Re: The number of devotees in a clan

From: Trotsky <TTrotsky_at_blueyonder.co.uk>
Date: Sat, 23 Mar 2002 11:35:51 +0000

> Me:
> [summary]:Devotees are economic specialists who
> comprise no more than 1.5-5% of the clan (based on the
> assertion in Thunder Rebels that devotees must be
> economically supported and figures for medieval
> ecclesiastical populations)
>
> Graham Robinson wrote:
> >While the Barntar devotee is working on your fields,
> what are you doing? Other farm work, most likely.
> Given most food is communal, the extra person working
> on the fields (any fields) increases the clans overall
> production.
>
> But surely this is how economic specialisation always
> works. You relieve me of day-to-day stead work so that
> I can concentrate on what I am really good at being an
> 'expert farmer'.

Surely being an 'expert farmer' is, by definition, doing all the day-to-day stead work and being really good at it? What else could it possibly involve? I don't see how one can possibly argue that a farmer is an economic specialist in the same way that a carpenter or warrior is, say.

> My role involves devotion to Barntar,

To do which, one has to farm.

> which gives me useful magic to oversome difficult
> problems and increase our yields. Overall productivity
> rises as a result of my magic, but to get that magic
> you have to support me while I forge close links with
> my god.

Forging close links with Barntar = doing the ploughing and other agricultural tasks.

> The same argument applies to mailing the best
> potter the clan's pot maker as opposed to everyone
> making their own pots. He will probably produce more
> pots than we need that we can trade for wealth, but we
> have to support him while he does it. A community and
> organisation is required for this.

True, but a potter is not the same as a farmer in this context.

> Now, some of the devotee's time must be spent on
> directly religious duties, but there aren't enough
> holy days to fill 60%. Much of his time must be spent
> in helping the clan with his magic and skill.

Again, helping the clan with his skill means doing the day-to-day farm work. Performing a profession that is directly tied to one's cult can count towards the 60% - you don't need any extra time on top of that. This is made especially clear in Barbarian Adventures. That's what those broken lines on the leadership charts mean: 'devotional work doubles as an individual's occupation' (p.12).

> Ihe time taken is not only Holy Days. Holy Days
> account for the communal worship figure of 10%. The
> remainder is personal time spent talking to the god,
> or enacting his life. Now sure for a Barntar devotee
> this can include practical activity, when you 'act as
> Barntar', but IMO being a devotee involves commitment
> beyond everyday life, a commitment that only leaves
> you with 40% of your time to spend on yourself.

That's fine in your campaign, of course, but its explicitly not the way it works in 'official' Hero Wars/Glorantha.

-- 
Trotsky
Gamer and Skeptic

MXLPs: 3 (Cap'n Q, Harvey Mills, Tim Hall)
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Trotsky's RPG website: http://www.ttrotsky.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/

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