Re: 7 Mothers?

From: Mark Galeotti <hia15_at_...>
Date: Sat, 14 Jul 2001 20:35:51 -0000


The Provincial Church (of the 7 Mums) is still the lead missionary agency for the lunar faith, offering as it does a rather less complex and subtle rendition of Sedenya's ineffable wisdom. I agree that quite what faiths and cults they push will depend both on individual factors ('I respect your swordsmanship Humakti; Yanafal Tarnils, though, bested Humakt. Come to the temple and spar with our scimitarmaster - I am sure he would relish to cross blades with one such as you') and also the local mythological landscape.

Consider, for example, HonEel dancing her way into the Tarshite earth rituals and persuading them that Ernalda is in fact She Who Waits. At a stroke, and without having to challenge the local Earth faiths, the groundwork is laid to co-opt them.

The other obvious example is Doburdun vs Orlanth. If you want to supplant a troublesome storm deity, you don't try and bolt-in some pompous and anal-compulsive Yelmic figure straight away, you at least scour your arsenal of deities for a suitably compliant storm deity.

Elsewhere, though, Doburdun will have little appeal. In dog-loving Balazar, I'd imagine the Sairdic god deity Jajagappa might begin to be pushed. 'Of course we worship dogs. In fact, we have great temples to them, and a High Priest of Jajagappa will be visiting Balazar next season.' Among the animist Praxians, I'd expect Jakaleel to be especially effective, but the Lunar Sable Riders themselves are also a useful bridge, worshipping as they do both ancestral spirits and the Silver Sable (immediately comprehensible to the locals) but also the theist deities of Jaquat and the Star Twins.

And if all else fails, then co-opt local deities. Heroquest creatively, Rewrite myths. Boost useful hero cults into full-blown local cults. Give the ones you like tax breaks and magical support, hit the others with extra dues, random discrimination and, if necessary, outright repression. Lunars, after all, believe in building heroes and recreating gods!

Mark

> Does it vary from territory to territory as they try to get a "Best
> fit" to the mythological landscape currently in place, or do they
just
> assume that their way is right/better?
>
> Does it make any difference if the area is currently (largely)
> Animistic (Prax) rather than Theistic (Sartar)? (Or Sorcerous, or
> mystic, but I know lessa bout those areas anyway...)

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