> > What, all of them? Lots of chiefs to the Indians,
> in
> > that case! No, Donald's idea of doing gardening,
> > child-minding, carving, mending, that sounds more
> > reasonable. At the very least, he can do something
> > constructive while he gasses.
>
> That's not a divine activity - more of a hobby.
It's adding some income to the family. An essential - Orlanthi can't afford drones.
> Not many Orlanthi men make it to elder status.
And one per household is more than enough, if they're not going to do anything.
> > Yeah, and "lead" means doing what, exactly?
> Sitting on
> > his bum doing nothing won't impress anyone.
> Minding the grand-kids is useful.
> I'm not sure you have a good idea the sort of
> immense prestige and
> authority an elder has in pre-modern societies. An
> old man is
> impressive to his family simply because he has
> survived to old age. Anyone over 60 years old ....
Is about 20 years older than the men under discussion. What has this "elder" been doing for the last 20 years? If it amounts to boasting about what he did aged 15-40, he's a useless drone. Sack him.
> And don't slavishly follow the list of feats. Most
> men will have
> magical affinities of Allfather, Making, and Family
> and will augment
> their mundane abilities with those affinities.
But the feats are what show what each affinity is capable of. "This sort of thing" - and if "this sort of thing" has little or no practical value, then you won't be augmenting practical things with that affinity. "Making" sounds good, until you look at the sample feats. "Acclaim Chieftain, Bless New Building, Bless Tools, Oversee Marriage ritual, Work Hard". Well "bless tools" sounds handy, as does "work hard", but the rest won't put beans in the pot.
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