The Pariah Deities

[Moderator\'\'s Note: John Schippers shares some questions and answers the ] [ Professor provided for the UCon activities on the ] [ subject of the Pariah deities. ] >1) Tsolyani society permits a great cultural/ethical diversity. In a >society that permits worshippers of Sarku to raise the undead and >worshippers of Vimuhla to commit human sacrifice, what is it about the >worshippers of the pariah gods that is so unpalatable?What cultural tenets >do they violate? Presumably some worship still goes on, what form does it >take? In essence how does this worship offend the sensibilities of lan >individuals? I need to create an atmosphere for the players and promote >player understanding that the pariah gods are "other" or "taboo" from >Tsolyani culture. It is not so much that the Pariah Deities *violate* cultural norms and standards. It is their ancient hostility to the Pantheon of Pavar (to which most of the Five Empires gives some sort of allegiance) and their stated objective of wresting power and control from the present holders. They also have the unintelligible (to humans) goal of consuming all matter, all energy, and all else on the Planes they conquer. They don\'\'t just want domination for themselves -- they want *nothing* to exist in the Universe *outside of* themselves! Rather like the "cosmic Monad" proposed by some philosopher (can\'\'t remember who). They seem to derive pleasure/sustenance from "eating" whole Planes, but perhaps this is a human perception and thus limited. They have no interest in human scruples or morality, and their response to human events is always cold and calculating. If they need you, you live; if they don\'\'t, you get eaten, no matter how loyal or useful you may have been in the past. >2) Obviously the pariah gods must have something to offer You once went >on record, stating that they offered power to individuals. These >individuals gambled that they would get power in their lifetime and the >time frame of the pariah god\'\'s goals made this consequence not really an >issue for most mortal servants. I am curious as what kind of power they >can offer humans. If the answer is as simple as spell knowledge, secret >society contacts, etc. you really don\'\'t need to say too much as I have a >great body of inspirational materials to work from, but I suspect that the >pariah dieties might give worshippers something that would give pause to >even the worshippers of Sarku or Wuru. The Pariah Deities offer whatever the prospective worshipper seems to desire: life everlasting (often a trick: try having fun when you are 500,000 years old -- and show every moment of it!); spell powers; wealth; temporal power over some state or group (this often requires preparation so that the group agrees to serve); religious power -- high priests of some of the standard temples have been caught performing the Pariah rituals; undiluted hedonistic ecstasy (which annoys Ladies Dlamelish and Hrihayal no end); passage to many of the Planes of Otherspave and dull lives there in different bodies and species; and many, many more "goodies." None of these things is unique to the Pariah Deities: they do offer it quickly, efficiently, and in quantity. But, like the hideous drug, Zu\'\'ur, there is no turning back: once you\'\'re in, you never get out. The hope of new recruit is that these delights should never end; the hope of those who have enjoyed them for an age or two is that they should end at once, when the Pariahs seize the Plane and consume it all! Offer an American fifty million dollars, a Porsche or two, a bevy of fashion models, and all the treasures of the earth, and he\'\'ll enjoy it for a while until it becomes boring, humdrum, and without value... >3) Finally, my gut instinct is that the interaction between the "One >Other" and Ksarul is quite important. He put the final barrier up around >the sleeping Lord of the Blue Room after Dormoron. There was a temple to >the One Other close to Humakuyal that was destroyed by Trakonel I, >coincidence? Can you comment? This is true. The One Other is more "social" with the Gods of Tekumel than the Goddess of the Pale Bone, who is rather a nasty piece of work. The One Who Is tends to remain alone and remote and takes little part, even in the rituals of his (its) followers. The temple you mention was destroyed as part of Trakonel\'\'s major campaign. He saw two many good citizens slipping into servitude to these beings, and he did his best to stamp out their shrines, ceremonies, power bases, etc. etc. He perceived their worship as degrading: toadying to deities who in the end would happily eat you! The temples to the Pariah Deities (mostly to the Goddess,some to the One Other, only a few to the One Who Is) were not large or elaborate architecturally. Some -- as you will still find on the Isle of Eyes in the southern seas -- are more like open rings of great monolithic menhirs, like Stonehenge. Others were part of the underground labyrinths. There is still a shrine under the City of the Dead outside of Bey Su; cf. the "Adventures on Tekumel" series. The shrine near Hmakuyal was comparatively larger and better organised than the others, with local peasants paying tithes of agricultural produce and money, regular hierarchies of priests/priestesses, and more typical Tsolyani-style bureaucracy. Exactly what was done there, nobody knows. Emperor Trakonel\'\'s senior high general, Tenchai hiVriddi, refused to enter the innermost shrines himself but had them sealed off. Some say he used priests of various faiths to fill the labyrinths with several types of poisonous gas first. No one ever spoke of these shrines again on pain of death, although it is said that at least one of them is still operating... We know that there are still small cells of worshippers of the Pariah Deities in Tsolyanu and Mu\'\'ugalavya. Some say that the city of Dlash in Livyanu is a major headquarters for them, and there are half-ruined temples down on the coninent to the far southwest, in Naqsai territory. The Undying Wizards (Thomar, Subedim, et al) are currently having a hard time keeping the minions of these beings away from various Planes and time-lines. My players are active this endeavour. Sincerely, Phil ----- Chris Davis Moderator, The Blue Room blueroom@prin.edu The Blue Room\'\'s FTP site: http://nexus.prin.edu or ftp://nexus.prin.edu Available 24 hours a day, except when my PC is down, or unavailable.