> But these are kids, young initiates, ruled by their hearts and not
> their heads. Not only that, they're children born and raised in a
> country that has been systematically occupied and oppressed by a
> foreign government.
If that's so, I'd hope Pete would have mentioned it when posing his "moral dilemma". Wanting to hurting somebody who has wronged you personally is understandable; wanting to hurt someone because you've been told they're an un-person ("All Lunars are Chaos!") is less so. The kids in question seem to have their weapons and freedom of movement, and have more than once taken pot-shots at Lunar passers-by, so perhaps Pete can inform us: how far have they and their families been oppressed by the Lunar Empire, in that campaign? (I'm looking for mitigating circumstances, y'see).
> While I can't personally justify terrorism, I have more than a few PCs
> that would consider whacking the Lunar mailman all in a good days work.
One of the fun things about the Sartarite Rebellion is the difference between a good day's work and an honourable day's work. Would you rather be a war criminal treated with distaste by your (free) people, or a dead hero inspiring a still-oppressed nation? You can screw the Lunar mail service just as effectively by challenging the messengers, stopping them (shoot the horse?), and then destroying their messages.
The Rebellion doesn't have to be unremittingly grim and gritty, massacres and secret murders: think how Robin Hood, or the Three Musketeers, or the Scarlet Pimpernel would have behaved. Sure, kill the guards who're out to kill you; shoot someone who tries to flee after a challenge; but you can still be a clean-living inspirational Hero if you do it right. Get it wrong, and you're encouraging the kids who look up to you to hold human life cheap and turn into cold, inhuman, callous murderers.
> It is of course the getting away with it part that's the problem. At
> the very least, I'd expect a rounding up of the usual suspects, maybe
> a crucifixion or two.
Me too. And the lack of any mention of such reprisals is what makes me wonder just how oppressed these particular Orlanthi really are. That's one of the things I used to agonise about as a referee: is it fair for me to punish the PCs' community for the PCs' unthinking actions. And now, I think, the answer is probably "Yes" -- if you give fair warning to the PCs ahead of time (e.g. point out the possible consequences to their nearest and dearest just as they're about to unleash the killing volley; have a nearby village suffer gruesome reprisals first; have a Wise Old Man who they look up to urging restraint).
> My guess is every person in Dragon Pass has some personal reason
> to hate the Lunar invaders.
I truly doubt it's *that* bad! Look at Lunar Tarsh, the Grazelands, urban Sartar, etc. Plenty of people have good reasons to dislike, distrust or hate the Lunars, but your statement has overtones of hyperbole. *Everyone* in Dragon Pass *hates* the Lunars *personally*? NIMG.
> While you're at it, take a look at some historical, real-world examples
> of brave locals fighting back against imperialistic foreign invaders.
> Brave rebels shooting at any fool stupid enough to wear red in the
> forested hills of free men (be they in Alone or North Carolina).
For "fool" read "conscript". For "stupid" read "unfortunate". If you want to worry about it, that is. Y'know, as recent events have shown, there's people out there who think you or me are fair targets: it's *because* I don't want to lower the Orlanthi to the level of terrorist scum that I'm lambasting the personal moral failings of the minority within their society which has (for whatever reason) turned that way, pretending the ends justify the means, ignoring the human cost to themselves and others.
> There are two sides to every story.
Yep, and I'm pursuing my one. I truly appreciate your work expressing the other, but the issue as raised was that Pete Maranci (presumably as referee) felt uncomfortable about the way his Orlanthi players were behaving:
: I need to decide the moral approach of Orlanthi towards Lunars : during occupation. Ideas would be appreciated ... It seemed to me : that this was a morally questionable act, even dishonorable.
I was giving him some unsettling arguments to broaden or deepen their approach. If you want role-playing games with black-and-white moral issues, there are plenty on the market. It's arguments like these (where both sides can be "right" up to a point) that make Glorantha so interesting to me. So I want to be able to have the argument *in-character* (i.e. for it to be a contemporary Orlanthi moral issue), rather than "solve" it outside the game, and then tell my players what to think.
The primary Orlanthi mythic experience tells us that killing the Emperor because you've been wronged by him *doesn't* solve the world's problems (it only makes them worse): coming to terms with him just might, even if a compromise solution is the best you can manage...
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