Posted by The Arcane(VIP) on August 8, 2000 at 10:05:55:
In Reply to: Some questions posted by Maran wanna-be on August 7, 2000 at 20:33:22:
Just wondering from a previous log that a Maran wouldn't hold red aura stuff. Is this true? What about holding the Imperial Codex to give to a Warder? Heh, that would be an exception. Sheesh, literalists. :P Would a Maran wear an item like a viper amulet? Not if they wanted to be a Maran for long. Someone said it belongs to the symbol of Jullias. Is it true? Yes. Prior to the crow, the viper was the symbol of Jullias. What if the symbol's taint has been removed? And the person roleplays in holding the item? Would Shokai shoot him down for wearing an untainted amulet viper? It'd have to be some hardcore roleplay for ANY paladin to get away with this, and probably not a Maran under any circumstances. Speaking from personal experience, if an item's description conveys profound evil in some form (say, hypothetically speaking, it's longdesc says it is the essence of evil embodied), taking off the Red Aura doesn't mean jack. Something like a manta bracelet would be fine if untainted, though I've never looked at the item myself. There's nothing inherently evil about manta rays. It's the spirit of the person that becomes a Maran not some outside clothes he wears (of course knowing that it's tainted and still wear is not good rp). I mean clothes come and go, but the spirit dwells which within that never changes is more important. There's an example below about baseball caps or some such. That's pretty inane, if you ask me. To get a better sense of why this is a problem, if you want to use contemporary metaphor... imagine something that's conveys a serious and unmistakable "evil" message. Would you walk around wearing a swastika armband? If you were an Allied soldier in WWII, would you wear a swastika armband? Even as a trophy from some Kraut you'd killed with your bare hands or something? Not bloody likely. (Yes, I know the swastika wasn't originally a symbol of evil or hatred. I'm talking cultural context here.) "But, I'm not an Aryan supremacist! Really! It's just a comfortable armband! Come on, I'm an open-minded man, with a generous and warm heart towards my fellow man! It's just a piece of clothing! Hey, why are you hitting me?!!? ..." Get the idea?