PEASANT BELIEFS
SECT HISTORY
Although originally of Orlanthi descent, the early peoples of southern Slontos were converted to Orthodox Hrestoli Malkionism by the Seshnelans. Substantial folk beliefs from their Orlanthi past remained among the general populace, and these were gradually assimilated by the mainstream religion until, by the close of the First Age, Slontan Malkionism had diverged enough to be considered a separate sect. The sect was henotheist in nature, acknowledging the existence of some of the Orlanthi deities as saints or semi-divine servants of the Invisible God.
After the destruction of Slontos in 1050 ST, the survivors attempted to re-establish the old religion and purge it of the God Learner influences which had accumulated over the previous few centuries. The exact degree of success of this is dubious, but at any rate, a broadly henotheist sect was re-established among the upper classes. However, even greater changes to the religion were occuring among the peasant caste, who consisted primarily of Mraloti people conquered and enslaved by the Slontans in the aftermath of their homeland's destruction.
While the worship of Mralot himself was incompatible with the newly established agrarian lifestyle, the so-called 'Fallen' Mraloti retained many elements of their ancient shamanic religion, and incorporated them into Malkioni belief. Names were found from the Orlanthi heritage of the Slontans and identified with spirits already known or recently contacted by the newly agrarian Mraloti. Spirit magic was accepted alongside sorcery, and semi-shamanic wise women called Mumbors arose to lead the peasant form of the religion.
The result is that in the present day, the upper classes follow a nominally henotheist religion which in fact denounces most 'false gods', while the peasants practice a mixture of spirit magic and sorcery dominated by Saints whose names are taken from Orlanthi agricultural goddesses and a few ancient Mraloti demigods.
DOCTRINE
There is no god but the Invisible God, and Malkion and Hrestol are his prophets.
The Invisible God is acknowledged as Creator of the universe, and the prime mover behind reality. No other gods exist, but many beings thought to be gods by pagans may in fact be saints or demons; the pagans are too ignorant to tell the difference and cannot worship the saints in the correct manner.
Malkion and Hrestol are acknowledged as the true Prophets of the Invisible God, as they are by virtually all Malkioni sects. However, their teachings are of more interest to the upper classes than they are to the peasants, who are more interested in practical benefit than abstruse matters of theology. None the less, both are venerated by the peasants as being able to show the true way to Solace.
The Ramalian Malkioni believe that the souls of the virtuous dead are taken up into Solace, to exist in eternal bliss before God. The less virtuous may be trapped as ghosts or evil spirits, or may be obliterated entirely. Ghosts and other spirits exist in a 'spirit world' parallel to physical reality through which the Saints in Solace can extend their influence to this world.
Ramalian society, like that of other Malkioni, is divided into four castes: Farmer, Warrior, Wizard and Noble. Caste membership is heriditary, and there is no motion between castes. The upper three castes practice sorcery alone, and follow an array of canonised human saints, many of which would be familiar to more mainstream sects. Farmers are allowed to practice spirit magic, which is seen as weak and inferior by comparison with sorcery.
While some of the Farmer caste in the southern parts of the country follow a religion similar to that of their social superiors (and eschew spirit magic) the majority practice a religion centred about various, primarily female, saints who lived during the Godtime and provide blessings of immediate relevance to their lives. These saints fall into three broad categories. First are the 'common' saints, who may be followed by anyone of peasant birth. Second are the 'lesser' saints, followed only by the Mumbors, not by the populace at large. Finally, there are the three 'dark' saints, whose sanctity is not recognised by the official religion and who are followed by members of close-knit secret societies whose main purpose is to provide relief from the often excessive demands of the upper classes. Being discovered as a follower of one of these saints will lead to severe punishment, often including death.
Among the upper classes, women are seen as inferior, and they cannot perform the professions of any of the castes, although they are considered to belong to their caste of birth and can hold significant social influence by virtue of the identity of their father or husband. Marriage outside the caste is forbidden. Among peasants, there is no distinction between men and women in terms of tasks they are permitted to perform (everyone helps out in the harvest, for example), and women generally hold all the positions of social and economic power, select husbands, etc.
A unique feature of Ramalian Malkionism are the Mumbors. These are peasant women, and thus members of the Farmer caste, yet they can have considerable theological knowledge and act in many ways similar to Wizards. They lead religious services among the farmers, just as Wizards do among the upper classes, and have unique forms of magic rather similar to the 'divine' magic of pagans. Among farmers they are looked up to and respected, although many members of the upper classes treat them no better than other peasants. The existence of Mumbors is justified by the upper classes in that one would not expect a Wizard to waste his time ministering to peasants.
Wizards are permitted to use the Tapping spell on any beings that lack souls, including both animals and non-humans.
PdP virtues: Energetic, Proud (upper classes) / Modest (farmers), Prudent, Valourous, Vengeful
The remainder of this write-up focuses on Ramalian Malkionism as practiced by the Farmer caste, and ignores that of the upper classes.
MUMBOR STATUS
REQUIREMENTS
The candidate must be a female member of the Farmer caste, and must take a vow not to use sorcery magic (lest they be seen to encroach on the duties of a Wizard). They must be a follower of Ramalian Malkionism in good standing and have at least 50% skill in Animal Lore, First Aid, Plant Lore, World Lore and Ceremony. They must then pass a test of holiness similar to that of priests.
PdP: Animal Lore, First Aid, Plant Lore, World Lore, Religion (Ramalian
Malkioni)
GURPS: Animal Handling, Agronomy, Herbalist, Naturalist, Theology
(Ramalian Malkioni)
DUTIES & BENEFITS
A Mumbor has similar duties and restrictions to a priest. They automatically have a Second Sight ability similar to that of shamans, but have no ability to call for divine intervention. They are treated as priests for purposes of past experience etc.
DIVINE MAGIC
Common Divine Spells: Dismiss Magic, Divination, Heal Wound, Sanctify, Spirit Block, Warding
Special Divine Spells: Command Swine, Worship Invisible God
The Worship Invisible God spell has the same effect as the sorcery spell of the same name, not as the usual divine magic spell Worship [Deity]. Much of the Mumbor's magic actually comes from her access to unique saintly blessings, although because these expend POW to use, they are only employed sparingly.
COMMON SAINTS
The blessings of the following saints can be acquired by any member of the Farmer caste.
ST ERNALDA
As patron saint of peasant women, this is the most important of all the Farmer caste saints, and the one whose blessing is most widely employed. It is interesting to note that, as with many of the other saints, her blessing does not resemble any of the divine magic normally associated with the goddess of the same name by the Orlanthi.
St Ernalda's Blessing (3 points)
When a pregnant sow is granted this blessing, she is guaranteed to give birth to a large, healthy litter of piglets (unless some other circumstance intervenes), 90% of whom will be female. The blessing must be employed more than four weeks before the sow is due to give birth.
ST AKOME
This is the patron saint of mothers and all those who work in the home to shelter their family. As such, her function overlaps with St Ernalda's, but prayers are offered to her for assistance with domestic rather than agricultural tasks.
St Akome's Blessing (2 points)
This blessing is made on a home belonging to a Farmer caste family. For every magic point expended when the blessing is made, the temperature within the house remains at 5 degrees above ambient temperature for the next 12 hours. This is most commonly employed when firewood is short during the winter.
ST DROMAL
The only common male saint, St Dromal is the patron saint of peasant men, and St Ernalda's masculine counterpart.
St Dromal's Blessing (6 points)
This blesses any member of the Farmer caste with great endurance, so that, for the next eight hours they ignore all effects of fatigue and cannot be knocked unconsciousness. Any attempt to magically induce the blessed individual to sleep is at -50% on the resistance table. The subject's CON is also raised to 20 for purposes of resisting poison or disease, although hit points remain unaltered. When the eight hours are up, fatigue automatically drops to -100.
PdP: CON raised to 20 as above, cannot be knocked unconscious, Energetic
trait increased to 20 or by +5, whichever gives the higher total. Falls into
a deep sleep when the blessing expires.
GURPS: HT raised to 20, but no change to hit points, ignores effects
of fatigue or unconsciousness as above, +8 to any roll to resist magically
induced sleep. Fatigue automatically falls to 0 when the blessing expires.
ST SESHNA
The patron saint of the harvest is perhaps the second most widely followed after St Ernalda. Many old folk customs are associated with her, despite their apparent pagan overtones.
St Seshna's Blessing (3 points)
This blessing is invoked in the spring before the ploughing. An area of land equivalent to that which can be ploughed by one man in a day is guaranteed at least an average year's harvest the following autumn.
ST VORIA
The patron saint of young girls is said to look over children and protect them until they are old enough to be confirmed into the faith as an adult.
St Voria's Blessing (3 points)
This blessing can only be invoked on a baptised human child under the age of 16 years. Any diseases or poisons affecting the child are instantly cured. Physical wounds and injuries are unaffected.
ST XEMELA
The mother of Hrestol, this is the only saint whose deeds occured since the Dawn to be followed by the Ramalian peasants. She is the patron saint of healers.
St Xemela's Blessing (6 points)
See TotRM#13 p15 for details of this blessing.
LESSER SAINTS
The blessings of these saints can only be invoked by Mumbors.
ST AKEF
The saint of fire and flame was adopted from pre-Malkioni Mraloti belief, and myths revealing his sanctity were 'discovered' by early Mumbors. He is now an accepted, if minor, part of the Ramalian hagiography.
St Akef's Blessing (2 points)
This blessing is made on a fire, and infuses it with Akef's presence. The fire increases its intensity by one level, adding 1d6 to the damage it produces and increasing its heat output. Despite this, the fire will still burn as long as it would have done naturally. Only natural fires are affected; magical flames such as those of a Fireblade or similar, cannot be enhanced with this blessing.
ST DAKAFAL
This is the most important of the 'lesser' saints and grants the Mumbor her instinctive connection with the spirit world. It is said the Mumbor's power of second sight comes from this saint, who also blesses her with the ability to fight evil spirits and so protect the community.
St Dakafal's Blessing (5 points)
This blessing allows the Mumbor to discorporate as if she was a shaman, except that, as she has no fetch, her body is left entirely undefended on the physical plane for the duration.
ST ENINTA
The patron saint of midwifery assists in another important aspect of the Mumbor's duties.
St Eninta's Blessing (2 points)
When this blessing is employed on a pregnant human woman who has already gone into labour, no serious problems will arise during her delivery. Although she still feels all the normal effects and pains, neither she nor the child will die or suffer significant physical injury as a result of the birth. Stillbirths are still possible if the child has already died before the blessing is employed.
ST GULRIT
Another spirit-deity of the Wild Mraloti adopted as a saint by their Fallen cousins, Gulrit is the saint associated with purity and general well-being; the prevention of disease rather than its cure.
St Gulrit's Blessing (3 points)
This blessing is invoked over a well, spring, or other source of fresh water. It ensures that all water drawn from that source over the next season is clean and untainted. This blessing confers no protection against potent magical sources of disease, such as Malian disease spirits (which must instead be defeated through spirit combat or similar means), although it will protect against infection spirits. The blessing has no effect on brackish water.
ST KORATEK
This saint protects and guides the souls of the dead, and is associated with funerals and with protection from the vengeful dead.
St Koratek's Blessing (1 point)
When this blessing is directed at the ghost of a deceased mortal, the Mumbor must overcome the ghost's magic points with her own, and if succesful, the ghost is banished and unable to return to the neighbourhood forever after. Since the ghost is not destroyed, it might leave for another village and cause trouble there.
'DARK' SAINTS
The following saints are acknowledged as such only by peasants, and invoking their blessings is considered a serious sin by the upper classes, and can result in extreme punishment for the culprit. This has not, however, prevented some from secretly doing so.
ST ASRELIA
This saint is said to protect peasants from unjust overlords who try to take more than their due in taxes.
St Asrelia's Blessing (5 points)
This blessing is invoked over a bundle of inanimate goods or foostuffs up to 5 ENC in size, and causes it to become invisible to anyone not present at the time the blessing is invoked. The blessing ceases if the goods are moved, and lasts one hour for each magic point spent at the time of the invocation.
ST BEESTAGOR
The blessings of the patron saint of peasant uprisings are probably invoked less frequently than those of any of her counterparts, since they are of little use in everyday life (although they might help you fend off a marauding wolf, say).
St Beestagor's Blessing (4 points)
For every magic point spent when this blessing is invoked, the subject's Axe and Tool attack skills are increased by +10%. The effect lasts 24 hours, but may be used on any number of people at the same time, provided that the invoker has enough magic points for each of them. The blessing can be combined with any weapon-enhancing spells.
PdP/GURPS: increases relevant skills by +2
ST MALIA
This 'saint' is the only one not to provide a 'blessing' in the normal sense. Instead, she grants a curse which operates in the same way as a blessing, and is usually employed against nobles or other upper class persons who have been abusing peasants unduly.
St Malia's Curse (4 points)
This curse is directed at a specific individual known to the invoker, who must then succesfully resist her magic points with his own to avoid its effects. If he fails the resistance roll, he is afflicted with a mild disease determined randomly on the following table. The severity of the disease increases normally.
Notes: Ideas for this article came from many sources, especially those on Malkionism in TotRM, Sog City Conference Guide and Nick Brooke's home page. Many of the blessings are based, more or less strictly, on divine spells in Gods of Glorantha, although those of Dromal, Eninta, Voria, Dakafal and Gulrit are pretty much entirely my own. It is quite intentional that not all the blessings correspond to divine spells granted by the deity of the same name (for example, St Ernalda's blessing is based on an Eiritha spell) - the Fallen Mraloti borrowed the names more than the attributes when they adapted their religion to Henotheist Malkioni norms. If it seems odd that priestly divine magic users would worship the Invisible God, I refer you to p31 of the Genertela Player's Book, where (possibly by mistake :-)) this is actually stated to be the case. In case the extensive list of saint's blessings looks rather like kitchen-sinkism, I would say in my defence that, firstly, most of the blessings aren't a lot of use to your average player character, and secondly, that blessings are generally more difficult to acquire and use than divine spells are, so that none of these could really be employed regularly. For details on Saintly Magic, see TotRM#13, or pester me until I summarise the rules here.
This page was created 4th October 1998 by Jamie 'Trotsky' Revell. Comments welcome.