RE: Re: TR family relationship

From: Weihe, David <weihe_at_...>
Date: Tue, 20 Feb 2001 10:45:54 -0500

> From: Jeff
> --- In hw-rules_at_y..., Benedict Adamson <badamson_at_l...> wrote:
> > In Thunder Rebels, the Heortling cultural keywords now give a
> > 'Family' relationship. From the text, I gather this would more
> > accurately called a 'Blood-line' relationship. Is that the correct
> > interpretation?
>
> Yes, I think that this is the case -- TR does frequently state that
> your bloodline IS your family (though it can get blurred with a
> bloodline spread over several steads). You could also assume it to be
> the stead you grew up in, if you'd prefer. Or if you are
> feeling that
> your character is an outsider/doesn't-play-well-with-others type, it
> could just be his immediate kinfolk.

Theoretically, one's family was not just kin but also anyone that one lived with on a long term basis. Aristole included the family slaves or animals in the term, for instance, and I expect that it would also cover "Uncle" Karlgest, who actually isn't related by blood or marriage, but was your father's best friend back when Dad was exiled for a couple years for excessively anti-Lunar opinions, came back to help Dad on the farm for a while and just never left.

It would also probably cover anyone fostered where the PC grew up, and even hostages that were kept for a long time with your family (whether the Relationship is reciprocal is always a tricky question).

OTOH, what exactly it means to have a relationship to Bossie, the family's best milk cow, is left as an exercize for the GM. :-)

The Bloodline, OTOH, is a legal relationship that can have no or even negative emotional impact, like the relationship between the Boy Named Sue and his long-disappeared father.