Author
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Topic: The Three
Oaths and the Oath Rod(s) |
lostone
Member Member # 135656
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posted May 21, 2003 06:11 PM
I'm going
to be running a game set 50 years after Tarmon Gaidon, and had
some thoughts/questions I wanted to get opinions/answers
for:
Seeing as the Black Ajah can get around the Oath
Rod, how would the Tower root them out after Tarmon Gaidon? I
was thinking maybe a 4th oath, that the Aes Sedai will not
renounce any of the four oaths (would that work?). Or maybe
every year all sisters have to renounce all oaths and swear
them again (and any that are gone from the Tower longer than
that have to do this immediately upon return to the Tower).
This is done in front of the Hall.
Also, the White
Tower has the three oaths so that the world will accept them.
I was thinking that maybe the Black Tower would do the same
thing (I haven't read Crossroads, so I'm assuming it's still
there). I'm guessing they would be a lot less strict than the
White Tower. What would the three oaths for the Black Tower
be?
They wouldn't cripple themselves in combat, so
don't think the one about using the One Power as a weapon
would apply, at least not as strictly, maybe something about
using the One Power as a weapon only for the greater good or
something like that.
I don't believe they'd flat out
swear against lying, but maybe something that they will not
say something is true unless it is (so if they say "that is
the truth" they aren't lying).
From:
Nebraska | Registered: Apr 2003 |
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Generality
Member Member # 131300
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posted May 21, 2003 06:22 PM
If this is
post-Last Battle, the Dark One is either locked up or has
enslaved the world. Either way there's no reason for
Oath-taking to prove oneself to
people.
-------------------- If the Dark One's name
is forbidden, how does anyone know what it is?
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Steve Russell
Member Member # 130579
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posted May 21, 2003 09:12 PM
No offense
but that is silly just because you lock away the dark one does
not mean people stop being stupid. I woould think it would
cooler though if it was set afterwards and rand had
lost.
-------------------- I have a reading lesson
with the Lady Riselle. She lets me rest my head on her bosom
while she reads to me. -Olver
Please visit and
review my Epic Level Homebrew Setting: A Brave New Worldat the Commonplace
Book.
From:
dayton ohio usa | Registered: Mar 2003
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Sharn_Penndroen Member Member
# 82230
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posted May 21, 2003 09:57 PM
I don't
know if you would get the Ashaman to swear on the oath rod
easily and I don't think that they would restrict their
ability to kill or make weapons. They are weapons. If they
were to take an oath it would probably simply be to serve the
light and I don't know if they would have to swear that on an
Oath rod. As far as the Oath Rod helping to ferret out the
Black ajah, I don't think that would help much. Obviously the
Dark One has some ability to free them from these oaths. I
think that they could take an oath on the Rod every day of the
week and still not have to keep it.
That is just the
way I see it though. You may be looking for a certain setting
for your campaign that I'm not aware of. The Oaths that the AS
and the Ashaman take could be a good part of that. I just
don't see too much changing in the AS oath's as they are. But
then again I haven't looked too
hard.
-------------------- A man who will not die to
save a woman is no man. - Shienaran Saying
The Light
shine on you, and the Creator shelter you. The last embrace of
the mother welcome you home. - Shienaran Funeral
Ceremony
From:
Brookhaven, MS | Registered: May 2002
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JosephKell
Member Member # 99447
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posted May 21, 2003 10:06 PM
The
Oathrods did more harm than good. The Oaths made it so that
every Aes Sedai HAD to be with the White Tower, "How could an
Aes Sedai lie?" Any item that impinges on the judgement of an
individual is a risk because "as long as there are
cooperatives, there are those that would cheat the
system."
The Asha'man are suspicious of each other
because they have no item to "force" honesty and what not, but
that suspicion isn't exactly ungrounded! While the Aes Sedai
are so set in their ways that they must RELY on the Oathrod
ferret out people.
-------------------- Instant
Message me @ JonERPG on the AIMer
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-If you cast Meteor
Swarm to avoid wasting your REALLY good spells... -If your
character sheet is longer than the Player's Handbook... -If
you have a magic item that can destroy the world...with four
charges left... -If the God of Destiny asks you what will
have next... ...you might be a Munchkin.
From:
California | Registered: Aug 2002 |
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Whitewinds
Member Member # 124732
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posted May 23, 2003 01:13 PM
Frankly, in
my experience, the Oath Rod's oaths are all but meaningless.
In "Eye of the World" Moiraine uses the Power as a weapon
against a guardsman when she's not even close to the "final
extremity," the Aes Sedai routinely twist, shade and slant
their every utterance to mislead and imply false conclusions,
and "making no weapon" is irrelevant since none of them have
the skills to do so even if they weren't restricted that way.
The real effect of the oaths is to make people think that
they're somehow less dangerous, which is not what the Asha'man
would want. Aes Sedai, in general, are political manipulators,
double-dealers and schemers, constitutionally unable to do
anything in a straightforward way or to speak openly and
plainly even when it's to their benefit. Asha'man, on the
other side, are soldiers and guardians, policemen of a sort.
To be effective they must operate openly and honestly, and
they *want* to be considered dangerous. It's a good thing in
their profession. Think of policemen - they want honest folk
to respect them, even like them, and criminals to fear them.
Same with the Asha'man. So, no Oaths. Just
ethics.
[ May 23, 2003, 01:22 PM: Message edited
by: Whitewinds ]
Registered:
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Freya
Member Member # 93267
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posted May 23, 2003 02:35 PM
quote:
Originally posted by Whitewinds: Think of
policemen - they want honest folk to respect them, even like
them, and criminals to fear them. Same with the Asha'man.
So, no Oaths. Just ethics.
The Ashaman are no more altruistic in nature
than the Aes Sedai are.
Rand intended them to be
weapons...guardians at best (as the name implies), but most
are nothing of the sort. This has nothing to do with their
original intentions not being good, but everything to do with
the man who is teaching them...Taim. Taim is not making
policemen. He is creating followers. Followers for
himself. Only those who are near Rand are good, but those are
a small, small few. We'll just have to wait and see what
Logain
accomplishes.
-------------------- felicia AKA
Freya Culadin
From:
dallas,tx | Registered: Jul 2002 |
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Shadowkiller
Member Member # 110597
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posted May 24, 2003 09:08 AM
Check out
my webpage about my game set 20 years after TG. I put a lot of
thought into the history. A link to the page is in my
signature. Unfortunately I have gotten lazy with updating the
webpage but I've always been motivated by others so if I got a
significant amount of email(3 or more) asking me to update, I
would definitely get around to it soon .
-------------------- Children of
the Dragon ^My Website^
From:
Currently-Germany | Registered: Oct 2002
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Sophiathegreen
Member Member # 136464
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posted May 25, 2003 08:58 PM
There are
time where criminal and police help each other to get really
sick criminal off the street. Where I came come before moving
to El Paso than really sick person was putting 100 % pure
heron in cookie and hand then out for Hallen on Oct 31. The
Mafie local Godfather found out who was doing it and called
the police with the infro and he was arrest with 6 kilo of
pure heron in his home. Ten or 20 little kid die from these
heron lace cookies which upset the godfather as Oct 31 was one
of his favorite holday where he handout homemake cookies to
trick and treater. Plus the Police and Mafic member also went
trick and treaten dress up in coustens.
From: El
Pase Texas | Registered: Apr 2003 | IP:
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lostone
Member Member # 135656
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posted May 26, 2003 08:15 PM
quote:
Originally posted by Sharn_Penndroen: As
far as the Oath Rod helping to ferret out the Black ajah, I
don't think that would help much. Obviously the Dark One has
some ability to free them from these oaths. I think that
they could take an oath on the Rod every day of the week and
still not have to keep it.
Have you read Winter's Heart? They are
successfully finding Black Ajah with the Oath Rod. I
don't remember them saying how the Black Ajah beats the oaths
(they may not have thought to ask, or RJ didn't think it
important to put in, or I don't remember), but it would be a
simple matter for a Black Ajah who is high up (sitter, etc) to
sneak the Oath Rod out for any member to remove the three
oaths and replace them with others for the Black Ajah.
From:
Nebraska | Registered: Apr 2003 |
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Sharn_Penndroen Member Member
# 82230
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posted May 27, 2003 04:24 AM
To answer
your question, Have you read Winter's Heart?
No. I'll
be starting it in a couple of weeks. RL is a little busy at
the moment, but I'm getting there.
I'd be interested to
learn how they are using the Oath Rod to ferret out the
Black Ajah. Currently I'm under the impression, that the Dark
One is somehow able to free them from these Oath's and this is
why I don't believe your idea of a high ranking Aes sedai
sneaks the rod out for them.
I suppose that the Head of
the Black Ajah may know all members, but certainly they don't
all know all memebers, neither do all members know the head of
the Black Ajah. The Black Ajah is divided into groups of 3 (I
believe called a Heart). Those three know each other and each
one of them knows one other outside of their group. So every
member knows only 3 others. Liandrin's group didn't know about
each other until the time came for them to all work together.
I'm sure not every member can have a member of their Heart
being a high ranking official. Not to say that it is
impossible, I just find it unlikely. Although a lot seems to
happen that is unlikely, so you may have the right of it,
Iostone.
-------------------- A man who will not die
to save a woman is no man. - Shienaran Saying
The Light
shine on you, and the Creator shelter you. The last embrace of
the mother welcome you home. - Shienaran Funeral
Ceremony
From:
Brookhaven, MS | Registered: May 2002
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Snow Crash
Member Member # 85099
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posted May 27, 2003 06:49 AM
I believe
the three oaths were not overcome by the dark one , rather
they were removed. If a black sister retook the oaths she
would be again bound by them, and probably the DO would not
remove them again just to punish her for being stupid enough
to put herslef in that situation again. What about the
possibility that the oath rod is actually one of the nine rods
of dominion in which case the question begs can the oaths be
removed using one of the other rods.
From:
Australia | Registered: May 2002 |
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