Re: Glorantha Digest V4 #513

From: Michael Schwartz <mschwartz_at_mindspring.com>
Date: Wed, 18 Jun 97 01:25:10 -0400


Oliver states:

>It occurred to me that perhaps a more palatable model to some (which
>still has the same end results) is to say that their responsibilities
>constrain them.
>
>What I mean by this is that just like in the RW the more responsibilities
>you have the less freedom you have to do whatever you want.

This bears some resemblance to principles behind the Japanese concept of "giri". Giri means 'obligation' or 'indebtedness', and implies a responsibility to make restitution. Social advancement requires that one perforce acquire debts...favors...of some kind or another. In order to remain a contributing member of society, one must strive to repay these obligations; to do otherwise is to be without honor. "Death is a feather; obligation, a mountain."

Isn't this exactly the character-as-part-of-society metaphor Greg has been talking about for *years*?

Michael Schwartz mschwartz_at_mindspring.com Ann Arbor, MI



"What if life actually *was* fair, and we somehow deserved all the truly awful things that happened to us?" -- Marcus Cole, Babylon 5

End of Glorantha Digest V4 #514


WWW at http://rider.wharton.upenn.edu/~loren/rolegame.html

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