Duck/human clans, initiation

From: Jane Williams <jane_at_williams.nildram.co.uk>
Date: Sun, 23 Aug 1998 09:33:04 +0100

Thanks to Joerg for an interesting suggestion:
> Actually, why not have the humans fostered (hidden away) with the ducks?
> Think of all the potential with lowly upbringing of destined people!
Nice idea, but I'll pass. I've already got them hidden away with the Lismelder: just how "lowly" do you want?

Alex:
> I was trying to spare the sensibilities of.... the hapless GM.
Thanks! I have enough problems here :)

Joerg(?)
> It's not like every citizen of Boldhome (under RQ3 terms) burnt off a
> point of POW to the city god (<>Sartar?) and one to whichever cultural
> deity was appropriate (usually O&E).

Under RQ3 rules, that's exactly what they did. And if you want to join Geo's, that's another point gone. Now add a "specialist" deity (LM? Issaries?), and there's another point. I always did think this was mind-blowingly stupid. (40% tithes, too).

Right, I've got them back in the clans where we know what we're doing (?). I still have a species and gender mix, and I still want the party to do most stuff together. My vague plans at present are to have a training period (in game terms, this is "add these points to your skills and read these background notes). Then we have three Quests to set up the mythic links. Not sure of the order yet.

1. Initiation into either Orlanth or Ernalda, gender dependant. This will just have to be separate. The Orlanth test is "the initiation of Orlanth" as per KoS, I'm not quite sure about Ernalda yet.
2. A trip to see the Second Son, be told the secret of the Star Heart, and participate in a scaled down IFWW. Everyone does this: this defines them as adult Heortlings/ Vingkotlings (One of the tests is to get the Orlanthi Greeting right. If they get all the way through it, the Second Son ends up greeting them as kin: and from then on, they are.)
3. The Clan Founder. At the very least, be presented to him/her by someone already a clan member who will acknowledge you as kin. I'd like to re-enact the Founding Myth as well, but that depends on how/whether David Hall gets back to me on Lismelder clans.

All of this would of course cost 1 point of POW. What they get in the way of spells will depend on what they do/attempt on the quests.

Comments, improvements??

Oh, and a thought on a loosely related subject. Back when we were discussing Ernaldan initiation, we decided that women-in-training get taught all the local spirits, esp. those of the fields, and how to keep them happy. Great so far. But whne that woman marries (most do) and leaves for her husband's clan (most do), she's faced with a new lot of spirits to learn. Reducing her efficiency considerably.

Conclusion: clans where the woman goes to the man's home have (slightly) less success with crops than those where the woman stays put and the man moves. But they also have more exposure to new ideas: if the women never move, they never learn new recipes, new weaving techniques, etc. So Orlanth-dominated clans have more Change, Ernalda-dominated clans have more Fertility. I like this!

Jane Williams jane_at_williams.nildram.co.uk http://homepages.nildram.co.uk/~janewill/gloranth/

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