Re: Lunarised Sartarites

From: Jeff Richard <richaje_at_BL9fANaoDFXwJ_q211I_1Qls-1KZI0nvgWya4hr7_frS42RziDEfsl_47QmuioPnlaAa>
Date: Tue, 16 Dec 2008 07:00:42 -0000


> I'm pretty clear on what happens in the interim phase (between either
> conversion to the Lunar Way, or regression (!) back to the Storm
Pantheon),
> what form do the fully Lunarised Sartarite (and Tarshite since it was
> mentioned) rings take? Which immortals, or co-opted local gods,
provide the
> leadership magic? I appreciate that the Seven Mothers are popular,
but they
> don't have leadership magic (I can't find much Lunar leadership magic
> outside Davadeezola and Takenegi and I have trouble with the Sartarites
> abruptly becoming a matriarchy).

Keep in mind that even within the Lunar Heartlands only 14% of the total population has embraced the Lunar Way - after four centuries (although most of the satrapies worship a pantheon compatible with the Lunar Way)! In the Provinces that number will be lower. In Sartar, a truly "Lunar clan" will likely exist only if it is needed for your game.

The most important "leadership magic" any community has is access to its magical patron - be that a god or goddess, a land spirit, saintly essence, a group of powerful ancestors or whatever. Cults like Orlanth, Ernalda, and Yelm provide additional magic to the leaders, but that is going to be ancillary to the community magic itself. For example, an Orlanthi chief will have the Mastery Rune as some rating, but that will likely be dwarfed by his ability to call upon the clan wyter.

All of this is a long way of saying that a lot of community leaders don't belong to specialized leadership cult.

In Tarsh, you have the king of Tarsh who has fully embraced the Lunar Way. He can likely call upon his great-grandmother Hon-Eel as a powerful divine patron and likely has several very powerful Lunar magical guardian entities. That's probably the basis of his leadership magic (although the Lunar Tarshite kings were also powerful magicians in their own right)!

In Sartar, the household of Sartar can call upon Sartar himself as a patron, and through him can invoke the many magical bargains made by Sartar. Temertain has failed to relight the Flame of Sartar (along with the other duties of a Sartarite prince associated with being the priest of Sartar), and can't call upon that magic.

Does this help at all?

Jeff            

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