Living Legend Cults

Discussion on game mastering Earthdawn. May contain spoilers; caution is recommended!
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Tattered Rags
Posts:374
Joined:Mon Nov 28, 2016 12:04 am
Living Legend Cults

Post by Tattered Rags » Wed Apr 03, 2019 7:14 pm

The Travar book has confused me on this term. Is a living legend cult built around a Namegiver currently alive (or at least alive when the cult started)?

The Naaman's Hand is described as a living legend cult, but clearly the legend is dead (stated goal of resurrection). So...I'm confused. Do I have it wrong?

And any good ideas of living legend cults, or interesting uses in your campaigns?
Adventure I'm running:
Under the Stars

Adventure GM post-mortem:
Under the Stars Postmortem

Bonhumm
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Re: Living Legend Cults

Post by Bonhumm » Wed Apr 03, 2019 10:52 pm

The only description (instead of mentions) I could find about Living Legends is in the 1st Edition Barsaive Boxed set:

This type of group originated with small societies that promoted hero worship. Living legend cults grew from those groups who believed that the answers to meeting the new challenges of our world could be found in the legends of Barsaive's past. Each living legend cult takes as its focal point the legend of a hero or magic item from the past. For example, one living legend cult seeks Purifier, the sword that legend says is destined to slay the remaining Horrors in the world. Another group, the elven Seekers of the Heart, vow to undo the corruption of Blood Wood and return the Court of the Elven Queen to its past glories.
Though the members of most living legend cults seem harmlessly obsessed with certain legends, a few present a real danger. These extremists consider anyone not equally devoted to their chosen legend as an enemy of their work of trying to save the world . In a world as wondrously diverse as ours, their suspicions may even be accurate.


So, my guess is that the 'living' part means that the 'cultist' wants to keep that legend 'alive' in everyone's memory or, sometimes, actually bring the person back to life. The fact that the legend in question is currently physically alive of not does seem to be of importance in the term 'living legend'. Somewhere along the lines of 'we are keeping his/her/it legend alive!'.

Tattered Rags
Posts:374
Joined:Mon Nov 28, 2016 12:04 am

Re: Living Legend Cults

Post by Tattered Rags » Thu Apr 04, 2019 1:20 am

Yay! Thank you! I've been wondering for a while now if I had the definition correct. Clearly I did not, so I'm happy to be corrected.
Adventure I'm running:
Under the Stars

Adventure GM post-mortem:
Under the Stars Postmortem

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