Re: Terror in war

From: Jeff Richard <richaje_at_jflMXrqgwK_3RTiiGvQmYwzMgA6t3JbZIm3MF8L4T1Btuh3sM7mjOQLQElfQGEwUPF-b>
Date: Mon, 27 Aug 2007 09:04:58 -0000


> 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.

If she had killed non-combatants or ordered their deaths? Orlanth doesn't care - as long as his laws aren't broken - witness the Kings' War and the Twisting during the late Gbaji Wars period. Or the deeds of King Dinelmal and Great King Harasaran against the Arkatings and their supporters. And so on. Ernalda doesn't care as long as it is in the long-term interest of the community (heck, Erilindia ordered the deaths of many and kept the support of the goddess).

As long as a worshipper follows the gods' rules (no killing your own clanmembers, no worshiping chaos, perform the requisite sacrifices and attend the requisite holy day ceremonies, respect the gods in words and deed, etc.), the gods will support the worshiper - even if the worshiper is a complete bastard.

> 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?

In my last campaign, Kallyr began as a very distrusted figure. My players disliked and distrusted her for her role in the 1613 Rebellion and for her intense ambition to light the Flame and proclaim herself Prince regardless of how many died in the process. Starting around 1617, the players began to increasingly support Kallyr's methods and deeds. By 1622, they were fully in support of Kallyr, having provided her with key magical support during her heroquest at the Battle of Iceland.

Kallyr is a warlord, not a peacetime ruler. She leads the rebellion that ultimately leads to Sartar's independence, but her entire adult life is spent in endless war. She's seen the Bat, fought at the fall  of Boldhome, been a Lunar prisoner, a Righteous Wind "guerilla and commando", a defiant queen, the leader of a rebellion, a key thane of the sacred Hendriking king, and one of the handful of defenders of Whitewall against the siege of Tatius the Bright. Like King Hendrik ("who never spent two nights in one place" and of for whom "the funeral pyre and the conflagaration was his campfire"), she's lived most of her life on the run and at war.

Whether it was done by Kallyr's hands or by others, I think it goes without saying that the rebellion in Sartar from 1617-1625 was a ruthless and vicious affair. Then again, it was fought against a foe that used demons and the undead, that eliminated entire tribes and clans, and ultimately used something akin to genocide (the Fimbulwinter) to destroy an entire culture and people. War is a dialectic - Kallyr and the Sartarites respond to Lunar atrocities with their own bold audacious strikes, which lead to Lunar responses in turn, and so on.

This isn't making Kallyr out to be a villain, but I think people ought to think seriously about the sort of leader she is likely to be. She is not a peacemaker, a justicebringer or a demogogue. She is a warleader, a ruthless avenger, and a determined liberator of the house of Sartar - a bright light during a time of seemingly endless Darkness.

Jeff            

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