So your players have finally qualified for Initiateship / Priesthood in Seven Mothers. They assume that just because they've read the rules, got the paper qualifications and served their time, they're automatically accepted.

Seeing as most players "cheat" and read extensive Glorantha material to help them survive, - sorry, to help them role play their characters better -try this little test to see how much cult lore they've really learnt. (If they've already qualified, maybe their High Priest could give them a spot check...?)

i. Your name: (1 point)

ii. Date: (1 point)

iii. What is your favourite colour? (1)

iv. Name the Seven Mothers. (7)

v. Which of the Seven's priestesses are called Priestesses of the Full Half? (2)

vi. Who is the Conquering Daughter? (1)

vii. What are the 7M cult runes? (2)

viii. In which city was the Red Goddess born? (1)

ix. What is the blood of the Goddess? (1)

x. Who is the most famous son of the Goddess? (1)

xi. Who are the parents of the Goddess of the Reaching Moon? (3)

xii. What happened at Castle Blue? (2)

xiii. Name the phases of the moon. (7)

xiv. What Solar year is the date of the birth of the Red Goddess? (1)

xv. How long is a Wane? (1)

xvi. Which day of the week is the 7M holy day? (1)

xvii. Which Lunar deities have 3 eyes? (2)

xviii. What is the 7M cult colour? (1)

xix. How do you see yourself fulfilling the aims of 7M in your daily life? (3)

xx. What do you think the purposes of the 7M are? (7)

xxi. How do you reconcile the use of chaos (such as the Crimson Bat) with the professed cult aims of spreading peace, understanding and prosperity? (2)

xxii. Describe the relationship between Anilla and She Who Waits. (1)

xxiii. Which of the following cults are friendly?: Orlanth, Gbaji, Yelorna, Humakt, Pelora, Issaries, Primal Chaos, Yelm, Anilla. (9)

xxiv. Why is the scimitar superior to the straight sword? (2)

xxv. What is the place of Yelm in the Universe? (1)

xxvi. What is a Selene? (1)

xxvii. You are an initiate of 7M and a priest of 7M tells you to kill someone. A Priestess of the Red Goddess tells you not to. What do you do? (1)

ii. This should be in Lunar nomenclature, i.e. 1620 S.T. = 7/49.

iii. Red, Crimson, Scarlet etc - all other colours are Incorrect.

iv. Jalakeel, Teelo Norri, Dee'Zola, Yanafil Tarnils, Irippi Ontor, Danfive Xaron and She Who Waits (NOT Anilla, the Blue Moon).

v. Yanafil Tarnils.

vi. Hwarin Dalthippa.

vii. Moon, Fertility and Death. Yes, it's only 2 points - trick question!

viii. Torang, in Rinliddi, Peloria

ix. The seas

x. The Red Emperor

xi. The Red Emperor and Gorgorma (the Goddess of the Reaching Moon is Yara Aranis - 1 of the 3 points for remembering that)

xii. The Goddess fought her enemies, won, and thus earned her place as a full deity in the universe.

xiii. Black; Dark; Dying; Crescent-Come; Crescent-Go; Empty Half; Full Half; and Full Moon.

xiv. 1220 ST

xv. 54 years

xvi. Wildday

xvii. Hwarin Dalthippa and Yara Aranis (2 points)

xviii. Red, of course

xix. GM's should listen to the player's rationalisation and mark them on role-playing ability.

xx. See xix.

xxi. See xx.

xxii. She Who Waits is one of the Seven Mothers, unlike Anilla, but SWW may have been a priestess of Anilla. However, her subcult is shrouded in mystery: those who know for sure aren't telling. If the PC flatly states facts about Anilla, have them checked out by the Inquisition - how do they know this?

xxiii:

• Orlanth: No.
• Gbaji: No (but Nysalor yes!).
• Yelorna, Humakt: their official cult line is Neutral to Lunars, ie No, though there is an ongoing rivalry.
• Pelora: Yes.
• Issaries: Yes to non-chaotic Etyries, but Neutral (No) to other Lunars.
• Chaos: Neutral, so No (one could argue that individual chaots vary so much the question is inapplicable
• for this cult).
• Yelm: Yes.
• Anilla: Yes.

xxiv. See xxi. This was discussed at length in the RQ Digest. Suitable answers might be: it represents the crescent of the Goddess so it is like carrying her with you; it represents the multitude of paths (curves) to the Truth, whereas barbarians only understand / believe in one; or mundanely, 'cos you can reach 'round peoples' sheilds with it.

xxv. He is the eyes and mind of the Goddess. Praise him!

xxvi. An elemental summoned by a priest of the Blue Moon. Let the PC burble on, noting down all they know of these innermost secrets of the Lunar faith, and then turn the report over to the Inquisition.

xxvii. You do what your priest of 7M tells you to do. In a cult heirarchy, discipline is important. If the 7M priest chooses to ignore the Red Goddess' priestess' advice, that's his look out; you can always cover your back by reporting him to his superiors later. The relationship between cults (like Yelm priests being superior to Yelmalion ones) only affects rune levels or higher - if the 'higher' cult continually meddled in the lesser one's affairs, sometimes without knowing the full facts, nothing would ever get done.

00-04: Immediate Crucifixion

05-14: Candidate for Danfive Xaron prison legion

15-26: OK for Lay Members

27-34: Acceptable for Initiates

35-50: Rune level standard

51-63: Ever thought about trying for the Red Goddess' cult?

64+: Must be Sandy Peterson...FGS only scored in the 50's!

     Greg ...looking suitably god-like at Convulsion......

        ................... but now we know better!

  
(C Paul Honigmann)

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