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Outlaw (A Norse Xianxia)

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I.F. Ister said:
I mean, yeah? He would be introducing himself to the court no matter what, as that's how it works
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That's what I thought, yeah.

Sivantic said:
?

There are other ways of making statements, such as his own behavior. Aggressiveness is not a bad thing here.
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You said he should make a case of his own character...I was under the (seemingly correct) impression he does that either way, so it's not a reason to vote Aggressive. I'm not saying there aren't reasons to do that, just saying that one seemed off to me.
 
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[X] Defensive

A Norseman is decisive, but so too must he know the lay of the battle before him. Going aggressive will be going into the fight without looking for any traps.
 
I mean, the point here is "It doesn't matter what you do, because whoever is fucking you has enough money that they just bought enough of the judges to get whatever they want passed", I think.

The question is, what is it that's in the magic box that apparently "Guarantees" our guilt? An exact copy of the thing that's in question? Or just a giant pile of gold that says "He's guilty and if you agree this gold is yours"
 
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Because I've seen a bit of a misunderstanding brewing, this is a temporary threadmark to clarify an aspect of Barki and the choices you are presented with.

Barki is a pretty smart guy and is going to approach things in as intelligent a manner as he can manage in the circumstances he is in. He's not going to barge ahead like a lumbering bear if you pick aggressive. Likewise, he's not going to just let opportunity pass him by if you pick defensive, because that would be stupid and Barki is anything but.
 
... Ah, I get it.

That's the motivation, they want Barki out of Iceland for some reason. It's not for his Land, though that's motivating some of the locals no doubt.

They want Barki out of Iceland, but they're unable to come here themselves--presumably because they're either barred from it somehow or the costs of being seen to be here far exceed getting their hands on Barki. So the best move is to get him Outlawed, since the smart move if you're Outlawed is to leave the country, disappear for the duration (Or just leave Norse lands in general where killing you isn't free Glory). But if they've got this amount of money, they've got the material needed to bribe all the captains to stop at places where they'd have their actual dudes.

I don't know if they're going for his Sword, or it's something about Barki, but whatever it is, it demands they get Barki in their power, not just kill him (Which would be much easier than this.) And all of this is just bait and switch to get him to leave Iceland--where presumably his Foe can't act directly.

Getting a Lesser Outlawing and then staying the course in Iceland, then, is the Best Outcome of the prologue, since it puts our Foe on a timer, and there's only so much money they can throw down here before someone notices and starts to counter-play. It'll make them sloppy and have to overextend to try and kill us, since they won't get a second chance at this apparent Guaranteed Shot.
 
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Alectai said:
I don't know if they're going for his Sword, or it's something about Barki, but whatever it is, it demands they get Barki in their power, not just kill him (Which would be much easier than this.) And all of this is just bait and switch to get him to leave Iceland--where presumably his Foe can't act directly.

Getting a Lesser Outlawing and then staying the course in Iceland, then, is the Best Outcome of the prologue, since it puts our Foe on a timer, and there's only so much money they can throw down here before someone notices and starts to counter-play. It'll make them sloppy and have to overextend to try and kill us, since they won't get a second chance at this apparent Guaranteed Shot.
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I don't buy this. Or more specifically don't buy it as the sole possibility. Killing a Norseman who has the support of his community is easier said than done, at least if you want to be sure, as bodily death can be fixed. Having him outlawed and then killed ensures he stays dead. There's also the possibility of wanting to make him suffer first, which outlawing him or having him enthralled would be good for.

Wanting to get him outside of Iceland is one possibility, but I wouldn't go all in on it as correct with this degree of evidence.
 
Mystic Pentagram said:
Just a note, Iceland dosen't really FEEL like a recently colonized land. Until now, everything we have seen makes it look like any other Norse settlement on the continent.
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Yeah, they've been here for 7 years so that is only to be expected. It's really only the first couple years that are super rough when settling a land, after all.

Once Act 1 is complete and Barki is made a man of the wilds, I'll see about improving that aspect to represent the loss of social identity that accompanies Outlawing. Do you have any suggestions for how I might do that?
 
I.F. Ister said:
Do you have any suggestions for how I might do that?
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I mean, maybe he could start to question how truly "fair" or "just" the Norse legal system truly is. Or feel empathy towards other Outlaws or creatures that exist outside the Law in general.

Its kind of hard to argue your society and its norms are still the best, when you are forced to see things from the pioint of view of its victims.
 
DeadmanwalkingXI said:
I don't buy this. Or more specifically don't buy it as the sole possibility. Killing a Norseman who has the support of his community is easier said than done, at least if you want to be sure, as bodily death can be fixed. Having him outlawed and then killed ensures he stays dead. There's also the possibility of wanting to make him suffer first, which outlawing him or having him enthralled would be good for.

Wanting to get him outside of Iceland is one possibility, but I wouldn't go all in on it as correct with this degree of evidence.
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Attack him and burn his house down. Donezo. If you've got the money you can do it.
 
Shard said:
Attack him and burn his house down. Donezo. If you've got the money you can do it.
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Works in theory if he doesn't have a lock of hair stashed anywhere else. Which is a legitimate if. You'd also have to kill or search his wife, which may well not be something you can reliably hire done...most Norsemen would be very reluctant to do that, and trying to hire a Norseman to do something he's morally opposed to can result in him deciding to kill you and take the money.
 
I.F. Ister said:
Ordstirr is similar to hair or eye color in that it's just something that happens to be that way.

What does have meaning is when someone's Aspects flare. Each gives insight into a person when they're stoked, though often they trend towards being very opaque until/unless the owner reveals the meaning behind them.
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Thanks for the clarification!

So with hair and eye colour, they are decided by ancestry, something that I understand is important in Norse society. Is it your intention with this comparison to imply ordstirr is something passed down from parent to child?

[X] Defensive

Edit: and I liked the chapter. Didn't expect Olfossa to be able to understand speech. The visual of Barki planting the horse on its ass is highly amusing.
 
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Yatr said:
So with hair and eye colour, they are decided by ancestry, something that I understand is important in Norse society. Is it your intention with this comparison to imply ordstirr is something passed down from parent to child?
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Ordstirr can be passed from parent to child, yeah. Most kids get their first Ordstirr from the deeds of their family and some can also be inherited after parents die. Most Ordstirr most adults have is earned on their own, but it definitely also involves family stuff.
 
[X] Defensive

I'm kinda wary of attacking the character of someone directly under the Godi, it seems like the kind of thing he'd be forced to respond to, regardless of his opinion of us.
 
As a note, there is fate involved in all of this, as evidenced by the wise man's prophecy regarding the comb, and whoever the strange not!blind man we met on the road was.

My pet theory is that there's a self-fulfilling prophecy at work. Someone has received a prophecy that Barki is to be their enemy. Of course, in classic predestination paradox fashion, in response they have made themselves our enemy. Which, hopefully, will end with their downfall.
 
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