> > Mitigating the violence in
> > their society is slavery - a slave is only mildly abused by his
> > conquerer.
>Slavery sounds rather civilized, implying a tradeable commodity.
Not to my ears. Your suggested "thrall" implies that the Vadrudi are Heortlings, which I like to avoid. Perhaps the Valindi among the Heortlings would have Thralls but the Vadrudi in northern Fronela would not.
> > Priesthood among the vadrudi is little more than holy slavery.
> > Their person is sanctosant but their lives are made miserable
> > by the dieties they serve.
>Somehow I doubt that. What deities would that be?
All of the Storm Gods worshipped by the Vadrudi. It's a feature of their method of worship, which makes their deities capricious and fearsome.
>Demanding slavery? I just can't see that.
Even Orlanth has thralls. But I didn't write anything about demanding slavery, I simply said that their priests were holy slaves.
>Vadrus isn't worth worshipping - most of his powers are innate to the
>Vadrudi (berserk rage, strength, intimidation) and available from all his
>descendants, too.
IMO Vadrus has bequeathed a particular religious mindset to his offspring and this more than anything else marks his people as Vadrudi rather than Valindi. If the Vadrudi were to worship their gods in the Heortling manner, most of them would be a lot friendlier.
> > Although the Vadrudi regularly sacrifice to their gods to avoid
> > dire retribution, most of their magic comes from godlings and
> > spirits they have managed to capture.
>
>This feels right. Take Orlanth's mastery of the Four Weapons as an
>example. It would take a very successful vadrudi deity to get as many
>magics available as feats or even affinities.
No, the magic is acquired by the Vadrudi and not the gods they worship.
>Maybe priesthood should be a female occupation among the Vadrudi?
Insofar as the Vadrudi have priestesses, they are likely to appear as mad crones and hellish witches.
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