Life of Moonson from Nick Brooke on 2000-04-24 (Glorantha Digest Vol 07)

From: Nick Brooke <Nick_Brooke_at_btinternet.com>
Date: Mon, 24 Apr 2000 13:30:09 +0100

Martin Laurie played Acutus, the bully-boy Shargashi Prefect of the Mother's Guard in the first run of "Life of Moonson". He writes:

> I was at the first Moonson LARP and it wasn't at all known to me
> that that the Emperor was chosen in the LARP ... Perhaps now that
> the LARP has been played a few times, everyone knows the score,
> but I certainly didn't at the time. I didn't even know we could
> launch a coup until I tried it. No-one had advanced knowledge of
> what was going to happen or was possible until it happened.

Acutus' character sheet states:

SECRETS

The Mother's Guard sold the Empire to the highest bidder during the Wars of the Proxies.
To take the City of Glamour in a coup, it is necessary to hold the Citadel of Halfway, the Senate House, the Temple of Truth, the Imperial Treasury and the Gate of Four Beasts.

GOALS

If the opportunity arises, sell the Empire to the highest bidder. Through the Wars of the Proxies, the Mother's Guard was unshakeably loyal to the True Emperor. While others followed proxies and pretenders, the Mother's Guard chose the rightful Emperor and stuck by him. The Prefect and men would always know him as the true Moonson recognised their loyalty by generous donatives of Imperials. The claimant who paid the most was without a doubt the true emperor!

I guess this proves what I said earlier today re: clarity of writing. No matter how obvious you think you've made something, some people will always fail to see what you're getting at. (Though it's possible that this gap in Martin's knowledge was exacerbated by his not talking to other players enough, etc. Some people just don't enjoy freeforms very much, and it's always a pity to discover this).

I don't think LoM would have been as enjoyable if *everyone* had started the game knowing that Moonson would die and need to be brought back during its course (and indeed knowing the game mechanics underlying this situation), which is why very few characters knew that this was possible or likely to occur as the game began. Acutus was in fact one of the better-informed players in this regard.

BTW, Acutus' character sheet is available on-line at: http://www.btinternet.com/~Nick_Brooke/Moonie/Moonson/acutus.htm

:::: Email: <mailto:Nick_Brooke_at_btinternet.com> Nick
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