Re: Leadership Magic

From: Benedict Adamson <yahoo_at_...>
Date: Sun, 16 Jul 2006 19:00:43 +0100


Roderick and Ellen Robertson wrote:
...
> Dar's leadership magic
> gives you access to the wyter (invoke wyter), radio-like communication
> (Summon clan, Rally clan), even ways to tell if your people are "good folk"
> (sense dishonor).
>
> It's *possible* to rule without these, but the smart money bets on the Dar
> worshipper.

...

As only Dar *devotees* will be able to use those Feats, of course it must be possible to rule without access to them.

What I had in mind, in querying whether ruling a clan without belonging to a leadership sub cult was possible, were the relationships between pantheons, worshippers, ceremony, magic and community. To the Heortlings, Orlanth isn't just the Storm, he is also The First Chief. Becoming a Chief means participating in a ceremony. If you favour Dar, the ceremony will be a re-enactment of (a mundane world, 'practice' hero-quest) the myth of Orlanth becoming The First Chief. The ceremony sounds very much like an actual *initiation* to Dar, to me. Followers of Ernalda, Heler and Elmal will have analogous myths to draw on.

But what ceremony would a weirdo Chief perform? The myth of Dar becoming Chief without that also being an initiation to Dar? I don't see how that would be possible. That myth, surely, as the myth that Orlanthi perform when they initiate to Dar, contains secrets that only initiates to Dar are taught, so only initiates to Dar can perform the ceremony correctly. Similar arguments apply for the other leadership cults.

I suppose you could argue that, somewhere, there are obscure leadership sub cults for other gods and goddesses, but tracking them down could be difficult. Just how well know is the 'The First CEO' myth that an Issaries follower would need?

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