> Now I know that he "took unbending vows and iron oaths" and gained
> heroic powers from Humakt (which in a way lead to his own death), but
> does anyone else think it just a little bit odd that a 10 year old can
> do this to one of the most powerful men, if not THE most powerful man
> around?
Yes, definitely. Mind you, it's odd enough that he seems to have qualified as a Sword at eight. Possible, but he certainly had an unusual childhood.
Suppose he took *all* documented gift/geases? (Others could exist, but
let's look at this). He must have had sword attack at 90% at age eight.
Take the whole range of non-cult weapon geases, he can raise his skill by
50%: 140%, at least.
Taking the "double tithing" geas as many times as he wants (rich dad), he
gets all stats to max. And at eight years old, he needs them.
"Take no magical healing", and "wear no armour", give him quadrupled
damage.
Now put a few spells up, and let him roll a 01. Using a 1H greatsword,
because with those stats, he can. Nasty!
Dropping the rules aspect, it's worth remembering that when a kid that age gets fanatical about something, they go much more OTT than any adult. We discussed a while back the idea of a really dedicated Humakti becomng effectively an avatar of Death: flowers die as they walk past, that sort of thing. If this can be done at all, I'd give young Harsaltar a higher chance at it than almost anyone except Arkat. Even Harrek had a "best friend".
The Red Emp., OTOH, is a well-balanced and sane adult. Very powerful, yes, but without that burning core of fanaticism.
I wondered for a while if the Red Emp. underestimated this little kid. Then I remembered who he had leading his army for him: Jar-eel, aged 14. Brings new meaning to that comment about the playing fields of Eton, doesn't it?
Jane Williams jane_at_williams.nildram.co.ukhttp://homepages.nildram.co.uk/~janewill/gloranth/index.shtml
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