Stone Cold Steve Humakt

From: Loren Miller <loren_at_ioxy.com>
Date: Tue, 6 Jun 2000 17:32:17 -0500


"James Turner" <j.a.turner_at_abdn.ac.uk> asked:
> Most Humakti seem to be played with the samurai/lone
> gunfighter/Kung Fu type
> stereotype. Characters that are skilled fighters but also have a
> high sense
> of honour.
>
> Where did this idea come from? (CoP? It mentions that honourable warriors
> follow him)

Right. I always thought it was because the Humakti was the RuneQuest cult that was usually chosen by the same mini-maxing players who would have chosen Paladins if they were playing AD&D. They then decided to play the Humakti as if they were playing a Paladin. Other than that humble reason, I chalk it up to Vingkotling and Praxian exile society rather than the Humakt cult per se. If you look at the Humakt cult in Carmania it is not an honorable warrior cult. In Carmania the humakti hazars are swords in the hands of the nobles. They do not have personal honor, but rather work for the Honor of their House.

The other reason that a Humakti must have some honor is sociological. If there were a large corpus of warriors without any honor or limits in a society, then they would either destroy the society or be destroyed by it. There has to be some limiting device to restrict their power. Honor is one good device.

What happens to a stone cold killer Humakti? He becomes a Rune Lord/Avatar/Hero. People avoid him like a plague. Maybe someone else kills him. Maybe another Humakti kills him. Maybe his lord sends him on suicide missions until he doesn't make it back and his ghost can haunt his enemies' lair for eternity.

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