Re: Banned Orlanth worship

From: Light Castle <light_castle_at_...>
Date: Wed, 20 Oct 2004 18:12:44 -0400


Thanks all, for mostly helpful comments.

Jeff, I tried to find this on Lokarnos before I asked, but couldn't find much of use.

Everyone seems to basically agree that because the Lunars are primarily concentrated in the cities, the rural clans can skirt this fairly easily. This makes perfect sense with my understanding.

Peter is absolutely right that there are several generations of difference between Sartar and Tarsh, but the Lunars surely can look at Tarsh and use it as a model. Yes, you want to destabilize the tribes and the rulership, but they don't simply crucify every priest and kill the entire tribe. Not always, and not immediately.  

Bryan agrees that people are using the subcults that are less obviously Orlanth as well as parallel gods to get around the Prohibition while still worshipping Orlanth (as indicated in Thunder Rebels p75). And I agree something like the gradual move of magical talent to the hills is probably an important point

As for cities:

> In the cities I think the change is much more dramatic. Priests
> crucified, and more devout people trying to slip out of the city for
> the hills. I suspect between deaths, reprisals, people who don't
> dare live there, etc, the cities de-populate a fair bit....making
> room for lunar carpet-baggers, of course. Many city dwellers would
> anyway worship Issaries, LM, or other specialized cults that are more
> at home in the city. Some probably go to communal worship (and of
> course still maintaining their city guardian to give them some
> magical defense). Others will find minor crafting gods or heroes.
> Since lunars control most traffic in and out of the cities, city
> dwellers will have a very hard time sneaking out to worship
> ceremonies, so I really don't think you'd see much subservise Orlanth
> worship left in the cities. So on top of losing part of the
> population, you've lost a major social and magical force that helped
> hold the city together. The resultant break down in city management
> is just the excuse the lunars need to put more of their people in
> important roles....

Tribal chieftans:

> I'm not sure if you have Barbarian Adventures or not. In there, for
> each tribe it mentions the king, and _none_ of them are Orlanth
> worshippers--not even Dar. They are too public to have any Orlanth
> association. Of course, most are part of cults without a king or
> even other leadership roll, so the tribes are all the weaker for the
> lack. The lunars are just so sorry about that!

Nope, I don't have Barbarian Adventures, and am again annoyed that the book I thought would explain Heortling life (Thunder Rebels) doesn't have anything on clan rings, what actual chieftans worship, etc. etc. So the Lunars have successfully made it so that tribal kings, at least, no longer can use that magic. Now that's important, since it means if I want the Baron to have survived the assault, he either has to abandon his Orlanth rulership cult, or not have been in one to begin with.

> Priests killed, some in hiding but unable to do very good services
> for lack of a holy site (think catholic priests hidden under Henry 8
> or Elizabeth in England).

I actually think that many of the priests of the more obviously repressed cults would have died on the wall. They, more than anyone, know what happens to their kind in Lunar-controlled cities, so many would have either fled right off or fought to the death. I'm sure some try to secretly keep things going, at great risk.

Old rivalries get more bitter as people
> rat each other out, or simply plant suggestions. Arguments in other
> cults between long term adherents and newcomers. Hatred and envy for
> those moving over to 7 Moms.....good stuff all around for stories!

Exactly. Which is why I'm trying to get a handle on it. That certainly helps. I should be able to get the feel for a newly conquered city with that. Luckily the 2 players in my game with Orlanthi backgrounds are an Issaries merchant and a Lhankor Mhy scholar so they don't need to be worried about being nailed to the cross just yet.

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