>Given that each affinity, in the material published so far, has an
>associated rune, I would think that affinity is an in-world user
>recognised ability.
Well, maybe. You'll notice that while each affinity has a rune, the same rune can stand for many affinities. So the old Death rune (the cross) now stands for Combat, Death, Strongblade, Destroy Undead, Sword Combat, and, more generally, death and (at least among the Heortlings), Humakt. These all kind of fit under the same category (whacking things), but they are not really congruent or equivalent powers. The average initiate of Orlanth Adventurous, when he uses his Combat affinity, is not necessarily trying to kill (think of all those cattle raids).
Besides, since the affinity runes are not all unique, that undermines them as a identification tool/tattoo. "Well, he's got a death rune -- is he Humakti? Orlanth Adventurous? I wish he wasn't wearing that cloak so we could see the rest of his arm...."
I'm not saying you're wrong; either approach ought to be workable.
Peter Larsen
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