Neil Smith:
> I was re-reading KoS the other day, and it got me thinking about the
> imprisonment of Orlanth. He was imprisoned from 1621 (fall of
> Whitewall) to 1624 (battle of Milran).
"That's what *some* say. What would would they know! The Wind is always changing. If you are about to blow hard, you breathe in deep. You *hold your breath for a moment.* Then you blooooow! Orlanth is merely drawing in breath, holding it, waiting to unleash the Hurricane of Change. It's the Calm Before The Storm."
In other words, game-wise and dramatically, I don't think anyone should ever know for sure whether Orlanth was imprisoned or not. For player characters, the uncertainty should be tangible. Is the God weakened? Is the Chaos Moon triumphant?
> What effect did this have on the Orlanthi?
What is cause and what is effect are open to interpretation here.
I certainly played no wind, strange rain, weird weather. I played rituals failings, magic unreliable, gifts vanishing. HOWEVER, I also played most senior godar dead, bulk apostacy and conversion to other gods, people scared to attend ceremonies, and Sacred Time ceremonies systematically disrupted by Harvar Ironfist's minions. So there could be lots of different reasons, and lots of different explanations.
Perhaps The Lord has been imprisoned by Nysalora and her minions. He is weakened, wounded, dying.
OR
Orlanth is punishing the clan for abandoning his ways.
OR
Orlanth is strengthening and testing his faithful before the Great Storm.
OR
The lack of worshippers and especially rune levels, and the disruption to
the Great Ceremonies
has weakened the magic flux: normal transmission will be resumed as soon as
enough kinder are born and initiated.
> Did it affect Orlanthi in Ralios and other areas?
Personally, I'd think not, and that the imprisonment (if it was an imprisonment) was limited to the Heortling/Lunar struggle in Dragon Pass. Orlanth is different over there you know. :)
I have a suspicion that HW scenarios will not dwell long on this period, cutting straight to the Hurricane as it were. Personally I hope not, even though it does mean exposing new players to frustration and uncertainty. I have very fond memories of my campaign from that time: the gnawing edge uncertainty was palpable, esp. when some of my long term gm characters changed over to more accessible gods. And the catharsis, when it came, was all the greater...
Cheers
John
The thing I came for:
the wreck and not the story of the wreck
the thing itself and not the myth....
This is the place. We are, I am, you are
carrying a knife, a camera / a book of myths
in which / our names do not appear.
- - Adrienne Rich.
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