> > I don't think either was killed -- Sheng was thrown in hell to be tormented
> > while alive, and Arkat presumably got stuck in a heroquest.
>
> If being stuck in (a sort of) Hell for eternity, until someone performs a
> world-shakingly original Quest to free you, doesn't qualify as being
> Dead, then what exactly does?
Being killed.
I'm not being facetious. Heroes have many ways to enter Hell. Few of them involve literally dying (though I concede that any descent into Hell can be interpreted figuratively as death).
Were Theseus and Peirithous dead when they descended into Tartarus and got stuck in the Chair of Forgetfulness for four years (before being rescued by Heracles)? IMHO, no (despite the lack of difference to their relatives during those 4 years). Their hearts still beat, they still breathed, etc.
And as should be obvious, I think it can be an important distinction. For one thing, you can't leave by the same path you entered when you're dead.
David Dunham <mailto:dunham_at_pensee.com> Glorantha/RQ page: <http://www.pensee.com/dunham/glorantha.html> Imagination is more important than knowledge. -- Albert Einstein
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