I must admit, the more I do look at it the finer seems the distinction between a very powered-up initiate and a beginning devotee. A question of emphasis, rather than degree, perhaps. I mean, an initiate with Combat 15W (unconcentrated) or 10W (concentrated) trying to improvise Flickering Blade is *exactly* the same as a Combat 5W devotee using it actively as a learned feat (shoot me down...). The only differences I can see are i.) the ability to improvise non-listed feats; ii.) the ability (eventually) to gain access to the Cult Secret.
Admittedly the ability to improvise non-listed feats is going to become a killer ability, especially when the devotee is highpowered, but when you consider that an initiate, even with concentrated magic, gets to keep common magic feats and can use them actively, whilst a devotee can't, the case for becoming a devotee "quickly" becomes quite thin.
I suppose as a "way-back" Glorantha fan, I've been trying to shoehorn devotees into the "Rune Lord" mould for some time now (especially since both I and my players have become VERY used to Rune Lords and Rune Priests as facts of the Gloranthan "reality") - although from the start it did seem quite "easy" to become one in the HW and HQ rules. This discussion is making me see devotees as *not necessarily* the next step for every initiate, but instead perhaps a different flavour of religious dedication. This leaves Disciple as pretty much the Rune-level equivalent - and it's probably about as difficult to become a Disciple in HQ as it was a Rune-level in RQ.
The remaining question for characters will then of course be, when do I switch from being an initiate to being a devotee, since I need knowledge of the cult secret to become a disciple?
Cheers,
Sarah
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