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Outlaw or Underground Cults in the Lunar Empire


svensson

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1 minute ago, Ali the Helering said:

Actually you spoke in terms of size of cult and ease of movement, not concealment.

In my response to you I wrote (italics mine)

Quote

Seriously?  The Thanatari walk around with heads on their belts.  They stand out in a crowd.  How are they going to escape civilized societies from mustering in troops and magicians to kill them?  It doesn't matter how powerful they are - they have no friends and no means of concealing themselves

And what did you think I could be referring to when I expressed swerious doubt about a Thanatari being able to move from Carmania to Prax?  And how do you get from that to preferability?

 

1 minute ago, Ali the Helering said:

I do understand the difference, and do not find overly precious condescension attractive.

If you didn't like my responses to you then consider the quality of your own.

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8 hours ago, metcalph said:

I'm not interested in debating the nature of abusrdity.  I am simply stating as a blunt fact that the idea of significant Thanatari worship in Carmania and that a Thanatari priest could travel from Carmania to Prax is deranged nonsense considering that Thanatar is one of the few chaotic cults the Lunars would quite happily wipe out.  If the priest had been one of Vivamort, Krarsht or Cacodemon then it would be plausible but not Thanatar.

No, I think that you need to reread your own posts before becoming polemical.

There really is no need to become put out because others disagree with you over what is or is not absurd. YGWV

If we take that to heart then we can each run games as we understand Glorantha, with players making the choice as to whether to buy into that particular interpretation or not.

 'Absurd' covers everything from the elf bow to the names Nochet and Corflu, and yet we have them.☺

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38 minutes ago, Ali the Helering said:

 'Absurd' covers everything from the elf bow to the names Nochet and Corflu, and yet we have them.☺

<sidetrack>

I know the story of Nochet, but what's the deal with Corflu? Start a new thread if necessary...

</end sidetrack>

"Raise shields helmsman, I believe we have entered turbulent waters"
"Aye Captain"

... remember, with a TARDIS, one is never late for breakfast!

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25 minutes ago, Bill the barbarian said:

<sidetrack>

I know the story of Nochet, but what's the deal with Corflu? Start a new thread if necessary...

</end sidetrack>

"Corflu" is (or was) layout-ese for "correction fluid" aka white-out.  Greg was indicating he wanted the map corrected by having the feature erased.

Edited by g33k
Mis-quote
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C'es ne pas un .sig

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20 hours ago, metcalph said:

Shadow on the Borderlands did say such things but a) it is no longer canon

This is the comment cited in the post I cited and which I took exception to.
 

 

9 hours ago, metcalph said:

I was criticizing a specific statement about Thanatari in Carmania which even you conceded was bollocks.

Problematic. Not bollocks.

The problem lies in the original Thanatar write-up, which suggests a pyramid hierarchy of cult ranks, and the presence of these underlings for high ranking cultusts to draw upon.

In Than Ulbar, the cult may have absolute control, but it lacks the victims all those intermediate ranks would need for their lesser heads. In the Lunar Empire, the victim situation might be better, although Pelorian lowlanders are notably low on personal rune magic, so the only sensible targets would be the cult leaders, a much smaller and much harder target. Theyalan countries where you have initiation rates of better than two out of three provided the best hunting grounds, where even the head a random person would provide a divine spell or two.

Now, let's look at Carmania, and the neighboring clans of Brolia. Lunar institutions are known for overcoming disgust and looking the other way when Chaos works in their favor. Sponsoring a cult regularly taking Brolian heads and select political enemies in a region where the cult of the Seven Mothers or Hwarin Dalthippa are of minor influence as rather individual Mothers would be worshipped sounds feasible.

Thanatari do make good Dart Warriors, and in that function they have access to good prey, if harder to overcome (the opposition's Dart Warriors), but then you don't have to send out Thanatari-only squads. Teamed up with ogres and some other magicians they could strike effective terror attacks against rivals. Thus the existence of such a place might be possible.

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Telling how it is excessive verbis

 

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I think Thanatar worship in Peloria tends more towards Atyar worship - inner corruption, not beheading. But it is, in many ways, the perfect cult for a power seeking Illuminate, and Peloria does not lack for those. There are probably even some cells known to ruling clans or Lunar intelligence tolerated for their useful skills at Dart Competition or intelligence gathering. 

I don’t think there are reasons why the Lunars would hate it more than Vivamort etc, as long as it sticks to attacking their enemies. Of course it never will - they are chaotic, sneaky and self serving. But no one said Occluded Lunar schemers never made decisions. 

Edited by davecake
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36 minutes ago, JonL said:

amphorae

Nothing like a good head preserved in an amphorae of olive oil!  (and that reminds me of some story where people are placed in barrels of palm/date oil until they are so soft their heads can be plucked off - but can't place what story...)

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16 minutes ago, jajagappa said:

Nothing like a good head preserved in an amphorae of olive oil!  (and that reminds me of some story where people are placed in barrels of palm/date oil until they are so soft their heads can be plucked off - but can't place what story...)

That was "The Journeyer," a Marco Polo novel by Gary Jennings, I think. It had several other such grisly details and events, as typical for the author (whose book "Aztek" featured similar horrors).

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Telling how it is excessive verbis

 

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