> >Except, of course, we have the clear example of kinstrife causing chaos
> >amongst the Heortlings.
>
>How? I've addressed kinstrife before:
Kinstrife being a source of chaos is so fundamental to the Heortling view point, that to ignore it is to remove any point in discussing the world based on the sources we have. Certainly there are more references to this than to rape makes broo. Kinstrife <=> chaos is also a fairly fundamental theme in both barbarian adventures and parts of king of dragon pass. Now, there are other ways to interpret these, but to me that is to miss the power of the theme.
By denying any possibility of a cultural component to chaos, you are, in my opinion, throwing out the baby with the bathwater. Sure there are universals, and sure they are important, but I have yet to see any suggestion that the story ends there.
> >I'd also say that some cultures are more
> >resistant to the universal chaos practices than others.
>
>I disagree. Certain cultures might have magical rituals to remove the
>accumulating chaos taint before it actually causes a chaos feature*.
>but I do not believe that mere cultural practices can confer resistance
>to chaotic acts.
Well, magical rituals would *be* cultural practices, so I think your distinction is possibly a little finer than I wish to draw.
Cheers,
Graham
-- Graham Robinson graham_at_... Albion Software Engineering Ltd.
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