God's Knowledge

From: Lewis Jardine <JARDINE_at_rmcs.cranfield.ac.uk>
Date: Wed, 20 Mar 1996 14:01:15 GMT


WRT ongoing discussion...

        I personally favour gods with limited knowledge, basically the standard WF version of What my priest or lord told me (including the full debrief after they died and came up for a chat!) and a very limited general sense of what is going on in my sphere. Eg. Humakt knows that the death rate is up in the West and most of the increase is being caused by warfare. He may also know from worshippers that the KOW is expanding and doing alot of fighting. He might put the two together but knows little beyong this. I also personally think that gods know what is going on in their temples and other places sanctified to them. It just seems reasonable to me that a gods temples are his/her windows onto the mundane plane. NB I think that his knowledge stops at the edge of the sanctified area, thus the army outside is invisible...

However, I like the idea of a god's language being important so I think that the god can only understand things in that language so it becomes vitally important that the language is used. I also think that the god can only hear things spoken in his/her temples (and other sanctified areas) and also things said by rune-levels. However, the god will not understand what is heard unless it is in their chosen language!

Thus, ceremonies and religious services are conducted in the chosen language and it is vitally important that rune-levels speak it reasonably well. Imagine the frustration of Orlanth when his sword mumbles the vitally important warning of a major invasion of "many angry blokes come home to me".

OK so all the above seems reasonable to me and should form a fairly sensible handle on the knowledge of gods and how the world works.

So if Belvani wants to have an affair with an Ouriania? nun he had better make sure that he does not do *anything* in a sanctified area and he will have to hope that she does tell on him...

Also, WRT divine intervention, when the worshipper attracts the god's attention the result is limitted to what the worshipper can quickly tell the god. So the initiates speak gods language skill becomes pretty important. Obviously, when the god is in contact with the worshipper they will be aware of the fact that they are bleeding to death from a severed jugular etc. and can work out that fixing this would be a good idea (and probably what the worshipper wants). Also, if the worshipper wants to teleport home the god can probably be told this with only 5 or 10% language skill, also including others of the god's initiates nearby is not difficult, but explaining that you want to take your friend the dwarf with you while you are being overwhelmed by trollkin is pretty difficult. Also explaining where exactly you want to be teleported to (rather than the nearest or your home temple) is very difficult. Remember you god's map of the world is over 1600 years out of date!

Finally, think of Issaries who hears and understands every word said in tradetalk within an area sanctified to him (such as markets!)... Maybe, I should limit it to every word said by the gods initiates. After all it is the thought, not the spoken word the god hears.

Well, I think that thats sorted things out in my mind, whether its helped the rest of you is moot.

Any comments are welcome.

Cheers

        Lewis


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