Alison's views on YT and Humakt

From: ian (i.) gorlick <"ian>
Date: Tue, 14 Feb 1995 12:27:00 -0500


Alison again:
Yanafal Tarnils, yet again.

        Nick, I think that you're being too hard on Andrew.

        Concerning soldiers' cults, almost all of them stress loyalty, obedience, bravery and frequently truthfulness. E.g. Yelmalio, Orlanth, Humakt, Yanafal Tarnils. The fact that many soldiers don't live up to their cult's ideals is typical, not unusual. It may be safer for many of them to stay at the lay member stage, if they are that worried about living up to the standards.

        David Boleyn asks, "What would be the implication for a Humakti who during a battle with undead, when totally outnumbered, received a DI from one of his other cults and chose the option of being teleported out of danger, leaving other Humakti to fight to the death."

        Well, it sounds as if you didn't come off well there. I am not sure. Abandoning comrades is very bad form, but dying uselessly is stupid. Since nowhere in the TOTRM writeup is it mentioned that Humakti must fight to the death when outnumbered, I'd say he did the sensible thing. At least then other Humakti will have a better idea of the odds against them if they want to come clean out this pesthole that killed you and the rest. I presume that people will want the bodies back for burial, and for whatever they took with them that has been willed to someone. I hope that Orlanth temple was close!

        Although both Nick Brooke and Lewis Jardine think that the survivor will be shunned by Humakti and punished by Humakt, I disagree. As long as the person does not have any previous reputation for cowardice, their own grief and guilt will be all the punishment that most feel necessary to inflict. What were the circumstances? Were you skylarking about, or on a serious mission? Were you surprised and surrounded while by yourselves, or was in necessary to go down to the last one to cover someone else's escape?         

        As far as differing writeups (Humakt, for instance), if one doesn't have a later complete version, then for the sake of arguments on the digest, it seems that GoG takes precedence. It may not be uncommon to prefer the older, longer versions of cults in CoP or CoT, but unless one is arguing that the revision damaged the appeal and logic of the cult in question, the later writeup will be considered canonical. What you prefer in your own game, is, as always, your choice.


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