How do people think the Big Transcendent Secrets are supposed to work? Granted no player character is ever likely to want to learn them but I want to know for NPC motivations.
The book says 'you learn the secret, you become one with the god and vanish' but I don't think that's what it means exactly. What I think it means is 'you learn the secret, you use the secret successfully, you become one with the god and vanish'. Reasons I think this are twofold.
Firstly for Maximum Game Fun it's a lot more interesting if the Incredibly Aged Patron who has spent the last umpteen years learning the Inner Secret of Orlanth can leave it to the end of his life to try to unify his soul with that of the God. Imagine the scene as he lies dying in a Hero's arms and calls out for Orlanth to take him....
Secondly, the fact that the Secret can be abused (the book only mentions on p167 serious consequences when someone fails in their attempt to overwhelm the god: shouldn't there be serious consequences when someone succeeds too. Have there been successful usurpations recorded? When exactly?) means to me that it doesn't totally overwhelm the person learning it and they can partially or temporarily become the god. Remember if KoS when Argrath is referred to by one of the epithets of Orlanth?
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