Re: Sample Deities in ILH1

From: Trotsky <TTrotsky_at_...>
Date: Sat, 19 Apr 2003 08:50:35 +0100

>
>
>*Somehow I have no problem understanding that basic sustenance
>deities are different in every area, but I was a bit surprised to see
>that specialized deities like the trade deity, the scholar deity, and
>the healer deity also changed with every Homeland. Aren't these
>spheres of influence were deities of the Lunar/Dara Happan elite have
>made more progress? I expected to see a lot more mentioning of
>Etyries, Irrippi Ontor, Buserian, Deezola, and Erissa.
>

They are mentioned; by the looks of it was felt that they didn't need to be mentioned repeatedly. You can assume that the 10% (or whatever) of the population in a given area that's described as 'Lunar' does worship Etyries, IO, Deezola and the like when appropriate, rather than whatever the local trade etc. deities are. Similarly with the Dara Happan populations and Buserian and Erissa. The listed deities refer only to the 'native' population of the area - those people who haven't changed their traditions as Dara Happans, Lunars and whatnot have overrun their lands in the past.

>*Maybe it's not of importance in actual gameplay for most people, but
>when I narrate/GM I'm immensely assisted by general figures and
>tables presenting population, structures, etc. I always liked the
>tables in Cults of Prax and Troll Gods, showing cult membership for
>tribes and areas. Is it even possible to produce such tables for the
>Lunar Empire? Maybe it could be put online as a deep source? (For
>Dragon Pass and the Heortlings at least I got some rudimentary
>figures: Orlanth & Ernalda 85%, 14 major cults of Sartar share 14%,
>the rest of the small cults share the last %...)
>

Yes; this would be a cool thing. Sadly, it was probably to difficult to do for every culture in ILH1 in the space available. Something like this would, I guess, appear in the individual culture books such as ILH3.

>*The deities as presented in ILH1 give me the impression that their
>is little difference in "power level" between an apotheosized
>human/deity active since Time began and deities doing their great
>acts in Godtime. (One small example: Kastokus with affinities Command
>Host, Hoozar, Kastokus Combat; Cafoldur the Lancer with affinities
>Cavalry, Combat, Horsecare; and Shargash with affinites Berserker,
>Combat, Destruction seem quite equal to me...)
>

I suspect you'll find that Shargash has a lot more subcults, though :-)

>Is this intentional, and
>why? Is the old notion from Runequest times that deities have
>different power levels abandoned?
>

I suspect comparisons with old RQ products is probably one for the Digest...

-- 
Trotsky
Gamer and Skeptic

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Trotsky's RPG website: http://www.ttrotsky.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/