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    Canonfire :: View topic - Rao is the god of Veluna?
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    Rao is the god of Veluna?
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    Apprentice Greytalker

    Joined: Aug 11, 2001
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    From: Ballarat, Australia

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    Tue Aug 14, 2007 5:40 pm  
    Rao is the god of Veluna?

    If I may ask, when was Rao installed as the official god of Veluna? It's always seemed to be a strange placement to me.

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    Merric
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    Merric Blackman
    Mad Archmage of the Oerth Journal

    Joined: Dec 09, 2002
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    Tue Aug 14, 2007 6:04 pm  

    Its kind of assumed as Veluna is an archclericy ruled by Canon Hazen of Veluna.
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    Apprentice Greytalker

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    From: Ballarat, Australia

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    Tue Aug 14, 2007 7:20 pm  

    That it has a god - yes. Rao? That was the surprise. (I find him such a "nothing"-god".) :)

    Cheers!
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    Merric Blackman
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    Tue Aug 14, 2007 8:45 pm  

    MerricB wrote:
    That it has a god - yes. Rao? That was the surprise. (I find him such a "nothing"-god".) :)

    Cheers!


    From how I understand Veluna, that;'s the perfect deity for them. They have enjoyed the 'peace' of having Furyondy between them and Iuz and Bissel between them and Ket. Their other neighbors are Highfolk and the Lortmils. Hell I'd want to live there.
    Grandmaster Greytalker

    Joined: Nov 07, 2004
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    From: Mt. Smolderac

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    Tue Aug 14, 2007 8:52 pm  

    mortellan wrote:
    MerricB wrote:
    That it has a god - yes. Rao? That was the surprise. (I find him such a "nothing"-god".) :)

    Cheers!


    From how I understand Veluna, that;'s the perfect deity for them. They have enjoyed the 'peace' of having Furyondy between them and Iuz and Bissel between them and Ket. Their other neighbors are Highfolk and the Lortmils. Hell I'd want to live there.


    Rao IS reason incarnate, but he will throw a beatin' on you if that is the most reasonable thing to do. And it hurts worse getting your butt kicked by a nice smiling old guy than some hopped up heironean who is just looking for an excuse to bring the axe down. Smile
    GreySage

    Joined: Aug 03, 2001
    Posts: 3310
    From: Michigan

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    Tue Aug 14, 2007 10:36 pm  
    Re: Rao is the god of Veluna?

    MerricB wrote:
    If I may ask, when was Rao installed as the official god of Veluna?


    In From the Ashes, I think.

    Quote:
    It's always seemed to be a strange placement to me.


    I think Rao is awesome, actually. He fits in so well in the niche of a gentle celestial patriarch, the shepherd of a host of angels and saints. I think it's the potential for a celestial hierarchy in his abode as vast as that described in the real world by pseudo-Dionysus, a greater god of the Seven Heavens tolerant of those who would worship him through intermediaries. It gives a place for angel cults in the Flanaess, and gives us an appropriate patron for St. Cuthbert and other saints less popular elsewhere. He's a greater god, which makes him an appropriate focus for the heavens, but he's distant enough that it makes sense that he would accept and understand those who need to focus on more approachable entities. And a LG shepherd-god makes an excellent head for a powerful Catholic-like church watched over by Canon Hazen.

    All in all, this makes Veluna an excellent place to put worshipers of the Celestial Hebdomad, of the devas and archons and guardinals and hollyphants and Princes of Elemental Good, of St. Cuthbert and St. Trowbane and St. Carmichael, of holy martyrs and blessed virgins. The result is a religion both focused and flexible, with Mitrik the Rome of the western Flanaess, exerting influence as far away as Keoland and Greyhawk.

    Rao has a distinct enough personality, bringer of peace and reason, worshiped almost monotheistically by the Westerling Flan and adopted by lost and weary Oeridians, but part of his appeal is that his portfolio is also general enough that he can be used in a very broad way. If Veluna's patron was Heironeous it would be a nation of war, if it was Pelor it would be a nation dedicated to venerating the sun, and if it was St. Cuthbert it'd be a more rustic and pragmatic version of the Pale. Only Rao, with his shepherd's crook, can bring everyone together into a universal church, the western alternative to the imperial church of Aerdy and its many schisms.
    Grandmaster Greytalker

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    Wed Aug 15, 2007 8:55 am  

    From “On Plars: A Squire’s Tutorial” at http://www.canonfire.com/cf/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=804

    “Then there is the Plar of Veluna. The title was acquired early in the migrations when the Vollar, an Oeridian tribe, peacefully absorbed a large congregation of primitive Flan. Given the nature of its people, it would seem reasonable to conclude that the title, held by the foremost of the seven noble houses, was not discarded in favor of one of the titles more common in Furyondy, such as Baron or Count, because it made a statement of pride about their Oeridian-Flan cultural unity, embodied in the worship of Rao, that is seen in the now largely Oeridian Archclericy. FN10.

    FN10: LGG, p.129; Guide, p.41.
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    From: Mt. Smolderac

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    Thu Aug 16, 2007 6:38 pm  
    Re: Rao is the god of Veluna?

    rasgon wrote:
    I think Rao is awesome, actually. He fits in so well in the niche of a gentle celestial patriarch, the shepherd of a host of angels and saints. I think it's the potential for a celestial hierarchy in his abode as vast as that described in the real world by pseudo-Dionysus, a greater god of the Seven Heavens tolerant of those who would worship him through intermediaries. It gives a place for angel cults in the Flanaess, and gives us an appropriate patron for St. Cuthbert and other saints less popular elsewhere. He's a greater god, which makes him an appropriate focus for the heavens, but he's distant enough that it makes sense that he would accept and understand those who need to focus on more approachable entities. And a LG shepherd-god makes an excellent head for a powerful Catholic-like church watched over by Canon Hazen.

    All in all, this makes Veluna an excellent place to put worshipers of the Celestial Hebdomad, of the devas and archons and guardinals and hollyphants and Princes of Elemental Good, of St. Cuthbert and St. Trowbane and St. Carmichael, of holy martyrs and blessed virgins. The result is a religion both focused and flexible, with Mitrik the Rome of the western Flanaess, exerting influence as far away as Keoland and Greyhawk.

    Rao has a distinct enough personality, bringer of peace and reason, worshiped almost monotheistically by the Westerling Flan and adopted by lost and weary Oeridians, but part of his appeal is that his portfolio is also general enough that he can be used in a very broad way. If Veluna's patron was Heironeous it would be a nation of war, if it was Pelor it would be a nation dedicated to venerating the sun, and if it was St. Cuthbert it'd be a more rustic and pragmatic version of the Pale. Only Rao, with his shepherd's crook, can bring everyone together into a universal church, the western alternative to the imperial church of Aerdy and its many schisms.


    Wow! This is the best description/explanation/interpretation of Rao I've ever seen. So when is the full article coming out? Smile
    Black Hand of Oblivion

    Joined: Feb 16, 2003
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    From: So. Cal

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    Fri Aug 17, 2007 12:01 am  

    I also like Rao as the main deity, even though it was originally intended to be St. Cuthbert that Arch-cleric Hazen venerates, which is why Veluna and others sponsored the development of Hommlet (specifically the building of the church of St. Cuthbert and the keep/castle).

    I have used Rao as Hazen's god, setting up a group of clerics of various faiths overseen by Hazen as the ruling body of Veluna. This group meets at the "Prelatal College", a series of buildings that lie next to the cathedral-palace of the Arch-cleric, and is known as the “Council of Bishops”. Rao works for this grouping as he is known to be the peace maker, the great reasoner. Rao brings together all the groups of clerics who represent the good deities, and a few neutral ones, who are tolerated in Veluna. All legal religions are represented basically. The Arch-cleric hears the perspectives of the members of the College of Bishops before making important decisions that affect all those who dwell in Veluna (and beyond).

    That is how I work Rao at least. I also like how the Knights of Veluna are known for their diplomacy, which is very representative of Rao’s ideals. It all fits pretty well.
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    Apprentice Greytalker

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    Wed Aug 29, 2007 11:52 am  

    What is a "Plar"? Is that a religious title?
    Master Greytalker

    Joined: Aug 17, 2004
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    From: Computer Desk

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    Wed Aug 29, 2007 12:47 pm  

    The title Plar is a noble title: “Plar originally meant an Oeridian lord who ruled over a foreign people, typically Flan, as a result of the migrations.

    See the full article http://www.canonfire.com/cf/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=804
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