Indi Latrani @indi@awoo.space

@Ulfra_Wolfe As in all these things, what's most important is balance; no reason you can't have close connections AND more-distant "reality checkers"

@Ulfra_Wolfe Okay, good, we're on the same page here. And bear in mind someone can attest to an ideal without actually embodying it well too; you can get imposters no matter what you're looking for. Guides help a lot, shielding helps a lot, external cross-checks help a lot (divination for instance, ideally done by someone you're not TOO close to)

@Ulfra_Wolfe (The fact that you're basically making a blind hookup, and that you can't even check their divine ID card, means that you have to be careful, of course!)

@Ulfra_Wolfe I think that's definitely a reasonable way of looking at things and I see it as going hand-in-hand with how I look at it. The realm that gods and spirits come from is vast and confusing and names and expectations matter a lot. I think when you use a god's name or seek contact with a spirit of particular sort, you're basically shouting into a crowd, and the main thing you know about whoever responds is that they are willing to go by that name or representation.

@literorrery Is the R for 'research', 'reliability' or something else?

@literorrery Yeah, the signal-towers thing has occurred to me too. Definitely feels like it's missing a moon though.

@literorrery Also maybe you can help me get astronomy to work in Downwarp. ;)

@literorrery (And I know, just because I said 'wanderers,' that you're already getting revved up to come up with planetary associations. ;))

@literorrery Also, playing catch-up here (this post is what reminded me to talk about gods more broadly, since you reminded me here how much more coplex Hephaestus is than just 'forge-god' (as you clearly know too)) -- Remind me please sometime to tell you about one of the Wanderer-Gods I'm starting to learn about now, the Sculptor-of-Pieces. It sounds like there might be a lot of commonalities here.

@KawaSeadrake I'm curious to hear more about your first example in paragraph 3 there, if you can share? :)

@literorrery Yeah, found that and then from the other end calcination -> calx -> greek khalix (presumably Χαλιξ), "small pebble" (ref: http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=chalk) and then I wondered if we're into false-cognate territory or something deeper about the places that copper was found, or the appearance of the ore.

@Ulfra_Wolfe I mean, go ahead, I guess?

I have yet to see an RPG, or even very many fantasy novels, that have as much depth to their deity characterizations as even the most poorly-attested historical-polytheism deities.

Here's a thing about gods that lots of folks, world-buildes and pagans alike, seem to miss sometimes:

Gods are people. People are complicated. Most folks I know resist being stereotyped as 'the movie guy' or 'that photography girl'.

Similarly, saying 'Oh that's the God of Writing' or 'Yay, love goddesses are great' cuts off a lot of the history and specifics and individuality that makes it possible to get to know, and work with, a particular deity.

@literorrery And per the name and such, I take it everything I mentioned in my ramble was not news to you, and you found the same little fascinating linguistic rabbit hole as well?