Curtis Haden wrote: > > Matthew Hunter wrote: > >> On Sat, Aug 16, 2003 at 02:34:24AM -0500, Curtis Haden >> <haden at train.missouri.org> wrote: >> >>> Matthew Hunter wrote: >>> >>> >>>> On Fri, Aug 15, 2003 at 11:46:41PM -0700, Philip Hart >>>> <philiph at SLAC.Stanford.EDU> wrote: >>>> >>>> >>>>> On Sat, 16 Aug 2003, Matthew Hunter wrote: >>>>> >>>>> >>>>>> On Fri, Aug 15, 2003 at 10:53:14PM -0700, Philip Hart >>>>>> <philiph at SLAC.Stanford.EDU> wrote: >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>>> On Sat, 16 Aug 2003, Matthew Hunter wrote: >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>>> ... >>>>>>>> normal experience with a Great Weapon. In particular we know >>>>>>>> that Pathfinder was concealed in one way, such that it was >>>>>>>> rendered less efficious and perhaps in some way less active. >>>>>>>> Thus we have two examples from which to generalize, which indeed >>>>>>>> upon this list is in fact two more than required. >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>> We don't know much about Pathfinder pre-Aliera, but it should be >>>>>>> noted >>>>>>> that Baritt got a mountain named after him, being suspiciously >>>>>>> powerful >>>>>>> (see _Dragon_). >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> IIRC, it was speculated by the characters that Baritt may not >>>>>> have known he had a Great Weapon. Even if he did, it strikes me >>>>>> that if anything could cause a Great Weapon to return to a >>>>>> quiescent state, the death of it's wielder would certainly >>>>>> qualify. >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>> >>>>> My point was that PF was active enough for B to hold off an >>>>> army/defy the >>>>> Empire all by himself. B being assassinated isn't consistent with >>>>> him >>>>> being bonded with PF, it's true, but he isn't an idiot either. >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>> >>>> Morrolan was assassinated while bonded. Carrying a GW is not a >>>> get-out-of-death-free card. Presumably you still need to be >>>> revivifiable. >>>> >>>> >>> >>> Well... (Poorly) Quoting _Issola_ "...A great weapon will always >>> act to preserve the soul of its bearer. There were bonds of love >>> between..." My first thought upon reading that last paragraph was >>> that perhaps only PF would act to preserve the soul of its >>> bearer...a unique quality applicable to only it. But then I >>> recalled Vlad's assertion from _Issola_ about that. Also, this >>> argues the point that PF wasn't fully awake at the point of >>> Barritt's demise. >>> >> >> >> I don't think that PF was fully awake, but whether it was or not, >> Baritt being assassinated isn't inconsistent with either case. Even >> if Baritt's soul was preserved, his body may have been toast -- >> unrevivifiable -- thus rendering the state of his soul moot. >> > > Well, all I can say to that is, his soul ended up in the Paths, which > argues well for Napper being puked up at some point. As a side note, > I beg to assert on this, my first spate of prolific posting on this > list, that I have worked for twelve hours and immediately began > consuming delicious cold beers upon arriving home and checking my > email. If I can live with my spelling and syntax on this night, so > must you. Baritt's soul ended up in the Paths because he was not killed by a Morganti weapon. Napper *was* killed by a Morganti weapon and furthermore, his body sent down the Cliffs of Insanity...uh, I mean Deathgate Falls. Even if his soul was puked up, his original body is not around for revivification, and I doubt he'd be important enough to do a Body Snatchers bit starring the Necromancer and some random body. Also, although many things in Jhereg cannot be considered quite canon (such as Fentor's House; he makes more sense as a Dragon anyway), as our esteemed author did not yet know he was writing a series, I would assume that the descriptions of Great Weapons and their effects/aspects are still as described. So while a Great Weapon will protect your soul from another Morganti weapon, you can still die, as both Aliera and Morrolan demonstrate. Thus, Baritt could have been completely bonded to Pathfinder, but Laris or whoever managed to assassinate him would have still succeeded, as no matter how subtle or well protected the wizard, an assassin cutting your throat for you will seriously cramp your style. Vlad, even wielding Godslayer, can still be killed, but he need not fear the Morganti death. Also, it seems unlikely that he will kindly let the Jhereg know where he plans on sleeping, and that seems about the only time they'll have a shot at him without Loiosh or Rocza noticing. (Hmm. I get the feeling that when word gets around that Vlad is carrying a Great Weapon by the name of Godslayer, the Jhereg will have to get Mario to nail him, as no other Jhereg will want to go against that... and the Empire wouldn't even step in against him, because it's not a common Easterner/Jhereg carrying a common Morganti weapon! Cool! Sorry...) Jose -- Jose Marquez jhereg69 at earthlink.net