The past's mutability and the nature of the gods

From: Carl Fink <carlf_at_panix.com>
Date: Sat, 06 Jul 1996 16:48:08 -0400

scotty_at_olivia.cedar-rapids.ia.us (Scott Haney):
>
>Someone (I forget whom. Forgive me, this has been a very busy and
>trying fortnight) asked if Sandy's children could, through behavior,
>change him into a raving monster...or if a god's worshippers could change
>their deity into something else.

That was me, although it was "through heroquesting" rather than "behavior".

>What's the point of this story? It takes a MAJOR, BIG-TIME event to
>alter even a person's personality, let alone a god's. I doubt that
>anyone could deliberately alter a god to behave in a set way. (Note that
>Ragnaglar screwed *himself* up. I have no problems with the gods
>changing themselves.)

I have no problems with others changing the gods, either. For instance, Orlanth/Umath/Rebellus Terminus certainly changed Aether/Yelm/The Emperor. The whole stories of Orlanth and the Red Goddess are about how they changed, for that matter.

What I object to, again, is *retroactive* changes. For instance, it never bothered me that Snodal's conspiracy "killed" the God of the Silver Feet (Issaries). It would bother me if this had changed things so that now there were only Six Lightbringers. - --

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