> **
> Do you have to be an initiate in a cult to use magic that is
> supernatural? (a rune affinity over 1W)
>
> Yes. That is how theists get a connection to the magical world, more or
less.
>
> I have players coming from a D&D background where a cleric dosen't really
> have to do anything in game to be able to cast spells. I know that
> initiates have to spend at least 30% of there time devoted to their god.
> What does this involve?
>
Unlike most D&D religions, Gloranthan cults tend to be tied to communities
and myth cycles. So the Heortlings don't really have a "god of war" a
"goddess of healing" and so on. They have gods that did various things
during God Time that how that they are great fighters or great healers or
whatever, but the optimally are more than that. Anyway, you need to present
the gods as being present in people's lives all the time, if, perhaps,
metaphorically.
Part of the initiate's magical duties are celebrating the major holy days of the clan, where you just show up and act as part of the crowd (unless you are the most senior/only initiate of a particular deity, where you might have more of a "role"). Much of the rest is doing things that your deity did, either ritually (eg it's a Holy Day to your cult, so you get together with others and do a public or secret ritual for your god) or mundanely (e.g. an initiate of Bartar, the farming god, probably says prayers before plowing, offers special sacrifices when someone gets a new cow or opens a new field for cultivation, does secret and public rites with the initiates of the grain goddesses, etc). This can be a great tool for getting players immersed in the culture -- once you and your players have a few myths under your belts, ask them to describe what they are doing -- "this is the celebration of when Orlanth first left home. You are Yinkin, his brother, what do you do in the ceremony to see Orlanth off?" or "You are celebrating the Ancestors; it's part of the job of Lhankor Mhy initiates to recite the deeds of the past. Whose story are you moved to tell?" -- if they play their cards right, you might get an idea or an image to use in the adventure -- "remember how Ketil the Brown deceived the bandits? Maybe that would work here...."
What does a temple look like? Is it like a church? One player is an
> initiate of Lhankor Mhy and the other of Yinkin.
>
Heortlings are pretty rural, and most gods don't necessarily get all that
much of a temple -- Orlanth (or Orlanth and Ernalda) might have a hall,
but they are as likely to be worshiped at standing stones and caves.
If your clan has a lot of Lhankor Mhy initiates, you could have a temple building or a shrine where records are kept, but it could equally be the outcropping of rock where the clan's laws and customs are recited every year. It could be the cleared circle at the edge of the stead where the clan holds a poetry contest every year (written records could be kept in a shed nearby or in initiate's homes, with each person responsible for their share of lore).
Yinkin is a more interesting question. There is probably an image of Yinkin in whatever passes for Orlanth's temple. If he is especially honored by your clan, there might be a shrine or building, but it might be more fun to play off his cat nature. I read somewhere that dogs calculate territory much like humans do -- from this tree to that rock, then over to the stream up to there and back to the tree; that's mine -- but cats like places and the paths between them -- this chair is mine, and the window ledge in the morning, then on the door side of the bed when the people go to sleep -- so maybe Yinkin's holy places would depend on the day and time -- it might be this standing stone, or the old oak by the edge of the stead where the alynxes sharpen their claws, or roof of the barn when it's sunny, and so on.
I would talk to my players and see how into this sort of thing they are. It's a great way to get them to create detail so you don't have to, and it can be used later to generate stories -- when you go to the dust bath out in the forest to celebrate Yinkin by rolling around and sunning yourself, there is a strange worshiper there, celebrating in *your* space! What do you do?
Baically, initiates should be doing what their god did as much as possible, both in obvious rituals and their daily life. Neither the Lhankor Mhy nor the Yinkin worshiper probably do a lot of work in the fields, but they still need to earn their keep -- Yinkin by hunting, Lhankhor Mhy by knowing and remembering things. They probably have "day jobs" to account for the other 70% of their time, but it should all be colored by the god with whom they are affiliated.
Or that's my take on it, at any rate. I like to stress the rural quality of Heortling life in my game. A town-focused game might play differently.
Peter Larsen
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