Re: [HeroWars] Re: Tattoos

>Peter and Jeff wrote:
>
>>> Just because you hold a Black Oak down and abrade him with steel
>>> wool doesn't mean that he's no longer a Black Oak.... It's a
>>> badge, a mark, an advertisement as much as a magical talisman.
>
>> Maybe not, but its FUN! Hand me that bundle of iron wool...
>
>Changing the tone slightly, I recall Greg's unpublished novel has a
>priest, Brengon the Wild Man, who cut his arm off in order to be rid
>of his tattoos and his link to Orlanth. Some tattoos are, indeed,
>magical talismans.

        I don't know about this -- the Orlanthi are a violent people. If marring a tattoo disrupted your magic, cult status, etc., battles would be a lot uglier --" took a wound? oops, lost your Movement affinity...." Now, if you are getting thrown out of a cult or clan, I bet your tattoos get removed or replaced -- maybe Humakti tattoo a big death rune over their clan tattoo -- you can see who they're affiliated with, but also that they aren't "part of the clan." If you are leaving the Storm Tribe all together, more drastic measures are needed, and I suppose cutting off your tattoos could be part of it, especially if you are acting in a hurry.

        Similarly, covering up a clan tattoo in the rightway might make the wyter "blind" to you. "Use this paste to cover your tattoos -- you will have no magic, but the guardians of the tula will ignore you as if you were animals...."

Peter Larsen

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