From: agreene@mta.ca
Subject: Re: Living Land stuff...
Reply-To: agreene@mta.ca
Organization: Mount Allison U, Sackville, N.B. Canada 
Date: Tue, 10 Nov 1992 23:48:13 GMT

In article <gatemail1.0b314106159684@morticia>, SHERIS@EARLHAM.BITNET writes:
>
>Someone brought up the subject of the living land, and how
>the miracles are really quite effective...well, this is true; LL
>miracles are rather nasty.  However, the thing about the LL that
>bothers me is the fact that the LL SB does not exercise/explain
>the spiritual axiom of 24.  It says that all jakatts can cast miracles,
>even lowly peons.  That's nice, but there are no rule mechanics to
>back this up!  There is nothing that says that all jakatts have a free
>add in focus/faith (which would make sense), or any other game mechanics
>explanation for how all jakatts can cast them.

All jackats in my game (SKs) had both faith and focus--they wanted to make
full use of the high Spiritual axiom. For those without, I assumed in the
LL faith and focus could both be used unskilled.

>Also, it does not state
>how many miracles one has access to; this has always been a hazy point
>on miracles.  Considering that the axiom *is* 24, perhaps jakatts/optants
>should have access to ALL LL miracles...otherwise, Optants are really no more
>powerful than a priest with the same spirit/focus/faith values from Aysle,
>Tharkold, Tz'Ravok, Land Below, Nile, or Orrorsh, all of which have a
>spiritual axiom of 16 or 17.

I thought that no limit was given to priests of ANY cosm until the
Storm Knight's Guide to the Possibility Wars (@!$%, !@$#, &#!@) came
along and posted limits.  I just pretend that I never picked up the
SK's Guide and I dwell in sweet ignorance.  As for casting more miracles,
I prefer to ignore the situational modifiers for the need of the miracle
for LL optants--thus they can cast miracles whenever they want to without
penalty and without excessive need for the miracle.  

>Considering also that the miracles are all
>that the edeinos have, there should be far more of them, and with more
>diverse effects--not just combat/survival related ones.  My problem
>with the LL therefore, is not with the realm itself, but with the way it was
>handled.  It had much potential, but next to none of it was exploited.

I quite agree, on both accounts.

>        I have had many adventures in the LL, most notably the Temple
>of Rec Stalek, and it can be fun at times.  I think that if Thrakmoss
>had become the new h-lord, then the LL would have had some new life breathed
>into it, but Thrakmoss bit the big one, so no go there.  One of the fun things
>about the LL is that its disco territory--by this I mean that nearly everything
>from another realm is contradictory, mostly due to the low axioms, and
>what is more, the reconnection numbers are HELL!  This makes things
>reeeeal interesting.  Got a tharkoldu PC?  Send him to Chicago, and
>watch the fun begin...seven rolls to reco, with a DN of at least 21, if
>I recall correctly.
>        The LL can be fun, but it has died due to lack of good explanation
>and/or exploitation.  I won't miss it too much.  If only WEG had their
>act together on this one...BTW, am I the only one who is bothered by the
>fact that the LL has no World Laws in the proper sense?  And no, the Deep
>Mist and the Compass Curse do not count.
>
>
>                                Glory Card, Glory Card, Hallejuah!
>                                        Isaac Sher
>                                        High-Lord of Earlham College
>
	LL is fun in my game because its the most simple, stand-up
fight of any cosm, which provides a good change of pace in my game.  You
generally don't have to worry about political factors (except Delphi
Council stepping on your toes), and where the legions of Baruk Kah are
concerned, you can generally treat them as a one-sided, all or nothing
enemy.  The low axioms are great, particularly for dumping on super-
powerful Big Guns and magic.


--Anthony Greene
-Mobius?  Where?  What, the llama?  No...


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