Death and fertility

From: Ed Tonry <etonry_at_niu.edu>
Date: Fri, 07 Mar 1997 22:23:59 -0500


bjm states:

>Since death (the leaving of the mortal world) is a natural opposite of
>birth (the entry into that world), it makes sense that only a being who
>violates the Compromise to some extent could combine Death and Fertility
>in any serious way. Thus, any Humakti, Gori, or other Death cultist
>would most likely be sterile without some serious divine aid or way to
>"break the rules".

>Orlanth, now a patron of fecundity, you will note, has surrendered his
>Death aspect to Humakt's care, for example.

But Orlanthi can still kill. And they can be killed. Any follower of a fertility deity can kill or be killed. They are not immune to death just because they worship life. So why should a Humakti be unable to create life just because he worships death?

You are setting up a very one-sided rule: death cultists are so firmly tied to their rune that they can have no use of its "opposite", except perhaps with magical assistance. Yet other cults have no similar restrictions. Even Chalana Arroy cultists, although forbidden to do so, _can_ kill. It is forbidden because it _is_ possible.

By denying the death cultists the ability to procreate, you are making them less than human. There is much more depth of character to role-play in a Humakti who goes off on a mission worrying about the family he is leaving behind. Two-dimensional characters with no interest in anything but killing are not very interesting to play. Let's have some truly complex characters.

Ed Tonry


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