This cult
goes back to some of the earliest material published by Greg Stafford
about the world of Glorantha. It first appeared in Cults of Prax and
has been elaborated on since in a number of publications for the
Heroquest system, most recently Pavis: Gateway to Adventure. This is
my take on an update on the cult for the RQ6 system.
The Lunar
Provincial Church
The Lunar
pantheon has many gods, some of which were old gods which were
'pre-incarnations' of the Red Goddess, some mysteriously enlightened
and incorporated into the Lunar Way, and yet others were former
mortals who achieved the status of 'Immortal' through their faith in
the Red Moon.
Out in the
Provinces most of the theological niceties go out of the window and
barbarian converts are first inducted into the Lunar Provincial
Church, aka the cult of the Seven Mothers, as the 'gateway drug' for the
Lunar religion.
This
combines the worship of the oldest Lunar Immortals, the
coven of conspirators who first awakened the Red Goddess; Queen
Deezola, Yanafal Tarnils, Irripi Ontor, Jakaleel the Witch, Danfive
Xaron, Teelo Norri and the mysterious 'She Who Waits'. The Lunar
authorities hope their similarity to the famous seven Lightbringers
of Thelayan myth and legend will at least get the barbarians through
the temple door.
Followers
Followers
must have their names entered on the 'paper lists' (often actually
birch bark), which are burnt each full moon. A lay member may ask to
be entered on the 'wood lists', kept for five years, in return for a
donation of 5L.
Followers
may be trained at half price in Speak Lunar, Read/Write Lunar,
Theology (Seven Mothers) and The Lunar Way up to 50%, and may be
trained in Folk Magic for a fee. Followers also get Folk Magic
healing and a service of First Aid and Healing skills if available.
Destitute
followers also get access to the poor fund – daily onion soup and
potato bread, and red berries when in season, and they can sleep
under the outer portico of the temple if it has one. By no means all
temples actually provide this, many on far off frontiers have limited
access to the charity funds from the Heartlands that provide this,
but they do this as often as possible.
Initiates
To become
an initiate one must have been a Follower on the lists for 49 weeks
in total, and have 50% or more in five of the following skills; Speak
Lunar, Read/Write Lunar, Theology (Seven Mothers), The Lunar Way, any
one combat style, any one craft, any one lore, Folk Magic, Insight,
Influence, Evade, First Aid, Customs (Lunar Empire).
Initiates
are expected to give one week in every four working for the temple or
25% of their income a month (paying Imperial taxes counts as part of
this contribution), but they can become a Lunar Citizen if they pass
an exam in Speak Lunar, The Lunar Way and Customs (Lunar Empire) –
add the skills plus INT and roll under on a d100.
This is
very much a 'pick and mix' religion, taking bits and pieces from the
six cults (She Who Waits has no cult) as practised in their full form
in the Empire proper.
They can
learn Theology (Seven Mothers), Exhort (Seven Mothers), Trance,
Binding (Five Spirit Moons), Invocation (The Book of Red Light),
Shaping and The Lunar Way at normal cost.
Training
in Speak Lunar is free, and in some cases Initiates will be trained
as guards, learning the combat style Lunar Guardian (Formation,
Scimitar, medium shield, Rhomphia, Bow).
The Lunar
Way skill gives a bonus equal to the crit range to any Exhort,
Binding or Invocation skill of any cult in the Lunar Pantheon.
The
initiate may have a maximum of ¼ his POW, CHA or INT in lunar magic,
whichever is the highest, with Miracles being limited by POW, Spirits
by CHA and sorcery Spells by INT.
Example:
Cassia the Convert has POW 15, CHA 8 and INT 13. She may learn POW/4
= 3.75= 4 total lunar magics, as her POW is highest, but only CHA/4 =
2 may be Moon Spirits and INT/4 = 3 may be sorcery spells. She could
have any combination within these limits.
Folk Magic
Initiates
may learn any folk magic their priest deigns to teach and they can
pay him to learn, but no special discounts are made on any spell.
Spirits
Jakaleel
provides only intensity one Five Moon spirits to Initiates, and an
initiate may bind only one of each type. Binding skill is required,
as is 30%+ skill in Speak Lunar to instruct them.
Full Moon
– manifestations of the Divine Intellect of the Red Moon - +10% to
Insight or Oratory. Those who carry them must always have a silver
full moon charm.
Half Moon
– spirits of vengeance and balance - +10% to a combat style or +1
step damage bonus or +1 AP. Those who carry them must always dress in
black.
Hollow
Moon – spirits of madness – can possess a target and cause a
passion of their POW as a %age in paranoia, mania or depression.
Those with these charms must always wear red.
Waning
Moon – spirits of innocence and fertility - +10% to Willpower, +10%
to Healing skill only at night. Anyone carrying these spirits must
sleep upon the earth.
Waxing
Moon – wild hunting spirits - +10% Track, +2 steps damage bonus vs
one prey type, +10% Perception. Any hunter using these charms cannot
ever give up a chase until they prey is caught.
Miracles
Various of
the Seven Mothers provide the following miracles. Exhort skill is
required, and 30%+ in Customs (Lunar Empire) is required to
understand the prayers and references.
Aegis,
Dismiss Magic, Dismiss Sylph, Dismiss Undine, Dismiss Gnome, Dismiss
Shade, Dismiss Salamander, Heal Wound, Madness, Soul Sight
Spells
Initiates
get a 'cut and paste' grimoire called the 'The Book of Red Light'
with basic spells used by all the various Mothers. Must have at least
30% Read/Write Lunar to study any of these, as well as the Invocation
skill.
Banish,
Intuition, Spell Resistance, Damage Resistance
All
initiates are subject to the Lunar cycle – the spell casting roll
under the full or waxing moon is one grade easier, and any under the
dark or dying moon is one grade harder, and the spell effects are
enhanced by 20% or reduced by 20% respectively.
Acolyte
Acolytes
must know Theology (Seven Mothers) 70%+ and have at least one of
Binding, Exhort or Invocation at 50%+, plus three other cult skills
70%+, including the Lunar Guardian combat style. Acolytes must have
performed some service to the temple, such as converting unbelievers
or defeating the foes of the Red Moon, and must have passed the test
for Lunar citizenship.
Acolytes
are expected to work full time for the temple, usually as
missionaries, and are paid a salary. They may learn Speak Lunar and
Read and Write Lunar for free in their spare time (not that they get
more than a week per month) and may learn Oratory for free as well.
They are often also taught the local language and customs to their
temple base where these are different to their own. Acolytes are
sometimes given responsibility for outlying shrines or attached to
the households of Lunarised notables in their area as 'special
advisers'.
They may
learn spells as an initiate, with a maximum number equal to half
their POW, INT or CHA stat as appropriate.
Spirits
As before
but the Acolyte may have intensity two spirits, and may summon an
embodied Lune.
Miracles
Acolytes
gain access to the following:
Exorcism,
Heal Mind, Consecrate (only usable on nights of the full moon),
Summon Lune
Spells
Store
Mana, Regeneration, Evoke Lune
Priest
Priests
must have served the temple for five years and have Theology (Seven
Mothers) 90%+, two other cult skills at 90%+, Oratory 50%+ and The
Lunar Way 50%+. They work full time, but have access to all the funds
and resources of their home temple and have considerable political
clout with the local Lunar authorities.
They may
learn up to three quarters of their POW, INT or CHA stat in Lunar
magic, but gain access to only a few extra miracles. Learning the
more advanced spirit summonings and sorceries requires joining one of the other many Lunar cults, an easy task for one so steeped in
Lunar lore.
Miracles
Excommunicate,
Truesword, Chaos Gift
Chaos Gift
is used only very sparingly, the Lunars have enough of an image
problem over their acceptance of chaos as an inevitable part of the
fabric of the world as it is, without their followers sporting
hideous mutations. But when the shit hits the fan and the peasants are
descending on you with pitchforks then you do what needs to be
done.
Chaos Gift
Duration
(variable), Rank Priest, Resist (none)
The Priest
temporarily gains use of a Chaos feature, rolled randomly on the
table in the Legend creatures book. Once this spell has been used the
Priest will for ever after detect as chaotic to any spell and ability
that can detect such, and the user automatically gets an improvement
roll in The Lunar Way as he appreciates what it truly means to be
chaotic, yet part of the world.
On a
critical roll the priest may choose which feature he gets, on a
fumble the GM decides, and he can choose a very negative one.
Duration
Dark/Dying
Moon – will not work at all
Crescent
Moon – 1 combat round per point of intensity
Half Moon
– 1 minute per point of intensity
Full Moon
– 1 hour per point of intensity
High
Priest
This is
currently Yvar Ascorius of Vanch, who reports to the head of the
Seven Mothers Council. He is currently in Tarsh, distantly overseeing
the spread of the church among the unspeakably stubborn Sartarites,
while fending off 'helpful' suggestions from the Lunar Army (kill 'em
all and let the Moon sort 'em out!'). The casualties amongst his
missionaries are appalling, his only consolation that rival missionary
orders are doing just as badly.
Joining
other Lunar cults
Once a
member has become a Lunar Citizen a whole pantheon of possibilities
opens up. The Binding skill taught by the cult is identical to that
used by the Jakaleel the Witch cult, Theology (Seven Mothers) and
Exhort (Seven Mothers) can translate into half the rating in the
Theology and Exhort skills of other cults worshipping the same
Immortals or a quarter of those taught by the moon cults of Gerra,
Natha, Rufelza and Verithurusa, and the Invocation skill into one
quarter the Invocation skills used by Deezola, Irripi Ontor, Jakaleel
the Spindle Hag and Yanafal Tarnils cults.
Relations
to other sects
The Seven
Mothers cult is seen as plebian and rustic by most well to do
heartland Lunars, a crude bowdlerisation of the magnificence of the
Red Moon, and relations with the 'pure' Moon cults are a bit sniffy
as they can't fathom why they can't be allowed to just wade in and
have the barbarians all wailing to Rufelza straight away.
Announcing
you are a Provincial Church member anywhere north of Holay is pretty
much to admit you are a bagpipe tooting, cattle stealing, tattooed
yokel who has learned just enough manners to not urinate on the floor
in public. The cult is still strong all over the more out of the way
parts of the provinces though, and temples are found in Talastar,
Holay, Aggar, Tarsh and the uplands of Vanch and Imther. Any
barbarian with half a brain soon joins another Lunar cult if he wants
to get on.
Lunes
Lunes are
the elementals of the Red Moon, fragments of glowing red light. Their
attacks leave the skin blistered, raw and bleeding. Lunes summoned
under the dark or dying moon have half size, under a crescent moon
two thirds size and under a gibbous moon three quarter size, only
under a full moon are they at full size and power. Stats are as per p
351-2 of the RQ6 rulebook.
Victims
who are engulfed must match their Willpower against the Willpower of
the Lune. On the table below the score 0 for a fumble, 1 for a
failure, 2 for a success and 3 for a critical, the target subtracts
from the Lunes score with their own roll at the same scale.
-3 The
target fights off the lune's mind warping effects easily, it flees
and refuses to attack that person again.
-2 The
target takes physical damage and is also affected by strange insights
and visions of the surface of the Red Moon. They must roll vs
Willpower again or inadvertently gain 1d4+1% in the Lunar Way skill
-1 The
target is affected physically and must roll vs Willpower or lose 1d3
INT regaining one per hour.
0 The
target is physically attacked and must roll vs Willpower or be
demoralised for INT rounds and lose 1d3 INT, regaining one per hour.
1 The
target is physically attacked and demoralised, all skill rolls are
one step harder for INT rounds, and 1d3 INT is lost, to be regained
at 1 point per week. Must roll vs Willpower or run like blazes away
from the Lune.
2 The
target is rendered catatonic for INT rounds and goes mad for INT
weeks. When they recover they have gained 1d4+1% in the Lunar Way
skill, as well as losing 1d3 INT, regained at one per month.
3 The
target goes permanently insane and must roll vs Willpower again or
gain a chaos feature. If they are ever cured they are demoralised by
the light of the Red Moon and the sight of her servants, a passion
that starts at 1d10+10%, and is added to every time the character is
defeated by the Red Moon or her followers. If affected all skill
rolls under the moon at night are one step harder. This fear can be
lifted by joining a Lunar cult, though there is nothing they can do
about any chaos feature gained.
A person
reduced to 0 INT is incapable of speech and reason, cannot use any
tool or implement and merely babbles incoherently while wandering around in
a dazed state. They recognise their friends and foes and are liable
to stare gormlessly at the Red Moon for hours, weeping, howling or
muttering.
