Re: Chalana Arroy

From: Andrew Larsen <aelarsen_at_facstaff.wisc.edu>
Date: Sat, 01 Jul 2000 13:31:10 -0500

> Date: Fri, 30 Jun 2000 22:45:35 -0700
> From: Peter Larsen <plarsen_at_mail.utexas.edu>
> Subject: Chalana Arroy
>
> Maybe this question has been raised before, but I've been thinking
> a bit about Chalana Arroy. She's the holder of the Harmony rune, correct?
> So why is she only a goddess of healing? It seems Harmony means quite a bit
> more than that. Chalana Arroy ought to be concerned with maintaining
> harmony on many levels: harmony of the body (healing, fighting disease),
> harmony of the mind (therapy (or what passes for it in a magical bronze age
> society) and combatting excessive passions), harmony of society (friction
> within and between families, clans, etc.). A role as diplomats doesn't seem
> entirely out of line, especially given that her followers are protected to
> a degree by their pacifism. All of which might get them out of the rut of
> being one dimentional pacifist healers. Any comments?

    Good questions. To some extent, I think a lot of these are recognized as appropriate roles for healers, although they haven't been really elaborated on, perhaps because some gamers have a tendency to think of Chalanans as D&D clerics.

    Another problem arises with the cults niche in the 'religious ecology'. If Chalanans are diplomats, doesn't that duplicate Issaries' function as a diplomat and conciliator? While it's certainly possible for two cults to have similar functions, I think there'd be a strong tendency for cults to gravitate toward their unique functions.

    In my campaign, the Chalanan is one of the more aggressively political members of the group. There's been a fued between her clan and a neighboring clan, and she's thinking about offering herself in marriage to the rival clan chief as a way of healing the strife.

Andrew E. Larsen

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End of The Glorantha Digest V7 #737

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