Knowledge (Mysteries)

[LucaCherstich]

I'm reading Faith & Fervour and a question came to my mind.
What's the point in having the knowledge "Religion" while the Knowledge "Mysteries" is far more useful (for the game effects of Mysteries) ?
I feel that the Knowledge "Religion" refer to a wide range of Religions (base level of information) while "Mysteries" refers to just one religion (but with the bonuses of Mysteries).
Even a (rare) Hyborian Atheist can have the generic Knowledge"Religion" while "Mysteries" can be taken just from somebody which is dedicated to a particular cult. Am I wrong?

 

[VincentDarlage]

You are correct. The Mysteries are very specific to a Mystery religion, while Religion knowledge is more general - or perhaps specific to a religion which is not a Mystery Religion. On page 3 & 4 of Faith & Fervour is a brief discussion of different types of religions. One has to be dedicated to the cult to learn its Mysteries.

I created the Mysteries because I felt Knowledge (religion) was fairly useless, and having a religion (or not) didn't really impact the character (beyond changing who a person uses as a curse). Having a religion (particularly certain cults) should change the way a person views the world, and I wanted the rules to reflect this.

Scientology is a modern-day example of a mystery-based religion, where one learns more and more about the religion as one moves up through the various levels, complete with initiations (and possibly causing people who move up through those levels to become weirder and weirder). The Ordo Templi Orientis is another example (Aleister Crowley was part of this religion).

If you have read "Stranger in a Strange Land" by Heinlein, another example is found there (Martian-influenced "Church of All Worlds"), where people who move through its Circles gain more and more mystical power. IIRC, it was a combination of reading this book, researching Egyptian religion (I was writing Stygia at the time) and reading about Tom Cruise's strange behavior that gave me the inspiration to create the rules for the Mysteries in Conan.

 

[Hervé]

Vincent wrote:

Scientology is a modern-day example of a mystery-based religion, where one learns more and more about the religion as one moves up through the various levels, complete with initiations (and possibly causing people who move up through those levels to become weirder and weirder).

Yep... Looks like there are still cultists around, but no more axe-wielding barbarians to wipe them off...