Trotsky Posted October 24, 2020 Share Posted October 24, 2020 Hi everyone, In our campaign there is a NPC Trickster who is bonded to the chieftain of a clan. Taking into account YGMV, anyone have thoughts on how a bond can be broken. I assume the death of either the bonded pair breaks the bond, or the bonded trickster is released from his bond. But are there other ways where the bond could be broken - I am looking for interesting ideas for our campaign. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joerg Posted October 24, 2020 Share Posted October 24, 2020 Acquisition of a magic or a protector that grants liberty over anything else. A bit like the Spirit of Liberty that had been imprisoned by Belintar (in itself an impossible feat). Quote Telling how it is excessive verbis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Akhôrahil Posted October 24, 2020 Share Posted October 24, 2020 (edited) The bond is a just legal and social construct, isn’t it? The chief says ”hey, this trickster is under my protection, and I will cover the costs”? It can be recalled at any moment (and a sign of a wise chief is one who does so before the sudden but inevitable betrayal). Edited October 24, 2020 by Akhôrahil 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soltakss Posted October 24, 2020 Share Posted October 24, 2020 The Trickster could be sold to someone else, in effect the Trickster's Bond is transferred to another person. They could simply "divorce" and have an amicable breaking of the Bond, although that might result in a temporarily unbonded Trickster. The Trickster could break the Bond, perhaps through a HeroQuest, this need not be with the consent of the person the Trickster is Bonded to, again this results in an unbonded Trickster. The person Bonded to the Trickster could simply break the Bond, again resulting in an Unbonded Trickster. Someone else could steal the Trickster away and create a new Bond. Quote Simon Phipp - Caldmore Chameleon - Wallowing in my elitism since 1982. Many Systems, One Family. Just a fanboy. www.soltakss.com/index.html Jonstown Compendium author. Find my contributions here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian McReynolds Posted October 25, 2020 Share Posted October 25, 2020 On 10/24/2020 at 11:17 AM, Akhôrahil said: The bond is a just legal and social construct, isn’t it? The chief says ”hey, this trickster is under my protection, and I will cover the costs”? It can be recalled at any moment (and a sign of a wise chief is one who does so before the sudden but inevitable betrayal). Whilst the Trickster's-Bond is indeed both a legal and social 'contract', it is also much more. It's a Recreation/Reenactment of Myth/Legend, with the same consequences and benefits (to a lesser degree). "Orlanth did this to Eurmal and saved the World, so We may do this too." - kind of thinking. Never forget the power of belief & MGF! YGWV. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kloster Posted October 25, 2020 Share Posted October 25, 2020 If Humakt can cut family kinship, I think he can also cut a bond. Ask your local sword of Humakt to cut the bond (without killing anybody, of course). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trotsky Posted October 25, 2020 Author Share Posted October 25, 2020 Thanks for the responses - not sure where this is going yet - all depends on the players! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rodney Dangerduck Posted October 25, 2020 Share Posted October 25, 2020 1 hour ago, Kloster said: If Humakt can cut family kinship, I think he can also cut a bond. Ask your local sword of Humakt to cut the bond (without killing anybody, of course). Pretty sure that would be the "fee" for the service. 🙂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lordabdul Posted October 26, 2020 Share Posted October 26, 2020 On 10/24/2020 at 3:17 AM, Akhôrahil said: The bond is a just legal and social construct, isn’t it? The chief says ”hey, this trickster is under my protection, and I will cover the costs”? It can be recalled at any moment (and a sign of a wise chief is one who does so before the sudden but inevitable betrayal). Yeah I agree. But, to add a bit of nuance, the bond is an Orlanthi tradition that dates back to the God Time and, as such, shouldn't be taken lightly. When the bond was created, the Trickster gained a "Loyalty (Protector)" Passion, and the Orlanth cultist swore to take responsibility for the Eurmali (the rules don't mention a Passion for the protect but I would definitely make one). Arguably, the Eurmali can keep the Passion without being necessarily "bonded" to a Protector (there are many people with Loyalties) but I think it would require both parties to agree to break the bond. The Orlanthi wouldn't break the bond unilaterally, especially not after the Eurmali burned down the food supply So I would make a similar ceremony to the bonding ritual, where both parties formally part ways. As with many things in a Bronze Age tribal society, there are many ways to bend the rules, but these can also be perceived as dishonourable by other parties and used against the characters. 2 Quote Ludovic aka Lordabdul -- read and listen to The God Learners , the Gloranthan podcast, newsletter, & blog ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kloster Posted October 26, 2020 Share Posted October 26, 2020 11 hours ago, Rodney Dangerduck said: Pretty sure that would be the "fee" for the service. 🙂 Not sure, Humakt didn't kill Orlanth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian McReynolds Posted October 29, 2020 Share Posted October 29, 2020 On 10/26/2020 at 10:20 AM, Kloster said: Not sure, Humakt didn't kill Orlanth. Humakti tend to believe that their God killed EVERYONE (God's & Goddesses), before killing himself, so that the assembled deities were present in the Underworld and capable of participating in the 'Great Compromise'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rodney Dangerduck Posted October 30, 2020 Share Posted October 30, 2020 On 10/26/2020 at 3:20 AM, Kloster said: Not sure, Humakt didn't kill Orlanth. To tell the truth, Humakt didn't kill much of anything important, that was Eurmal and Orlanth (and ZZ and others). IMO, Humakt is way way overrated in this respect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
g33k Posted October 30, 2020 Share Posted October 30, 2020 On 10/25/2020 at 1:53 PM, Kloster said: If Humakt can cut family kinship, I think he can also cut a bond. Ask your local sword of Humakt to cut the bond (without killing anybody, of course). Might be something the Humakti could guide/accompany the Eurmali to go a-Heroquesting for... In the normal course of things, I think a "normal" Sword of Humakt can't really cut intangibles. Just once, for themselves, when the cut themselves off from their kin. (this idea, though, DOES make me think ... could this Severing be a heroquest? Should it be (if it isn't already)? Often, I'd presume, a this-world HQ; but sometimes... not) Quote C'es ne pas un .sig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joerg Posted November 2, 2020 Share Posted November 2, 2020 On 10/30/2020 at 1:36 AM, Rodney Dangerduck said: To tell the truth, Humakt didn't kill much of anything important, that was Eurmal and Orlanth (and ZZ and others). IMO, Humakt is way way overrated in this respect. The Sword Death was an expression of Humakt. Being a deity means that the entity isn't limited to its human-shaped (or monster-shaped) body. The Lightbringers may have chosen a Humakt-free route into Death by passing through the Gates of Dusk, but then, it is possible that these gates were opened or re-shaped by the first two major passages after the Sword Death had been released. 1 Quote Telling how it is excessive verbis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dissolv Posted November 2, 2020 Share Posted November 2, 2020 Wouldn't the logical, and also the funnest option, be to require the trickster to trick the chieftain into breaking the bond himself? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joerg Posted November 2, 2020 Share Posted November 2, 2020 1 hour ago, Dissolv said: Wouldn't the logical, and also the funnest option, be to require the trickster to trick the chieftain into breaking the bond himself? That sounds way too vanilla... (ducks) Quote Telling how it is excessive verbis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rodney Dangerduck Posted November 3, 2020 Share Posted November 3, 2020 I believe that giving him a sock breaks the bond. 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oracle Posted November 3, 2020 Share Posted November 3, 2020 19 hours ago, Rodney Dangerduck said: I believe that giving him a sock breaks the bond. Wrong movie ... 😉 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darius West Posted November 4, 2020 Share Posted November 4, 2020 On 10/24/2020 at 7:20 PM, Trotsky said: Hi everyone, In our campaign there is a NPC Trickster who is bonded to the chieftain of a clan. Taking into account YGMV, anyone have thoughts on how a bond can be broken. I assume the death of either the bonded pair breaks the bond, or the bonded trickster is released from his bond. But are there other ways where the bond could be broken - I am looking for interesting ideas for our campaign. Tricksters act as a useful but somewhat unreliable ally for chieftains. They bring with them an arsenal of dirty tricks after all. I would argue that Chiefs cannot reasonably be expected to extend their protection to more than one trickster at a time, and that means that a Chief may eject a weaker trickster for a stronger one if the opportunity presents itself, with all the corollary of trouble that will inevitably bring. Epic trickster lethal prank battle. On 11/3/2020 at 2:53 PM, Rodney Dangerduck said: I believe that giving him a sock breaks the bond. Actually, if a trickster leaves a crunchy sock under your pillow, it releases YOU from YOUR bond, by symbolically bonding your face to the sock in their place. On 10/30/2020 at 2:54 PM, g33k said: In the normal course of things, I think a "normal" Sword of Humakt can't really cut intangibles. Just once, for themselves, when the cut themselves off from their kin. Any trickster who wants to steal death also needs to perform the hero quest of accidentally circumcising themselves with it, temporarily cutting themselves off from life and fertility. It is also the source of the remove body part heroquest. Trickster has an embarrassing history with magical weapons, as with everything else. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilHibbs Posted November 6, 2020 Share Posted November 6, 2020 On 10/25/2020 at 8:53 PM, Kloster said: If Humakt can cut family kinship, I think he can also cut a bond. Ask your local sword of Humakt to cut the bond (without killing anybody, of course). Yes, but without the caveat at the end. That seems like the perfect Humakti way to end it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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