Re: Outlawry & Orlanth

From: bethexton_at_...
Date: Thu, 03 May 2001 20:23:18 -0000

Just a thought on one way this could work. On each of the communaly supported holy days the clan essentially re-affirms its members. The members are all accepted as belonging to the storm tribe, have a connection to the pantheon and can call upon the magic that they know from it.

The lesser outlaw status can be enacted by the chief. Word goes out, the wyter knows that these people are no longer part of the clan, etc....but they are not ritually kicked out of the storm tribe. If you are only exiled for a set period of time, at each of the communal holy days somebody has to stand up for you (put on a mask maybe?), essentially saying "and don't forget about my brother Hiorl, exiled from us but expected to return one day to contribute again."

For the greater outlaw status, nobody takes the outlaws part. So starting at the next communal holy day, you lose your magic.

In an emergency the clan can gather together to hold a special ceremony to sever the connection right then and there, but that is a lot of work, so normally they would simply enact the lesser outlaw status, then let the magical effects kick in later.

Of course, in certain situations, when greater outlaw status is needed but the clan is sympathetic, the outlaws may be banished just after one communal holy day, to give them maximum time with their magic to find a new community, or to perform last, desperate acts. (In fact, this window of opportunity is exactly why I proposed it this way).

One extra question though, if you lose your connection from Orlanth, do you get hit with spirits of retribution as if you were apostate? (could be yet another reason to follow the bandit god, he might be good at protecting you from those).

--Bryan

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