From: darvall <madamx_at_ns2.mikka.net.au>
>
>Donald R. Oddy
><snip>
>>A handful of farmers praying on a hilltop is not of great significance
>
>You reckon? The big problem with this approach to Lunarising Heortling
>society is that (as noted in How Many Heros, Enclosure 2) it is an 'heroic'
>society.The farmers soon turn into priests & heros, NB Harmast.
>Decentalised societies are a real bugger to 'passify', chopping off the
>upper structure just gives the lower parts a chance to become upper.
>Of course the Lunars, being a centralised urban culture, may not know this.
>The Tarshites, however, would be well aware of it. Hence Tightfist's
>persecutions in the Far Place.
But heros are, by definition, exceptional people with skills above normal. Those skills take time to acquire, indeed the average life expectancy means that it is unlikely that an individual will obtain more than a single group of related skills. So the heroic farmer with 10w3 in ploughing is unlikely to ever become the prince with 10w3 in leadership and 15w2 in swordplay, never mind overnight. Certainly there is a strong possibility of someone obscure learning enough to become dangerous in secret but even then it helps to have guidence from experienced fighters and magicians. I think the Lunars underestimate the likelyhood of this which is why heros like Argarth and Kallyr surprise them but conversely there are many lesser heros who spend years in secret teaching promising candidates.
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