Naval Ships and Tech discussion (LONG)

Lyndon Alton Liberty lliberty at ERINET.COM
Sat Dec 13 22:50:18 CET 1997


Without getting personal>>No problem, I take NOTHING as a personal attack.
I've always found these arguments to be sloppy.>>They are, because they cannot be Scientifically Quantified in this world. 
>>Logic has very little to do with it here, unless you believe and see.     BUT, THERE.....
  
Once you just pass off one thing as "The Gods willed it", then you can justify anything. >>within the pantheon framework, Yes.
>>There is always a logic to the madness. There is a reason for the story, if not, they would hold NO meaning.

And let's say that the Climan gods are so pleased with the Climans for their sacrifices that they reward the Climans with extra nautical speed.  What about the other nations?  
>>Other nations get other benefits AND curses. Read the Site Book there are all sorts of things mentioned in there.
>>Besides Special Attributes, Fanatical Ties, and Innate Powers granted by the Gods, you also have direct intervention of Deities
>>showing up everywhere : Abaddon-Demon Locusts, Oberon-Avalon+Tir Man Og, Finvarra-Elysium, Dvalinn-Kril Shrandor,  
>>Kototh-sent guardians to Temple Kota, Hecate- the haunt, Slidranth- is IN the middle world, Tiamat- the island puzzle piece, etc....

If every other country's gods don't give out goodies like the Climan gods, then you would think that everyone around them would convert.  Remember, religion works on a "Do ut Des" methodology.>>In a world where there is no Tangible Proof or Faith, MAYBE,
>>but not likely. {Personal experience has taught me otherwise, see below.}
>>If  EVERY Person in the world SEES the effects of the Gods in the world on a Daily basis, and KNOW they are but miniscule
>>pawns, what then?

>>side note : You could argue that, since humans came after the elves and are shorter lived and less magical, they are inferior, so
>>every player would want to play an elf, right? 
>>Each person is partly a product of their culture and their world experiences, and playing a character type you know has a 
>>certain appeal that is stronger, in many cases, than playing an Elf.

>>This is true of religion, in this world or any other. If one religion had all the answers everyone would follow it, right?
>> I think not, even if it had an answer for everything, if it was foreign to a culture it would not take off, it would fizzle and die there. 
>>There are many historical  supporting examples of this, especially in Eastern Europe and China. 

>>Add to that Gods who are Visible, and you have a strong force to reckon with. Why would someone willingly live out their life in
>>hopes of being THAT perfect virgin sacrifice to a Chaos God? Culture......Read the Culture Book, under just about every nation the
>>religion section says they are fanatical. (THAT is a logical side effect of direct intervention. Do you disbelieve a God smucking you
>>beside the head or not, if it actually happens?      No it hurts too much.)
Also, I'm not sure of this, because I don't have my books right here in front of me, but I thought that the gods could _not_ intervene on the Middle World and that Slidranth could solely because he has an avatar down here.>>Nope, they only agreed that they WOULD
>>not, not that they COULD not. But hey, the gods of our legend always promised everything to each other and us and more often
>>than not broke those promises if they thought they wouldn't get caught. So why would a world based on our human knowledge be
>>set up any different?
Let's face it, if all the gods were interfering all the time, we'd get something like the Greek myths, only more messy.  >>and the
 >>point is?  That is why it's a Perilous Land....   ;)
The Greeks even had a story about the consequences of too many gods interfering.  There was a dog who was given the gift to always catch his prey.  Unfortunately, one day he went after a deer which had been given the gift that it would outrun any hunter.  Solution: The gods froze them in time, so that the paradox would never have to be resolved.>>Ah, but by doing so, 
>>the problem was solved as readily as if they let it go on......only the creatures would not suffer then. {How nice of them.} 
>>The paradox ceases the second they stop them in time, because neither can DO what causes the paradox. Scientific Logic at work.

>>This is the way I run my worlds and it seems to work fine. It is not required, but it does add a lot of depth to the characters. 
>>Think on this :  Where would Hercules have been if it was not for the Gods interfering in his life?  Certainly he would have been
>>less heroic and legendary, because his tasks would have been more mundane.       That is all I have on the subject.   ;) Lyndon



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