Re: Various questions

From: Alex Ferguson <abf_at_cs.ucc.ie>
Date: Fri, 26 May 2000 19:29:29 +0100 (BST)

Andrew Larsen:
> 2) In Greek literature, the overwhelming sin is hubris, excessive pride.
> Over and over again, the gods punish people for being too proud, often for
> imaging that they are as good as the gods at something (such as Arachne at
> weaving). The whole concept of hubris, however, doesn't seem very Orlanthi.
> Is there an equivalent sin that the Orlanthi always have to guard themselves
> against? Cowardice, perhaps?

I'd guess, irresponsibility. That is, screwing up (as is traditional) and _not_ accepting blame, putting it right, etc. That's as much a social crime as a crime against 'the divine order', but that's the Orlanthi for you... Almost anything is 'redeemable', it's not bothering doing the redeeming that's truly obnoxious. OK, so you killed someone/impregnated the wrong person/destroyed the universe, but at least you paid wergeld/married the wench/started a new one, so everything is cool (more or less).

> 3) Do the gods travel around in disguise, testing people? Does Lankhor
> Mhy wander through villages, making sure that no one is breaking the law?
> Does Orlanth occasionally show up to test people's hospitality?

I'd guess this is more of a Pelorian theme. (Great gods driving chariots, etc.) For the Orlanthi, the gods act through human agency, or through their manifest domains.

> 4) What does Chalana Arroy do to smite somebody? People must
> occasionally offend her. She can turn off people's immunity to disease, but
> that seems pretty tame compared to the sorts of things that happen in Greek
> myth.

If you _really_ narked her off, you might become (in escalating order) 'immune' to CA healing, immune to _all_ magical healing, or in extremis, not even heal naturally, properly.

Cheers,
Alex.

---