The "Never marry or have kids" geas

From: A.L.Dixon <A.L.Dixon1_at_sheffield.ac.uk>
Date: Thu, 16 Mar 1995 12:28:20 +0000


Going on the RQ3 principle of the gift reflecting the geas, or vice versa, my thoughts/suggestions for an appropriate gift fall into 3 groups. Perhaps one of the following might work:
  1. By rejecting companionship, the Humakti enhances his/her awareness of enemies; Gain Sense Enemies skill at 05% + Perception Bonus, or; Able to cast Detect Enemies at will [either with or without paying MP cost]. This fits the Clint Eastwood/Man With No Name loner/drifter type of fantasy hero, but may not be very Gloranthan. Also, it's a powerful gift for such an easy (for the player, not the PC) geas, and I dislike introducing new skills unnecessarily.
  2. On a more human note, the reason many people distance themselves from others is to protect themselves from emotional pain; Gain a permanent 1pt Protection spell, or; Gain 4pts Protection ONLY when not wearing any other armour, or; Immune to the effects of shock. The permanent 1pt Protection feels too crude -- the 4pts when out of armour is a bit like the "False CON" gift, and resembles the Sartarite/Orlanthi use of woad as well as the Humakti "Wear no armour on X geases.
  3. Another explanation for the "Never marry or sire/bear children" geas is that the Humakti is filling him/herself with the essence of Death (as opposed to Life), which could have an adverse effect on enemies, perhaps by making Resurrection harder; an enemy slain by a Humakti with this gift is counted as one day longer dead for Res. casts, or; the slain enemy's POW is treated as 4pts higher for Res. purposes.

It should be noted that unless you consider the gift/geas to render the Humakti sterile, or play that all appropriate Gloranthan cultures have a 100% effect contraceptive or abortifacient spell or herb, this geas is effectively equivalent to a total celibacy geas. Play up the social effects.

Hope this is helpful,

Aidan.


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