Argrath and others

From: Jeff Richard <jrichard_at_cnw.com>
Date: Fri, 17 Apr 1998 09:52:09 -0700


Mike Cule -

>I agree that Kallyr must have found the burden of the Prince's task
>enormous. We don't know if she could have done what Argrath did. She
>failed in the Lightbringer's Quest after all. (And a question: who was
>she trying to bring back?)

More importantly, I am discovering that as a Kheldon tribal king, many folk from other tribes didn't trust Kallyr. That she was a less-than-victorious warleader only added to the distrust or is that dislike. To be honest, many Sartarites who participated in Starbrow's Rebellion were more willing to accept Temertain as Prince than Kallyr. Granted he later turned out to be a rather big disappointment, but at the time, he was viewed by some to be Sartar returned.

>Ah, ha. So legitimacy comes from being powerful, eh? Not the message
>that Sartar brought.

No, but perfectly in the tradition of Tarkalor Trollkiller and the other impressive warrior-kings of the House of Sartar. Kallyr is a tribal king in her own right - which is definitely against the traditions of the House of Sartar and with good reason.

Certainly for the Orlanthi, being powerful is a prerequisite of legitimacy.  Sartar himself was an immensely powerful magician and had many powerful clients and friends. Temertain, the most "legitimate" candidate for Prince, was proven to be a fraud because he relied solely upon the dignity of his office and not his own power and cunning.

>Or because the Telmori can see what a big fraud Argrath is.

Argrath was ruthless, cunning and ambitious; popular with his followers; and an incredibly successful warleader. How can you say he was a fraud? A scheming, manipulative, ruthless bastard perhaps (but what successful king wasn't?), but a fraud? Go back to God Forgot and study Brithini iron statutary!

Hey guys - noboby likes the Telmori! Nobody except a handful of sages who emphasize that the Telmori were befriended by Sartar, that is. Do Sartarites normally embrace dark trolls on sight because great King Heort (the spiffiest king of them all) befriended the Only Old One?

>Now, I happen to believe that Argrath had very little status until after
>the death of Kallyr and that he was the one who arranged Harrek's attack
>on Boldhome. But believe what you like.

I suspect that Argrath was one of several war-lords running around Sartar in the 1620s. Joerg asked:
>What other warlords do you propose, Jeff? More Argraths? Including
>Harvar Ironfist? Or other players?

Yep, yep and definitely yep. Player character warleaders, too, I hope!  Player-character Argraths with any luck.


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