It's only in acquiring the whizz-bang big "divine" magics where you might suffer a disadvantage. But then, it has always been the case in post-Runequest Glorantha that the closer you emulate your divine archetype, the more powerful the magic you can wield. So yes, the more powerful magic is available to those who not only have the same runic associations as their god and who continuously recreate their god's actions. That's the essential nature of heroquest and why devotion is so powerful: it allows you to become your god. For a little while at least.
[At least, that is, until you reach the superhero level of magic and transcend such limitations by creating your own mythology. But this is where you start getting to Godlearner levels of heroquesting, and writing game rules about something that is about breaking the fundamental rules in the first place starts to become a waste of effort. Or Time.]
Actually I think that we, as players, make too much of a fuss over cults and initiation. We separate them and make them something special and distinct, rather than integrating them into the fabric of the society. Yes, they are important and wonderous moments in the life of the character, a recognition of adulthood and adult responsibilities and the role the character is expected to play in the community, but for all that, membership and acceptance in the society is still something that is also quite common and pervasive. Although that being said, there are interesting story ideas that happen when one cannot gain acceptance (for whatever reason) within the society one wants.
Ian
-- Ian Borchardt (iborchar_at_...) Philosoph, Fool, and Magician "That is not dead which can eternal lie, And with strange Ians, even death may die."
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