>Lowell A Francis asks:
>This brings up an interesting question for me, at least for day to day>
>play in the campaign world: what are the typical cult distributions among
>the Lunar Army. I recognize that this will vary from area to area, but
>how much can we expect to see Dara Happan (Yelmalio vs. Polaris vs.
>Shargash), how much Carmanian (???), how much "straight" Lunar (YT vs.
>YA).
Big question aand one which will be more fully answered in SGU BUT even then not to my full satisfaction. It will take an entire book on its own to do the Imperial armed forces justice, something I hope I can put out at a later date.
However, the first thing to remember about the Imperial Army is that it is composed of heterogenous units. It is not the Roman army or even the Greek army. It is way more varied than either of those. I prefer, if one must use a historical model, to consider it similar to the Seleucid army.
This has a considerable effect on the cults worshipped. Most regiments have a regimental deity which is usually a herocult or sub-cult of a wider cult. Most officers are also devotees of other cults while the rank and file are rarely more than initiates and may even be lay members in several war cults.
The basic building block of an Imperial army is the regiment. There are no permanent higher tactical bodies. These regiments are recruited from numerous sources and so an Imperial force will have a plethora of faiths in it. The Lunars have been successful in integrating this mix via the powers of inclusion available to the Yanafal Tarnils cult. Tarnils is the cult used at the formation level. There are many warriors and soliders of Tarnils but they tend to specialise in fighting. The Tarnils officer corps specialise in unifying their divergent commands into a cohesive force.
In some respects they are similar to the Brigade commands common in the US army today - the command has no fixed units under it, rather it is assigned units based upon its mission.
I'll run through some cults to give you an idea of the wide variety in the Imperial army and the frequency of their worship.:
POLARIS Uncommon, officer rank and of noble birth. Many Dara Happan regiments are commanded by Polaris officers. Unlike other war cults, they tend not to form any elites composed entirely of their cult. It is strictly an officer cult. It specialises in generalship and strategums.
YANAFAL TARNILS Very common. Forms both the unifying officer corps for the Imperial Army _and_ the rank and file for many units. Some elite units are entirely Tarnils. Tarnils is also very common in house troop formations and as mercenaries.
SHARGASH The Bodyguard unit of Shargash is assigned permanently to Raibanth, ostensibly to guard the Golden Proxy, but really to keep them away from Glamour. In Alkoth, of course, he is king, but they Alkothi army is kept split among the Heartlands and Cavalry corps and S's worship is not common outside of those units.
URVAIRINUS Very common among DH units. He is a popular regimental deity, even for the rank and file. Officers follow him, though usually of lower rank or cerebral method than the Polaris units. He is however a parochial deity and is disliked by Tarnils for the cults resistance to Lunar Inclusiveness.
DAXDARIUS Common for Pelandan units and a couple of Hoplite formations. The Carmanians venerate him to a degree but mostly his cult is without true military power.
HUMAKT Widely spread worship among some specialiist formations of the Empire. The Humakti of the Empire are Carmanian Knight-Killers and are often used by the Empire as shock troops (both in terms of impact and fear generated!). However, the cults darkers leanings has kept them out of the higher officer corps and thus any real power.
KARMANOS Cult of command in Carmania, followed by the high nobility of his caste.
BISOS Followed by the Hazar Knights of the southern satrapies of Carmania and by Pelandan sergeants of authorised house formations Of the Bull Shah tradition.
DUBURDATH Followed by the chivalric Lion Shah tradition, mostly in the central Carmanian noble houses. He is also venerated by a unit of the Imperial bodyguard.
YARA ARANIS Strongly worshipped as an active wargod only in the Red Lands. A couple of very nasty units of the Imperial forces are YA but her worship usually becomes common in the Heartland when nomads are a raiding.
HASTATUS & SAGGITUS Both normally worshipped as sub-cults of wider worship, they are the weapon cults of Yelm and are only devoted to by specialists in a couple of units. Most soliders venerate one or the other to some degree.
ARONIUS JORANTHIR Father of the Lunar Carmanians, his cult is followed in war against the Char-un, as the epitomy of Lunar Knighthood and by the most loyal of the Carmanian houses. Hated by the Pelandan troops though.
VERONDUM Spear god of the Darjiini, warrior king and focus of worship for a couple of units.
PANISHI Great spirit warrior and founder of the Char-un nation, worshipped for his courage, his cunning and his ruthlessness.
YELM *Emperors names*
The cult of nobles who are not Emperor (only the Emperor worships Antirius directly). All Yelmic nobles are fighting men by birth and training. Depending on the Emperor their family line is descended from, they can be highly militarised.
URIMAZ Sky captain and commander of Sky Marines for the Moon Boats. Doesn't get on too well with the Yestendos cult who crew them or the Vargari cultist who empower them.
KASTOKUM Creater of a integrated cavalry/infantry force that could actually defeat the Pentan nomads in their own lands. Followed by an increasing amount of Cavalry Corps units.
I could go on, there are a lot more.
>I understand that there has been a shifting of emphasis from the
>Shargashi War College to the Polaris (I think that's mentioned in the
>Enclosure).
The military doctrine of the Empire is varied. The Cavalry Corps is split into three traditions - Kastokum, Carmanian and Pentan while the Heartland Corps muscles in on their turf with the Dragoon units and the Avilry. Argument over the use of the large phalanx or the combined arms force abound as do a multitude of other problems.
>I have to agree also that I've always thought of Humakti as
>the "generic" war-god, given his original presentation in Cults of Prax.
>However, more recent discussions about Humakti mysticism and the
>presentation of Humakt in KoDP makes me wonder about this.
He certanly is important but not the generic war god, except for Orlanthi culture, and then he is more of a specialist. Orlanth is the generic war god.
>In terms of actual troops, how many are devoted to a specific war-god or
>is entry into one of those cults a fairly difficult or rare thing?
In the Imperial Army, devotion is not very common. It is usually the preserve of the regimental priests and the officers. Units which have all their members as devotees are elite and for good reason. Their magic is very strong.
>I have
>a hard time imagining levies taking up those rites and rituals, given
>that they have to return to their old life path later.
They are usually in the army for a very long time. Most peasants in Peloria who join up really don't _want_ to go back to their old life.
> The Seven Mothers
>is described as a "missionary" cult with central importance on the
>borderlands, so why is his cult usually presented as central to the whole
>of the military?
It certainly isn't the core of the army, Tarnils has that claim in the sense that he is the most worshipped individual war god while controlling much of the military. The problem has been that very little has been known about the Empire till recently. If you only have Cults of Prax to go on, it seems that the 7Ms are the core of the Empire. We have more info now.
Martin Laurie
End of The Glorantha Digest V7 #486
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