Re: The Glorantha Digest V6 #540

From: Brian Tickler <tickler_at_netcom.com>
Date: Wed, 21 Apr 1999 11:56:19 -0700 (PDT)

> Date: Wed, 21 Apr 1999 04:21:59 +0100 (BST)
> From: Alex Ferguson <abf_at_cs.ucc.ie>
>
> I'll try and make this one point one more time, and then I'll give
> up: why, to get back to our original point, are Waha cultists just
> 'background' in Prax? Why aren't they (in precisely the sense you
> earlier defined) 'NPCs', even if no-one is playing anything but
> Stormbulls?

As I've said, there are Waha PCs and NPCs, just not as many as Stormbull. Those Waha worshippers that aren't PCs or NPCs do not even exist, by my previous definition of NPC, except as a lumped group of Wahas that influence the nature of Praxian society, but have absolutely no direct effect on game sessions. This lumped group is better known as "background"...

Ok, I've made my point one more time, again, and I think we've reached our impasse...let's call it a day... :)

> Date: Wed, 21 Apr 1999 10:37:26 +0100
> From: Sergio Mascarenhas de Almeida <sermasalmeida_at_mail.telepac.pt>
> Subject: Re: Stereotyped Storm Bulls
>
> IMO, there are all possible reasons for a tribe member to become a follower
> of Storm Bull, but the less representative (statistically) would be the
> fact that the tribeman is a *pathologicaly violent thug*.

It would seem logical that the most common reasons for joining Stormbull would be:

• Family member(s) or strong role model already in Stormbull
• Traumatic events caused by "Chaos" that shape one's attitude against it
• Peer pressure of some kind (joining Stormbull could be an accepting or refusing of said peer pressure)

You know, these are like all the reasons that motivate people in the RW to join things... :)

For someone to sit down and think "Hey, you know, I'm a pathologically violent thug, and Stormbull is the perfect cult for me to indulge all my excesses" seems...unlikely.

Of course, once the pathologically violent thugs *have* got you into their cult, though, then they can put you through all that "pathological violent thug" training that's been developed, brainwashing you until you sit in taverns like Moonies stand in airports... :)

• -- Brian T. Tickler

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