> He said to me that one of the most natural things
> that he's like to do as a Heortling Orlanthi player-character
> would be to fight against the Lunars as much as possible,
Hhm, not all Heortling Orlanthi player-character types are so radically anti-Lunar as that, but his HOPC-type MV ... ;-)
> but he claimed that the "official word" of the Hero Wars
> books prevented him from doing that realistically. He said,
> verbatim, "I'd like to fight Lunars, but if I do anything *major*
> against the Lunar military or something, the Lunars will come and burn
> down my stead and kill my family.
Mm, RMM publications notwithstanding, the Lunar Empire circa 1620 ST is unlike Oceania circa 1984. Frankly, hs character is most likely (& from the Lunar POV), to be seen as just one more smelly barbarian. If he has specific *enemies* as per suggestions in BA & OiD, that's another thing of course ; but that's the PC-type exception, not the norm.
> So, how do I do this in the time of
> the oppression? The other alternative is becoming an outlaw right
> away,
Erm ... no, actually, that's the *only* alternative. ie, it _isn't_ an alternative. It's a necessity.
> but I feel that my character is screwed if he spends the entire
> game as an outlaw. No friends, no community ..."
?? But his friends and community are almost as outlawed as he is !!
> So, basically this player said he felt that while the game
> constantly alluded to and explained the Heortling-vs.-Lunar
> conflict, it automatically discouraged new player characters
> to participate in that conflict at the same time.
I must disagree : the game explains, encourages, and motivates the conflict. Maybe your player is a closet Lunar-sympathiser ?
All real conflicts involve a pro et con ; and the Heortling vs. Lunar Empire one isn't presented as a no-brainer. This is a strength.
> How could I make sure that it _is_ possible and explicable
> that Heortling player-characters engage in actions against
> the Lunars without having an outright terrorist reputation?
Give the PC Heroes a "Reputed to be an outright Terrorist" flaw, buyable-down with HPs and/or increasable by GM fiat and/or according to various in-game actions ?
> So, are 85% of the men in Sartar routinely participate in
> rites and ceremonies that are against the law?
Yep.
> So how do you manage to achieve that balance between
> "This is your cult, this is your tradition and it always
> has been. You get your Affinities and Feats from that
> cult, and you must pump your earned Hero Points
> into those Affinities to get better." and "Actually, you
> are aware that all of this is really against the law."
YGMV
> Talking about the illegalness of the Orlanth cults:
>
> How much are the Heortlings subject to "weapons inspections"?
Not very much : this is a pseudo-Bronze Age culture.
> And how much are the fyrdmen controlled by the authorities,
> if every decent Heortling village is assumed to have a fyrd?
Fyrds are considered to belong to clan prerogatives : in fact, they ensure the proper functioning of democracy, that only evil bastard NPCS would call into question.
> I would say that a fyrdman with a stick and a wooden shield
> will get by without much difficulty 90% of the time, as long as
> he's not caught participating in all-out revolts or
> assassinations. But what about weaponthanes? Humakti?
Again, this isn't 1984 or 2002, but 1620.
> Are wandering herobands of Uroxi less suspicious
The only non-suspicious Uroxi berserker is a dead Uroxi berserker :-)
Julian Lord
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