Hi there,
It strikes me that the best way to deal with devotees and any cult religious hiearchy is to treat them as separate things. (This would probably hold true for disciples as well).
Your position in your cult's religious hiearchy can be based solely on politics and (maybe) how much hard work you've put into the job. You may not even require any strongly held beliefs to advance as long as you don't ruffle any feathers and follow all the rules.
A devotee on the other hand can be a loose cannon. Someone who's gotten in good with the boss' boss as it were. (Brown noser!) They may or may not be within the cult's established hiearchy.
Personally I would play Glorantha that devotees would be fairly common. Anyone who obsesses over their occupation and excels at it could be a devotee. I don't see that they have to fulfill any religious role in the community at all. Unless I'm following an aspect of a god that was dedicated to teaching or leadership I don't see it needing to have any broader community aspect at all.
E.g. I'm a devotee of Odayla. Odayla's the great hunter. I spend all my time obsessing over hunting to the point that even the other hunters think I'm overdoing it. Why would I want to teach people about Odayla? Odayla's not about teaching, he's about hunting. My personal path is hunting and emulating my god. To heck with everybody else. The only time I need other people is when they have something I can't make myself in that little time I have for nonhunting matters.
Who's a devotee?
The brewer who practically lives at the brewery trying to attain the
perfect brew.
The potter who smashes pot after pot trying to get the perfect one.
The scholar who has to be reminded to eat.
Not everyone can be a devotee, we're not all that driven. Many of us just want to get the job done well enough and go home to our families. Devotees are more holy "A types".
I think the example of the devotee's family needing appointments to get a hold of them is perfect.
Now you of course can be a devotee and part of the established cult hiearchy as well but I suspect those people are pains in the butt to other cult members. "Oh yes the cult's always done things that way I know. However Orlanth told me to do things this way."
Disciples must be utter horrors. Holier than just about anyone short of the god and doing whatever the god tells them to whether society approves or not.
I don't see the limits on specialists being too hard on this since people this talented at what they do are their own reward. As long as you can persuade the devotee potter or smith to part with their creations.
YGWIV (the I is for inevitably)
Oliver
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