[Rq-rules] Re: Humakti Death Drive

[Simon Phipp]

Carmen Haley<andrew at crashbox.com>:
> Subject: [Rq-rules] RE: Andrew -We approved yours loan

That's handy, I was wondering where my loan application went ....

> Margaret DeMargaret

Has she been blocked, yet?
Nikk Effingham:

> Question: Imagine a Sword of Humakt is about to go on a Death Charge, and
> has no
> intention of coming back alive. What's to stop him increasing a
> non-raisable
> characteristic such as POW (past the species max) or INT by, say, 2000
> point
> via gifts and geases? Sure, you have to pay back 2000 POW a year, but
> you'll be
> dead! And having 2000+ POW and/or INT would be pretty useful (or, hell, APP
> -
> whod' attack a character with 2000 APP!).
> 
> Suggestions?

Tell him "No". A Gift is exactly that, a gift. Humakt can say "No". In fact,
I would make people earn gifts, myself. Sure, take one for becoming an
initiate/dagger/sword and then have the rest as non-automatic. No matter what
the rules say, the GM can always say "No" and then not have to justify it.

Alternatively, restrict Gifts and Geases to Holy Days/High Holy
Days/HeroQuest gains/Cult Progression.

But, if it is a PC who wants the gift, tell the player to stop being silly.
If it is an NPC, tell the GM to stop being silly.

Peter Johansson:

> Suggestion 2: Make the gifts random. However if a Sword is really going 
> for the 2000+ POW, he can "roll on the table" until he gets it...

I don't like random geases, as I've had several PCs ruined through random
geases. Well, not ruined, but made more interesting to play, whoch is the
same thing :-)

> Suggestion 3: Let the moment for the sacrifice of 1 POW per year start 
> at the moment the gift is taken. "So you want POW 2000, no worries here 
> you go, btw it costs you 2000 in POW sacrifice. Welcome back to 
> sacrifice another 2000 POW in a year." :-)

That might work.

> Suggestion 4: Have Humakt tell the Sword to get a move on and stop 
> wasting his time. Especially since the gift taking is done with the 
> intent of not "paying" something back to Humakt... Not a very honourable 
> intention I would say...

Yep, just say "No".

Andrew Larsen:

> I would think a more important limit would be the requirement that the
> Humakti honestly intend to live up to his geas. Taking a geas that you have
> no intention of surviving to fulfill seems dishonest and a particularly big
> no-no for a Humakti.

Well, with 2000 POW, he might just survive, at least long enough to repay the
POW once. If he fails to repay it, though, he would be damned to Hell and his
sword would break. But, with 2000 POW, would he care?

No, the problem isn't with the intent to obey the geas, the problem is with
the incredibly disproportionate gift requested.

Say, the character was an Illuminate, he could take the gift and never have
to repay it. Why don't they all do it? Because they can't - Humakt wouldn't
let them. Because it's silly.

Simon