What is your story was Re: Terror in War - Short

From: Ian Cooper <ian_hammond_cooper_at_XxHkhEDG6gv3pU4K4s_Cc69AM_1yEPBYS5pd2R55UiVgl3hZtRoDWNqUU>
Date: Tue, 28 Aug 2007 21:31:52 +0000 (GMT)


Adept:
>>For me the question _is_ relevant and interesting, since I think the mythological and magical blowback on Glorantha will have serious implications to Heortlings committing such atrocities.<<

Understood, but my response would be that because you find the issue of how atrocities would create magical blowback interesting, then you should use that in your game. I'm not devaluing any one play style. In fact the opposite, I'm saying too many of these conversations are about *limiting* play because they carry the taint of approval/disapproval of how someone wants to use Glorantha to play.

There were would be far more value here if we remembered that people are trying to have fun with a game. So if someone posts that they want to play a game that reflects the US soldier's experience in Iraq through the lens of a lunar soldier in Sartar, it's far more positive to help that person achieve their goal, by suggesting ways that some elements can be drawn out of the setting, than looking for all the reasons why the Lunar occupation is not comparable.

So the question of 'have the Heortlings commited atrocities' really deserves the answer 'why is it important to your story that they have or have not'.

For example it might be that someone wants the players to choose between two rebel leaders, one who believes that any act is justifiable in the pursuit of freedom, one who does not. In that case we can answer the question by looking at areas that the Heortlings might dispute to give the questioner suggestions of what the Heortlings might disagree on as an atrocity.

In one game we formed a hero band precisely because we were forced to commit secret murder to kill a collaborator. Our hero band's beliefs were that 'the ends justifies the means when it comes to freeing Sartar'. We all expected, in fact hoped, that our characters would reap as they had sowed, and come to a sticky end, precisely because they had sacrified normal morality in the cause of freedom. Tragic? For sure.  

Ian Cooper

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