Tricksters and chaos

From: Benedict Adamson <badamson_at_...>
Date: Tue, 22 Jan 2002 17:57:31 +0000


[I asked whether Tricksters are impervious to chaos.]

Thom Baguley wrote:
...
> Only if its funny.

Of course, a stock answer for all Trickster questions...

> Seriously: the only certain thing about Tricksters is that they break the
> rules. So yes they are impervious to chaos. Except when they aren't.
>
> Once chaotic a trickster might recover sponyaneously, mutate new chaos
> features and so forth.

...

This might become too philosophical for the HW list, but I'll keep it here for now.

A Trickster does not have the 'protection' of a normal clansman. 'Protection' has legal, social and magical (considering the clan to be part of the Storm Tribe) aspects. Part of that protection is protection from chaos, in the sense of having a place to live away from chaos, people to protect you from chaos, role models that oppose chaos and magic protection from Orlanth etc.

Without those protections, a Trickster is more likely to become tainted with chaos... unless they are inherently immune.

So what is the problem with Tricksters often becoming tainted with chaos? Call me a RQ grognard, but a full-blown chaos monstrosity (small chaos is all chaos, remember) on the tula, regardless of its similarity to someone once considered, at least peripherally, part of the clan, is a bad thing and worthy of note. Yet such occurrences are evidently uncommon (no canonical references to Tricksters being likely to become chaotic, IIRC).

I conclude that, despite their 'unprotected' status, Tricksters do not often become chaos tainted. I suggest that natural immunity is the explanation.

Powered by hypermail