I think this suggests that you have an underclass of non-Storm deities for the non-fighting men, and I just can't see it. Pretty much every Heortling man is expected to defend the clan, attack enemies, provide for the people, and generally work for the clan to the best of their ability. There are a very few men in any clan who are so specialized that they do just one thing -- the redsmith, some of the weaponthanes, maybe the chief and some of the Ring. Godar and priests have, at the least, vegetable gardens, and, I think most thanes are also carls (functionally, if not by name), which means that they farm, herd, etc as well as do their special task for the clan. Similarly, to be accepted into the Storm Tribe as a "real man," a Darkness-, Fire-, etc being would have to have been able do these things, too. Look at the exceptions we know of: Kolat, Eurmal, Nandan -- all of these beings and their followers are odd -- not-men in some way. Elmal, on the other hand, provides combat abilities but also horses, and so on.
>(Of the named Thunder Brothers, only a few are notably married - mostly
>those Allfather guys. And in most of these cases, you have to look up
>their wives in the Ernalda section of Thunder Rebels to learn about the
>marriage...)
Or we just haven't been given their names yet -- I suspect that not getting married is odd in Heortling society. Some cults (notably the Death-aspect ones) don't, but they're weird. Having members get married and have kids is pretty important to the clan; a person has to be fairly eccentric to stay single. So unmarried gods should be fairly rare, even if their wives are little recorded in the literature yet. Think about the Norse gods -- they all had wives (to the best of my memory), but you have to dig around a bit to find them.
> > Combat is a big deal to the Orlanthi, but it's not the only thing. A
> > common religion should serve the common needs of the people.
>
>Much of this demand has been satiated not by common magic, but by
>introducing those Allfather subcults with those usefully broad domestic
>affinities.
Are you suggesting that there is a lack of combat gods among the Heortlings?
>Maybe the Heortlings are a special case in using less common magic than
>other peoples?
>
>Alternatively, there might be a "Four Providers'" common magic pool to
>draw upon.
A good idea.
>Specialist activities like barn-raising ought to have a specialist
>carpenter initiate leading a communal "service" rather than every adzeman
>enhancing himself.
That's a fair point, but I still think that most common magic should make the user a better person in their culture instead of a better warrior, basket maker, or whatever. Find Lost Child makes a lot more sense than Bladesharp (or Raise Barn).
>While I agree in principle, two masteries in Common Magic ought to
>outshine a stripling's 17 in the affinities. Some people like Griselda are
>heavy duty Common Magic users. (Is there a rewritten Griselda for
>HeroQuest?)
Yes, but a 10W2 Combat God Devotee should kick a 10W2 Common Magic Expert's butt in combat, although the CME might have a broader pool of abilities (that "I'm stronger than all who are faster than me and faster than all who are stronger" effect).
Peter Larsen
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