> To be a good Orlanthi is to obey the chief. Sure, the Orlanthi are not quite
as >obsessed about it as the Yelmies - the Orlanthi think it is OK to make fun
of the >chief, or loudly accuse him of doing the wrong thing at a tribal moot.
But to actually
>disobey him is just asking to be expelled from the tribe. The chief, of
>course, quite probably hates the Lunars as much as anybody - he actually
>has to deal with them - but is also far more aware of issues like
>reprisals, trade, etc. and is probably not a hotheaded maniac, so is
>unlikely to condone ambushes.
Hmmm, I don't entirely agree wiith you there. Being Chief isn't about being obeyed, more about being respected. Respect and faith is really what makes a leader and a good Clan chief has to maintain the delicate balances within the Clan structure, myth and ritual to keep his peoples faith in him so that they obey him.
I recently had the good fortune to play Varmand the Strong, Chief and founder of the Varmandi in Jef Richards FarmerQuest game with the Seattle mob (Hi guys) and believe me, there is no simple "obeying" in a full Clan moot.
We were going to war with Mad Blood Malan and had sided with the wrong leader in the Colymar civil war so we had no friends and plenty of enemies. I decided that the only way our War Clan (which by definition had had a poor harvest that year) could survive the winter _and_ pay our tribute to the Colymar was to raid one of Malans supporting Clans which just happened to be our old friends the Orlevings...
To ensure surprise I suggested we attack the day after harvest festival for two reasons:
(1). We would all be gathered in the same place, foregoing the necessity of raising the Fyrd (which is an obvious event to any observers)
(2). The Orlevings would most likely still be well hungover from the festival giving us considerable military advantage.
Now this meant Malan would definately come after us in the next year but we were in between a rock and a hard place and I said we had little choice.
A moot was called and we discussed all practical alternatives. I had no feeling of people "obeying" simply because I was chief. We were all in it together and there was little else to be done.
I think the Chiefs main role in Clan affairs is to decide general strategy and to settle disputes between evenly matched views in the Moot. The Chief can swing decisions due to his position but its a reckless chief who ignores the views of his people.
Martin Laurie
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