[Glorantha] Re: Cult distribution

[Simon Phipp]

Donald R. Oddy:
> Jeff Richard writes:
> >Donald writes:
> 
> >>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.
> 
> So the vast majority of Ernaldan temples - those used by the
> thousands of women who don't go the Clearwine regularly - don't
> have any guardians?

I've always assumed that Erantha Gor was one of the Scary Earth Goddesses,
worshipped at the Kero Fin temples and alongside Maran Gor in a few places,
but not really worshipped everywhere.

Babeester Gor is my Earth Guardian of choice, although Vinga should perform
some guardian duties. Certainly between the two, there's no need for any more
scary worshippers.

> Even if we assume clan temples catering to congregations of five 
> to six hundred that's a couple of dozen assuming they are required 
> purely for ritual purposes, with more at Clearwine.

As a rule of thumb, I normally have one tenth of any temple as being members
of sub-cults/associated cults having particular duties. So, a temple of 5-600
would have 50-60 strange worshippers, of which some could be Temple Guards,
some blood-soaked priestesses or whatever.

> I rather suspect there are more Earth temples than that with one
> for every hundred or two initiates. Small groups of steads sharing 
> a temple within easy travelling distance. Now there may not be
> enough Erantha Gori to go round but I'd still expect there to be
> more than there are Vingans. Simply because they represent an
> essential part of Ernaldan society rather than a rebellous offshoot.

Certainly, each clan would have its own Ernalda Temple for normal worship,
perhaps based around a shrine where everyone congregates. Minor cultists
would have shrines in those temples for personal worship, but there would
perhaps only be one or two major cult sites in the whole of Dragon Pass.

The Erantha Gor major temple would probably be where she pops up in KoS, the
place where Grandfather Mortal died. If you had any serious cult business,
that's where you'd go. It's probably got something to do with the Feathered
Horse Queens and the Sovereignty of Dragon Pass as well, in my opinion.

> >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.
> 
> I'm surprised at one in ten becoming devotees, certainly in the
> main subcults. I'd have put it at nearer one in a hundred, that
> level of commitment is unusual and there are plenty of reasons,
> even for those inclinded that way, not to do so.

Well, in old money, 1 in 10 would have been associate priests/acolytes and 1
in 100 would have been Rune Lords or Rune Priests. Since Devotee is
effectively an acolyte/rune priest and Disciples seem to be Super-Rune-Lords,
then it could be right. I'd prefer 1 in 20 for Deotees.

Simon