>> >Bumping people off (except for bloody foreigners)
>> >doesn't really work (except in extreme cases, or where criminal Rings
>> >are involved) because whoever it was, someone is probably there,
>> >who'll demand wergeld, or blood, in return, or will carry out some
>> >other violent or non-violent (but financially disastrous) form of
>> >reprisal. And almost no-one can afford to pay Wergeld.
>> Wergild payment is not automatic. If you are strong enough, the other
>> guy can forget about collecting wergild.
>Certainly. But no-one's alone in the Orlanthi system, as symbolized by
>a poem in the Orlanth cult write-up; also, see Orlanth's First Ring
>mythology. And KoS. More below.
So? The other guy can still be cowed into weakness if his buddies are not strong enough.
>> Check
>> out what Odysseus does to Thersites in the Illiad, for example. He
>> beats him up in full view of the council and nothing more is heard
>> of him in the rest of the Illiad.
>Great example.
>In similar situations, the Orlanthi might exhibit similar behaviour.
>But not (normally) in peace time, at home.
Why not? It's how many Great Orlanthi assert their authority.
>Most people have *some*
>political connections, in such small places. Usually *indirect*
>connections. But everyone belongs to a bloodline at least, almost
>always to a Clan, and a Tribe, often to a City, and to the Kingdom.
So? That does not mean that their views will be respected all of the time. If the clan chief has done you a wrong and your clan supports him, then you are shit-out-of-luck.
>This means that someone who is injured has several legal (and
>extra-legal) options open to him. And if someone is injured,
>then his family is too, and sometimes his clan. Which is where
>Hero Wars Player Characters get involved.
You are changing the premises. First you said that nothing of the sort happened in peacetime because of the legal reprecussions involved. Now you say that they are bound to call someone to even out the odds. Of course, they do! This is what makes the Orlanthi a turbulent society.
>I disagree though that violence would be the usual solution to any
>problem.
"Violence is always an option" is a time-honored Orlanthi phrase. In most cases, the mere threat of violence suffices to keep the social order. If you want a society that does not consider violent solutions for political problems, then the Orlanthi aren't them.
>Normally, non-violent solutions are preferred to violent ones.
Non-violent solutions are preferred? Whadarya? A Wuss?
>Violent
>solutions are liable to produce escalating violent reactions.
Not in most cases.
>Luckily, Orlanthi society is based on Orlanth's Laws, which provide
>various alternative solutions to problems created by violent people.
And Orlanth himself sanctions violence as a solution.
JB>> As Peter pointed out, there is no such thing as a Boldhome tribal
>> confederation. The old source has been superseded by the tribal
>> confederations as described in CHDP in KoS. There the Dundealos _are_
>> affiliated with Swenstown.
>Was this also the case in 1600 ?
I'm afraid so. KoS is describing historical Sartar before the Lunars occupied it.
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