wrote:
>
> That was the point of it -- if Humakti still participate in
> the Communal Religion, pretty much everyone should. A closer
reading
> of the rules shows that devotees still have the time commitment for
> Communal Worship, so I assume they get whatever benefits from it
that
> their neighbors do (general fertility, clan harmony magic, wyter
> abilities, etc).
Here is my take on the devotee magic limits:
A devotee agrees to be a vessel for his or her god, filled with their
magic, and they will keep that pure without polluting it. They agree
to call upon no other god or lesser being for magic. This means:
They cannot:
- be members of any religion which does not include their god
(because generically they are looking for help away from their god)
- intiate to any other god (ask another god for magic)
- initiate to any hero-cult which is not considered part of their
gods cult, (remember that most gods have hero cults or soemthing
similar, just most of them have never been listed. See the Odayla
listing in ST for some examples). (i.e. can't get another god's
magic indirectly).
- call on any otherworld spirt or saint for help.
- call on any mixed-world being for magic.
They can:
- take part in the communal aspects of their religion, since it calls
upon their god as part of the pantheon and community of gods.
- join the hero cults of their god, since this is getting their own
gods magic, just indirectly.
- let others use magic on them or to help them, since this is not
calling upon some other god themselves. However, letting someone
from outside the pantheon use magic on them or to help them may not
pollute their magic, but may be against their virtues and best
behavior (would Odayla ask a soul-stealing Meldak for help? No, then
why are you doing it?)
- Use magic items. All magic is powered by the otherworlds somehow,
but magic items are a controlled and bound power. If someone else
bound their power into an item, and you took it from them, well,
their loss! Orlanth himself took mighty tools and weapons from many
enemies, and using the sandals of night just strengthened him and
weakened his enemies. Why should you do less? BUT, similar to the
previous case, using a magic item which is against the ethos of your
god is not a good thing. So an Orlanthi should probably not use
a "helm of obedience" (forcing obedience is what the bad emperor
did), an Odaylan should not use a spear that poisons everything
around him, a CA healer should not use a wand that launches balls of
lava at people.
Just my opinions.
--Bryan