Allfather and community-based games (was: Ernalda roles...[long])

From: Sam Elliot <samclau_at_RXJ6T8K_WIXKcjWrnM5-gkOEY78Q9touw3ekqCm1fsJq45iFHzfdHaARGmzqS4bKf_sE>
Date: Sun, 8 Jul 2007 22:11:05 -0300

Bryan said, on Friday if I am not mistaken, on the topic of:
> Subject: Ernalda roles, heortling patrilinealness,
> and adventuring female heortlings.

...
> For that matter, you probably see a lot less Orlanthi characters who
> follow Allfather versus the other aspects. Personally I think
> Allfather has incredibly potent affinities—Making and Allfather are
> incredibly primal, the ability to make new things and to lead family
> (and by extension far more than family). These have the potential to
> change the world far more than does controlling wind and moving
> quickly. But they tend not to lend themselves to dramatic bits and
> high adventure. Believe me, I've tried, but my Yavor Allfather
> follower ends up using his lightning far more than his other magics,
> despite my intentions otherwise.

Having thought about this a little, I'm quite convinced that this is an artefact of the game, the narrator (that would be me in this instance) and it being PbEM, rather than being an intrinsic property of the affinity or type of character in question.

Regarding this specific case, the character in question has only just become a devotee, so the feats have not been at the surface so far. Add to this my own (as narrator) limitations in keeping tabs on the community (when I've the inspiration and time, I usually try to move the game on rather than work on NPC's and so on) and I think the explanation is quite case-specific.

I took that paragraph out of the context of Bryan's original post, but rereading the post, he was (among other things) highlighting the potential limitations of Ernaldan characters (so taking the Orlanthi Allfather aspect as a parallel) in what are often "adventure" games. Bryan concludes with:

> So I think Ernalda's non-adventurous nature is an issue for gaming,
> but hardly an insurmountable one with a positive attitude."

The same goes for the Allfather aspect. To my mind this is where the real joy of the whole Heortling setup lies. You can play with a whole load of schlock slathered atop the Heortling thang (ducks with cigars and all that); you can have your Humakti geared up in their Death is Cool outfits, swatting zombies aside with their My Sword is Bigger than Yours feats; all that is grist to the mill. But the coolest thing, as I am increasingly discovering (and in my opinion of course) is the subtle social stuff which the HQ ruleset facilitates. Ian's post today (Sun 08) exemplifies this, I think. It is even cooler when it is no longer subtle.

All I am saying then is that I think Bryan has the right of it. There's an issue with the less blatantly adventurous stuff, but I think it is well worth addressing. I think Ernalda as represented in ST was probably quite a big step - all that "useless" stuff there for a character, 30-odd pages in a key publication launching a game, re-launching a game world; I think that was quite brave. With time those characters really work well. I think that both Ernalda and Vinga come across as quite infallible (in intent), so it is timely to make them both a bit messier. But fair do's.

For anyone who has read this far, yes I have been drinking, but it is my birthday so I shan't apologize for the going on and on and the gushing. If anyone replies saying I haven't understood, I shall find a way to slap them with a haddock, as in Asterisk.

Sam.