> I don't think you guys are thinking about this quite right.
<snip>
> The contestants are heroic people of the Holy Country. The Pharaoh is
> the God king of the land. A living god, who embodies the strength and
> magic of the land. These people are not just athletes and adventurers,
> they are also patriots. They are partisipating in a huge, sacred and
> exiting ritual contest.
Except that I'm fairly sure Rikard doesn't qualify as a Holy Country patriot. I'm not sure Sartar does either. (although that's debated) Was Harrek ever in the tourney? I'm sure he isn't a patriot.
Do we know the selection process?
I think your view is a strong one, and probably works for some people. And by that logic, I think there should be a series of hero cults in Kethela that are each winner of the tourney, which I think is GREAT idea. But do we have any canonical evidence on who has taken part or how the selection is made?
I think both approaches work. 1 - The Pharaoh automatically grabs EVERYONE in the Holy Country borders who is a suitable candidate and pulls them into his short world, there they battle it out and he claims one using some criteria we don't know. 2 - Holy Country patriots awaken in the short world and fight for this most glorious prize.
Personally, I think it's #1, but over the 300 years of his reign, Pharaoh has engendered enough worship that some of the candidates fall into #2. So the offer is a mix of personal power and minor apotheosis as a hero cult. After all, no one knows what really goes on in these competitions, do they?
The more I think about it, the more I like the hero cult idea. Just politico-magically, it seems to fit very well. These are the Masters of Luck and Death, each with a story of his victory and life before, and each with a Feat you can learn. (Probably tied in some way to the feat with which they won the tournament perhaps?)
Inspirations, one and all, to the glory of the Holy Country and it's God King.
> And the winner? The winner get's _immortality_! He get's to live forever
> on the hero-plane. Keeping his good looks, skills and powers, and living
> as a demigod in an exciting and magical realm.
>
> Do you guys really think the price is not worth striving for?
If that's what you get, maybe. But if I'm Sartar, and I feel my destiny is to unite the people of Dragon Pass, I'm going to be pretty pissed at being a demigod hanger on of Pharaoh. :-)
LC
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