<<* Is Elmal another name for Yelmalio? From what I've seen they seem
to be very simular.>>
Elmal is the Orlanthi sun god and is certainly very similar to Yelmalio. Whether they are the same entity is a somewhat metaphysical question (as with, say, Yelm/Somash/Kargzant). Their worshippers are separate, with different temples and traditions, so IMO its better to think of them as being different for game purposes.
<<* Who did Orlanth beat up, Yelmalio or Elmal?>>
Yelmalio. Elmal is a loyal thane of Orlanth, and looked after his stead while was away on the Lightbringer Quest. In the mythology, Orlanth and Elmal met when they fought each other on a bridge. Both fell off, Orlanth rescued Elmal and they became firm friends; I don't think that counts as being 'beaten up'.
<<*Do Elmal and Yelmalio get along?>>
I'm not aware of any myths where both of them are in the same place at the same time (which takes us back to your first question :-)) but their worshippers don't seem to get along with each other very much these days because they're vying for essentially the same role in the tribes.
<<*Whats the relationship of Orlanth to Elmal and Yelmalio? In the cult
book it says that Yelmalio is worshiped among the Orlanthi barbarians, but I
thought Orlanth beat up Yelmalio. It seems that there is a lot of conflicting
information about these gods, unfortunatly I seem to be missing the peices
that might put the whole thing together ( if such information exists ), any
help would be much appreciated.>>
The source for all of this is King of Sartar, specifically the essay entitled 'Making Gods'. The cult of Yelmalio is a relatively recent innovation amongst humans, having been founded by a bloke named Monrogh Lantern in the late 16th century. Yelmalio appears to have originally been an elven deity (I think the actual elvish name is Halamalao) and to have been adopted after Monrogh heroquested to try and work out how both Elmal and Yelm could be the sun god. Monrogh established the Sartarite Sun Dome Temple after receiving a land grant from King Tarkalor and initially had considerable success in converting Elmali to the worship of Yelmalio. It was later transplanted to Tarsh by the Lunars, and from there to other regions.
What is never stated in any sources I am aware of is whether or not Elmal worshippers survive in the early 17th century or whether by this time they have all converted to Yelmalio. It would seem likely that they do survive, but may save headaches for the GM if he choses not have two such similar cults around :-)
We do know that Yelmalio is popular amongst the Alda-Churi tribes of northern Sartar as well as in the Sun Dome Counties. It may well be that Elmal is still worshipped by other tribes, especially the wilder more 'backwoods' ones, and those far from Monrogh's and/or the Lunars' influence (such as in Ralios and Wenelia).
I suspect HW will provide more definitive answers about the survival of Elmal's cult since one would reasonably expect 'Elmali Sun Carl' - or whatever the title is - to be a player character keyword if such people exist.
Forward the glorious Red Army!
Trotsky
Powered by hypermail