den at monger.net wrote: >>>He does. But all that means is that Mario never had a public funeral. >>>He is a private individual. > >>>That said, I would be surprised if Vlad was Mario reincarnated. > >>Surprised, yes. But would it be Cool? > > You know, I don't think so. Vlad interaction with Mario has some Coolness > potential. Since Vlad is already someone reincarned, having him be > someone else reincarnated would likely be more Cheesy than Cool, unless > there's some Really Cool underlying reason why Vlad is every kickass > assassin of all time. That, and Steve has more or less told us that Mario is alive at least during Jhereg. He may change his mind if he really wants to, of course, but that's what we know so far. I think there's more than one underlying reason for Vlad being a kickass assassin. For example, he has various people (I use the term loosely) looking out for him, helping him, training him, etc. (Loiosh, Kiera, Verra, Sethra, Morrolan, and even Aliera). He was successful as a Jhereg assassin because of his patience, attention to detail, and improvisational ability, not to mention a little help from the above-mentioned folks. He was successful as a Jhereg boss because he had earned respect as an assassin and enforcer, and also managed to inspire a lot of loyalty in most of his subordinates. Kragar comes to mind; as much as Kragar is a Jhereg, I'd be shocked to see him go after Vlad. I suppose he would (business is business), but it would surprise me. It's possible that being Dolivar reincarnated gives him some kind of Jhereg edge, as well, making him even more kickass, but it's doubtful. It seems to me that his past as Dolivar only really gives him an unreasoning fear of Kieron (but may also be based on Eastern superstition) and the mysterious aid of Sethra Lavode. Oh, and Paarfi is Mario. *grins, ducks, and runs* Jose -- Jose Marquez \ Cthulhu 2004 jhereg69 at hackwater.com \ Why vote for http://www.hackwater.com \ the lesser evil?