Travelling and god worshipping

[Emmanuel Ponette]

I’d like to start a new campaign (RQ6 and Glorantha). I’d like to start somewhere in Pamaltela (human part). But I’d like to make my players travel all around Glorantha. But I don’t know how to handle the fact the is some player chooses a religion, he will not be able to pray anymore. I imagined that, if a player chooses a goddess of Earth in Pamaltela, he could use any Earth temple to pray. But it seems a bit too much God Learnerish.

any idea on how to coop with this?

[Bruce Turner]

If the character is notable within their cult, grant them a talisman that allows them sufficient contact with the god for effective prayer, perhaps enough to regain one or two points in their devotional pool. They’ll be able to travel far from known temples without falling afoul of their god, but still leaves a significant incentive to search out whatever far-flung temples and holy sites they can find.

[Hannu Kokko]

I have exactly the same issue… Talisman might be ok – God learnerim that Emmanuel mentioned does not sound too appealing

[Olli Kantola]

You could also give out devotion points for doing stuff that is in tune with their god, but only if it means something. They don’t have to, but if they choose to, it’s a sort of sacrifice, I guess. Chalana Arroy initiate putting herself between armed combatants, Orlanthi initiate making amends etc. Doing something that’s already convenient isn’t much of a sacrifice. Better make these difficult choices – the stuff of adventures!

Perhaps there are lost holy places around. Want to sacrifice to Orlanth? Climb that mountain!

[Bruce Turner]

The idea of lost holy places is a good one. I’d recommend not parking them too closely or making them too frequent – they are, after all, “lost”. Start out the campaign with the characters learning the story of “The Seven Steps of Orlanth” (or other deity as appropriate), and give them an idea that there are lost sacred sites corresponding to the steps. They can look for them in the course of their journeys, the fact that there are several available becomes more organic to the adventure and not so contrived, and you can give your cultist character a long-term goal.

[Roko Joko]

YGWV, but Jeff’s writing on the subject last year is worth thinking about:
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http://www.glorantha.com/some-thoughts-on-the-gloranthan-gods-cults-and/
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“travelers in Glorantha can find some of their own gods everywhere, albeit somewhat disguised at times and speaking in foreign tongues.”
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“If an Orlanthi from Dragon Pass came to Umathela, he’d offer sacrifice to his god at the altars dedicated to the local Orlanth. If he then traveled to Garguna, he’d offer sacrifice at the temple to the Storm God Baraku or perhaps dedicate a votive image to Orlanth Baraku. He might not be able to lead ceremonies or rituals there, but he could certainly seek to become part of the local cult (and would likely be accepted).
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And the stories might be different, but they also all share some commonalities. Certain core parts of the story remain the same, even if the details change. More important, the Orlanthi would likely “recognize” his god and could contact him at the foreign holy places.”
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With your example of an Earth goddess, Earth deities seem to be inherently localized in a way that would make Horus-Apollo-izing harder than with other gods. Partly it’s that many of them have lands named after them, partly it’s that the Goddess switch story was about Earth deities.

[Roko Joko]

On one hand, it’s easy to envision Horus Apollo type worship based on real world examples. It also makes the setting more accessible, which on a practical level is important, I think. On the other hand, I sympathize with the sentiment in the OP. Too much monomyth, and I feel like the setting has lost something. Where’s the cool idea that local culture is sacred? Where are all the interesting ambiguities and conflicts? I’m also not sure how it works cosmologically – when you Horus Apollo, are you violating a sacred law of the setting and inching toward a Goddess switch backlash?

[Roko Joko]

If you’re OK with some Horus Apollo in your Glorantha, I think a practical ruling would be something like this. You can get your magic from a foreign god/temple, if it’s related to your god. You can either:
* worship in the foreign style, which has the disadvantage that you have to learn how to do it, and that your own god might not like it, and that your community at home might not like it if they find out what you did.
* or worship in your own style, which has the disadvantage that the locals probably will dislike or hate it.
Either way, the effect in terms of the game magic rules is the same: you get the magic at a reduced strength, or at an increased cost. The exact penalty depends on how similar the foreign god is, and on how successfully you navigate the cultic complications.

[Emmanuel Ponette]

Thanks for all the answers. I’m very curious about the Horus Apollo stuff. I imagine clearly what it means, but could you suggest some reading about it?

Also, concerning my research on traveling and God worshiping, I was thinking of using Runes as a link.
If someone from Pameltela worship a god X with rune Earth and Death, he could worship his God at any ‘temple’ related to these runes. As you said, the rituals could be different. But at least he could pray his god. If he wishes to get more spells (for instance, with RQ6 as rules), he would need to learn the new rituals (if they are not contradictory to his values/virtues/passions). He might even learn a new skill for these spells.

The more runes a God has, the more difficult to find a counter part (Orlanth for instance, but he is nearly everywhere…).

I also like the idea ‘Climb the mountain’. For earth cult, plowing a field, helping a child birth, … could help (and the player will have to use a little imagination on certain cases)

[Styopa]

“…travelers in Glorantha can find some of their own gods everywhere, albeit somewhat disguised at times and speaking in foreign tongues…”

That pretty much sounds like what put the Middle Sea Empire on the slippery slope. Just sayin’.

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