Rob Heinsoo will have some samples from the next issue of The Book of Drastic Resolutions at the Praxian Seminar at Gloranthacon IV in Chicago. If anyone is interested in checking them out, please see him. If he isn't there, I hope he gives them to Greg or Scott or someone.
Sorry for the lack of art -- my artist, Simon Bray, hasn't sent any of it
to me yet. Let's all tell David Hall to stop cracking his whip for
awhile, shall we? :)
And if someone talks to Dan Barker anytime soon, ask them to drop me a
line -- he is way overdue! But well worth it, I know.
Peter Metcalfe <P.Metcalfe_at_student.canterbury.ac.nz>
more dragons
>
>What I'm presuming is that the EWF also had some power to
>partially awaken True Dragons to allow them physical activity
>on the battle field so that they acted like Giant Flying
>Brontosaurs
I think what they did was probably more along the lines of allowing a person to access the powers of a specific dragon (I assume) while it remained asleep. Thus, Person A was able to manifest the powers of Dragon X, as long as said dragon _remained_ asleep. This is one reason the EWF thing fell apart so quickly, IMO -- all of the dragons woke up at once, and that cut off all of the special powers the people had. Now all I need is a way to explain the 54 year gap between when they awoke and when they wiped everyone out!
>What would have made Alakoring's fight with Drang the Diamond
>Storm Dragon unusual IMO was that the EWF pulled out all the
>stops to have a fully alert True Dragon to terminate him with
>extreme prejudice. Alakoring responded heroically and the
>rest is history.
>
I agree with this -- in effect, the EWF sacrificed their ability to use
the powers of this dragon specifically by awakening it. Maybe a groggy
dragon is easier to control (by the EWF) than a fully awake one?
<s.lucek_at_ic.ac.uk>
Orlanthi cults
>
>I have a real problem with the vast majority of Orlanthi being
initiates.
>My main qualm about it is that this would be a very strong force towards
a
>theocratic society.
Two points here, really. First, there is, to some degree, a difference between being initiated to Orlanth (cultural) and being an initiate _of_ Orlanth (religious). Just how much this difference is, I don't know, but KoS says that all boys are initiated, and it is during this initiation that they choose their god.
In the most extreme sense, this relegates all of the normal Orlanthi gods to being subcults of Orlanth; in some (isolated) clans, this may actually be true. Thus, there is no cult of Elmal, there are aspects of Orlanth called Orlanth Melts the Ice and Orlanth Homeguard. This is an extreme view, but has some _cultural_ (though not religious) validity.
Second point -- even when all of the populace is an initiate of the same religion, that does not make the state theocratic. Cf Catholic England in the time of Henry the Eighth (I think). He created a new religion to allow himself to divorce his wife, was interdicted, and all that good stuff. But he was primarily a secular ruler, though he was head of the King of England.
Looking at it the other way, England in this time _was_ a theocratic state, because the King of England was the head of the church. But, note that in KoS most of the leaders and rulers will be priests, Wind Lords, or at least Thanes of Orlanth. So, how is that not a theocratic state?
Stephen Martin
ilium_at_juno.com
- -----------------------------------------------The Book of Drastic Resolutions
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