Re: Terror in war

From: oswaldtrimling <oswaldtrimling_at_OgRnFQnewr5n0JFwKlfy7jqV5RINpmkNJxu2LnyeEYCaQ4okepMbj0cRzgsMt>
Date: Mon, 27 Aug 2007 08:20:37 -0000


Jeff Richard:

> > I have my doubts that Sartar's Flame would even
> > light for a person who had committed such divisive
> > acts. Sartar was a nationbuilder, and as a degree of
> > discretion is obviously built into the Flame; i.e., it
> > doesn't always light for someone, regardless of the
> > blood claim that person might have, I don't think that
> > Kallyr would qualify with the blood of hundreds of her
> > own people on her hands. At one or two removes,
> > perhaps.
>
> Why do you think this? Assuming that the Flame of Sartar is similar
> to the Vingkotling blood, it is not a moral test. It tests whether
> the candidate is favored by the god - something that Kallyr most
> defintely was and something Temertain never was.

But that's the question - would she have been favoured by Orlanth and Sartar if she had done these things? IMG, certainly not, although, admittedly, that says little about other people's Gloranthas.

That's what it keeps coming back to me for me. I don't care how realistic or plausible it is for Kallyr to have a hand in atrocities - it just doesn't make for a game that I could enjoy. Once this sort of thing happens, the campaign becomes either 'Kallyr is a Bad Guy and must be defeated', or 'there are no good guys, and our heroes must learn to live with that fact'.

Both are, of course, perfectly valid campaign premises, but the former requires a major change to the Sartar campaign as presented, and the latter is simply unappealing to me, and so is a clear case of Not In My Glorantha. They both also prevent using Kallyr as a Tragic Heroine, which seems to be her intended role in the saga - either 'she got what she deserved' or 'oh well, shit happens, grim old world, eh?'

Atrocities will happen in my Glorantha; its not a shiny world of high nobility right the way through. But, IMG, there needs to be someone who the player heroes can look up to when they're starting out, or ally with when they're powerful, who is *not* involved in this sort of thing. OK, so that person doesn't have to be Kallyr, but I don't see why it can't be.

But here's a question for you Jeff, if you're reading this - if Kallyr couldn't fill that role in your campaign, who could?            

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