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Colin Caret



Joined: 2001.12.31 00:00:00
Messages: 140
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The idea of a role council is an interesting one and I have voiced my support of it IC on the other board already, but I have to say that the further the discussion goes the more I question whether it makes sense across the board. The reason I raise this question is because of the wholly democratic nature of a role council. It is the sort of thing one might expect to find amongst the guilds of the NW, but not the guilds of the NE (and who knows whether it would be adopted in the South). Anderr's point about having a meta-council that regulates the role council was what brought this to mind. Levels of democratic beuracracy are not the hallmark of the NE way of life, so we definitely would not expect to find this sort of thing in play there. Of course, that would probably make sense anyway for entirely independent resons. After all, what sort of malevolent, rogue member of society is going to seek out the approval of his brothers-in-arms?
Sascha Lecours



Joined: 2003.10.24 00:00:00
Messages: 446
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It isn't clear to me what exactly the aims of the NorthEast are, in moral terms. Do all NE citizens delight in the comission of evil for its own sake, or are they simply amoral? Seems to be a bit of both. For example, would the Malopath Role Council kick out a Malopath for helping a good character to kill someone neutral, etc. etc. ?
Colin Caret



Joined: 2001.12.31 00:00:00
Messages: 140
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Right, I agree that it is somewhat unclear. My thinking was that a putative Malopath role council would not admonish a member for doing just about anything. They could help a good character out by killing someone neutral, they could go around killing a bunch of evil folk, they might even kill Prelati. It doesn't seem to me like there would be any basis for censure of any of these behaviors. They all fit with the expected sorts of activity that a malopath would generall engage in. That said, it would seem pointless to have a role council since there would never be any sort of acts they would condemn. Maybe I am being too liberal in my interpretation of what is expected of a member of the malopath's guild, but that seems like a correct interpretation to me.
Mark Phillips


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Joined: 1969.12.31 00:00:00
Messages: 2199
Location: Watsonville, CA
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I think that's right. The only circumstance I can imagine in which Malopaths would want to discipline someone would be some kind of situation where their actions were threatening to Malopathy as a whole.

An analogy occurs to me which may or may not be perfectly apt, I dunno. The governments of liberal capitalist societies which in general resist regulation will nevertheless intervene to put a stop to practices by individual capitalists which are bad for capitalism as a whole. Large-scale fraud is an example. Private armies might be another -- LOL!.

But I dunno if this directly applies to Malopathy or not.

Bartle quotiet: E80, A67, S47, K7. TriadCity characters: Mark, Poobah, Occam, Abelard.
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Colin Caret



Joined: 2001.12.31 00:00:00
Messages: 140
Online

Its a good analogy to strengthen your point, but I agree that it is difficult to imagine a case where a malopath's actions were threatening the institution of malopathy.
Gary Smith



Joined: 2000.01.02 00:00:00
Messages: 166
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One idea is that good implies caring for the welfare of the whole family, tribe, commuinty. This is the way most of us behave naturally. "Evil" players do not think of themselves as evil, but they are more interested in the individual that any group. All three thrids are interested in order--as is every society.

It would seem to me that team play can create situations where good-evil-neutral cooporate, but then what do I know.

Gary
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Colin Caret



Joined: 2001.12.31 00:00:00
Messages: 140
Online

Sure, someone could have a generally evil disposition, but still find themselves in a situation where it is advantageous to work together with someone that has a generally good disposition (and vice versa).

Not sure what this has to do with role councils, but I agree with your concluding remark.
 
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