time for gods' geases

From: johnjmedway (jjm@zycor.lgc.com)
Date: Sat 04 Dec 1993 - 10:34:15 EET



GEASES & THE BREAKING THEREOF


 

Sandy Petersen in X-RQ-ID: 2506
>>
>> Sorry I can't write more today, but you'll probably see precious
>> little of me over the next ten days (until DOOM! is finished)
 

DOOM! ?    
>> I think it's up to the GM in question. However, traditional Celtic
>> tales about geas-breaking would appear to be on my side -- the geas
>> is like a natural law -- if you break it, the curse follows, whether
>> or not you intended to do so.
 



Thom Baguley in X-RQ-ID: 2523
>>
>> A good argument. I'll reconsider. What about the act of repentence you
>> mentioned. RQ seems to have neglected this aspect of religion ... For some acts
>> no repentence should be possible, but for others I would be inclined to allow
>> the possibility (e.g. for inadvertant geas breaking).
 

Even for accidents, there is sometimes no repentence. Though they were "natural laws" and not geases, the case of Oedipus stands out.  

He *accidentally* broke the "law". He did not know that it was his father he killed, nor his mother that he, well, you know-ed, until afterward. Nonetheless, he didn't get much by way of slack from the gods.    

DIVINE INTERVENTION, TIME, ET AL


 

Colin Watson in X-RQ-ID: 2516
>>
>> Geoff Gunner wrote:
>> >re: Colin Watson's model of God-time as perpendicular planes - Not So !
>> >Anyway, you can't compare the two as they aren't of similar qualities.
>>
>> They only seem different because we're not used to more than one temporal
>> dimension. Just like a fourth spatial dimension would seem bizarre. I think
>> comparing GodTime and RealTime is just like comparing length with width.
 

But without common units, or ability to convert between measurements of length and width, you can't compare the two. I'd say that such a case exists in the relationship you describe between RealTime Time and GodTime time.  

Maybe it's a bit like Heisenberg's principle: essentially you cannot know both coordinates, and also looking into GodTime changes that at which you were looking.    



David Cheng in X-RQ-ID: 2519
>>
>> While I have absolutely no idea what the hell was going on with this
 

Stafford at his best?    

>> My ideal guide for divination is the way it is presented in the CoPrax
>> Biturian Varosh story. When he needs guidance, Biturian spends a few
>> points of Divination and asks Issaries. Issaries doesn't send him
>> confusing visions, or arcane max-7-word answers; he just answers the
>> question! See the Chalana Arroy chapter:
>>
>> Must I undertake this dreadful expedition?
>> No, but you've got your Lightbringer obligations to live up to.
 

In a way, this is pretty cryptic, too. Depends on your definitions:  

(first part of answer)

	1A. No, you are not obliged by the me/the cult to go.
	1B. No, you will not be dragged kicking and screaming by others 
	    ( or fate! ) - simply implies that at some future time he
	    "will not have gone", hence it is not thee case that he *must*
 
(second part of answer)
	2A. Yes you must go ( *that* is the obligation )
	2B. You *should* go, you're a Lightbringer
	2C. You must support in *some* fashion
 

I can easily see how the answer could be 1A & 2A, despite the fact that they're contradictory.
Neither half specifically precludes reprisals, either.    

EVERYTHING ELSE


 

Geoff Gunner in X-RQ-ID: 2509
>>
>> Sandy says that: if someone had a spell cast on them from behind, then they'd
>> know which direction the spell came from.
>> ...
>> Too much trouble, IMHO. Just treat your spells as 'bucket-of-water-over-the-
>> head' effects - so no chance of determining where a failed spell came from.
 

Are you always sure from where a *successful* spell came? In general, I'd say that casual magic users ( not Shamans, people with Second/Soul Sight, et al ) would generally not know. even those who are more aware of spirit matters, may not always know.    



Joerg Baumgartner in X-RQ-ID: 2512
>>
>> - Who would participate in collecting a "complete" encyclopaedia for
 

Sure. If we may do it, without copyright problems, et al.    

>> accumulation of these?) How would one distribute this? I have thought
>> about Windows Help-textfiles. I don't use a Windows-system, but I
 

Hmm... I'm not familiar with the inner workings of those. If it's a really quirky internal format, we may be better off writing a small, portable shell program, and have our own data format.    

>> NB: "Ygglinga" sounds much more Viking to me than "Yggites", and I'd
>> propose this as national noun for themselves. Means "people of Ygg" in
>> old Norse, and sounds quite close to "Ynglinga", the originally swedish
>> descendants of Yng (=Freyr) who became the Norwegian royal dynasty.
 

Sounds good.  

BTW: From where does the -ite ending come ? It's probably specific to one (or more) language(s), and speakers of *those* languages would say "Yggites", as I expect speakers of TradeTalk might say "Ygglingi" ( following from Orlanthi, Humakti, ... ). Maybe Pamaltelan speakers of TradeTalk would say "Ygglingo", or something similar.    



Joerg Baumgartner in X-RQ-ID: 2514
>>
>> Re horses in Prax:
>> John Medway asked whether horse riders were attacked by Praxians on
>> sight, ad somebody proposed that they did, if chances were right. '
 

Someone else asked. I just hoped the hostility was pretty genuine, and not a quasi-friendly and ritualized, like Orlanth & (Y)elmal(io).    

>> Praxians. Although the Praxians cheat the newcomers in their choice of
>> contests (such as a head butting contest between the mounts, proposed
>> by a Bison rider), they don't attack outrightly. Having a five to one
 

Why is that "cheating"? 8)    



Peter Michaels in X-RQ-ID: 2520
>>
>> I thought the Lunar Empire had killed all intelligent life in the Oslir. Or
>> am I misremembering something?
 

Hmm, maybe this is connected with the Lunars ruining the fertility of the lands of Peloria. Maybe it's too much artificial fertilizer, and too many pesticides?    



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