Gods' Knowledge of Worshippers Minds

From: Loren Miller <loren_at_hops.wharton.upenn.edu>
Date: Sat, 21 Jan 1995 17:26:32 -0500 (EST)


I guess that when it all comes down to basics the reason that I find the idea that the gods can read their initiates minds whenever they want so irritating is that it doesn't do anything good for MGF (Maximum Game Fun).

For me Glorantha is a game setting first and foremost, and any truth that I adopt for glorantha has to be fun. The more fun, the more likely I am to adopt it as truth. That's how I approach Maximum Game Fun, or MGF, which I believe to be the goal of our mutual development of glorantha. I don't think it's fun for PCs to be forced to be
"good" worshippers of their god. I prefer to give player characters
free will to betray their own or their god's ideals if they want. If it were so trivial for a god to read its priest's mind then how could you get a Stormlord to turn Lunar? There are lots of reasons why a stormlord, who is usually a village chief or someone of similar influence, would want to accomodate the lunar invaders. Better access to trade routes. Less persecution. Lower taxes. More beer. But if Orlanth can read his priests' and lords' minds and act to punish them directly then how can a rune level follower betray him? Even more important, what heroism is there in refusing to betray your god when you don't have any choice one way or the other?

Choice is fun. Constricted choices are not. That's why I reject the assertion that the gods can easily, reliably, and completely read the minds of any of their worshippers.

To quantify things and offer my counter-proposal, I think the gods get about as much information out of an entire day of worship services as worshippers get out of a divination: no more than seven words.

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