> - How wide spread is the worship of Yelm Pantheon in the Lunar Empire?
> I've heard a lot of references to the Dara Happans being worshippers,
> but also to them having their own Gods.
Deities of the Yelmic Pantheon are among the most widely worshipped gods in the Lunar Empire. (Note: "Yelmic" doesn't mean "Solar"). The heartlands of the Lunar Empire are the old Dara Happan Empire, and its local gods (including many "minor" agricultural deities, as well as the big hitters like Lodril, Dendara and Yelm) are still extremely popular.
The Lunar religion has not, generally speaking, sought to replace "everyday" deities: its pantheon instead makes up the ruling gods of a multi-cultural Empire. You might say that "Lunarism" is a veneer over the underlying cultures of the Empire -- and mighty wars have been waged on the Digest and elsewhere over how thick, thin, important (etc.) this veneer is.
Certainly, nowadays the cult of the Red Emperor is of more practical and political importance than the former ruling cult of Yelm Imperator. But the Lunars accept Yelm as Emperor of the Universe -- their Red Goddess, by way of comparison, unifies the mortal, divine and mystical worlds. And the Red Emperor's right to rule derives from his Yelmic legitimacy as well as his Lunar parentage.
> - Do the Storm Gods get worshipped (Orlanth and Stormbull are illegal in
the
> empire, correct ?) ? How about the Malkioni-style Invisible God?
Some atmospheric deities are worshipped in the Heartlands -- Entekos and Dendara spring readily to mind (and are identified with treacherous Molanni by die-hard Orlanthi types). And in Sylila, Orlanth worship remains popular through the cult of the Star Bear (which was, of course, tamed and ridden by the Goddess).
I am not sure it's fair to say that "Orlanth and Storm Bull are illegal" -- more that the kinds of behaviour their devotees tend towards -- rebellion, thuggery, armed insurrection -- are (understandably) illegal. We commonly play games in Prax, where Orlanth is not a native cult but rather a troublesome exodus of rebellious types; and in Sartar, occupied by the Empire, where some Orlanthi leaders take extreme anti-Imperial positions. Further into the Empire, who cares?
Malkioni-inspired Sorcery is popular in the Lunar College of Magic, but this is an atheistic "spin" on the Western Churches. You can find "real" Malkioni in Carmania -- see Tales #16 on the Oronin Valley for more information (and some examples of Lunar and local pantheons side by side).
> - I've found a fair number of write-ups for Cults in the Lunar Pantheon,
> collected most of them, sorted them into feasible PC Cults and infeasible
> PC Cults. Has anyone made some sort of a definitive list?
The two lists I'd recommend are:
(1) my article on the Lunar Pantheon, in the "Rough Guide to Glamour", still available from your local Megacorp rep and in all good games shops (by definition).
(2) Greg Stafford's list of local Pelorian deities with extant cults, which also includes some of the Lunar deities, in "Enclosure #1".
> - Some interesting sounding cults are written up in back issues of
> magazines. Danfive Xaron was in an old Tales of the Reaching Moon. Does
> anyone have these sort of Cults on-line (if copyright allows, obviously).
Lunar cults published in Tales have included the Crimson Bat (#8), Granite Phalanx (#12), Red Emperor (#16), Danfive Xaron (#16), Jakaleel the Witch (#17) and Yanafal Tarnils (#17). Other than issue 8, these should all still be available through your local Megacorp reps. None of these cults have been made available on-line, and nor should they be until we've sold out our stocks and given permission for their use.
In short: buy Tales #16, Tales #17 and the "Rough Guide to Glamour", and you'll have loads of useful and playable recent information about the Lunar Empire. (Or our view thereof, if you insist).
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Nick
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