> >Possibly a subcult (or Hero cult) of Etyries for Carmanian style trade?
>
> Etyries already is a trade deity so I don't see why the Carmanians need a specialized subcult.
In all honesty, they don't. I just don't feel comfortable with Carmanian men worshipping a female deity. Plus, I felt that the Carmanians would favor a less individualistic god in favor of something leaning a bit more towards institutional trade. Of course, it occurs to me that I don't know all that much about the Etyries cult. Being Lunar, it may be that way already - We Are All Of Us and all that...
> That's because Lodril and Turos are the same deities at some level just like Entekos and Dendara are.
At some level, yes. Not so much as Entekos/Dendara, though. The pelandans seem to use terms almost interchangeably - "Entekos, Goddess of Virtue" and "Dendara, Goddess of Good Air", or "Entekos Dendara" and "Dendara Entekos". I don't think native Pelandans think of Turos as Lodril, except to say that the Dara Happans are sadly deluded in their attitude towards Turos if Lodril *is* the same god. IE the pelandans don't think he is just a lowly farmer god.
> >He was the Great God of Pelanda, after all, and Great-grandfather of King Gartemirus the Wise.
>
> He is not _the_ Great God of Pelanda
Perhaps not as such, but TOTRM 16 reported Turos and Oria as "the two greatest gods of Pelanda". He plays a central role in many of the myths in Entekosaid, and Greg's Gods and Goddesses of the Lunar Empire stated "Turos was the Great God of Pre-Carmanian Pelanda,..." It also describes him as giving laws to humans. He may not quite be an Orlanth, but he doesn't seem that far behind, IMHO.
> and the fact that Gartemirus can claim him as an ancestor means little to Carmanians.
Agreed. The fact that Turos was blessed by the pre-carmanian version of Idovanus might have had some carry-over to the faith of Carmanos, but not necessarily.
> Lodril is also a Great God in Dara Happa, but the Dara Happans still put his worshippers at the low end of the social spectrum.
But the Dara Happans have Yelm as the Great Emperor, and the Pelandans do not. Having reduced the sun to basically the tip of Idovanus' ersoon, who else would they choose as their male role-model? Idovanus (the pre-carmanian version) himself seems to be too distant.
> They do not want to undermine his power - they want to keep him in his appointed place.
Point well taken! <laugh>
> >This would answer a question one of my players asked: "Since their cults
> >are so fragmented, shouldn't the Carmanians suck at magic?"
>
> If the Orlanthi people are so fragmented, shouldn't they suck at fighting?
IMO, yep. After all, the well organized Lunars pretty much have their wicked way with the Heortlings until Argrath gets them working together rather than as unruly individuals. "Together we stand, divided we fall", and all that. As individuals, the Orlanthi are pretty formidable, but you don't win wars with individuals. Unless that individual is Harrek the Berserk... :)
Exactly how I should relate this to the Carmanians I am unsure. The Carmanians are neither as organized as the Lunars or as individualistic as the Orlanthi. This may be the source of their current relative weakness, and the product of delicate Lunar planning. On the other hand, are the Orlanthi cults really that much more widespread, open, and communally powerful than the secretive cults of Carmanian Houses? Carmanians are unlikely to get thousands of worshipers together for any but the largest (state promoted) cults, like Yanafal Tarnilis. Neither are the Orlanthi, from what I can tell. There may ultimately be no real difference at all.
Thanks again for the input!
~Kevin
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