The POW:Cow exchange rate

[Roko Joko]

How many cows do you have to sacrifice for a one-POW blessing?

[seneschal]

I am unfamiliar with RQ rules but note that most animals, including catttle, have an average POW of at least 10.  Do the powers that be care where the POW comes from?  Are there grades of POW, where sacrificing a cow or a daughter is worth more than sacrificing a bunny?  Or is 10 POW worth 10 POW regardless of where it comes from?

[Psullie]

trying hard not to descend into 'lightbulb jokes' or comments about fluctuating POW exchange rates...

I'd guess it entirely depends on the power/divinity being sacrificed too, and the relative worth of the Cow to the aspirant. In pre-columbian Mexico for example there was a scale based on the individuals worth, from slave, captured enemy up to Moctezuma's own blood (where just a few drops were necessary). So ask your self how sacred is the Cow to the the God and how much of a sacrifice would its loss be.

 

[g33k]

2 hours ago, Psullie said:

trying hard not to descend into 'lightbulb jokes'...

I almost went there myself... ;-)   Something to do with Disney's Glorantha movie, "PowCowHuntress"  (you're obviously better at resisting these things than I am ... )

 

2 hours ago, Psullie said:

... or comments about fluctuating POW exchange rates...

This I think is actually a legitimate topic.  When times are tough and the Tribe is struggling, (a) cows are rare, and at a premium; & (b) POW is relatively free-flowing, in an effort to turn things around.  Priests & Priestesses in particular, embedded in the community, might even give Blessings (no cows charged) to adventurers and Heroquesters who are trying to find/fix the problem.

 

[Joerg]

There appear to be fixed demands for specific cattle (even up to the coloration) for certain rites, like "on the Dark Season holy day, sacrifice five black bullocks". Those are for communal sacrifices and blessings, however.

There appears to be no direct connection between the sacrifice's POW and the POW value of the magic in mainstream cults' sacrifices. If there was such a practice, it would reek of evil sorcery or vampirism.

There are other forms of symbolic sacrifice, like sacred items reusably sacrificed, which makes the process more like a dedication of the item to sustain this blessing than a destruction. In such a case, it would be interesting what happens if the item sacrificed this way was lost to the community (and entire scenarios or mini-campaigns could result from this if removing such a blessing would create a major weakness in an enemy organisation).

But there is another point to this: such blessings through sacrifice often have a duration way beyond the up to three combat scenes duration of RQ divine magic, although with a much lower impact. There hasn't been anything like this in RuneQuest except for Bless Crops and Earthwarm.

[Jeff]

From the rules:

CASTING MAGIC

A temple will usually cast cult magic (such as Healing magic or special Rune spells) on its members, but typically expects to receive a sacrifice from the beneficiary equal to 20L per Rune point expended. One-use spells cost ten times this amount. If the caster must spend magic points, the beneficiary must spend an addition 1L per point spent.

 

 

[David Scott]

The missing link...

14 hours ago, Roko Joko said:

How many cows do you have to sacrifice for a one-POW blessing?

4 hours ago, Jeff said:

equal to 20L per Rune point expended.

and the missing bit from RQG:

Quote

A cow is worth about 20 L.

The answer is one. But clearly if you want to be looked on favourably you'd throw in a few more or a special one worth more.

Edited April 13, 2018 by David Scott

[David Scott]

10 hours ago, g33k said:

Priests & Priestesses in particular, embedded in the community, might even give Blessings (no cows charged) to adventurers and Heroquesters who are trying to find/fix the problem.

These (food) sacrifices are what feeds the temple community and are considered that which supports the priests and their dependants. No sacrifice = no food.

[Psullie]

4 hours ago, David Scott said:

These (food) sacrifices are what feeds the temple community and are considered that which supports the priests and their dependants. No sacrifice = no food.

would those not come under tithes - sacrifices are offered to the god and in many cases subsequent human consumption frowned upon...

[Richard S.]

Wait, what rules set is this question referring to? RQG? And if so are blessings just another name for rune magic or are they a new type of divine magic?

Edited April 13, 2018 by Richard S.

[Joerg]

1 hour ago, Psullie said:

would those not come under tithes - sacrifices are offered to the god and in many cases subsequent human consumption frowned upon...

In that regard, the Orlanthi sacrifices are quite similar to the Norse blot - blood and certain other parts for the gods, the rest for the worshippers. In the Norse blot the blood would be used similar to holy water, sprinkling the attendants.

The tithes are covering the communal service - the annual crop blessing, defense strengthening and weather correction magics. Those cover the days when the priest and godspeakers are too busy to cater for your selfish needs. But there are other days, and dependants never stop asking for food.

Edited April 13, 2018 by Joerg

[David Scott]

2 hours ago, Psullie said:

would those not come under tithes - sacrifices are offered to the god

Same thing as far I'm concerned. 

2 hours ago, Psullie said:

and in many cases subsequent human consumption frowned upon...

Some things in some cultures may not be usable after the ritual. Blood for example might not be collected. There is a huge body of information on this - just make sure you if you Google it you use -human as that will just skew everything eg. religious sacrifice through the ages -human

these are just a few examples I found interesting:

https://www.alimentarium.org/en/knowledge/sacrifice

https://www.alimentarium.org/en/knowledge/ritual-sacrifice-and-urban-life

https://www.nbcnews.com/science/animal-sacrifice-powered-ancient-jerusalems-economy-8c11073738

If you ever get the chance to visit Beijing and the Temple of Heaven, it has a two animal processing areas for animal sacrifices. Some animals were bunt whole in a giant ritual stove, but others were butchered afterwards:

https://www.encirclephotos.com/image/north-animal-sacrifice-pavilion-at-temple-of-heaven-in-beijing-china/?gal=21950&pos=13&marker=13

 

[David Scott]

1 hour ago, Richard S. said:

Wait, what rules set is this question referring to? RQG? And if so are blessings just another name for rune magic or are they a new type of divine magic?

RQG, however the Rune spell Bless Animals for example appeared in RQ2 (Cults of Prax) and Bless Plants appeared in RQ3. RQG expands the range of Rune magic Blessings available to seven or so (dependant on cult, none are common) and it's entirely possible that there are more.

[soltakss]

On 13/04/2018 at 10:35 AM, David Scott said:

These (food) sacrifices are what feeds the temple community and are considered that which supports the priests and their dependants. No sacrifice = no food.

I am reminded of Terry Pratchett's Small Gods, where sausages are the best offering to the gods, especially when used as a burnt offering, especially in the morning, when the smell fills the air and moves towards the heavens, of course, what can the priests do with the offering once it is made, but consume it as a religious duty.