Hmm, well I can't think of any RW mythologies that are confusing, ill-defined, and contradictory. }:-> So it must be a bad idea.
Here's _another_ way to think about myth: it's a beautifully carved frame around a painting which is the Other. You can change the frame, but the picture stays the same. Unfortunately, most people are blind, and can only appreciate the frame, with its tactile features. The picture is just a rough flat surface to them. For that reason, accounts differ of what the picture is like. I keep coming back to the blind men and the elephant, originally a Jaina tale with a last verse explaining that the whole bit is an extended analogy explaining why people perceive the divine differently.
Jane WIlliams notes:
>The concept of truth as known by items has always fascinated me. I think
>we can agree that the Flame of Sartar is a special case, but what about
>those enchantments with conditions about "will only work for one of my
>descendants". How does the enchantment know?
I raised this question like 4 or 5 years ago in the predecessor to this forum. Never got a decent answer, tho'. My personal kluj is that the enchantment fits into your aura like a key in a lock. Thus, only aura-related conditions work. What's an aura-related condition? Beats me.
>Come to think of it, those truth-detection spells (L, Mhy, Humakt, and so
>on): are they detecting objective or subjective truth? That is, do they
detect
>that the guy speaking doesn't believe what he's saying, or do they
>compare the facts stated with The One Truth?
Detect Truth is, I believe, subjective. With the others, how can you tell? Rigorous testing remains to be performed...
>If the latter, how do they
>get hold of this One Truth that LM is supposedly still searching for? And
>if a divine spell from the God of Knowledge can't do this kind of trick,
>how does a measly little enchantment do it?
What did Lhankor Mhy know and when did he know it? Congress will be investigating any day now, and we all know that it's the best way of finding the truth.
>And just to get really nasty.... if a Detect Truth type spell goes up
>against a Lie spell, which wins?
I'd roleplay it and let the more sincere-seeming and convincing player/GM win. Between two NPC's, I'd roll 1D2.
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