> I was trying to suggest that entering into the Great Compromise
> fostered protection against Cosmic Entropy.
Yes, I agree that that's what it's all about.
> Those portions of the universe which were not included in this
> agreement have no existence in this new world. This is Entropy.
I don't really agree with this. The gods may have been tricked into recognising Time (offspring of Nature and Entropy) as ruling deity of the New Age, but Time is the entity the Compromise was sworn upon, who upholds the oaths of the universe. A "synthesis of entropy and existence", IIRC. Very much a part of the new world -- in fact, the defining part.
> Hence, my inference :
> not having your Arachne Solara Club tie
> = destruction by Chaos
As you will have recognised, I misread your initial position as saying that the *gods* somehow annihilated any of their number who refused to join the Great Compromise, not that Chaos did so. My apologies for any confusion -- against the background of "Chaos isn't anything special" posts that have been flying around, your orthodoxy should have been refreshingly obvious!
> Before the Compromise, but after the appearance of the Devil, there
> was precious _little_ difference between Death and Annihilation.
Dunno about that. There was no way back from the Underworld to the rest of Glorantha, because the paths hadn't been opened (this is part of what the LBQ, Aldrya's Rite of Spring, etc. are all about). But definite (albeit miserable) existence in an (admittedly unwholesome) part of Glorantha -- think of Maggotliege's Hall in KoS -- is distinctly different to Utter and Irreversible Annihilation. A comparison seems unworthwhile.
> So yes, maybe the Devil *was* just another god, albeit a very
> powerful, and a very hostile and destructive one.
Maybe atomic weapons *are* just another kind of bomb, albeit a very powerful and destructive one?
I think the terrifying, unearthly horror of the Devil's violation of Glorantha is only lessened if we describe it as "just another god". Likewise, if we twist words to say "Chaos is part of nature". Yes, weird Gloranthan theologians could hold these positions ("The Devil is to Orlanth as Orlanth was to Yelm"; "Chaos is now part of Nature, just as the Middle Air intruded into the Perfect World of Yelm"; "All Nature arose from Chaos, the Primal Plasma"). There are plenty of sources for such beliefs in "Lords of Terror" and "Drastic: Chaos", inter alia. But unless you are building your game around the truth of these perceptions (e.g. to run a PC party of Nysalor Illuminates, Eastern Mystics or whatever), or writing an exposition or polemic from such a POV (e.g. my Lunar priest on Drastic: Chaos p.62: "We are all creatures of Chaos"), it's probably best to explore the more orthodox philosophies. After all, 99% of Gloranthans do!
Regards, Nick
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