rmv1_at_... wrote:
> [RE: Orlanth on the Lightbringers' Quest...]
> >Orlanth, the poor sap saddled with the
> >Active role, has to perform a thousand antics to prove himself.
>
> Orlanth as a "poor sap" would have set some of my old players to
> frothing at the mouth! And of course, would have brought an evil
> chuckle to myself in the process.
Hey, he had to walk. Ernalda, as Ginna Jar, just woke up in the right time and the right place. Much more clever, I think. (Dear, go down to the store and get me some eggs, milk and a Wakboth's skull?)
> 1. In the old supplements and (IIRC) KoS, when the Lunars make
> Orlanth-worship illegal, the Sartarites take to the worship of
> Barntar as a thinly-disguised version of Orlanth. With the HW rules
> in hand, it seems that people are called to the gods, not vice-versa.
> Will that mean that the old Barntar-worship will be/is gregged? Or is
No, in TR and in HW it mentions that they are hiding in other aspects or versions of Orlanth or his children. In this case, you are called to a god but you can move to aplace where the call is not as strong. You feel bad about it but you have a wife and family to feed and you can't do that if you're dead. You can't free Sartar if you're dead. Its not a heroic attitude but most folks aren't heroes.
> this merely a sop to the Lunars performed by the god-talkers of
> Sartar en masse? ("No, we're no longer making sacrifices to
> Orlanthcarl the Farmer! That would be illegal! We're with Barntar
> now! If you're looking for scoundrels who would so *contemptuously*
> violate Lunar law, may I direct your attention to the Roast Turkey
That's certianly do-able. But also the Lunars don't know and don't care. As long as there are no temples to Orlanth, they think that's fine. Remember that the Luanrs are, despite their outreaching culture, the product of a very organized, settled Dara Happan mindset. Cult = Temple. Big Cult = Big Temple. They don't really understand that _any_ hilltop is Orlanth.
> clan, there? Just between you and me, I think their chieftain has a
> stash of gold buried under his house that he managed to hide from the
> tax collectors! Why, yes, we have been feuding with them, now you
> mention it...")
True. And by this divide and feud strategy, are the Quivini consumed and distracted while the Empire builds its strength.
> 2. When a hsunchen uses his Shapechange talent, does he/she actually
> change form completely to the animal in question? The example in that
Yes. Poof, you're a gerbil.
> section with the Telmori implies that this is not necessarily the
> case; I don't have my book handy right now, but I believe it says
> something like, "If the candidate is found worthy, Telmor will imbue
> him with the spirit of a wolf, or, since the character comes from
That's how they get the secret but its also how they get each individual talent.
> Dragon Pass, a werewolf." Can the hsunchen use the Shapechange talent
> then to only change part of his/her shape, as with the integrated
> spirits, but with the benefit of being able to do it in new ways?
Its implied that the various talents might shapechange you when used, but its really at the whim or call of the narrator -- remember, all magic is visible. Your nose becoming a muzzle to Smell Prey On Wind is visible...
> 3. Is it possible for someone to sacrificially worship, say, Kolat,
> yet be an initiate to Orlanth? How about temporary ecstatic worship
More rules on how Kolat and the Earth Witch interract with the pantheon will be in Storm Tribe. However, you can't worship Kolat and Orlanth at the same time. Not withotu missapplied worship or the like.
> of a local Great Spirit (the Deer Spring Woman, or Deskartha's Year-
> Stag) while maintaining theistic worship of a deity? [Even if this is
> possible, I imagine it is the exception instead of the rule.]
Very much an exception, I think.
> 4. How do the husband-protectors of Ernalda fit into the Heortling
> Ernalda cult, say, in Esrolia? I recall that Esrolia is supposed to
> be kind of a Heortling-like culture where the gender roles have been
> reversed at the leader and ruler level. I would suppose that her cult
> would be approximately similar, but am confused as to how to fit the
> husband-protectors into it.
Similar, yes. The husband-protectors fill various roles in the society and the men join these cults. They don't have much authority, unlike Orlanth -- being fragmented and weak. They are the male cults, and are not a part of the Ernalda Cult. Though, I suppose you could say they are a part of the Earth Tribe though marriage. The Storm Tribe is not as important down in Esrolia, it seems.
> 5. What happened to associate gods? No more lending powers to the
You don't get that anymore. You can use Divine Aid.
> other gods in your pantheon, I see. Or is this still practiced
> somehow, and I've overlooked it? This would drastically affect the
> powers of some of the old RQIII gods and the shape of their cults,
Yes. It has. Much of the game has changed. However, subcults and herocults are a mainstay which adds flexiblity to the various cults. But on the whole, the single rune-spells are dropped. Divine Aid is usable by and for anyone in the pantheon, which is nice -- you can get help from gods you never could in the RQ -- like Gustbran or Uralda.
> since some of them depended heavily on other gods to beef up
> otherwise small selections of powers, i.e. Pavis, with his elemental
> affiliations. Or is this being changed to a new understanding, where
> these connections and stolen powers are being made more integrally a
> part of the cult?
Sometimes. Stolen powers are often contained in a sub or Hero-cult. Check into the Zorak Zoran writeup on the Issaries Website for an example of this. Remember, a cult implies worship and sacrifice and if you've stolen something, you're probably not worshipping the target of your theft...
Jeff
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