> > Maybe the rule of the Orlanthi "all" should apply to magic use as
> well? I
> > can see 6 out of 7 Heortlings will be primarily Theists, while 1
> will be
> > steeped in strange practices that are nonetheless part of Heortling
> culture
> > (Donandar musicians via Drogasi, Lhankor Mhy Alchemists, Kolating
> Shamans
> > and Odayla spiritists, weird inheritors of Youf magic, and so on.)
>
> Well, 6/7 follow Orlanth or Ernalda directly, leaving only 1/7 for
> all the other stuff to start with, and most of the other stuff is
> pretty 'normal' theism. Maybe 1/7 * 1/7 get weird? Even that might
> be high.
>
> Remember, by Greg's own calculation, most of the 'common' non-O&E
> cults have only ~1000 members in Sartar (hence the joke that every
> Humakti in Sartar is a player character!)
Perhaps you're correct. But now I think it moreso may be 1/7 of everyone does something weird, with most a good amount of O&E overlap. For example, Drogarsi and Odayla are both Orlanth subcults (Orlanth the musician [bagpiper?] and Orlanth the Bear, respectively). Ty Kora Tek deals with ghosts, but she's an Ernalda subcult. That otherwise normal Godi or Orlanth Thunderous may also carry a family legacy of some weird Youf magic.
Further, it seems to me that this 1/7 may apply to the character's total magic. A textbook case are the Odaylan hunting charms, which are clearly animist, even though an Odaylan master hunter who's a devotee may have mostly Affinities and Feats, he also has spirit charms which are part and parce; of his practice. In the case of non-concentrated Orlanthi heroes, this can also reflect weird spells, charms and talents picked up as part of the families lore, in travels, or through encounters during youth.
BTW, the Flesh Man common religion lists *only* Talents. From my understanding, Talents are magical powers of the Inner world. Does a concentrated Theism user retain knowledge of these Talents? I'd say yes, if they are part of the hero's religion. I see no reason why a Devotee of Orlanth Thunderous wouldn't keep the old Flesh Man tricks and chants he learned before Initiation. Further, I'd let him advance in them at double cost.
I would hold that for Devotees, the 1/2 Hero Point cost applies to all magic *that is normally practiced as part of your cult*. So, those Animist charms used by an Odaylan hunter have their normal cost, as opposed to a double cost, but they must be Charms strictly from Odaylan 'tradition' and ritual. I would also make the Lhankor Mhy alchemical scroll use cost the same as normal Affinities, but an LM would be limited to *strictly that use* of Wizardly magic, as it is part of his god's myth and lore. I'm not certain how the Lhankor Mhy Alchemy will be handled, with the new HeroQuest Wizardry rules.
Perhaps an option could be to concentrate *strictly on your cult's magic.* You get the break on your cult's magic, but can not learn anything else, even of the same magic type from allied cults. This might be the procedure of weird, mixed magic obscure practices such as Arkat heresies.
All IMHO,
CB
Powered by hypermail