I find that pretty understandable, really. I have a particularly hard time taking male players seriously as female characters, personally. (Vice versa isn't quite so bad, unless I'm just getting desensitised to it from running Pendragon...)
> What I still don't have is any idea what male potency has to do
> with Wind or Thunder.
Well, depending on what the Vinga cult/keyword/whatever ends up looking like, more specifically "Thunder", I think. (If OW/V end up with no wind powers at all, I'll quietly raise an eyebrow.) I'm not sure it's a remotely universal connection, but it certainly exists, even in modern popular culture, as has been pointed out elsewhere.
And as I said before, you don't have to buy that it makes sense, just that it's a cultural preconception, among the Orlanthi. One that a sufficiently determined woman could overcome, but frankly, why would most bother? Taking radical steps to enter a conservative priesthood? I think the "Vinga the Warrior" cult is as it is, mythic bunk aside, because that's the "mainstream of the non-mainstream" Orlanthi women _want_ it -- "Yup, give us the nifty zappy spells, that's the ticket. Cloud Call? I'll pass."
If you think of the Vinga "package" not as a take-it-or-leave-it, that's-all-that's-on-the-table deal, but rather as a vague coalition of the typical Wants of generic social rebel, then I think it makes reasonable sense.
To be even more woolily philosophical, I think there are few absolute cultic membership restrictions, though there may be more than a few unreasonable expectations. The culture not so much of "Noooo! You can't." (TM, Yelm 60,000YS), but of "Yeah? Prove it!"
For instance, Tom Zunder's Gay Blade Humakti subcult probably has the requirement "must have a moustache", rather than "must be male". ;-)
> The Heracles link I'll read up on, but I seem to remember that he was
> also an Oak god, and to some extent a Sacrifical King. Or maybe I've
> been overdosing on Robert Graves.
If there's one thing I recall from Graves on Hercules, is that there's more, different Hercules cults than I have any remote chance of recalling. (Specifically I don't honestly recall a Rain connection as such, but Lightning and Fertility are in there, so I'd hardly be surprised...)
> > > [Orlanth's] Test of Healing
> and Alex asked:
> > Remind us, and/or tell us more...
> KoS 166. The description of the stationary/short LBQ. And apologies to
> those who dislike quotes: press that Down button!
Actually I felt the need for a "sideways" button. ;-) Thanks for the reminder -- clearly it's not for nothing that your copy of KoS looks that much more "lived in" than mine...
While we're nominating Aspects, perhaps this is "Orlanth Lifebringer"? Or in RQ terms, the shrine to CA in an "Orlanthi Lightbringer" temple where you get "Restore Health: CON" from. Or in 'make do and mend' clan life, what you do on a SLBQ when your temple doesn't have a proper Healer... (Presumably in this case, Ernaldans need not apply.)
Slainte,
Alex.
Powered by hypermail