This page hosted by Get your own Free Home Page

This Page Visited Times

# Part of Simon Phipp's RuneQuest/Glorantha Site

Glorantha is Copyright Issaries Inc, RuneQuest is Copyright Hasbro Inc
Glorantha is a Fantasy world setting and RuneQuest is a Fantasy Game.
All articles on this web site are game rules or background to the Fantasy setting and are not intended to be taken in any other way.
Back to Home page
Send comments and/or criticism to Simon E. Phipp
Copyright © 2001 Simon E.Phipp
Created On 29 January 2001
Last Updated On 29 January 2001

Search my Website using Atomz Search
| Advanced Search

# The Golden Girl

I have thought long and hard about including this cult in my website. In the end, I thought that it had enough merit and usefulness to be included. A word of warning, the subject matter for the Golden Girl cult may not to be of everyone's taste. It is a cult of survival of rape and abuse and so those topics are an inherent part of the cult.

The Oasis Folk have survived for many years in Prax and the Wastes. They have been enslaved and abused by the Nomads, Jrusteli, True Horse People, Orlanthi, Lunars and any others who passed through. Stoically, they seem to be able to endure almost anything. One of their secrets is that of the Golden Girl, a Spirit from the Golden Age who helps their women endure what they must endure.

## Mythos

During the Golden Age, Genert's People lived happily in his Garden, living off the Earth and enjoying life. Then came the Darkness and life changed forever. Wars came and violence. People died and never came back. The Devil came and slew Genert. His minions walked the devastated Garden and destroyed everything they touched. One was kin to Ragnaglar and the Devil, a demigod who was full of the lusts of his kin and had no thoughts of others as he satisfied those lusts. He came into a village where the Golden Girl lived and looked at the women there. Terrified, they ran away and hid beneath the Earth. Only the Golden Girl remained. She looked at him and walked towards him. As he grabbed her and forced her to the ground, she looked towards where Genert had been and remembered how things once were. She relaxed and forgot what was happening to her and let the demigod sate all his lusts on her broken body. Spent, he rose up and saw the broken girl beneath him. He laughed and went in his way, but did not touch the other women in the village. The Golden Girl stood and washed herself in the Sacred Waters and cleansed herself. The other women came out and helped her in silence, not mentioning the sacrifice that she had made for them. Afterwards they continued with their miserable lives.

## Cult Ecology

The Golden Girl is a secret cult, known only to the Oasis Women. It is the cult of survival of abuse and allows the Oasis Women to accept what is done to them and to survive the experience. In most Oasis Folk villages, not all Oasis Women belong to the cult, in fact only one or two will belong to the cult and they will be the ones who take upon themselves the abuse directed at the village. The other women have mixed emotions at this, they are pleased that they are not being hurt but also ashamed that another is being hurt in their stead.

Worshippers of the Golden Girl know that when they die they will be taken to one of Genert's Halls in the Underworld where they will have peaceful and happy lives with no pain or abuse. They will return to their villages on Holy Days to strengthen and protect their relatives and descendants.

Holy Days are on Clay Day, Harmony Week of each Season with the High Holy Day falling in Earth Season.

Golden Girl is associated with the Runes of Harmony and Fate.

## The Cult in the World

The Golden Girl is worshipped in all the Oasis Folk villages. It is a minor cult and is a secret cult, known only to the Elders of the Oasis Folk and to the Priestesses at the Paps. Each village would have a few members, maybe enough to maintain a Site, but when the Spirits of the Dead are summoned, there are enough to make a Shrine or Minor Temple. Thus, the cult can grant more magic than would otherwise be expected. Shrines are hidden beneath the ground and are worshipped in secret by Oasis Folk Women who enter the ground on the Holy Days. Shrines teach Sate Lust.

Each Temple is headed by a High Priestess, assisted by one or more Priestesses. Individual Temples are not linked and there is no centre of power. No single High Priestess leads the cult and no Priestess commands any favours from other members of the cult.

Although the Priestesses of the Paps know of the cult, they do not advertise the fact, understanding that the cult would be broken if it was well known. Some HeroQuestors know of the Golden Girl as they have encountered her on Quests. Oasis Folk Men sometimes know of the cult but keep quiet as they are ashamed that they cannot protect their women. Occasionally, some people will come to the cult to beg for skills or spells, but this is very rare.

Many men, and some women, from the Oasis Folk who have not heard of the Golden Girl cult feel ashamed when the same women are always taken by nomads. They sometimes ostracise these women as whores or harlots. Even those who know of the cult feel ashamed that they are being spared at the expense of others and express that shame by treating the Golden Girl worshippers as taboo in some way. In some areas, the Golden Girl worshippers are trotted out as soon as nomads appear, just in case, but this is rare.

## Lay Membership

Only women may join the Golden Girl cult and the cult is open to any woman who requires it. The cult is not advertised as that would defeat the reason for its existence. There are no other requirements for membership.

Lay Members may learn the Spirit Magic spell of Solace. This spell gives them a sense of peace and security and allows them to leave the cares of the world.

If given a choice, Lay Members must choose to be abused when no other members of the cult are present. They will be the first abused.

## Initiate Membership

Only women who have had sexual intercourse may become Initiates of the Golden Girl, for the prospect is too terrifying for virgins. Prospective Initiates need not pass a test but must swear to protect the other women in their village and to be the first to be abused if there are no other Golden Girl Initiates or Priests present.

Initiates must give 1 POW in order to join the cult of the Golden Girl.

Initiates may learn the skill of Choose Me First and the Spirit Magic spells of Solace and Glamour. They may also sacrifice for the Divine Spells of Attract Attention, Sate Lust, Happy Place and Forget.

Any Initiate may leave the cult whenever they want to. Initiates who abuse others are excommunicated from the cult and are subject to the Spirit of Retribution.

### Choose Me First

This skill is a Communication skill of base 10%. When the user is in a group of people that must be chosen for a task, this skill allows the user to be chosen first. Where more than one person uses this skill a person rolling a critical would be chosen before a special roll and so on. For example, four women have been accused of spoiling grain and must be punished, two are initiates of the Golden Girl and use their Choose Me First skill to spare the other women a beating. The first woman has a skill of 50% and rolls a 10 which is a special roll, the other has a skill of 30% but rolls a 01 which is a critical. The second woman is chosen for the punishment beating leaving the others unharmed. This skill can also be used in other circumstances, for instance choosing sides in a football match to avoid being the last person left.

## Priestesses

Only Initiates who have been raped may become Priestesses of the Golden Girl. They must satisfy the normal rules and must pass a Test of Holiness.

Priestesses gain the ability of always being chosen first when abuse is given out. This means they will be raped, beaten and abused before the other women in the village.

Priestesses may sacrifice for Golden Girl Divine Magic and Associate Cult Divine Magic on a reusable basis.

Priestesses who abuse others are excommunicated from the cult and are subject to the Spirit of Retribution. They still retain their special ability of being chosen first but have no way of deadening the pain of the experience.

### Divine Magic

Golden Girl grants her worshippers the Divine Spells of Bind (Numbing Spirit, Spirit of Forgetfulness), Command (Numbing Spirit, Spirit of Forgetfulness), Divination, Excommunication, Extension, Spell Teaching, Spirit Block, Summon (Numbing Spirit, Spirit of Forgetfulness), Worship Golden Girl, Attract Attention, Forget, Happy Place and Sate Lust.

Attract Attention

This is the same spell as available to Eurmal and Xiola Umbar. It is used to draw attention to the caster and allow her to be chosen. The caster has a POWx5% chance of being automatically chosen when casting this spell.

Forget

This is the same as the Lanbril or Thief Cult spell and is used to help the target to forget what has happened to her. It is used as part of the healing process.

Happy Place

This is the same as the Eurmal Truant spell of Hallucinate, but this takes the caster to another place where she is happy, no matter what is physically happening to her body. The caster is aware of what is happening to her but from a remote point of view, as if it was happening to somebody else.

Sate Lust (1 point, non-stackable, reusable)

When cast on a person, anyone who abuses that person will be satisfied when the abuse is over. This is normally applied to rape but equally applies to beatings and torture. It is commonly used to ensure that nobody else is hurt by the abuser but is sometimes used by wives to ensure their husbands are satisfied.

## Sub Cults

### Spirit of Retribution

The Golden Girl has only one method of retribution and she only uses it against those cultists who abuse other women. This Spirit of Retribution is called Never Forget and ensures that the person affected always remembers the abuse that she had undergone.

### Serving Spirits

The Golden Girl cult has several servant spirits, of which two are worthy of mention. These Spirits are the Numbing Spirit and Spirit of Forgetfulness. These are Passion Spirits and can be summoned by Priestesses in order to help others. They may also be gained through HeroQuesting but the Oasis People rarely HeroQuest. Numbing Spirits serve to dull the pain of the abuse, beatings or rape. As a Game Mechanic, add the Spirit's POW to the possessed person's CON when determining resistance to pain or being Heroic. Spirits of Forgetfulness have a POWx5% chance of wiping a particular event of abuse from the mind of the possessed woman. It does not clear all memories but makes the memory easier to bear and distant. Priestesses sometimes summon these Spirits for non-cult members who have been abused or who may require the services of the Spirits, but this is rare as they do not wish to advertise the cult.

## Associate Cults

Genert gives the spell of Hide Person. This is similar to the Hide Wealth spell of Asrelia but allows a person to be hidden beneath the earth. It is commonly used to hide young girls so that they will not be harmed.

Gorgorma offers Second Mouth, but the Golden Girl does not accept this spell. Initiates may HeroQuest to obtain the Second Mouth spell if they require.

## Miscellaneous Notes

The Golden Girl cult is a minor cult in Prax, only known by the Oasis Women. Each Oasis People know her as a local girl who protected their village. Oasis Folk do not often travel between villages and so would not know of the other Golden Girl cults. However, they do know that the Golden Girl cult is known by all the women of the Oases.

We rode into Weis Cut late one Fire Season day looking for some fun. There were five of us, all braves from the Shining Saddle Clan of the High Llama Nation. We had been riding for several days and wanted some entertainment. The Duke's men were not at Weis Cut today so things were looking good. As we rode in, we rounded up some of the young women and herded them into open ground near a ramshackle hut. We rode around them for a while, looking for some nice ones. They were all small and plump, plain as the earth, except for one who was tall and long-legged like the High Llama People. She took a small step forward and we chose her, driving the others away with our whips. We rode to the hut and leapt to the ground, dragging her inside. As we took our turns with her, she just lay there, not making a sound, just looking into the distance as if she saw something there. When we were finished, we felt relaxed, at peace with the world, all the cares from our journey had melted away. We rode off, leaving the other women alone. It's strange, because normally we would pick a couple more for our fun, but today we did not feel like it.

[End]