I really got a kick out of Loren's wildly-MGF-able idea that Vadeli can't cast their Immortality spells if they having living parents or living offspring. Brilliant! (Can we pinch this for the rumour page in Tales?)
At the risk of inducing Martin Laurie to launch into a veritable 'onslaught' of postings defending himself:
>As for the clinical description of the Blues methods, I think there is
>a bit of hypocracy coming in here from MOB anyway. I played Rune Metal
>Jacket and found the Lunar creation of the regimental standard to be
>pretty gross (good though) yet that wasn't "alluded too", it was pretty
>graphic.
I don't feel hypocritical at all, and I think this mendacious comparison is unwarranted. However, readers of the Digest can make up their own mind. Here's the excerpt from 'Rune Metal Jacket' that Martin refers to (spoiler for RMJ follows):
***
"With the full moon rising above him, Dushan and the officers of the fort lead out the chosen PC, who looks drugged and blissfully unaware of his surroundings. The priest's party stands before the standard, its white banner fluttering listlessly in the breeze.
In a hushed, reverential whisper, Dushan addresses the Cohort: "Here we have the winner of the Games, the Perfect Soldier. You see before you what the Goddess has wrought within him. He is as he is because of Her. He is as you would wish to be, a reflection of your selves, made up of you in part, making you in part. He is one, yet contain multitudes. Multitudes dedicated to the Goddess. He is legion, he is the standard to which you are all held. So I speak, so the Goddess affirms."
With this, a red glow emanates from the Lady Dushan, Civius and the other officers, the Winner, and the whole Cohort, including the PCs. This glow coalesces around the Winner, raises him up over the dias and the white training banner he stood in front of. With great care, almost tenderness, the glowing force impales the Winner on the standard.
With supernatural force, blood erupts from the Winner, showering the entire legion with red. The Winner's blood soaks the white banner, turning it a deep crimson.
Eerily, only a single drop strikes each legionnaire, just at the shoulder where their white cloak is pinned on. With eldrich speed, this single drop spreads across the cloak of each soldier, causing the cloaks to turn red as well.
The Cohort is now blooded."
***
I apologise in the unlikely event this passage has induced nausea in anyone.
However, I'm glad that this shocked Martin when he played Rune Metal Jacket - it was meant to shock, as it is the plot-twist, the pay-off at the end of one part in the scenario, and is written in that context.
Now, if I was setting out to be "pretty graphic" no doubt I would added a paragraph or two after here:
With great care, almost tenderness, the glowing force impales the Winner on the standard...
...about how the standard prised apart the luckless Winner's buttocks and [excessively anatomical description of stake's journey through victim's digestive system, his bodily juices and excrescences dribbling down the pole and puddling in the dust, the scream welling up in his throat turning into a foamy gargle as a mixture of blood and bile rises etc etc ad nauseum...]
See, it's depressingly easy to write SplatterPunk; I could do it too if I wanted Martin. However, the passage has sufficient dramatic effect as it is, I think.
A fan:
>That is SICK!!
Martin L.:
>>Why thank you, one tries ones best.
I find my attitude on this topic has already been best expressed by the estimable David Cake:
>Whereas to understand that they do horrible things, but for reasons
>deeply connected to Vadeli culture and magic, which we can partly
>explain but not fully, makes them interesting enigmas (that the GM
>can experiment with) rather than an exercise in how to appall people.
>
>Gloranthan roleplaying has such a following largely because it is
>adult. To realistically confront moral horror such as war or rape or
>torture is something that is part of adult roleplaying. To see how gross
>you can be is adolescent.
Someone posted a while back asking for information about Garhound (the site of the Contest scenario in Sun County). If you vist Loren's website, there is a link to Bryan Maloney's campaign page, which is set in Garhound and contains some interesting background. Worth a look!
Cheers
MOB
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