Re: Chaos is more than broos

From: Peter Larsen <plarsen_at_mail.utexas.edu>
Date: Wed, 4 Sep 2002 15:26:09 -0500

Stephen Tempest says:
>Thed is a goddess - that is, a conscious entity with opinions and
>whims and ambitions. Being a Chaos goddess, She's likely to be even
>more, well, chaotic compared to a normal god. However, She's not
>omnipotent and She can't be everywhere at once (and, of course, She's
>bound by the Great Compromise).
>
>So, She pretty much takes for granted that Char-un will commit rape,
>and so doesn't pay much attention to it. They are a nice, steady
>source of worship and power for Her, but that's all. In order to
>attract Her personal attention - and a chance to turn into a broo,
>develop chaos features, etc - a Char-un would have to do something
>pretty exceptional, like devote his life to Her worship (ick) or
>sacrifice to Her directly.

        This makes a certain amount of sense to me as well, although I think it's important to remember that these actions have an "environmental" as well as "personal" aspect -- the Maran worshipper may be untouched by chaos, but the Ogre Ancestor is strengthened and chaos is probably somewhat stronger near large groups of Marani. Tarsh probably has a larger ogre population than Sartar for this reason (not to mention, you can occasionally talk your way out of trouble if you get caught -- "Those bodies? I was possessed by the Glory of Maran, ma'am..."). It's not a huge difference, mind you, but a trend.

>If things always happen consistently, then you might as well believe
>in a mechanistic universe governed by natural forces, rather than
>personalised deities...

        True, but if there is some sense of the "standard," you can spot the exceptions rather than having a bunch of exceptions that pretend to be a standard....

Peter Larsen

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