>I don't
>subscribe to the belief that the gods have absolutely no free will. If this
>was the case they're nothing better than stooges for their priesthoods.
- there seems to be a reasonable amount of evidence that they
aren't much more than stooges for their priesthoods. When their priests do
outrageous, heinous things, it is generally the actions of other
worshippers not the god directly that strike them down. Take Lokaymadon,
for an example. He performs heinous acts, which the Orlanthi has since
recognised as terribly evil. But he went down because of Harmast, not
because Orlanth stuck him down. And sure, Harmast was following an Orlanthi
path, and got aid from Orlanth, and invoked Orlanthi magics. But Lokaymadon
used Orlanthi magics as well.
- its not a simple case of priests in charge or god in charge. The
Gods lack free will not because someone else gets to boss them around. The
gods lack free will because they have to keep doing the same thing as they
always did.
Orlanth lacking free will does not mean his priesthood can boss him
around (obviously, his priesthood can get him to do things they want him
too most of the time, but they think of it as entreating and pleading and
prayer). What it means is that Orlanth acts, but can no longer choose to
act differently. Orlanth has his heroquest paths and myths, and he has to
follow them. Orlanth MUST hate chaos, protect the earth, cause great
violent winds, boss Storm Bull around, rebel against the Emperor, etc. He
no longer has any choice. But the GodTime Orlanth did have a choice, and by
heroquesting you can contact or be part of that Godtime Orlanth, who still
has the power to change the status quo.
I think the only way to change a gods actions is to heroquest to
change his paths and spread the new myths. THis is easier said then done,
but can be done (Monrogh, for example).
But I think the Compromise does not bind the gods to inaction - it
binds them to set courses of action.
And to put it in Lunar terms: the gods are masks, empty forms
carrying out their parts in the play. They can but perform their parts. But
there are gods behind the masks, and by Travel and Journey we can glimpse
them, and know the true realities, and transform ourselves and the world.
David
End of Glorantha Digest V3 #273
WWW material at http://hops.wharton.upenn.edu/~loren/rolegame.html