As a first cut, I'd say that a devotee has a chance of commandeering an initiates 20% cult (not counting the 10% communal worship) time. That is, a Destori devotee might be able to get a Destori initiate to come and help him explore/track down gagarthi/deliver a message to a temple, instead of his usual time practicing with the fyrd and performing patrols.
> I'd assume that if the two people are already in a common social
> structure, then the rules of that structure define their
> relationship. But if a devotee of Cult X walks into a bar
(campsite,
> fight, whatever) where there are initiates of Cult X present, will
> they recognise him as having some sort of authority over them, or
> not? Will they even know he's a devotee without proof, unless he's
> famous?
As already mentioned, with soul sight they'll know he's a devotee and his runes. On top of which, with enough time to talk they can probably tell through knowledge of myth etc, provided they come from the same culture (Odaylan myths from the lunar provinces and odaylan myths in Sartar may differ enough that you couldn't tell, I don't know).
In the case where the devotee is the recognized religious authority over the initiate--a clan's devotee priest for example--then the authority is pretty clear. In the case where you have an outside devotee versus an initiate priest, or an outside devotee on the spot versus religious authorities (devotees or not) who are not there, it almost seems like each worshipper has to decide--sort of pitting your own piety versus your relationship to the temple.
>
> Now suppose they're all at a holy site of Cult X - same answer, or
> not? Think of those temples in Sartar that are jointly used by
> several tribes - would a Devotee at one of those be able to give
> orders to Initiates from other tribes? To what extent would their
non-
> cult social/political position affect this?
I think this is really case by case. If you have a relationship to the temple, and the devotee in question is a priest or other official of that temple, then yes I'd think they have the right to order you around.
Note that there are also all sorts of special cases. Clan war bands merging into the tribal war band, the right of Orlanth Adventurous worshippers to demand emergency aid from other storm tribe worshippers, and their right to demand favors back. The right of Ernalda worshippers to demand protection. In all of those cases these things are probably more thoroughly honored in the case of devotees, I'd think.
--Bryan
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