Re: Humakti Devotion

From: Paul Andrew King <paul_at_...>
Date: Sun, 9 Nov 2003 23:02:19 +0000


>Paul K said
>>A Humakti Devotion probably ought to involve A death
>
>Very likely (Hmm, think back to Viturian Barosh - would you want to be
>forced to partake in a Humakti worship ceremony....)
>
>I don't think anyone can become a Devotee of Humakt unless they have
>already killed someone
>
>Which gets me thinking. Humakti sever their ties to their kin in order
>to protect them from the consequences of their actions (If Fred Orlanthi
>kills someone then his family are expected to pay the weregild. If Harry
>Humakti does it then he 'has no family') What is the status of a Humakti
>initiand who kills before completing the severance (and mythologically
>speaking, Humakt did)? Could a murderer join Humakt as a way to avoid
>the (social/legal) consequences of their crime?

Given that we're talking about Orlanthi law, then I'd say that there is no absolute rule. It can be argued that the Severance only applies to actions taken after that point or that the breaking of the bonds of kinship mean that the family no longer has any responsibility.
All arguments can be heard and the decision will depend as much (probably more) on the politics than on the rights and wrongs of the case.
However the murderer at best could only hope to prevent his kin from suffering the consequences - he is still responsible for his actions (and if it's a case of Secret Murder he is likely to be rejected by Humakt making the issue moot). It may represent an alternative to outlawry in some cases

>
>Paul also asks
>>but if you include too much death what do you do if someone
>>wants to be a Disciple ?
>
>I'm not sure a character ever "wants" to become a disciple (Although a
>player might).

Well that's really the point. But there's no disagreement with the rest of your post.

-- 
--
"The T'ang emperors were strong believers in the pills of 
immortality.  More emperors died of poisoning from ingesting minerals 
in the T'ang than in any other dynasty" - Eva Wong _The Shambhala 
Guide to Taoism_

Paul K.

Powered by hypermail