I was (and still am) hoping (praying) that Nandan is just Greg pulling our collective leg, to see how much we're prepared to swallow ...
Pleasepleaseplease let him not be in Thunder Rebels !!!
> > David :
> > Nandan initiates are considered in all ways as women (and they wear
> > women's clothing). Presumably they shave all facial hair.
Well, that's probably an Orlanthi all at best.
Ever seen a Gay Pride event ?
> Or they loose the ability to grow it as part of the initiation/devotion
> or when they gain the cult secret.
In Hero Wars terms, Nandan's Affinities allow him to assume the powers of a woman. His HW keyword is probably ambiguous enough to allow your Nandani character to perform all sorts of interesting Feats ...
I don't think that they actually *lose* the ability to grow facial hair or to (the rest is left to your own imaginations). Certainly not actually, because (according to the tenets of Nandan's cult) if an enemy curses the women in their wombs, the ordinary menfolk can follow the paths of Nandan to allow new children to be borne into the clan.
"Only until our magicians manage to lift the curse, mind you ... "
> If they can birth do the loose their male genitalia and gain female?
Erm, no.
The exact details of Nandanic child bearing are pretty mucky.
Are there any children in the audience ? There must be ...
Ask Greg at a con : I'm sure he'd quite gleefully provide every mucky little detail...
> What about nursing a baby?
Help from the Eninta cult usually (this is basically a specialised wetnurse & midwife cult), but the Devotees of Nandan and Uleria probably have the right magic as well.
> Perhaps initiates still have male physiology, but are able to temporarily
> switch gender through the use of magic.
Yep. Initiates of Nandan temporarily gain the power to bear children ; of course, he also has his devotees ...
> Devotees start becoming more feminine - breast growth starts, beard growth is
> reduced, hips widen, male genitalia is reduced.
I don't think that they automatically become more feminine. Again, ever seen a Gay Pride event?
But they certainly *can* in Hero Wars terms, and many probably *do*. Ever seen a Gay Pride event? ;-)
> When the cult secret is learnt, the devotee becomes a woman and looses all
> male characteristics and they are able to conceive as normal.
Nope. They retain the primary physiological attributes of men in all cases. Nandan is the Birthing MAN.
Two Nandan initiates (but probably not devotees) could probably take it in turns to ... er ... hmmm, no there *have* to be kids on the ML ...
Come to think of it, the 'Marriage Status' info in KoS pp. 242-3 is obviously outdated and incorrect, because it fails to include the several classes of Nandanic marriage. 'Husband and Husband' & 'Husband and Underhusband' just scratch the surface of this vast topic, obviously...
What effect this might have on clan wedding restrictions is a topic that I hesitate to explore ; I mean, what repercussions when all the women of Clan A are notoriously cursed with sterility, while the men of clan B are ritually obliged to take their wives from clan A when it's converted to Nandanism ?
Quo Nandan devotees in exogamic clans ?
As for conceiving as normal, well : depends what typical Orlanthi think of as 'normal'.
I live in the Marais (c'est-à-dire Paris' gay quarter) and Issaries Inc is in Oakland CA. So for the purposes of this discussion, on this California based Mailing List, and from this Paris quartier, then yes! Nandan Initiates *can* conceive after _normal_ sex, thank you very much !!
Julian Lord
PS Is there a fatherhood cult for women among the Orlanthi ?
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