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Cults of G.. - Index of - Free

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Magic and Religion<br />

4<br />

Theism<br />

Theists worship the divine gods and goddesses who<br />

created Glorantha. Deities are immortal, eternal and<br />

provide their followers with powerful magic in exchange<br />

for sacrifice and participation in their rites. Deities are<br />

grouped into pantheons, sharing a common history and<br />

goals. Initiates gain access to divine spells but acolytes,<br />

Runepriests and Runelords gain even greater powers from<br />

their worship and understanding <strong>of</strong> their chosen deity.<br />

To a theist, life is impossible without divine support.<br />

Divine spells provide magical abilities that ease<br />

worshippers’ difficulties, especially when pursuing<br />

livelihoods in keeping with the deity’s powers. Crop<br />

goddesses bless the farmer’s fields, war gods empower<br />

and protect warriors in battle, and the kings among the<br />

gods allow rulers to secure their authority with justice<br />

and divine favour. Theists regularly conduct sacrifices<br />

to the gods, empowering them with the things they love<br />

most. Great ceremonies to celebrate and support the gods<br />

serve to strengthen community ties.<br />

Sacrifices require a worshipper to give away, transform or<br />

destroy something valuable or living in return for magic.<br />

These sacrifices are <strong>of</strong>ten burned, buried or broken but<br />

sometimes the item or creature is simply transported to<br />

the deity’s home on the God Plane.<br />

The Divine <strong>Cults</strong> chapter is a general overview <strong>of</strong><br />

Gloranthan pantheons. These come chiefly from the<br />

Genertela continent, which is home <strong>of</strong> most theists.<br />

Pantheon<br />

A theist religion is made up <strong>of</strong> a collection <strong>of</strong> gods<br />

forming a pantheon. These deities may take many<br />

forms and roles. Most are friendly and worshipped<br />

by men and women in exchange for support. Many<br />

pantheons have deities extremely similar to each<br />

other, such as hunter gods (see Odayla) and crop<br />

goddesses (see Ralia). The greater gods <strong>of</strong>ten<br />

appear in the myths <strong>of</strong> other pantheons, <strong>of</strong>ten as<br />

enemies. God Learner experimentation has proven<br />

that many <strong>of</strong> these gods are actually the same deity<br />

worshipped under a variety <strong>of</strong> names while others<br />

are so similar that there are no differences, even<br />

when transposed between cultures.<br />

Most worshippers in a culture are lay worshippers <strong>of</strong><br />

many deities in their pantheon and do not progress<br />

further. However, depending on the culture, many<br />

also choose to become initiates <strong>of</strong> a deity to gain access<br />

to greater abilities and divine favour.<br />

Deity Ranks<br />

The deities in a pantheon range in power, importance<br />

and worship. The most powerful <strong>of</strong> these are Great Gods.<br />

These are usually the leaders <strong>of</strong> pantheons, gods and<br />

goddesses who are so immense that no mortal worshipper<br />

can comprehend their nature and must instead worship<br />

smaller aspects or facets <strong>of</strong> the whole. These smaller cults<br />

are treated as if they were separate deities though each is<br />

only part <strong>of</strong> the greater whole. Yelm, Solar Emperor, has<br />

numerous subcults and holds sway over a vast pantheon<br />

<strong>of</strong> subordinate deities. These gods have great influence<br />

over the worshipper’s society, defining cultural roles,<br />

behaviour and relationships with outsiders. Great Gods<br />

are <strong>of</strong> cosmic importance, without which the world<br />

would perish.<br />

More common are gods and goddesses <strong>of</strong> the various<br />

cults. These have many worshippers and temples<br />

throughout the land where their pantheon holds sway.<br />

Each fulfils an important role in society such as trade god,<br />

crop goddess or war god – there are many <strong>of</strong> these! Those<br />

deities with relatively few worshippers fill important<br />

niches in the magical ecology or receive large amounts <strong>of</strong><br />

collateral worship from lay worshippers or as associated<br />

deities. Flamal, beloved by all earth goddesses, has few<br />

worshippers but all grain and plant goddesses support his<br />

cult in their rituals.

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