From: RuneQuest-Request@Glorantha.Holland.Sun.COM (RQ Digest Maintainer) To: RuneQuest@Glorantha.Holland.Sun.COM (Daily automated RQ-Digest) Reply-To: RuneQuest@Glorantha.Holland.Sun.COM (RuneQuest Daily) Subject: RuneQuest Daily, Fri, 09 Sep 1994, part 3 Sender: Henk.Langeveld@Holland.Sun.COM Content-Return: Prohibited Precedence: junk --------------------- From: 100303.141@compuserve.com (Staffan Tjernstrom) Subject: Duck cults Message-ID: <940908135442_100303.141_BHB48-2@CompuServe.COM> Date: 8 Sep 94 13:54:43 GMT X-RQ-ID: 6115 [slightly edited by me for proper linelength - HL] For your delectation and delight, here is a writeup of the cult of Rubbah Duck as used in the UK Student National Championships two years ago (35% ducks on a Vampire Hunt!). I make no excuses for the RQ II'ness of the description. THE CULT OF RUBBAH DUCK I. MYTHOS AND HISTORY A. BEFORE TIME Rubbah Duck is a great duck that appeared during the Greater Darkness. He was responsible for enbling the cursed duck race to come to terms with their new form, pointing out that they still had their beloved waterways to return to should things not work out as they had at first expected. Little is known about the actual words and deeds of Rubbah Duck during the Pre-Dawn, apart from the fact that he has been known to appear at fairly 'regular' intervals during this period to help ducks out of a particular quandry they were facing at the time. B. SINCE TIME BEGAN Rubbah Duck has through his Pre-Dawn examples kept Duck society happy and continues to soothe the sometimes ruffled feathers of that community by a nice hot swim. C. LIFE AFTER DEATH The worshippers of Rubbah Duck can look forward to death secure in the knowledge that there will be places to bathe at in Hell. The cult cares not a sausage what happens to the corpses of their dead. D. RUNIC ASSOCIATIONS Rubbah Duck is associated with the Beast and Water Rune. II. NATURE OF THE CULT A. REASON FOR CONTINUED EXISTANCE Since ducks have since time began been gifted/cursed with being close to water, this cult helps them cope with their problems by referring to the eternity and timelessness of the major bodies of water, as well as the joy of swimming in them. B. SOCIAL/POLITICAL POSITION AND POWER The cult offers a vision of reassurence as well as careful tendering, and thus occupies a small space in each duck society roughly equivalent to one of the Orlanth/Ernalda duo-sub-cults in Sartar. There is at least a shrine to Rubbah Duck in every major duck population centre (ie Ducktown). Politically the cult has little if no influence. C. PARTICULAR LIKES AND DISLIKES Rubbah Duck cultists, by their very nature are great lovers of waterways. Thus it is friendly with any other cult thus associated. They try not to dislike anything too much, since they realise that this is probably dangerous. However, if they did dislike something it would probably be Chaos in some form or another for despoiling the water around them. III. ORGANISATION A. INTER CULT ORGANISATION Generally very informal. Basically, whatever the local Priest says, goes. There is no overall structure of the cult. In the case of two Priests meeting and the need arising for distinction (unlikely) then the priest with the larger body of water under his/her domain would be considered the most senior. B. INTRA-TEMPLE ORGANISATION This is typlically according to the wishes of the local Priest (it is very rare to have more than one in any one locale). Generally it is a classic pyramid with the head honcho, a few people who give the orders and actually keep the place running (Initiates) and lots of bodies (lay). C. CENTRE OF POWER, HOLY PLACES The cult centre of power is in Ducktown, where there is actually a temple with a High Priest. Any body of running water which it is possible to swim in is regarded as a holy place. D. HOLY DAYS AND HIGH HOLY DAYS. There is a Holy Day each Waterday, and a high holy day on Waterday, Movement Week, Sea Season. IV. LAY MEMBERSHIP A. REQUIREMENTS TO JOIN Rubbah Duck welcomes all creatures that are capable of swimming. B. REQUIREMENTS TO BELONG Lay members are expected to donate a point of temporary power each High Holy Day. C. MUNDANE BENEFITS Being a lay member allows the member free use of the waterways under the control of the cult. D. SKILLS Lay members can gain training in the skill of swimming at half cost. E. BATTLE MAGIC Lay members have no special relationship with battle magic. V. INITIATE MEMBERSHIP A. REQUIREMENTS FOR INITIATION The prospective candidate must be a duck and have a swimming score of at least 90%. He must also perform a service for the local priest, which should be such that it can be performed within a single season. B. REQUIREMENTS Once accepted into the cult of Rubbah Duck, the intiiate must donate one point of temporary power each holy day, and two points on the High holy day. The initiate must be present at at least 50% of the services held in Ducktown each year. Furthermore, the initiate must help teach the young ducks how to properly behave in the water, a sometimes thankless task. C. BENEFITS The initiate gets 4 weeks free board and lodging a year in conjunction with the High holy day. During this time the initiate receives free training in any skill for which a teacher is available. D. SKILLS There are no special skill benefits/restrictions for an initiate in the cult. E. SPELLS The initiate gains access to the following two cult battle magic spells WATER BREATH Range-touch POW used-1 point Type-unfocused on self, focused on others, passive, temporal This spell enables the caster to breathe under water as if the caster was standing in air at sea level on a clear day just after a heavy cold front has passed. WATER SIGHT Range-touch POW used-1 point Type-unfocused on self, focused on others, passive, temporal This spell acts as the FARSEE spell, but under water. It allows perfect ocular vision through pure water, but the effect is reduced in contaminated water. VI. RUNE LORD MEMBERSHIP A. GENERAL STATEMENT The Rune Lord of Rubbah Duck is a protector of waterways and duck civilisation. As such he must aspire to be the epitome of all that is duck-like. A Rune Lord of Rubbah Duck is actively encouraged to become a Priest as well. B. REQUIREMENTS FOR ACCEPTANCE To become a Rune Lord of Rubbah Duck one must first have been an intiate in good standing for at least 10 years. Candidates must have a 90% ability in Swimming and a weapon, plus three other ablities. They must also have the normal requirements of 15 POW and pass their priest's examination. C. RESTRICTIONS Rune Lords of Rubbah Duck are obliged to go to the aid of any creature in difficulty in cult waters. They must never knowingly enter a desert. D. BENEFITS Rune Lords of Rubbah Duck can expect free board and lodging at any site of worship, where such is available. Furthermore Rune Lords of Rubbah Duck can initiate members into the cult at the rate of one a month. VII. RUNE PRIESTHOOD A. GENERAL STATEMENT A Rune Priest of Rubbah Duck is a spiritual leader of all water-using creatures. He serves to smoothe the ripples of discontent that blow up from time to time in any civilisation. These are people who are all-out pacificts, but not quite as extreme as Chalana Arroy worshippers. B. REQUIREMENTS FOR ACCEPTANCE To become a Rune Priest of Rubbah Duck a candidate must have been an initiate in good standing for at least 10 years and have a Lord or a Priest as a sponsor. They must have a POW of 18 and know their native language at 90%. They must also pass their priesthood exams which do not allow bribes. C. RESTRICTIONS Rune Priests of Rubbah Duck are not allowed to knowingly start conflicts or foul any waterway. Since they spend most of their time in contemplation, all their DEX based skills are limited to a maximum of DEX x 5. D. BENEFITS The main benefit from being a Rune Priest of the cult is the respect that it gives from other water-using beings. A Rubbah Duck priest has few if any automatic enemies. E. RUNE SPELL COMPATIBILITY Since Rubbah Duck is a fairly powerless spirit these days, the cult priests only have access to standard 1 point rune magic spells. F. CULT SPECIAL RUNE SPELLS None. VIII. SUBSERVIENT CULTS NONE. IX. ASSOCIATED CULTS NONE X. MISCELLANEOUS NOTES NONE. --------------------- From: jacobus@sonata.cc.purdue.edu (Bryan J. Maloney) Subject: The Cult of Vinga Message-ID: <9409081943.AA17480@sonata.cc.purdue.edu> Date: 8 Sep 94 09:43:38 GMT X-RQ-ID: 6122 Okay, since people have been asking for a cult of Vinga, here is what I am using in my campaign. Note that while it is written as an independent "cult", its political position is as an Orlanth subcult--basically, the relationship is more complex than simple Godlearner constructs will allow. The Cult of Vinga Introduction Vinga provides an outlet for warrior women in Orlanthi society. Unlike the avenger cult of Babeester Gor, her followers are still within the bounds of society. Mythos and History Vinga is the sister of Orlanth. Unlike her female relatives, she felt no love for cooking, child-rearing, or other typical womanly things. Thus, she declared that she was to be considered part of Orlanth's war circle. Orlanth, full of himself and of his own great wind, laughed at her and she left, vowing to make him eat his laughter. Along the way, she encountered Eurmal, who tried to seduce her. Vinga turned the tables on Eurmal and "caught him by the short hairs". She then made Eurmal show her the secret that he had shown to her brother Orlanth. To make sure that he would make good on his promise, Vinga held Eurmal's "bits 'n pieces" as collateral. Eurmal sneaked into Orlanth's circle and replaced Death with a copy. Then Vinga took Death from Eurmal and tossed his genitals into a bramble for him to scramble after. She then went to find the Emperor, who had many times humiliated Orlanth. If she could humble Yelm, then Orlanth would have to accept her into his circle of war. Unfortunately, she was on hand just in time to see Orlanth slay Yelm with his copy of Death. In frustration, she cast Death away, and Eurmal picked it up. Not one to avoid an opportunity for mischief, he left a copy in its place. Later, Vinga went looking for death and found Eurmal's copy, which she strapped to her side. During the Storm Age, Vinga had many adventures, but each time she took her trophies to Orlanth, he patted her upon the head and told her that, while she was very good, the war circle was not her place. Orlanth would later repent his foolishness, after he repented of killing the Emperor. However, Orlanth's eyes were not opened until after he left upon the Lightbringers' Quest. Upon the Hill of Gold, when Elmal stood to defend himself against Zorak Zoran and his minions he was almost defeated, even with the flaming spear that Orlanth had given him, until Vinga leaped into the fray at his side(1,2). The two fought like brothers against the darkness monster and drove it off. In the fight, Vinga's magnificent brown hair, the color of the most fertile earth, was devoured by Zorak Zoran, and she was made completely bald. The entire top of her head bore the scars of the troll's teeth. Elmal bid Vinga to sit with him as his most honored warrior, and this is where she was when Orlanth returned from the Lightbringers' Quest. When Orlanth asked his thane how this could be, Orlanth was told of Vinga's courage and sacrifice. He looked upon his sister and was ashamed. Her beauty had been devoured by darkness. What man would marry her? Then he saw her eyes and was shamed even more, for no sadness marred her face. She blazed with glory and joy at her status of warrior and hero. Then he knew that the War Circle was Vinga's place, not the hearth. Orlanth called Vinga to his side and placed her upon the war circle. As token of her defense of Elmal, he gifted her with a fine head of red hair--the color of the fire she had defended. Some say to this day that children born with red hair are "Vinga's brood". (1)Orlanthi in areas with Yelmali tell the story a little differently. In their versions, Vinga does not fight alongside Yelmalio, but charges into battle after Yelmalio has been defeated and drives Zorak Zoran off with her fierceness. (2)Yelmalions themselves tell a different story. They maintain that Vinga stood by idly and watched Yelmalio suffer. Then, when Zorak Zoran left, she sneaked to the weakened god and tried to use her "wicked wiles" to steal the last remnants of his guttering fire powers. Yelmalio, in his bewildered state, succumbed to what he thought were ministrations. But all that was left was enough to color Vinga's hair red--the mark of her wanton-ness. Vinga then ran off to find other prey. Cult Ecology This cult's major function is to give a place to women who prefer to walk the warrior's path, but she's also the mythic sister of "girls who wanna have fun". Requirements to join are close to Orlanth Adventurous (see below), except that the applicant must be a woman and must dye her hair red if it is not already so. Vingan Wind Lords are called "Red Women" by many people. Among the Orlanthi, Vinga has a reputation as a lusty, strong- willed goddess, who knows what she wants and goes out to get it. Most stories involving her revolve around the attempts of various gods to seduce, induce, or woo her to marriage, and her many ways of outwitting them. She is seen as witty, a master of weapons, and quite the flirt. However, she is also portrayed as a steadfast warrior and champion of the weak. Vinga's cult stresses the use of wit as well as weaponry, and there are many stories involving Vinga and Eurmal (usual progression: Eurmal tries something on Vinga. Vinga sees through the trick. Eurmal's trick backfires.). Vingans are not forbidden to marry, but it is unusual for one to do so. It is common for women widowed by violence to become Vingans as well, since Vinga does have some avenging function. However, Vinga is still within the circle of society, so her cultists do not become the scary, single-minded avengers of Babeester Gor. Vinga's worshippers are expected to be able to toss out serious zingers when men get offensive, the sort of stuff that just deflates self-styled "gifts to women". Example: Drunken Yokel: "Hey, Red, what would you say to a little fuck?" Vingan: (Sweet, sweet smile) "Good-bye, little fuck." Crowd in bar dissolves in laughter. EXTREMELY Drunken Yokel: "Hey, Darkness Chick, what would you say to a little fuck?" Babeester Gori: (Drawing ax) "DIE! DIE! DIE!" Crowd scatters as hapless yokel is dismembered and killed. Furthermore, it is possible to change from worship of Vinga to worship of Ernalda. (Some say that Vinga and Ernalda often share their divine "elevenses" when Vinga isn't off adventuring.) Chaos is the ultimate enemy, since it brought sorrow to Vinga's sisters and mother. Darkness and darkness cults are also disliked, since Vinga fought alongside Elmal against Zorak Zoran. The Troll Berserk god is considered to be a particular enemy of Vinga's cult. Eurmal's tricksters are tolerated by Vingans, mostly because Vinga made good use of Eurmal many times over in the Godtime. Barntar is a favored god, since he restored Vinga's fertility after she had touched Death. Heler and Vinga have a very close relationship, and some claim that the two are married. Elmali are especially friendly to Vingans, and it is not unheard of for an Elmali warrior to take a Vingan wife or for an Elmali to actually encourage one or more of his daughters to become Vingans. Vinga considers Elmal to be very close, as well, for he was the first to accept her as she wished to be. Yelmalions, on the other hand, don't like Vingans much at all, and see them as wanton, and generally of loose morals. Vinga considers Yelmalio to be a whining little boy, who is just too jealous to admit that he was saved in combat by a woman. Yelorna and Vinga get along about as well as acid and base. Vinga sees Yelorna as an "uptight little priss" and Yelorna sees Vinga as a "dyed-hair tramp". Initiate Membership Prospective initiates must be women, at least 16 years of age, and must succeed in skill rolls for Fast Talk, Jump, Speak Stormspeech, Weapon Attack, and Weapon Parry. They must sacrifice a point of POW to join. Initiates must give 10% of their income to an Orlanth priest or Red Lady. Initiates may not become sorcerers or shamans. They are required to spend 5 weeks a year in defense of an Orlanthi community. Initiates have a place within Orlanthi culture as warriors. Membership guarantees them a roof and a blanket and a place in the clan. They also get 50 hours of training per year in cult skills and 1 point of cult Spirit Magic every five years. They are taught Stormspeech for free up to 25%. Initiates may sacrifice for Divine spells on a one-use basis as would an initiate to Orlanth. Spirit Magic: Befuddle, Bladesharp, Coordination, Detect Enemies, Fireblade, Heal, Mindspeech, Mobility. Red Lady Membership The Red Lady is the laughing warrior, the hell-bent woman of war and adventure. Her life is danger and strife for the sake of glory and the safety of the hearth. A candidate must have been an initiate in good standing for a year. She must have a 90% Sword Attack plus 90% in four skills chosen from among the following: Climb, Fast Talk, Hide, Human Lore, Jump, Ride, Scan, Sneak, Stormspeech, Weapon Attack, or Weapon Parry. She must also pass a test of sincerity (Divination cast upon her by a Priest--GM decision). Red Ladies have duties similar to those of Wind Lords except that they do not have the Lightbringers' oaths or obligations. However, they must defer to Storm Voices as priests. They also defer to chieftains and other representatives of Orlanth Rex. Upon meeting any Elmal cultist, they ritually offer aid. If the offer is accepted, they are bound to defend that cultist from whatever threat may be immanent. They may then demand hospitality (which, according to some rituals, includes a roll in the hay). If they meet a Yelmalio worshipper, they make the same offer. However, most Yelmalions will reject this offer, since this would indebt them to a Red Woman. Red Women are not required to taunt Yelornans and call them "cross- legged, dry-valleyed prunes", but it is a fairly common practice. On a roll of POWX3 or less, an allied spirit is granted to a new Red Lady. This spirit will either be an awakened shadowcat or embodied in the Red Lady's sword. Red Ladies may obtain the following Divine spells reusably Common Divine Magic: Heal Wound, Sanctify, Worship Vinga. Special Divine Magic: Command Sylph, Flight, Shield, Sureshot, Wind Words. They still may sacrifice for other Orlanth magic as one-use spells. Red Ladies get 1d10 divine intervention. Enthrall 2 points Temporal, stackable, reusable This spell must be cast upon an opponent in melee combat, repartee, or any other form of interpersonal competition. The Vingan must overcome the POW of the target with her own to have an immediate effect. Immediate effect is to completely entrance the target with the Vingan's weapon skill, witty tongue, etc. The target, if so effected, cannot take any offensive action against the Vingan. Furthermore, the target should act appropriately in other ways. If the initial effect fails, the Vingan may still attempt to overcome the target's POW ever time she scores a special success in the appropriate combat or interaction skill so long as the spell is in effect. Stacking the spell extends its duration accordingly. Red Ladies may also sacrifice for the following associate cult magics: Elmal: Orlanth's loyal thane gives his sister-in-arms the spell Sunspear. This is only in lands where Elmal is worshipped instead of Yelmalio. Huraya: Orlanth's servant will lend his Scarf to Vinga when she needs it. She gives Vinga's cult the spell Mist Cloud. Chalana Arroy: She grants Restore Health (Constitution) to Red Ladies. Ernalda: Ernalda grants Heal Body to her hard-living sister-in-law (in gratitude for introducing her to Heler, some say). Eurmal: Eurmal and Vinga had many adventures together. He grants Charisma and Remove Penis to his sometimes companion. Heler: There are many connections between this deity and Vinga. He grants Rain to her as well as to Orlanth. Also, any Vingan can demand a soft, warm bed from any Heler cultist (and possibly demand that the Heleran do the warming personally). Yelmalio: He grudgingly grants the spell Catseye to Vinga in areas where Yelmalio is worshipped instead of Elmal. However, it is a two point spell for Vingans rather than a one point spell. ---------------------