Personally I was delighted to read about Greg=92s original thoughts on
Humakt and the humakti. People on the digest have taken it rather badly,
however. The objection seems to be that, considering RQ game mechanics,
depriving the humakti of healing would render them useless in real combat.
While this is true by my own experience of some six years running of RQ-3=
,
I don=92t think it=92s a very Gloranthan statement. I seem to recall Greg
saying that common and instant healing magic (spirit heal -x) isn=92t rea=
lly
how Glorantha works.
Humakti are masters of Death, and by that mastery they have more control
on their own death than ordinary mortals. A Sword can shrug of the pain o=
f
wounds, and when necessary, his spirit keeps the body moving even when
mortally wounded. Remember that Humakt is also the god of duty and honor.
In a way I see the humakti being somewhat similar to the ideal Samurai of
legends: Having already been dealt a mortal wound, the samurai keeps
fighting until the necessary has been done, and the giri fulfilled.
For inspiration on this read Ursula Leginn=B4s Earthsea books. In the fir=
st
book a great sorcerer is mortally wounded, actually killed, by the
shadowself of Ged. The sorcerer leaves this world a couple of ours later,
when the necessary has been done.
Or for purely Gloranthan inspiration see the cult of Thanatar. Tien did not die when the son of Urox cut of his head, because he had partial control over the power of Death. The game mechanics and presentation of this you must figure out yourselves for now, especially since we don=92t have a Gloranthan RPG system at the moment.=20
- -------------------------
Oh, and another thing:
Does the great and wise Michael O'Brien have the full lyrics to the balla=
d
=93Cold Wind Over Sartar=94? The bit written on the Sun County supplement
sounds great, and feels just right. Did you write a whole ballad MOB? Or
shall I do it myself?
-Mikko Rintasaari, the Adept
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