If Amberites Look Down on Shadow Dwellers...

[JongWK]

Perhaps...

Shadows closer to Amber = More resistant to primal chaos?
Shadows closer to Chaos = More volatile?

Just wondering.

[RPGPundit]

The point is that conversation you quoted comes AFTER Merlin destroys the shadow he and Melman were in.  I get the feeling Merlin had no fucking clue what he was doing that first time; Mandor was essentially giving him a tutorial at that time later.

RPGPundit

[RPGPundit]

Perhaps...

Shadows closer to Amber = More resistant to primal chaos?
Shadows closer to Chaos = More volatile?

Just wondering.

I think that'd only apply to a "shadow of the realm" or a "primal shadow", regardless of where it was.  Every other shadow should be equally vulnerable to primal chaos.

RPGPundit

[weilide]

The point is that conversation you quoted comes AFTER Merlin destroys the shadow he and Melman were in.  I get the feeling Merlin had no fucking clue what he was doing that first time; Mandor was essentially giving him a tutorial at that time later.

RPGPundit

I believe we may be getting our wires crossed. The passage I quoted is from the "final lesson" that Suhuy gives Merlin just before he is to depart for college on Shadow Earth.

[RPGPundit]

I believe we may be getting our wires crossed. The passage I quoted is from the "final lesson" that Suhuy gives Merlin just before he is to depart for college on Shadow Earth.

Oh, shit you're right. I mistook it for being from the scene with Mandor and Fiona with the Shadow-storm.

Hmm, yes, in that case, I guess you could be right. Except that the shadow where Merlin and Melman were was clearly a pretty small shadow, so it could still make sense that he basically destroyed that entire universe (which is sure what it read like in the book).

RPGPundit

[weilide]

Oh, shit you're right. I mistook it for being from the scene with Mandor and Fiona with the Shadow-storm.

Hmm, yes, in that case, I guess you could be right. Except that the shadow where Merlin and Melman were was clearly a pretty small shadow, so it could still make sense that he basically destroyed that entire universe (which is sure what it read like in the book).

RPGPundit

That's an interesting point, actually. I guess it hadn't occurred to me that shadows could be bigger or smaller than one another.

[Lady Vivamus]

We don't actually know how big the Shadow was; we only saw a little of it, but that doesn't mean that was all there was. All we know is that Merlin summoned Primal Chaos to swirl around them, and then when he got angry he forgot to keep track of where it was. Yeah, it sure looked like he destroyed the whole world, but he really could just have left a nasty looking crater in the middle of the forest where the altar was.

[RPGPundit]

Yes, it could be either way. But I think from a literary standpoint its a lot more significant if Merlin, the "man-child of the courts", were to have destroyed an entire universe just by virtue of not thinking things through.  "Not thinking things through" seems to pretty well be Merlin's Mt.Everest.

RPGPundit

[Lady Vivamus]

True, and I agree-- story-wise it works better that way. But I tend to keep game and novel very separate in my mind, so the possibility that, for game purposes, Merlin did not destroy the whole shadow, is a real one. Not sure what use it might be... but it is a possibility.

[weilide]

Yes, it could be either way. But I think from a literary standpoint its a lot more significant if Merlin, the "man-child of the courts", were to have destroyed an entire universe just by virtue of not thinking things through.  "Not thinking things through" seems to pretty well be Merlin's Mt.Everest.

RPGPundit

In general I agree entirely with that reading of Merlin. In this instance I'm not quite convinced yet because I would imagine that Zelazny would have made a bit more hay of it if he saw Merlin's act producing a serious body count. Ultimately, of course, a definitive answer seems to be beyond the scope of the novels. Having said that, however, it is interesting to imagine the possible implications for Merlin (and perhaps others) in an ADRPG context if Merlin actually left a lot more collateral damage in this case than he intended or, indeed, is aware of. It certainly seems like profligate power use of this sort ought to have consequences.