I have to say I am very uncomfortable with this idea. If the propensity for human beings in Glorantha to commit atrocities is less than human beings in the RW, then they are not human beings as we know them and this opens up a whole can of worms. What I like about Glorantha is the human factor, though etched on a glorious mythic landscape, people are still people, good or bad.
In our own history acts of atrocity stand out and are noted, such as the sack of Jerusalem by the Crusaders, the blinding of the Bulgar army by the Byzantines, the utter destruction of Carthage in the 3rd Punic war, the persecution of the Cathar heresy, the campaigns of Shalmaneser III, the Mongol invasion of the Russian kingdoms, the Wallachian slaughter of an Ottoman army on spikes etc etc. I could go on for a long, long time. These are acts perpetrated by humans and we are only discussing war, we haven't yet mentioned the Inquisition or all the unsavory social institutions that practiced torture and undoubtedly rape, child abuse and other evils.
It is these things, these evils that men do, that counterpoint the good in man, show the shades of gray and give us our martyrs, heroes and rebels. If, in Glorantha we remove these aspects of humanity because we find them unpleasant to face, cope with or play out, then we a thinning down the very humanity of the game world that makes it so interesting.
I for one am against any human turning into another species for these actions. I can see such people turning _to_ chaos, for those lost so far in inflicting human misery will usually stop at little, but rape=broo is to convenient for me, it's as if Glorantha has our modern day ideal morality imposed on it to remove this aspect of humanity from our game view by providing an absolute cosmic judgement. "If you commit THIS sin, the cosmos will judge you THIS way, for all to see."
I personally have met a large number of rapists, murderers and criminals of all sorts, and there is no doubt that at times many radiate their evil and social ills. However, I have also met those who do not, have had "reasons" for what they have done, however deluded they are, and to all intents and purposes appear and act normal.
Some people have mentioned the PargAddi regiment as being a terror unit, which is true. The whole horror of their activities is that is very human, unpleasant and dirty, but most of them would now be broos is the rule of rape=broos was applied. Again it is the very humanity of their actions that make them nightmarish, having them turn into squidgy inhuman things is taking away the whole point. We all KNOW that the squidgy thing is evil - just look at it! - but that nice young man who brought my family and daughter gifts, he wouldn't do anything like that, would he?
Hmmm.
Glorantha should have room for this aspect of humanity. To remove it or abstract it is to remove one of the greatest plot and scenario hooks we have - our own nature as a species.
Nick comments:
>Now, that's never been an overwhelming element in my view of Char Un
>culture.
Nor mine, Wesleys' or Marks'. I assure anyone that when the Char-un Sons of Kargzant books does appear (when all our other outstanding and more important projects are done!), this will not be, nor should it be, an important factors in their culture. The Char-un or other Pentans might be more likely to commit atrocities than many civilised armies but not _that_ much more likely.
>I think Hetman Ignatieff is an outstandingly unsavoury type,
>even for the Char Un.
This is always the problem with peoples perception of things in Glorantha. They get one tiny snippet of info and extrapolate the entire culture from that. Instead of basing it on human cultures everywhere and working from there, the part equals the whole.
>Chris himself has never dwelt on the rape/chaos
>incidence on the taiga, and for my part I don't think anyone else should
>waste time considering it.
I think that this is a less than relevant part of Char-un culture, as you say. Yes some char-un rapists turn into broos, but then some utterly innocent people turn into broos, it is CHAOS after all and is not predictable nor is it bound by a set of rules.
>This hobby is supposed to be about *fun*
>stuff, not detailed descriptions of rape, necrophilia and mutilation.
I concur, however I would caveat that and say that sometimes, a detailed description of this in the midst of usual game play can certainly focus the minds of the players and bring home the gravity of the situation. One of my players in the Gwandor saga was raped by an NPC as an act of domination and insult (Funnily enough the NPC has turned to chaos but that was nothing to do with the act, he was crazy anyway), you should see what a hate-on he has for that NPC now, utter and total. He took it personally and so he should, it was a violation.
Martin Laurie
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