The Storm Tribe presentation jives with my view of Eurmali.
> As presented in _Storm Tribe_, Eurmali are a clear threat to the
> community 99.99% of the time, and are useful only when someone
needs
> to do one of a small number of rituals. It seems implausible that
an
> elected leader would take responsibility for such a person, and
even
> more implausible that the community would keep an elected leader
who
> tried. Heortlings don't even seem to let shamans live in their
> villages -- why would they allow a violent psychotic to live in the
> chief's hall?
Few, other than tribal kings and heroquesters, do. Frex, of the Heortling Sartarite tribes prior to Starbrow's Rebellion, I have only four tribes maintaining a full fledged trickster - the Colymar, Culbrea, Kheldon and Lismelder. Maybe the Cinsina do as well - better to ask Ian Cooper that. I'm pretty sure King Broyan of the Volsaxi maintains a trickster - although it might not have survived the siege of Whitewall. I doubt there are more than a dozen or so Tricksters in Heortling Sartar at any given time. At least half are bonded.
> Eurmali must be less dangerous than _Storm Tribe_ makes out. Or,
they
> are kept outside of the community until needed, or maybe they are
> magically called forth from the community as part of the relevant
> rituals. There just doesn't seem to be any way to maintain a
strategic
> reserve of dangerous lunatics inside a normal Heortling community.
Again, the overwhelming majority of Heortling communities do not have a Trickster. However, for the inspired, the magical, the powerful, or the recklessly ambitious, Tricksters can provide a mighty boost in heroquesting potential. At least until they betray you.
Jeff
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