> But not always. Sometimes my obligation to Starkval is stronger than to
> Alex. Before some battle I might have to say, "Alex, Starkval says I can't
> fight here." What Alex says is, of course, what the story is about. But
> this kind of conflict is continual and has got to irritate everyone who has
> their following cancelled out by gods' orders. Especially devotees must
> have this continual battle between their material and supernatural
> obligations. God or king?
Easy, I just amend my job description to "God-king"... I agree; though in this case Starkval's demands are unlikely to be of the "don't do weaponthane stuff" as: that's the wrong thing to do for the clan/that doesn't befit my (and hence your) status/as w/t shop steward (is that "union rep" in 'Merkin?) demand better pay and conditions for the warriors, those carls are getting too tight with the mead and meat...
> Look: the issue of commitment in devotion becomes more important in the
> occasions when people's jobs do NOT overlap with their cults. It is nearly
> impossible to put that kind of time in unless: 1. It overlaps with your
> source of food/income; or 2. You have an outside source of income.
Indeedy. Or more to the point, if you want to take large chunks of "time off" from your "job" for "adventuring", in some free-form sense, unrelated to your other commitments.
> I am not
> concerned with how hard or easy it is to have lots or a few devotees or
> initiates in your hero band. I just want to be able to reply to someone who
> says, "I want to worship Bobbo the Buffoon Baboon," and reply, "OK, but the
> rules say I get to play your patron. "
Absolutely, as it must surely be my turn to remind the rest of the list, that by now I secretly suspect already know, this is a "narrativist" game. Therefore a "60% commitment" is a measure, for me, more of the GM's licence to tweak the _player_, rather than a notional commitment of the character (especially during unplayed down-time). If the difference in time-comm. ever became an issue in my games (and so far, they haven't, as in every case each player has been of the same 'initiatory status', so it's a practical non-distinction), I'd interpret it as "note to self to have the devotees' players get twice as much hassle, inconvenience and restrictions in terms of stuff _they_ (the players) want to do". (Note necessarily quite hassle or restrict them 60% of the time, I hasten to add.)
(Obviously I'm not saying the character isn't inconvenienced/restricted too: just that's not what I interpret the principle meaning of the rule as. I've had some slooooow sessions in my time, but I don't ever want to quite get to the point of playing in real-time. (Much less the Car Wars/Champions/Star Fleet Battles phenomenon of playing several dozen times _slower_ than RT...))
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