Outside, on the Psychology of the Adventurer
The adventuring hero is the mainstay of the fantasy and science fiction role-playing genre. People tend to dispute the likelihood of adventurers even with historical and current examples. Read almost any good book on turbulent eras and you will find adventurers, read "Soldier of Fortune" or similar magazines for more current versions. You will discover that the adventurer is a prevalent phenomenon. You will also discover that the adventurer is rarely respected or popular. Even the powerful Hawkwood, whose mercenary company controlled Italy for several years in the Fourteenth Century does not get a lot of positive press in the writings of the period. Sir Francis Drake was received better, but was definitely out of the ordinary. The point is, except for very rare cases, the adventurer is outside of normal society. The social nature of man is such that these outsiders tend to create their own societies, which are often very close and binding.
In gaming, a GM should make it very clear to the characters that their powers and lifestyles have put them outside of society, The villagers that they have saved from the horrid infestation of Chaos will quickly become uncomfortable with the heroes, presence. No hard feelings but they are just too disruptive to the good people, and the children are getting some bad examples. Heroes are generally a lot easier to live with as memories and the occasional statue. Adventurers are only accepted while they are needed, often not even then. Even if the adventurers desire to settle down, they may not be allowed to for fear of the disruption that they might cause. After a certain point, most adventurers will have so little in common with the rest of society that they wont even want to interact with the mainstream, there are just too few points of contact. Unfortunately, this does not ease the need for social contact, it just makes it unrewarding. A hero may feel the need to perform greater acts of glory to maintain the adulation of those who cannot otherwise relate to him. This hero will probably leave behind several statues, a few illegitimate children and a lot of stories. His elegy will probably not be very personal.
The start of this alienation will be when the individual starts to show abilities significantly greater or different than the societal norm. These abilities need only be knowledge and understanding of concepts not common in the culture. Individuals who develop personal power too quickly, or threaten the status quo are often alienated by the power structure. In Genertela, most of such dangerous individuals can be neutralized with a rumor of Illumination. Whether the rumor is true or not, the individual will probably never be trusted or accepted again. The only surefire defense against this is to avoid all those exotic encounters, and only act appropriately and within society. Does tend to limit role play possibilities though.
Very lucky and powerful individuals might actually sway their clan or tribe to their new ways. This might even cause a sweeping societal change. More likely the disruption will be isolated and encouraged toward extinction. The basic law of society is that once anything becomes an institution it tends to discourage change, as change inevitably leads to the dissolution of existing institutions. Very few institutions are able to tolerate changes well. I suspect early Orlanthi society would be more tolerant of such individuals than any other, but would be unlikely to retain this tolerance after a handful of generations. Tradition is a very powerful force, often more powerful than survival.
Adventurers who are also members of the various religions of the world will generally find themselves outsiders in their own temples. Sometimes this is due to multiple cult memberships held by the adventurer, but this need not be so. Even if the church hierarchy is proud, or at least approves, of the adventurers actions, the adventurer will be deemed unsuitable for a position in the administrative core. They are likely to actually be unsuited for such a position. However if a mission into Dorastor is found to be needed...
A lucky adventurer will find a group of similar outsiders, or in times when the adventurer is more commonplace, entire subcultures of people outside of the mainstream. This is likely to be the only place the adventurer is or possibly ever was accepted. Heroic adventurers should be no different. An Orlanthi adventurer who has survived Dorastor will probably trust his companions of that ordeal a great deal more than he will the Temple hierarchy, who is more than happy to take a tithe of his hard won treasure, but patiently explain that some of his harder won insights are misinformed if not heretical. As long as their goals arent entirely incompatible, adventurers will tend to work around their differences, "after all, that Yelmi saved my life, and that really odd Shaman exorcised that disease spirit before it ruined my life." A good adventuring company is incredibly loyal, and party disloyalty can be far more emotionally charged than even major religious differences.
This does not mean that all these alliances are permanent, many adventuring companies rosters are constantly shifting, as individual pursuits draw people together and apart again. Unless something exceptionally bad occurred, old adventuring companions will retain a great deal of trust with each other, shared experiences tend to be more binding than shared ideals. Important quests and shared enemies can make some very strange bedfellows, at least until the threat is dealt with and often far beyond. An Orlanthi Wind Lord is likely to always be the enemy of a Lunar Priestess, but even they may be polite enemies, capable of working together to destroy a mutual enemy. A skilled GM will use this for ongoing campaigns. These differences will enhance a partys ability to deal with threat, which will cause tolerance and even appreciation for the differences, which will tend to further distance the adventurers from their former society, increasing the partys reliance upon each other. Part of the fascination of role playing is playing out the interactions between such wildly different beings, and exploring the common ground between them.
In gaming the GM can encourage this process by reinforcing the identity of the group, and the individuals ties to that group. Adventuring companies will often have rules, the first being mutual support especially while in hostile situations. Additional rules will depend on the company. In my own experience I have seen some fairly evolved social behaviors developing with adventuring companies, including initiatory rites and support of dependents. The GM can discourage the strength of the company by not allowing the consequences of party disloyalty to be dealt with. "Pet" characters who can do anything without fear of reprisal will destroy any chance of developing party unity, even the perception of this will damage. Especially damaging to group dynamics are situations where the players are aware of treachery, and the characters are unaware. Either of these situations are likely to break up a game.
As the Hero Wars begin to destabilize the existing societies of Glorantha the adventurer will be more likely to remain within the already disrupted society. Conversely, if the adventurer is perceived as a threat the penalty is likely to be considerably more lethal than previously. As with historical precedents, turbulent times offer a chance for advancement to the heights of power when a more stable era offers only status quo or ostracism.
Again, I'd be interested in your comments.
Allen
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