Chaotic confusion...

From: Brian Tickler <tickler_at_netcom.com>
Date: Fri, 25 Aug 1995 09:39:06 -0700 (PDT)


Richard C. writes:
>I really am confused on this one. What behaviour
>shows a broo to be chaotic and a Zorak Zorani
>not to be?

Your confusion is easy to correct. It stems from believing that behavior has an influence on whether something is Chaotic. It does not. This is a common misconception that can trace its roots back to the thrice-damned D&D "alignment chart"...

In Glorantha, being Chaotic is a flag. It's either on, or it's off. Illumination can hide the flag, but it's still there. There are no degrees of being Chaotic (despite Lunar propoganda). A being, object, spirit, magical effect, etc. is either Chaotic, or non-Chaotic. Notice that I say non-Chaotic, not Lawful. They are not the same thing.

A Zorak Zorani could murder and pillage for their entire lives; they are as non-Chaotic when they are done as when they began. A gorp can spend its entire life lying under a rock; it is as Chaotic when the Stormbull discovers it as the day it was born.

There are obviously differences in the effects the Chaotic taint imposes/creates, but these differences do not imply a "scale" of "Chaotic-ness". A Lunar hoplite whose priest cast Chaos Gift on him 15 years ago is Chaotic, just like a Primal Chaos priest with 20 Chaotic features. A Stormbull may sense one source of Chaos more intensely or easily than another, but this does not mean that one source is "double-Chaotic", or "half-Chaotic".

End of Glorantha Digest V2 #77


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