: Actually, the farmers don't even have pitchforks, if the
: in-game peasants are any indication...
They probably just dropped them when the Ghasts started attacking. The peasant on the cutscene before "Willow Creek" had a pitchfork until the Ghast snuck up behind him.
: I'll just say that the one Dark Age we know of, the Wind
: Age, was apparently a very nasty one for most of
: humanity. A few lucky folks were safe inside city
: walls--until the Watcher came by and ground them into
: the dirt with a million Thrall--but there's a reason
: the Krids still make Myth folks wet their pants at
: first sight.
Actually, it seems that more than Muirthemne must have survived, because right about when Connacht showed up in the East, Moagim Reborn started attacking the West. So, there must have been something to attack there.
: Over most of the world, humanity was
: constantly on the verge of extinction. Compared to
: this, the Sword Age so far--with only one war in the
: last sixty years, that killed probably less than a
: tenth of the total human population--is paradise. I'm
: not saying this indicates that the cycle is ended,
: though; as you say, perhaps Alric will simply die at
: some point and we'll have another Light Age, then Dark
: Age, and be back on track. Or any of the other
: possible futures GURPS discusses.
: I'll just mention that Scots are immune to mind control,
: except from guys in robes.
: I think the GURPS-listed powers are truth rather than
: hype, but as you say there's not much point in
: debating it. I'm right, you're wrong, America's number
: one, can I have a dollar? Jeez, I thought I exhausted
: my silliness reserves in my other
: response-to-your-response-to-my-response-to-your-response...
: I think his claim of succession is actually pretty good.
: It's just as good as Connacht's--more so, because
: there aren't any Bruig left to have rival claims. And
: I don't think any lesser lords would oppose him,
: because there's no reason to. What would they gain
: from blocking him from laying claim to a few thousand
: miles of desert? As I said in my other post, he could
: always just annex the area as part of the Province or
: something. And even if they'd have something to gain,
: would they dare go against him? He's a freakin'
: archmage! Not that he could wipe out half the Legion
: if a rival lord organized a mutiny--but he *could*
: transport himself to that lord's castle and turn it
: into a smoking crater. You couldn't hope for more than
: a Pyrrhic victory.
: Now, I admit that he's not invulnerable to political
: intrigues and disgruntled lesser lords. GURPS itself
: talks about the measures they may take to influence
: his decision on whether or not to move the court to
: Muirthemne. But I tend to think that he isn't *so*
: vulnerable that he'd have to go out of his way during
: a war, and sacrifice men to retake a dead city, just
: so that he'd become emperor without anyone
: complaining.
: No, I wasn't saying the Leveller was present in the
: Champion from birth--just that it's capable of looking
: at both current champions before manifesting, and
: deciding which one to enter.
: So you think the Leveller is acting to maintain the
: status quo, then? That was also Forrest's opinion, I
: believe, until I sent heavy-set Swedish toughs to his
: house and RE-EDUCATED him. **hefts Trademarked
: Weapon™**
: Would he have to? Couldn't he just tell his avatar to
: fall on his sword or something? Or does he only have
: the power to influence his morality and provide him
: with useful knowledge? (which is certainly a
: possibility)
: I hope you're not speaking from experience... ;-)
: You know, I think you've developed this particular
: psychological theory by observing the Bungie
: Webmaster...
: Indeed, and I could adapt parts of this to my own
: theory--Levellers are undone when their chaos- or
: order-obsession becomes so strong that it impairs
: their ability to conduct a war.
: Hey, would you mind starting a new thread with *your*
: take on this whole Eternal Champions business, if you
: even believe in it? What do you think is the best bet
: on their motivations, and so forth? I can get a better
: grasp on how likely/unlikely my own theory is if I can
: see a rival one put forth in a single block rather
: than chunks of this "response" format. Not
: to mention that you've got *far* too many competing
: ideas of your own for me to respond to them all.
: Better to make you do the work of winnowing them down
: to one for me...
: --SiliconDream
