From: owner-7thsea@darkedge.com on behalf of Kevin Wilson
[wizzard1@earthlink.net]
Sent: Sunday, September 12, 1999 10:58 PM
Subject: Re: [7th Sea RPG] The Prophets

[snip some astute observations]

>Well, you did leave out the Avalon church, which is similar to Anglican in
>the real world, and you didn't draw a distinction between Vodacce and
>Castillian Vaticine, but you have a fairly good analysis of the various sects that
>we've discussed in the books so far. Hopefully we'll get to do a Church book and
>talk about all the different groups (including the Dolmans. I love those
>guys.) although we'll certainly try to do a fair job of detailing the national
>religions in the various books.

As far as the Prophets go, I can't really comment on them yet.
 
> This does remind me to ask (of the designers/developers or anyone with an
> opinion): How do you view the Church's opposition to sorcery as
manifesting > in Thean/Terran history?  Currently, of course, the Church's anti-sorcery

For a long time, the nobility of Theah were forced to hide their sorcery.
(The Dark Ages) However, with the recent political weakening of the Church,
they've been able to bring sorcery back into the light of day once again.

> face is its most prominent one.  But what about before the Third Prophet?
> Opposition to sorcery was one of the things taught even by the First
> Prophet -- one kind of knowledge one was *not* supposed to seek.  Why is
> that, given the otherwise tolerant and curious nature of the Church?  Is
it> that making pacts for sorcerous power essentially bends the rules,
avoiding> the responsibility to pour research and effort into accomplishing one's
> goals?  Or is it something else?

The First Prophet's reason is currently cited as, "Sorcery is from outside
Theus' creation, and is therefore imperfect and should not be sought, as it
can mar the perfection of that creation." Naturally, the message may have
gotten a bit mixed up over the years.
 
> Also, how did the Church's opposition to sorcery manifest historically in
> its relations with the various monarchs?  Perhaps, in Theah, the

Well, it varies country by country. We'll discuss it in the nation books.

> anything but sinners.  We note that the Church took advantage of
> non-sorcerous nobility (installing its Imperator in Eisen and later
moving> the Hierophant's see to Castille) -- but it does not seem to have
> considered actively opposing the other, sorcerous noble lines.  Is there
a> reason for this?

An old adage about bargaining from a position of weakness springs to mind,
but again, I suggest you wait and let us unravel more of the history of
Theah before we get too deep into a theological/political discussion.

-Kevin Wilson

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