Re: More "help!"

From: Graham Robinson <graham_at_albionsoft.com>
Date: Fri, 13 Jun 2003 12:13:58 +0100

>If gods aren't a manifestation of our collective consciousness, and they
>really do exist independently, how the heck do you go and make a god, the
>way the EWF did?

I'm not aware of the EWF *making* gods, although they added a draconic insight into the fabric of a number of gods.

> I mean, where did Gbaji come from?

Gbaji came from the Pseudo-Cosmic Egg, which was discovered in dawn-age Dorastor.

> I understand the Moon
>Goddess better, in that the 7 mothers started off with some raw material,
>right?

Sure - the remains of any number of previous Moon goddesses.

In all these cases, there is a pre-dawn (and pre-compromise) basis for building the gods.

>Another you guys are talking about that I don't get - the great compromise
>froze the god's ability to change? They don't have free will? Really? So
>what do they do all day? Are they in time now? Or still outside and looking
>in? Can they talk? Do they "want" / "need"? I just don't see how a sentient
>being can't change.

The Gods are outside time, and lack the free will to change themselves. "What do they do all day?" is pretty much meaningless - gods don't experience time - that's a mortals only thing. Indeed becoming a god begins with losing the effects of time on yourself. (cf. Hill of Gold, passim.) Gods do still have desires, and do still communicate with their worshippers. I don't think its unreasonable to suppose that some gods *want* to change, but they must effect that change via their worshippers. i.e. In Holy War and HeroQuest. So, it isn't that Gods don't change, its more a case that the timeless gods only change through interaction with mortals. Worshippers and HeroQuesters provide the time that Gods need to be able to change.

>Can the gods talk to each other? I am not so much concerned with whether
>they manage to get dates for Saturday Night as much as I wonder what the
>weltanschauung is...

Not sure what "weltanschauung" means, so I'll ignore that... Gods can and do communicate within fixed relationships. Orlanth has some awareness of Humakt, Lhankor Mhy, etc. and can be aware of their goals, knowledge and desires. So it is perfectly reasonable for a Humakti to be told by his god that "Orlanth is under attack, go kill those Lunars over there for his glory and mine."

I don't think that the Gods sit around chatting in any sense that a human would understand.

> How does Malkion deal with there being all these
>pantheons wandering about? Do the Kralori dragons interact with the Praxian
>deities...?

These beings don't interact if they can avoid it. Different other worlds for starters. In general, Malkion interacts with other pantheons through his worshippers, who are told that "Orlanth is the name given by the foolish to the sorceror Worlath, who has deceived them and damned their souls." Malkion and Worlath/Orlanth have no interaction above the level of their worshippers.

>Is there a detailed epic of the Lightbringer quest published anywhere?

Best version to date is in King of Sartar, if you can find a copy. HeroQuests&HeroQuesting (not to be confused with HeroQuest...) will have more details, but won't be out for some time...

Cheers,
Graham

-- 
Graham Robinson
graham_at_albionsoft.com

Albion Software Engineering Ltd.


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