Yip, I understand the utility of the analogy. 'Wilderness sickness' is a fairly common phenomenon upon such men. Small scale trapping, with proper butchery and regard for the animal, wouldn't upset the Lady.
>Disliking settled
> life does not necessarily mean that the Odaylan is immune to conceits like
> pride, ambition, greed, etc. Actually for that matter, I think the
Odalyan
> "almost complete rejection of civilisation" is overplayed.
Although several people (myself included) have commented on the solitude aspects, and how they might 'water them down in play' it may be that we shouldn't be turning to Odayla but rather to Ormalaya and even Varanorlanth (now there's the 'wild man' writ large) for our hunter archetypes, and recognise Odayla as 'something else'. The cult writeup suggests that Odaylans are rare, and considered odd by ordinary clansman. There may well be only a few hundred throughout all of Sartar (which would make them all player characters. :) ).
The emphasis on solitude is so consistent within David Millians' writeup, there must be good (though not necessarily explicit) reasons for it.
So what is this 'something else'? One of my own analogies for the Odaylans is the Desert Fathers of the early Church, who shunned civilisations to cultivate silence and encounter Mystery. The cult writeup speaks of 'leaving behind the familiar to enter the mysterious and ancient landscape'. For me that's one of the clues. I expect Odaylan heroes will be radically different in both their powers and their attitudes. Something is Brewing out there, and in the Odaylan paths to the Otherside. The Bear will wake in anger. ('and up from the ground came a bubblin' crude' :))
> Why? I suspect places like Boldhome are filled with folk that violate
> individuals clan's taboos. Do the Black Oaks patrol the markets of
> Boldhome?
I overstated this. I think the point about killing your totem in personal encounter is as far as I'd be prepared to argue the totemic aspect.
Again, I don't think anybody is
> suggesting that the Odalyans form the Hudson Bay Company - but I do think
> that they engage in furtrapping as a source of trade goods and other
income.
My personal vision takes a different form, may our games prosper and grow. I think we've both explored our perspectives, and there's certainly room for both.. I have no problem with trapping, even large scale trapping by cults such as Ormalaya, and have spelled out what the writeup says about Odaylans gifting or trading their pelts. The challenge for me is to explain my ideas of what Odayla is *really* about in game and scenario terms. It's something I'm sketching out some ideas for. Stay tuned, but don't hold your breath. :)
Cheers
John
When thy father went to the mountain
He would bring back a roe-buck, a wild boar, a stag,
A speckled grouse from the mountain,
A fish from Rhaeadr Derwennydd.
Of all those that thy father reached with his lance,
Wild boar and lynx and fox,
None escaped which was not winged
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