RE: Re[4]: [DL] Harrowed [for Marshalls only]

["Clint Black" <cblack@ohtinc.com>]

It said "for Marshals only" so stay out ya dang players!












Maybe  I'm  wrong  but  it  seems  to  me,  that  we  are going to the
cul-de-sac. I mean, looking for sources from any myth around the world
is a vicious circle. The Reckoning has roots in Indian beliefs and I'm
already  a  little  disappointed  with  the answers from Hell on Earth
(however it's a great game!), because, answer me, what the...

Players don't look!

...Horsemen and the hole Holy Team with the God himslef have in common
with  Indian  spirits, manitous etc.?! In Deadlands everything (hexes,
Harrowed,  Hunting Grounds...) is around Inadian beliefs. But Blessed,
okay.  And  in  HoE,  suddenly,  it  appears  that  we are wrong, it's
an everlasting war beetwen God and Satan.


First off, the confusion is understandable, but let me see if I can clear it
up.  The Reckoning is not based on Indian (Native American) beliefs exactly,
but the game uses their terminology because it is an Old West genre game.
Manitous are basically demons/evil spirits of the damned.  Every society has
a name for them; Deadlands just uses manitous mainly because it fits the
genre.  Within the game, the reasoning is that name is what the Indians
called them and Hoyle (the father of hucksters) studied with the Indians.
The same applies to the Hunting Grounds.

Theoretically, you could change the references to manitous and the Hunting
Grounds to demons and Limbo freely.  And do remember, not everything is
Indian or even Judeo-Christian.  The Enlightened and Voodooists certainly
aren't.  And I was especially impressed with F&B's treatment of the Blessed.
Although not often used, many non-J-C religions and their abilities were
listed.

Anyway, as is often the case with religion and mythology, the names may
change, but the faces stay the same.


My  point is (at least ;))), that we should look for first Harrowed in
Native  Americans  or  Christian  (Judaism)  culture  circle  not  in
Egyptian, Scandinavian or Polish myths.


Well, my question would be, are we looking for the first Harrowed or the
oldest existing Harrowed.  In the first case, I would say that the first
predates the written word and known history.  ["Look.  Ug back.  Me thought
Ug killed by big kitty with teeth like saber (if me knew what saber was).
Uh, Ug, could you stand downwind?]  And given the times, I doubt he lived
long enough to enjoy his second chance.

The second is a bit more interesting.  We know of one possibility, the
Cackler (or was that stated for certain in Black Circle?).  I would think
that any Harrowed that survived for centuries would have to reach a point
where Total Domination occurred, either for the manitou or the host.  Yes, I
know total domination isn't "allowed" for the host normally, but if the
possibility existed somehow, someway for the host to gain total control,
then this guy (or gal) would be the one who knew it.  But despite which one
was in control, the only way to survive for so long is travel and anonymity.
Thus the oldest surviving Harrowed is someone we've probably never heard of
in anyone's myths or tales.

Just my thoughts for what it's worth,


Clint Black

"So if I understand this correctly, the Harrowed drink to hide their
condition, can't have sex, and spend eternity with an Evil spirit?"

"That's pretty much it."

"Maybe we should call them the Married."