with an even cooler
thoery of his own.
Richard Ohlson :
>...For one, does a hero path have to represent the direct
>actions of a god, or can they reflect the actions of a hero.
If the hero is acting as an avatar of the god, then both are true. Achieving this is a vital step in the establishment of a heroquest.
>My players, of course, feel that it's only because THEY haven't gotten
around
>to it yet, but seriously...it's gonna have to be REALLY difficult, no?
Pinching stuff from another cult is as hard as it gets. You're realy putting your soul on the line. They'd have to do serious preparation work, probably over many years. They would need to steal documents and religious writings from the cult, interrogate cult members privy to it's
heroquesting secrets, infiltrate worship ceremonies, etc. They would have to have the full backign and explicit support of their own cult, and be able to demonstrate that the heruquests and rituals they were copying were compatible with their own religion, it's ideals and principles. All of which is a tall order if you're doing it as an aggressive act against another religion.
A less risky option is to try and prove that your cult and another cult are actualy related in some way. There was some talk way back on the digest about a quest to prove that the Storm Bull and Blue Boar berserker cults are one and the same. i.e. Would a storm bull initiate be able to wtake part in blue boar ceremonies, and what would have to be
done to allow this. I forget the details. Of course, nobody is going to let you just walz in to their ceremonies and do their quests on a whim.
>Oh, and just wondering, do you think that Orlanth and Humakt have the
same
>ritual for Shield? What with them both being storm gods and brothers?
Or
>is it a matter of, "Different spell, similar effects?"
Presumably both Humakt and Orlanth had magic shields that protected them from physical damage and magical attacks. The ritual to sacrifice for the spells would re-enact the stories of how the respective god gained the shield in question. Since the Humakt and Orlanth cults are closely related, it's likely the two rituals have much in common.
Simon
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