"You can always leave if you don't like it" from MOB on 2000-12-15 (Glorantha Digest Vol 08)

From: MOB <mrmob_at_ozemail.com.au>
Date: Fri, 15 Dec 2000 11:42:39 +1100

G'day all,

"You can always leave if you don't like it"

Gareth Martin:

>The problem with the argument "you can always leave if you don't like
>it" is that it appeals to an ideal situation which does not exist.
>Especially in low-tech societies, which run pretty close to subsitance,
>survival is about tools: for making fire, for making houses, for making
>war. Authority is functionally exercised by restrictions on access to
>these tools, such as the restrictions placed on who can own and carry
>weapons - usually class-based. To say "you can always leave" is merely
>to place the burden of freedom an those who are un-free: you imply that
>they voluntarily collude with their own repression, when in actual fact
>their freedoms are so limited that striking out on their own is not a
>practical proposition.

Such issues are eloquently explored in Mike Dawson's excellent MGF-style scenario, "Embarassment of Riches", wherein oppressed Jonatelan peasants discover a huge treasure trove. This does offer them the chance of striking out on their own, but they must weigh up the risks and consequences of doing so in a land where a serf caught possessing gold is punishable by amputation. You might have heard of greener pastures elsewhere, but how do you find them when,

you've never been more than 10 key-miles from your front door, and;
the smallest change you've got is the equivalent of a thousand-dollar note.

I have enjoyed running this scenario at various cons, and think it would make an excellent low level HW adventure.

Cheers,

MOB