>>Gian wrote: I wonder where the vengeance stops
> Hmm, generally it stops when you kill them (at last they're dead),
>the cost
>get's too high (we just can't kill them), or the grieving starts to end (the
>scum have left, but if they return, we'll make them pay). Only the rich or
>fixated will have someone tracked down.
> If the fight was fair, war and death cults might be more likely to
>accept
>compensation and atonement, since they already accept the inevitability of
>death (obvious exception: Zorak Zoran). If it was cold blooded murder, then
>they are outlawed and anyone who wants a shot at them can try. This makes
>for a lot of combat episodes as they are ambushed by steadily larger forces
>every three or four episodes.
Gian's question hits at the chief flaw of the wergeld/vengeance legal system. It has a hard time actually putting an end to this sort of thing, because it's slanted heavily in favor of those with money and social status. It's part of the reason that all the medieval cultures that employed this system eventually abandoned it in favor of the idea that a crime against a person is actually a crime against the state. Then it becomes the responsibility of the state, not the victim's family, to punish the criminal, and in theory even the wealthiest members of society aren't strong enough to hold off the whole government. This weakness of the system would make an excellent theme for an Orlanthi campaign.
Andrew E. Larsen
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