Skip to content
The Well of Daliath
Menu
Menu

Culture Precedes Cults

Posted on March 21, 2023

It is fascinating how hard it is for us post-modern Westerners to disentangle themselves from the idea that culture precedes cults, even in a fantasy setting such as Glorantha.

To a very significant extent, in Glorantha cults drive culture. By looking at the significant cults (say more than 2% of the population) in any particular community, we can get a quick overview of some of the key components of that community’s culture. Now not all is going to be driven by the cults, but they are important drivers.

So if Orlanth, Humakt, and Storm Bull are all significant cults in a community, that is going to mean something. Similarly if a third of the community is initiated into Ernalda, that is going to mean something. If both Storm Bull AND the Seven Mothers are present, that is going to mean something as well!

One of the forthcoming Cults books is going to be providing a lot of this sort of information and should really help with expanding Glorantha outside of Dragon Pass and Prax (and will shed a lot of light on those places as well!).

Now cults do change in Time – but that is a result of their followers continuing interactions and experiences with the God Time, aka heroquesting.

Why would a heroquester want to change the nature of a cult? That’s another post – but people tend to assume that hero questers intended the specific experiences they had. But the God Time is not so easily contained or controlled. The two most common types of Heroquests are:

  1. We know our god did things but we have not experienced it. Orlanth defeated Aroka, so Alakoring quested to experience that event, and came back with Orlanth Rex magic, which enabled him to defeat the Diamond Storm Dragon.
  2. We need something more than we have, so we will interact with the God Time. We are familiar with the places of our god and can wield their powers, so that guides us and shapes our experiences.

Obviously these two are interwoven.

How would a Lhankor Mhy initiate feel about an initiate of Orlanth Lawspeaker for example? Orlanth Lawspeaker is just Orlanth + the LM associated spell.

Aren’t ALL men were Orlanthi and women Ernaldi. I think we need to let go the idea of a few % participating in religion. Everyone does. It has real demonstrable benefits? Not all men are initiates of Orlanth, even in Sartar. Not all women are initiates of Ernalda, even in Esrolia. In Sartar, about 34% of adults are Orlanth initiates. Let’s say that comes out to less than two-thirds of men, as there is a distinct Vingan community. But there are also initiates of Yelmalio, Seven Mothers, Issaries, Humakt, Storm Bull, etc.,

Jeff Richard

Next
Previous
Cult demographics, Cults of Runequest (preview)

Sections

  • Search Tips
  • Current RuneQuest Glorantha Publications
  • RuneQuest Glorantha Corrections and Q&A
  • Catalogue
  • References for Glorantha
    • Gloranthan Canon
  • Gloranthan Documents
  • RPG Systems & Versions
  • Gallery
  • About This Site
  • Get involved!

Latest Posts

  • Solars, Orlanthi, and the Monomyth

    So if we think about the transmission of Solar myths …
  • Orlanth Rex is the God of Tribes

    Are all tribal queens and chiefs part of the Orlanth …
  • Tribe and Clan Structure

    I think there is a tendency to take how “fixed” …
  • Some Notes on The Dragon Religion

    The Dragon Religion holds that the Elements were formed out …
  • Some Thoughts On Dragons And Jung

    I’ve been increasingly thinking that True Dragons embody the Jungian …
  • Adventurers in the Hero Wars

    Now the big Hero Wars stuff operates at an orthogonal …
  • The Apotheosis of Mortals

    We moderns have inherited monotheism’s assumption that apotheosis of mortals …
  • Your Sartarite Adventurer and the Hero Wars

    From the Sartarite perspective, the Hero Wars last some 30 …
  • Argrath and The Sartarite Elite

    In 1627-1628, Argrath relied strongly on the Sartarite Orlanth Adventurous, …

Links

  • Chaosium
  • Chaosium’s RuneQuest RPG Wiki
  • Glorantha on BRP Central
  • RuneQuest on BRP Central
  • RuneQuest on Discord
  • Prince of Sartar Webcomic
  • Glorantha G+ Archives on Tapatalk
  • Search mailing list archive

Latest from BRP Central

  • The Shimmering Lake - Jonstown Compendium
  • Help dealing with a LM Sorcerer and an Ernaldan Shaman in 6SiS
  • Question about cult Initiation for characters in the Six Seasons in Sartar Campaign
  • RQG corebook reprints?
  • Dragon pass and Cults of Light and Fire........UK restock dates ?
  • Making New City Gods
  • The Tide and the Serpent (triolini and other wet talk)
  • Caladraland Sources?
  • Rhigos - A Jonstown Compendium Project
  • Lost peoples beyond the monomyth

Popular Tags

Boldhome (large city) Chaosium Colymar (Sartar tribe) Contents Cult demographics Cults of Runequest (preview) Ernalda Esrolia (homeland) FRA Furthest (large city) G+ post Genealogies Gods Wall Greg Stafford Guide to Glorantha (preview) Humakt Jar-eel Lunar Empire Lunar Pantheon Magazine Malkioni pantheon Map Michael O’Brien Mongoose MRQ1 New Pavis (small city) Old Glorantha Q&A Orlanth Orlanthi pantheon Photo reference Population demographics Prax (homeland) RQ3 RQG Sandy Petersen Sartar (homeland) Spirit Cult Star Subcult Tarsh (homeland & Lunar province) Troll Pantheon Yelm Yelmalio Yelm Pantheon Youtube

Recently added or updated

  • Dendara

  • God Learner Divine Genealogies I

  • God Learners

  • Ikadz

  • Zorak Zoran

  • Foundation for the Monomyth

  • The Monomyth I

  • The Monomyth II

  • Solars, Orlanthi, and the Monomyth

  • Northern Sartar & Tarsh Map preview

  • Tarsh map WiP preview

  • Tarsh (1625-1628)

  • The Population of Lunar Tarsh

  • Dundealos and Pol-Joni

  • Tribes & Clans

  • Eiritha

  • CHA4045 The Lunar Way – Q&A

  • Ethilrist

  • Buy the Guide to Glorantha and the Argan Argar Atlas!

  • CHA4039 The Smoking Ruin and other Stories – Q&A

©2025 The Well of Daliath | Design: Newspaperly WordPress Theme