To cut a long answer short: universal. Note, the Orlanth _religion_, not what corresponds to what's the 'Orlanth cult' in RQ2/3 descriptions, which as I understand current thinking, which may be scarecely at all, or something more akin in Orlanthi society initiation into an _aspect_ of Orlanth, which is an additional, separable step, on a footing with initiation into a different god. (Though perhaps not always so formalised.)
> RQIII changed this; we find out that people join a cult as an
> initiate, apparently as part of their adulthood ceremony. So lay
> members are now so ineffectual that they aren't really covered to
> any great degree in RQIII.
"Different type of initiation", they said, and laughed as if at some huge joke...
> Now, I'm not saying this is good or bad, but it does raise
> interesting questions. Elves, for example, generally ALL are
> initiates of Aldrya. Some also have other cults (Yelmalio,
> or whatever), but they virtually all have Aldrya. Apparently,
> Elves that don't worship Aldrya are "rootless" Elves, which are
> essentially not really part of normal Elf society.
>
> Is it the same for Orlanthi? That is, would non-membership in the
> Orlanth cult be regarded as suspect in Orlanthi society? In other
> words, would most (say) Chalana Array, Istosaries or Llankhor Mhy
> initiates also be initiates of Orlanth? (I can see Humakti being
> sufficiently strange that they wouldn't be, but the Lightbringer
> cults are fairly closely associated with Orlanth. In fact, that
> brings up a secondary point - given that Humakt severed his Storm
> dies in GodTime, are Humakt initiates even ALLOWED to join Storm
> cults? Assuming, of course, we're not talking about Illuminates).
>
> The reason I ask is that for my upcoming campaign (for which I'm
> going to offer a selection of pregenerated characters), I'm going
> to throw in a couple of Issaries initiates (maybe Llankor Mhy, too,
> although I'm leery about a beginning PC having a 90% anything), and
> I want to know if they would be expected to be initiates of Orlanth
> as well.
> --
> GAZZA
> "To know others is wisdom.
> To know one's self is enlightenment."
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