[Glorantha] Re: tribal cult distribution

[Joerg Baumgartner]

Ian Cooper

>>>As for the 4075 Ernalda initiates (average of 272
> per clan), let's
> make the following breakdown:
>          1699 Allmother (average of 113 per clan)
>          1019 Esrola (average of 68 per clan)
>           815 Healer (average of 54 per clan)
>           339 Ty Kora Tek/Asrelia (average of 23 per
> clan).<<

> did you take account of the goddess cults as growth?

>  Healer = unmarried women

And career women, too. Women who do a specialized job and leave child care
to the other members of their clan. It's no surprise that player character
Ernaldans tend to have a higher portion of Healer initiates.

A somewhat rulesy question: I seem to remember the possibility to worship
an additional subcult of a great deity from a different aspect without
joining that aspect (hinted at in Thunder Rebels, IIRC). If this thing
does happen, will it be another case of "one in seven", or will these
individuals be counted among the oddballs?

>  Mother = married women
>  Ty Kora Tek/Asrelia = post-menopause
>  I would assmume Esrola for the more specialist and
> thus rarer aspect here.

Esrola pretty much is the occupational cult for both breeder and farmer
women. Allmother offers steadmistress as stead manager, but for the actual
work with either plants or beasts you will want Esrolans (and the
specialized beast or earth healers as support).

Female crafts seem to be part of Allmother, what little there are
(pottery, weaving, basket-making).

>  I also tend to follow Donald, after Greg, and suspect
> clan's favour one Storm Tribe member outside O&A for
> mythic reasons, skewing the broader distribution.
> Though I might modify this as Lightbringers or Storm
> Tribe because I suspect that Issaries, Chalana Arroy,
> and Lhankor Mhy tend to come as a set.

Issaries gets more popular where there are trade routes. CA and LM
probably are more important to the tribe than to clans.





Jeff Richard

>>You're assuming that minor cult worshippers are evenly spread among
>>the clans. We know that's not the case with Elmal where 5/6ths are
>>in a single clan so I would expect the same to apply to many of the
>>others.

> I agree - I believe the Enhyli are one of the two or three "Elmal
> dominant" clans.   Most of the clans probably have around 4 initiates
> of a a given minor cult, although some have perhaps 25 (for instance,
> I think that the Orlmarthing might have 25 Odayla initiates and the
> Konthasos might have 25 Chalana Arroy initiates).  However, I'm trying
> to present total numbers and averages.

If you want to look at clans, it might be more helpful to provide average
numbers of other cults, and then define a contingent of speciality cults,
which may include rarer Orlanth or Ernalda subcults as well as Storm Tribe
cults. There will be a few clans whose contingents exceed the normal "clan
speciality" quota, most notably Lunar imports, Elmal or Argar Argan.



> I think most Lhankhor Mhy initiates actually leave their clan lands
> and travel to Library for their apprenticeship.  Some return, others
> remain at the Library.  In the case of the Colymar, I think most
> travel to Jonstown.

Jonstown, Boldhome, Karstanstead and the hidden library all lie within
reasonable distance, so that different specialities in LM can be served.


>>One cult that seems missing from these figures is Erantha Gor,
>>the earth temple guardian. Now that's a cult I would expect
>>each clan to have at least a member or two with significant
>>numbers in the matriarchal clans.

> In my list, Erantha Gor is one of the minor minor goddesses.  Amongst
> the Colymar, they'd all be at the Clearwine Earth Temple.

> Part of the purpose of this exercise is to show how few cultists of
> particular gods there are.  Frex, in all of Sartar, I doubt there are
> more than 150 Rigsdal initiates.  Probably less.  Some other
> interesting implications - assume that 1 in 10 initiates become
> devotees and 1 in 1000 become disciples.  You can begin figuring out
> how many devotees and disciples are in Sartar within the specific
> cults.

Keep in mind though that you're dealing with statistics here. A
statistical probability of say 0.5 may well result in three individuals
making that choice, whereas a probability of 1.6 can still mean no (known)
takers.

Also when it comes to urban population, many odds are off. More communal
worshippers (lots more opportunities to take) as well as more specialist
worshippers. Fewer concentrated worshippers while at the same time more
devotees. And a great many more foreign or at least wildly exotic cults
(and traditions).

Speaking of communal worship: where would you place people who get chosen
by the ancestors rather than a specific deity or subcult?