Which Cults book?

[languagegeek]

I'm in the market for a cults book, and I see that there will be two to choose from: Glorantha and Young Kingdoms. I'll be running home-brew worlds but would like to have a good list of cults that I can use as inspiration and ideas. I don't think I'm interested in very-setting-specific cults of God Learners or EWF; I'm concerned that the Glorantha book may have too much material I wouldn't use. I know nothing of Elric of Melniboné, but from what I can see of the preview it looks really wild, but perhaps setting-specific as well.

Advice? I'd like something a bit more, not generic, but closer to home with cults that could be along the lines of historic polytheism, shamanism, schools of philosophy, and the like. Maybe the Vikings book has more of what I'm looking for?

 

[Titus]

There is a lot of good stuff in Cults of Glorantha. Plenty of inspirational material.

The chapters on the Orlanthi and Solar pantheons provide lots of gods. Many of these fill a niche filled by another god in the other pantheon. Compare, contrast and plunder for ideas.

The chapter on barbarian and nomad cults has a number of shamanistic religions. Compare, contrast and plunder for ideas.

The draconic cults chapter has many mystic cults and includes draconized cults of Ernalda, Humakt, Issaries and Orlanth. Compare, contrast and plunder for ideas.

If you intend to use sorcery in your worlds, the Malkoni Sorcery Orders chapter provides a goodly number of churches/orders. There is a good section entitled Generic Minor Saint/Sorcery Order which gives general rules for establishing your own churches and orders, including tables to randomize (or choose) things like the Saint's rune or whether it offers common magic. Compare, contrast and plunder for ideas.

There is good information in the non-cult chapters, too. Some cults offer gifts and compulsions (geas). Some cults have compulsions without special gifts. Myths and heroquesting. Gloranthan allied cults may offer divine spells, but the magnitude is lower because you don't have a direct relationship with that god. If in one of your worlds people worship the pantheon of gods, then maybe all of the spells available from the gods of the pantheon are readily availabe and at a magnitude based on the Lore(Pantheon) skill. If a person has a patron god in the pantheon, they might gain some special bonus from that god.

I can not speak to what might be in the Young Kingdoms cults book. I have the original Stormbringer game from Chaosium. If I remember correctly, magic was a lot like sorcery with pacts to the elemental lords and Lords of Chaos. Mostly demon and elemental summonings, and magic items were generally bound demons. I haven't seen the more recent Elric games, so they may have broadened the scope of magic in the Young Kingdoms.

 

[Rurik]

I can't say for sure, but Cults of the Young Kindoms may require the Elric book for all the sorcery rules.

Cults of Glorantha will reference the magic types in the RQII core book.

Magic in the Young kingdoms is different than Glorantha, and so Cults of the Young Kingdom may reference rules in the Elric sourcebook. This is just speculation on my part, and maybe someone in the know can sound chime in.

 

[languagegeek]

It sounds like there is a wealth of ideas in the Cults of Glorantha book that could be useful after all. Thank-you very much for the breakdown. As I populate the worlds with more and more cultures, the number of cults and myths is growing exponentially. It will be good to have a resource where cult ideas can be judiciously borrowed in a pinch. I'm also looking at employing a lot of heroQuesting, so those new rules might come in handy.

As for Elric, perhaps I'll try reading some of Michael Moorcock's books to see how I feel about the setting.

 

[Loz]

Cults of Glorantha is easier to adapt to another setting. Cults of the Young Kingdoms for Elric is very specific and the gods are not of the run of the mill kind.

Of course, you should buy both but Cults of Glorantha will give you more use, I reckon, until you've read some Elric...