Playing a priest /god-talker

[Soccercalle]

It is often easier to become a priest/god-talker than a rune lord and one of the characters in my group (A farmer with some healing and fighting skills) will soon reach the thresholds for being a priest to Orlanth Thunderous. I am planning a longer campaign where the group will be traveling a lot and I am thinking about the possibility of having a priest in the group.

I priest is more than a title or "cult level", it is also an occupation that demands actual work in a temple. Would it be possible to have a priest in a traveling adventure group or should it be a god-talker instead? The adventurer will of course stay true to Orlanth (or whatever god/goddess) , visit temples on holy days and sharing income with the cult. 

Any thoughts?

[David Scott]

6 minutes ago, Soccercalle said:

It is often easier to become a priest/god-talker than a rune lord and one of the characters in my group (A farmer with some healing and fighting skills) will soon reach the thresholds for being a priest to Orlanth Thunderous. I am planning a longer campaign where the group will be traveling a lot and I am thinking about the possibility of having a priest in the group.

I priest is more than a title or "cult level", it is also an occupation that demands actual work in a temple. Would it be possible to have a priest in a traveling adventure group or should it be a god-talker instead? The adventurer will of course stay true to Orlanth (or whatever god/goddess) , visit temples on holy days and sharing income with the cult. 

Any thoughts?

Firstly the three weeks adventuring a season covers the temple obligations. Alternatively many cults support mobile rune levels, Orlanth adventurous, Issaries, etc. Likewise Godtalkers are a lot more free in their obligations. God talkers are often priests where no opening exists for a new priest.

[French Desperate WindChild]

45 minutes ago, Soccercalle said:

priest is more than a title or "cult level", it is also an occupation that demands actual work in a temple.

that is for me very important

 

I  consider that a priest (when the restriction time is 90%) must stay at home (temple) except if she has a divine mission

 

so there are in my opinion 3 options (if you follow my rule, but there MGF before anything)

1) your pc is appointed priest in charge of one temple (or temple section) then you have to organize your campaign to allow her to continue with the group ==> a cult mission for exemple. the issue is the mission will end and after that ... go back home / temple for this pc except if (2).

2) your pc is appointed priest and depends on one temple but for a travelling activity (missionary, preacher, explorer, ...) Your pc "just" has to send report, participate only in great ceremonies and obtain some results (conversion, artifact, debt from local leaders, ...) but is more or less free to do what she wants. That's for me the same temporal requirement than a rune lord: when the rune lord is fight oriented, the travelling priest is scholar oriented, but both depends on a temple and must obey the chiefpriest.

3)[not raw] your pc is not appointed priest (no support from any temple, no occupation income) but is called by her god: she has the same spiritual advantages and restrictions (pow, divine intervention, etc...) than a priest but no temporal advantages / restictions (income, ransom, stay in the temple, obey the hierarchy,...)

 

but god talker is enough to have a lot of advantage and being an adventurer like other

 

 

note that in my view, there is a 4) opposite of 3) : you can be a "temporal" priest, you are not "qualified" (as raw) to be priest, but no one is qualified and the community needs a priest. You become a temporal priest, you lead the temple, the ceremonies, etc... and you get the temporal advantages / restrictions (income, ransom, 90% manage the temple, etc...) but not the spiritual advantages and restrictions (pow, divine intervention etc...) you are just for your god a "top" initiate, not yet a priest. This 4) helps to keep/create a relationship between a community and a god.

 

 

 

[dumuzid]

4 hours ago, Soccercalle said:

Would it be possible to have a priest in a traveling adventure group or should it be a god-talker instead?

If they're adventuring on temple business, absolutely.

As an example, the call to action of The Smoking Ruins adventure is a mission from the priestess of the Clearwine earth temple; going on that mission could be temple business for a rune-level of any Earth or Husband-Protector cult, doing Ernalda's business in her stead or on her behalf.

[Shiningbrow]

Also consider - Orlanth, the wind, who has Movement as a core Rune... mobile priests should be fairly common.

Not to mention that during the Lunar occupation, they're not allowed to have Orlanth worship around anyway, so they're unlikely to be tied to any particular place. Even after the occupation has ended, and the rebellion succeeds, there'd be need for priests to travel the land to initiate the youngsters and bring back the Wind to people's lives, and become more active and prominent.

Edited March 17, 2022 by Shiningbrow

[David Scott]

4 minutes ago, Shiningbrow said:

lso consider - Orlanth, the wind, who has Movement as a core Rune... mobile priests should be fairly common.

RQG 285

Quote

Wandering priests of Orlanth Adventurous maintain two-wheeled carts drawn by oxen that hold ritual equipment, and special spiral tents provide ritual secrecy.

[Shiningbrow]

2 minutes ago, David Scott said:

RQG 285

I was thinking of mentioning that, but I thought that they wandered around in groups with a big statue. Maybe that's just an image in my head from one of the KoDP games??

[David Scott]

1 hour ago, Shiningbrow said:

I was thinking of mentioning that, but I thought that they wandered around in groups with a big statue. Maybe that's just an image in my head from one of the KoDP games??

Perhaps that's what they did 300 years ago when the game was set.

[JustAnotherVingan]

Or both occur.

Soloquest in the Starter Set mentions a portable shrine of Orlanth with terracotta statues of his various aspects. Entry 36, p15.

[Squaredeal Sten]

On 3/16/2022 at 8:18 AM, Soccercalle said:

It is often easier to become a priest/god-talker than a rune lord and one of the characters in my group (A farmer with some healing and fighting skills) will soon reach the thresholds for being a priest to Orlanth Thunderous. I am planning a longer campaign where the group will be traveling a lot and I am thinking about the possibility of having a priest in the group.

I priest is more than a title or "cult level", it is also an occupation that demands actual work in a temple. Would it be possible to have a priest in a traveling adventure group or should it be a god-talker instead? The adventurer will of course stay true to Orlanth (or whatever god/goddess) , visit temples on holy days and sharing income with the cult. 

Any thoughts?

It depends on the cult. 

An Issaries priest would be committed to traveling with his or her merchant occupation.  It would be a pious act to open a new trade route to distant lands, essentially an in-world heroquest.

Ont he other hand I have trouble justifying an Ernalda priestess traveling to far places all the time.  They should be concerned with the earth around their temples, spend their cult work time blessing crops and such, also blessing childbirth.  Perhaps a junior priestess could ride circuit to villages around the temple city.

 

 

Edited March 21, 2022 by Squaredeal Sten
spelling

[Rodney Dangerduck]

Note that a God Talker has less formal duties (those duties that everybody here seems to ignore) so might be a more appropriate formal title for a PC.

That can still have an Ally Spirit, so are nearly as powerful as a Priest.

[jajagappa]

5 hours ago, Squaredeal Sten said:

On he other hand I have trouble justifying an Ernalda priestess traveling to far places all the time.

Diplomatic missions - i.e. "there is always another way".  As the Earth Queen (or her representative) within a city, tribe, or clan, this seems the most likely reason to travel.  This could include resolving disputes over boundaries or pastures, bringing a feud to an end, or establishing important ties with distant or important Earth temples.  It could also include arranging strategic marriage alliances between clans, tribes, or even with folk in distant cities (particularly to help with trading relations).

[Squaredeal Sten]

As a semi-permanent diplomat, then?

I sort of like that....  of course in the game it will involve the GM building most of the adventures around one player's character.

But isn't most of that more likely going to be handled by the Issaries sub-cult Herald Goodword?  Of course "more likely" will go by the board since our RPG characters are the unlikely, the proto-heroes.  So in the end why not?