>Does the detail here actually affect a game? We had a (albeit
>temporary leader of Whitewall) and although the political set up
>there I decided on was not ring based per se, you can in game gloss
>over the lack of feats or whatever can't you? If a player who
>controls an Issaries character gets voted Chief FREX then why not?
>as the in game politics are bound to be the focus of play rather
>than what magic they have. YGWV, MGF and all that.
>
>
In principle, it seems quite reasonable to me to allow a player Hero to
become chief without him being (or even wishing to join) one of the
standard leadership cults. But if I were running a game with a player
chief, I'd certainly be throwing challenges at him from time to time
that revolved around leadership abilities, and for which the feats of
Dar, Orendana, or Anatyr would inevitably be very useful. So, if he
doesn't have those feats, he's going to have to recognise that that will
make things difficult for him - and, indeed, will probably make it
harder for him to get elected chief in the first place. He might find
that initiating to Dar etc. is easier than building up his non-magical
leadership skills - and he's certainly going to need one or the other.
Lhankor Mhy might be something of an exception to this, since he has
some ready-made leadership feats anyway - not ideal, but perhaps enough
if you have heroic-level abilities.
If you want to fight, it helps to be in a warrior cult - but it's not essential, and I suspect there are some player Heroes out there from relatively non-combat cults (such as Issaries) who none the less have pretty reasonable combat skills. But the odds are that such Heroes aren't as effective as the Humakti or Uroxi in the party. Leadership is much the same - you don't *need* the relevant cult magic, but it certainly helps.
One can imagine, for instance, a Heortling campaign in which, at some point, it will become very useful for one of the player heroes to become the new clan chief. If, in that campaign, the only suitable (or willing) player Hero happens to be a devotee of Issaries, unable to join Dar, then why derail the story just for that reason? Just be aware that the focus of the story is now likely to shift, in part, to one in which a Hero without optimal leadership skills/magics finds himself thrust into a position of great responsibility. Could be a cool theme, if the players are up for it.
-- Trotsky Gamer and Skeptic ------------------------------------------------------ Trotsky's RPG website: http://www.ttrotsky.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/
Powered by hypermail