Martin wrote:
> I think in some senses it is wishful thinking to hope that human beings are
> somehow hardwired not to kill each other and there is evidence to support this
> view and to dismiss it if you look in the right place for each.
Worth reading on the broad subject -- both in general, and in specifics for some Glorantha inspiration for Humakti and such -- is Christopher Browning's _Ordinary Men_. Though it's specifically about participation in genocide (e.g., a police unit shooting civilians on the Eastern Front in WW2), it pretty clearly documents that it's surprisingly easy to turn a bunch of people who *don't* want to do vile acts into those who will do them in a heartbeat. And it's a good read, too.
Which (heh!) suggests some MGF for Humakti. Perhaps the local leader is extremely influential on how the worshippers approach death. So when you have the grim-but-this-is-just-a-job mercenary captain type as your local swordpriest, the worshippers tend to reflect this. But when said leader dies, and the raving-loony-likes-to-kill takes over, the local temple can rapidly degenerate. Causing all kinds of internal problems, problems with other Humakti groups, etc.
One other note: Humakti do have the virtue, as it were, of the truth and honor aspect. When the topic of serial murderers came up earlier, it occurred to me that some such would be *encouraged* to join Humakt. After all, if little Johnny seems a little disturbed, likes to torture animals, etc., and seems like he's going to be a bit of a problem when he grows up, what are you going to do with him? The Orlanth cult probably doesn't want him. Sure, Eurmal and Storm Bull will take him, but they won't control his urges. At least Humakt, in theory, will give him a way to deal with the world in a vaguely constructive way: chopping bits off your clan's enemies...
Powered by hypermail