assault

The guy who made that koala video really has us rumbled. It's only a matter of time until he disproves the entire existence of Australia, and I'll have to get another job. He even spotted the KingGee clue.

I would definitely be interested. I have a lot of ideas that need to get out of my head and onto electrons. Elements of my cosmology have already come out here, in a form distorted by other people's picks.

Gift to Civilization: The Mantic Arts. The line between Life and Death is permeable. Someone suitably knowledgeable can summon, or dismiss, the spirits of the dead. Call it Witchcraft, Shamanism or even Necromancy, this is the gift of Mantus (an aspect of Mania). Unconstrained by mortal limitations, the dead know more of the world than the living. They are even given glimpses of the future. Furthermore, their knowledge of the past means that much knowledge that would otherwise be lost can be regained. Of course, the reincarnated drink of the waters of Lethe before their journey, so their knowledge may be lost. Can past incarnations be remembered? Mantus is silent. Mantus is always silent. G'Brill, of course, remembers. (Actually, the Lost Knowledge stuff makes all this problematic, and is potentially a snipe. I could always use my Interference pick to legitimize the Dead remembering.)

That's awesome. Link?

A slight modification to my original post: in theory I could have ended up playing Super Squadron, a game published in Australia in the 80s. There aren't many games published in Australia, so I might have looked at it out of curiosity. (A friend actually bought it - he ended up giving it to me. I still own that copy.) In that case I might have ended up playing something else, because it was a bit lame. It looked a lot like V&V.

My final Secondary Domain: Magic In their manifestation of Mantus, the Goddess (or God!) of Death is also the patron of magicians, of a certain type. (More on that in later picks.) Ghouls as dark creatures? Hmph. If it wasn't for the Ghouls, the living world would be covered in carrion, and many other icky things...

Mania manifests in various forms. One, at least, "Hundred-Breasted Ma" probably can't be depicted here, especially since "Hundred" is probably a figure of speech and an understatement. Other manifestations, such as her in her judgement role, are rather mundane. But here is something like what she can look like when she feels like it. (Assume more colours!): Spoilered for Ancient Babylonian sculptural nudity. That's actually an image of the Burney Relief of course.

Mythic Monster or Guardian pick: Reaper, the Sword of Death. More an artifact than a creature, Reaper is at best semi-sentient. So deadly is it, that it drains the life force of anything around it, excluding its wielder. Friends, enemies, family, mules... It doesn't care. It is said that it can kill anything - monsters, moons or even the world itself. Possibly even gods. An accident involving Reaper and a group of worshippers of Thrum, and the resulting journey into, and out of, Hekk, is believed to have given rise to the creation of Death Metal. It has been speculated that Reaper is the guitar pick the Ferrous Colossus is looking for.

Death can be messy. Even when a spirit passes to Hekk, they usually leave their mortal remains behind. Who is going to clean it up? Mania understands the problem, and thus, as a gift to Amonia, she created the Carrion-Eaters. Sentient Life pick: Ghouls. These often rather friendly, if sometimes malodorous, beings can be found all over the world. In the wilderness, they scavenge the corpses of all manner of creatures. In the cities, they perform all kinds of cleaning tasks. While this often leads to them being relegated to the lowest social status, some Ghouls have become remarkably wealthy, finding value and profit in items others discard. When they form their own communities, they are often feared, not so much as warriors, but as cannibals. Naturally, as mortals, they ultimately return to Hekk. On those rare occasions when the living venture into Death's realm, they often encounter Ghoulish spirits, who generously offer to remove their mortal flesh and free their spirits. Living Ghouls are immune to most diseases and poisons, making them capable of eating things that most other beings would regard as unpleasant or deadly. Most respect their origins, worshipping Amonia, while acknowledging their creator.

Generic Fantasy Adventurer's Magic is why I avoided Fantasy Hero for decades. It seemed like a waste of Hero's capabilities, while remaining painfully vanilla. Lots of work too, unless you rely on published spells.

Probably related to early state formation and associated record keeping. Involves writing, numbers and symbol manipulation. Related to astrology, which involves observing and recording the movements of heavenly bodies, and the seasons. A stereotypical clerical magician might be a scribe.

I know what my sentient life pick is going to be. Hopefully, it's pretty snipe-proof. Ammonia will be thrilled, I'm sure.

Sinn Fein's Michelle O'Neill is poised to be named Northern Ireland's First Minister I normally wouldn't link to the Daily Fail, but this article seems to cover the main points, and isn't paywalled.

Mania has got her basic stuff in place. I think next week, it will be time for her to take a look at the world of the Living. A long, hard look. A death stare, one might say.

It's very Jack Kirby.

Secondary Domain: Judgement. There may be no justice in the world of the living, but the Dead are judged for their deeds. The just and righteous go to the Gardens, the unjust go to the Pit. Those who failed to be either are doomed to wander in the mists of Limbo. Such rewards or punishments are seldom eternal: reincarnation is possible from all three states. Some say that those rewarded in one life are often unjust in their next life, while those punished are often just in theirs.

In case it matters, there are many people outside the US who understand exactly what this means. American women are no more alone than the defenders of Ukraine, and are less alone than the defenders of Palestine. Except we aren't going to send you weapons.

Fauna Pick: Storks. Possessing something of the nature of Hekk, these birds can fly wherever there is life Gift to Astrasia: they can carry souls from Hekk to wherever they will be reborn. Gift to Love: When two or more people love each other very much, their love may be fruitful. For the others, there is always Ma's Bargain Baby Barn. And now children, you know where babies come from...

Probably none. I wasn't into comics when I started playing Champions. I never really fancied V&V, the other biggish superhero RPG at the time. (All FGU (Fantasy Games Unlimited) games tended to be too complicated for my tastes.) I would have happily stayed with Fantasy (mostly D&D) and Science Fiction (mostly Traveller).

Of course. Such bodies are key to a successful oligarchy, if rather toxic to democracy. Trivia: the Roman term "Senate" is derived from the word "senex", meaning old man. That literally implies that the Senate is a council of elders. Unfortunately, senex is also the root of the word "senile". A possibility: there could be a third mayor. Two could be hereditary, and one elected. That still tends to ensure a conservative bias, which would make it acceptable to the rich and powerful. Another thought: if some people are allowed to vote, someone needs to keep track of who can and can't. The Romans had a term for this: Censor. That is, they were in charge of the Census. They could potentially also veto legislation that was against the traditions of the city, that is, be a censor in the modern sense. (There are so many Latin-derived words in the last couple of sentences...) A modern example of co-rule: Andorra has two princes. One is the President of France. (In the past, the King (or Emperor) of France.) The other is the Bishop of Urgell, whose diocese is centred in Spain. Both hold this position on an ex officio basis. You get, and keep, the job because of your other position. Each appoints a personal representative. Modern Andorra is otherwise a democracy (constitutional monarchy), but that wasn't always the case. So there's another model of the kind of fine mess that could exist in Aerelios - a condominium between secular and religious authorities, with each having deep historical roots.

Swiped! Actually it's caused me a lot of problems. Even worse than the tidally locked planet. So much for the storks. I'm awake now, so I'll make my next pick. Secondary Domain: Lost Children. In her manifestation as Hundred-Breasted Ma, Mania serves as a mother for dead children. Her priestesses play a similar role for orphans in the world of the Living. An obscure point of dogma in the Cult of Mania: Since all mortals come to Hekk in the end, there is no need to expedite the process. A side-effect of this is: Mania has no problem with healing. It just postpones the inevitable.

I see the Goddess of Death as actually dwelling in Hekk (the Underworld). Otherwise, though, the Gates of Hekk are always open for those who seek to enter. Leaving is harder, but not impossible. (More on that later.) The God of Doors clearly has a role to play in controlling such entrances and exits. A gift from Mania would be a reward for such duties. (A multiple-headed dog? A receptionist named Karen, Sharon or Charon?) The biggest problem I can see Mania having is with Chroma. While there is a place for bright colours and sparkles in the Gardens of the Just, the rest of the Underworld is strictly monochrome.

Hmm. So where is Death's domain? All* come to Death, so Death's domain can be reached from all parts of the world. Geography: Beneath the surface of the world lies the Underworld. The world is hollow! Within the Underworld lies the Gardens of the Just, the Pits of the Unjust, and the great Limbo, wherein wander the spirits of those that were neither. I'll see you in Hekk! (Is the "within" stuff a bit much for a single pick?) * Except immortals, if they exist.

Hmm. They better not come to Australia, or there'll be some butt kicking going on!

So far, two deities on Mania's Naughty list and three on her Neutral/possibly Friendly list. As friendly as Death gets, anyway. Others undecided at the moment.