Re: Malia

From: Thom Baguley <t.s.baguley_at_...>
Date: Fri, 10 Nov 2000 14:42:24 +0000


> From: Andrew Dawson <asmpd_at_...>
>Vaguely, where do the Mallia worshippers come from?

Do you have the KoDP game? I assume not.

>Specifically, the Orlanthi are a culture of Chaos-haters. During the good
>times, I can't see them letting a nest of Mallia worshippers live. I have
>some ideas as to why Mallia worshippers continue, but I wonder what I'm
>missing. Does anyone else have something to add? (BTW, though they're still
>valid, I am not personally interested in answers involving laxness and
>chaos due to the Lunar occupation. I am more interested in how such people
>survived that long in Dragon Pass.)

Malia worship is largely propriatory (sp?) worship. Disease comes to a community and some folks start secretly sacrificing to Malia out of fear. They don't get the disease. Gradually they get sucked into the power of the whole thing ... they can send disease to their enemies by sacrificing to Malia. (My guess is that most Orlanthi do it through misapplied worship of Malia).

Sometimes whole communities will sacrifice to Malia out of desparation ...

>1. Mallia worshippers are seen as a necessary evil and allowed to live.
>1a. Maybe they're only allowed to live far away and approached cautiously,
>like mad hermits.
>1b. How do you keep the Uroxi from killing them?

IMO you might not get a chaos taint until you initiate to Malia, acquire a talent or otherwise make some permanent change. (... or the taint will be so mild that Uroxi get a penalty to detect it).

>2. Mallia worship is passed down secretly.
>2a. However the keepers of the Mallia secret will reveal themselves when
>the need to call on Mallia arises. How do they sink back into obscurity?

I'm sure that some bloodlines might pass her worship down as a secret.

>3. Mallia just forces herself on an unlucky shaman every so often.
>3a. Is such a person tolerated or persecuted?
>3b. Do this person keep this a secret (see #2)?
>3c. Does this person run off and live like a mad hermit in the wilderness?

Some powerful disease/Malia spirits might have overt posession ...

>4. Some Earth worshipper heroquests to gain Mallia's "rewards". Same type
>of questions as above.

Unlikely IMO.

>5. A martyr goes to a bad place and offers self to Mallia's service in
>return for the abilities that are needed.

Unlikely IMO.

>Issues:
>
>1. If they're not living among you, how do you find out that they exist?

I don't really follow this. Malia will be known from mythic connections to healing goddesses and shamans. Also, from Broo.

>2. If you can find them in bad times, why can't you find them and kill them
>in good times?

Because worship is propriatory - in good times people don't worship Malia.

>3. If they're tolerated on some level, how does Orlanthi society excuse this?

I don't think they are tolerated except in very, very dire times by very, desparate clans. Most clans will outlaw and slaw Malia worshippers ASAP (this is one of the KoDP game events). In KoDP you can always sacrifice to Malia to get rid of disease. I never did, but apparently she is more effective than Chalana Arroy.

Thom

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