Re: How best to learn about God Learners

From: Stephen Tempest <e-g_at_7siDQGeGA2GAt5TMJl-E0RXf2BBvKdBe02_PdHSgQwvne0U0lHzdssva-CXtDevQTLQFiqVt>
Date: Sat, 17 May 2008 12:50:31 +0100


"Jamallo Kreen" <jamallokreen_at_RGd1Sl2OYhz-PdQBMMb0QdIqxImo7DX49-qzg00b7uvC_FMU0uYBYyHNicbYeDBEqWTbxk7i8sp8yU69AAtr.yahoo.invalid> writes:

>There exists a novel in which one of the current Greater Gods (who had
>loved the pre-Cataclysmic, undivided goddess), endeavors to reunite
>the two halves back into the whole which he had once loved. The
>results are, as sages of matters Gloranthan might guess, rather ... ah
>... *different* than what he had intended, just as whatever it was
>that the God Learners did failed to work as they had planned. I could
>very easily picture my PC playing the part of one of the God's mortal
>henchpeople, but that would only be logical if my PC had somehow
>accumulated vast lore about the deities themselves which made him
>useful to the project design.

Actually, from the objectives you describe I think the Lunars might fit even better with what you're looking for than the God Learners.

The essence of Lunar mythology is that Sedenya, Goddess of the Moon, was once a perfect celestial being; but she took on the power of Cyclical Change and therefore started to devolve: passing through many reincarnations she knew suffering and gained experience until eventually she was no more than a mortal woman. But then a group of mystics and freedom fighters learned about her, and embarked on a powerful and dangerous magical heroquest to recover the pieces of Sedenya from all over the cosmos and restore her back into a great goddess. They succeeded (kinda) and backed by Sedenya's power, went on to defeat their enemies and establish a mighty empire. More importantly, their research and Sedenya's teachings also revealed ways for other mortals to awaken the divinity within themselves and ascend to godhood. The original seven heroquestors all did this, and many other members of the Lunar Empire have followed in their footsteps and become immortal.

In other words - the God Learners were studying gods dispassionately; they tended to see them as no more than anthropomorphised natural forces that could be analysed, categorised and dissected. The Lunars study gods because they want to become gods themselves.

Plus, in Gloranthan terms the Lunars come after the God Learners - and while they'd deny they were using the same techniques, there are certain recognisable similarities in their methods. The Lunars specialise in entering the myths of other cultures - just like the God Learners did - and twisting them to "prove" that the gods worshipped by other peoples are "really" Lunar deities.

The Imperial Lunar Handbook Part 2 (ILH-2) that Donald mentioned is the best reference on this aspect of the Lunars, including game rules on how to become a god. (Short flavour quote: "Once the hero has performed the Sevening Rituals, she has awakened her Seventh Soul. Once awakened, the Seventh Soul can never be put back to sleep or removed.")

There's also the Stafford Library book 'Arcane Lore' which contains even more of this stuff, but be warned that it's a complilation of notes and sometimes-contradictory fragments written over many years rather than a single coherent analysis or narrative.

Stephen            

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