Recent content by Sepulchrave II

A few thoughts, FWIW. I don't think that looking to modern expressions of polytheism (e.g. Hellenism, Asatru, Romuva) is particularly useful in trying to illuminate the - rather odd - D&D religious worldview. Nor do I think that looking at certain aspects of contemporary Hinduism has much to...

Hindus may identify with a wide array of worldviews, including polytheism, pantheism, panentheism, pandeism, henotheism, monotheism, monism, as well as agnostic, atheistic, or humanistic perspectives. Only 7% of Hindus identify as polytheistic- i.e. believing in multiple discrete gods.

The worship of otiose supreme deities is often replaced by more glamorous war gods and storm gods. Aztec – Ometeotl to Huitzilopochtli Norse/Germanic – Tyr to Odin/Thor Rome – Jupiter to Mars Mesopotamia – Anu to Marduk/Ninurta/Nergal Canaan/Israel – El to Yahweh

I think the conflicts evidenced by Worf and Nog contra- their cultures are precisely because of their exposure to human values and early immersion in human society, not because of any strains of ideology native to their own species. And in the case of Spock, a half-human genetic heritage: Spock...

I wasn't thinking in terms of ideas as specific as nazi-analogous xenophobes, but more in terms of a general sweep. Different peoples represent different functions of the human psyche (e.g Tolkien orcs=wanton mechanized brutality; hobbits=inhabitants of a bucolic idyll. ). Or the Star Trek...

I have no doubt I'm in the minority here, but... I have no problem casting different groups (whichever nomenclature you prefer) with certain embedded characteristics. I think that - for me - the game works best as a kind of psychomachian, mythopoeic, anthropopsychic, ethnopsychic allegory...

I was introduced to D&D in 1981-2, after I had read The Hobbit, LotR and Silmarillion. I hadn't really branched out into other fantasy literature; rather I had read Tolkien twice and was probably on my third pass by then. Up until the age of 10, LotR had been a mysterious tome sitting on the...

Another vote for Blakes 7 (sic - the original title sequence was missing an apostrophe). A relatively obscure show I feel obliged to commend is Survivors (1975-77): https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072572/ Set after a global pandemic which kills 99% of the world's population. It was written by...

Me with my wife — who isn’t called Gertrude II.

Watched it this past weekend. Mostly enjoyed it, but was a little underwhelmed. I felt the pacing was a bit off, and didn’t really have much emotional investment in the characters. Ralph Fiennes was excellent, but that’s kind of a given. Felt more sympathy for the humanity of the infected...

28 Years Later I'll probably watch Naked Gun because Liam Neeson does pretty good deadpan, although I don't think he'll carry it as well as Leslie Nielsen. Even though their names map well phonetically - that must be why they chose him to play Frank Drebin's son. Brad Pitt driving cars doesn't...

I don’t have any skin in this game philosophically, I’m pointing out differences in usage and reasonable inferences which can be drawn from words. To insist on a singular meaning for a word when it has a parallel negative connotation runs the risk of it being construed as a dog-whistle. To...

A disjunctive clause does not relegate the status of the second definition; both are coequal in applicability. Especially in a dictionary. "Arbitrary" is a primary definition of fiat according to Merriam-Webster. You are using fiat in an exclusive way. That's why people keep having problems...

As we're picking nits, Merriam-Webster gives the following primary definition of fiat: 1: an authoritative or arbitrary order: decree So there actually is a real difference in usage amongst posters in the Anglosphere here. And I think the pejorative connotation is pretty well established re: D&D.