> On the rules list I asked: ((Are the personality traits
> attached to a rune hard coded into the universe or are they
> culturally specific?
I am very wary of making general all-encompassing statements about how such and such rune affects so-and-so. The Runes are absolute, that is certain, but affect different things in different ways. So, Death is Death is Death, but Ty Kora Tek uses Death in a different way to Humakt who uses it in a different way to Yelorna who uses it in a different way to Storm Bull. Also, different cultures view things in differant ways, too. A Praxian Uroxi would be different from an Uroxi from Bilini.
> For example: Orlanthi culture has a certain attitude towards death
> and so bearers of the death rune in Orlanthi culture tend to act a
> certain way.
Again, it depends on the particular use for Death. A Humakti would bear Death differently to an Uroxi, for example, despite them both being part of the Orlanth culture.
> Might another culture have a different attitude to death and those
> bearers of the death rune therefore have totally different
> personality traits attached.))
Yes, absolutely.
> David replied: ((here's a quick answer: Yes.
>
> The runes are essential building blocks, so the personality traits are universal. But if you're from Dara Happa and all your kin are embarrassed half to death every time you exhibit Air rune personalities, you will express those somewhat differently than if you were an Orlanthi, where everyone is encouraged to behave that way.))
Followers of Entekos, the High Air, will manifest the Air/Storm Rune in a different way to those of Urain, the Dark Storm. One is peaceful and aloof, the other is wracked by mindless violence.
> So how this relates to the rules is this. I say I want to do
> something and the GM can say ‘No. That’s not how the world
> works.’
The GM could say that, or he could say "Sure, you can do that, but this is how your culture/cult normally does things" and it is up to you to follow which path you choose.
> For example I can’t go on a heroquest and redefine the
> personality traits related to death. I can’t make death mean
> compassion and understanding for example?
Well, it depends on how you do it. Having a Humakti kill a friend who is suffering from a grevious wound, to put him out of his misery, is to allow the Death cultist to show both compassion and understanding. Killing a brother who is a murderer is showing compassion and understanding of a different nature.
> I also assume a God like Baron Samedi wouldn’t be able to
> exist in Glorantha because his personality traits would be
> overwritten by the innate traits and values of the death rune.
> Is that right?
Why not? Baron Samedi would have the Death Rune but would interpret it differently to other deities. I'm not sure which personality traits you think are incompatible with the Death rune.
> So is there any kind of metaphysical rules text anywhere
> that explicitly states what is prohibited, what I can’t believe
> because in the context of the world it isn’t and can never be
> true?
I'd say quite the opposite. Nothing should be absolutely forbidden.
The cults are the way they are because that's how the gods and goddesses behaved and that's how they want their worshippers to behave.
In my opinion, the Runes are vastly overstated here, but that's mainly because I think the runes are secondary and the inner nature of the deity is the primary shaper of the deity. I know that HQ2 is going to focus on Runes as the major driving force and I'm not sure if that's the best way to do it, but I'm not one of the authors so my opinions do not count (If I wanted my opinions to count, I'd try and write something for HQ2).
See Ya
Simon
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