I don't think the point of this particular story is to challenge Ronson, but to show how he deals with a regular obstacle in his quest for solitude, and to show us one of the only things that makes him more angry than apathetic. It isn't a heroic plot, but rather character development.
@ Ronson: That is how I understand the gods' abilities in A-K so far, yes- that theyre all capable of nearly anything, they are just limited by their knowledge and beliefs. (And yes, time travel is always self-conflictive- stay away from it.) Also, after some thinking, I realize that this is probably far from the first time that Ronson had to deal with this situation, and thus knew how to defuse it already. It just seems a little too perfect to the casual reader, though.
I think Sephin qualifies as time-travel-ish.
He is also a potential poster boy for the aura of apathy.
As for the mallet and Mjolnir, they are the only known deicidal powers.
I wonder if Thanantria has ever heard of them.
Then come the somewhat pantheistic figures of "the planet" and "the light".
So far, those remind me of that smoke monster in Lost.
In conclusion, the story gives its characters plenty of limits already.
And that makes it good, but also call for future explanations.
Deciding where the limits to a gods power are is tricky, and I don't think I've addressed it properly even now. I don't think Ronson did any amazing magic by making these people appear, or by making them unseen to two people ... that would be easy with a little bit of research, I think.
I don't allow time travel in the story because I think that would create an unlimited power situation, and nothing that happened would have any permanence. They can slow their perceptions of time to nearly nothing, but that's not the same thing.
The limits of the gods' powers are basically the limits of what they feel they are capable of - and the "special" powers that they have are just the difference in perceptions between them. Does the mallet help? Probably.
@Darius Drake: My point is, most writers today just assume that being a god means "my character can do anything" and that really kills many story possibilities. Here for example, I was looking up to Ronson being frustrated at "his" Church and wondering what to do about it, then it turns out he had the solution along ALL THE TIME. Of course this is just a short story and didn't have the room to develop well, but I still prefer it when Ronson (or the other gods) have to sweat a little to solve the day's problem.
@Ronson: Hey no problem, stuff happens. We'll still be here to read the rest of the story later. :)
Anyone stopping by for a Friday update: Sorry, I messed it up apparently. The next update will be on Tuesday. I queued these all a month ago, and apparantly missed a Friday. Sorry!
@Sijo A gods biggest challenge is not getting too full of himself. Something Ronson seems to be able to manage better than his peers. And looking at Chuck's following, I'd say he's doing a fine job managing his gods.
@ Sijo: The gods do have limitations. All of them can move people, but only Ronson has really displayed the ability to move them enmass. Invisibility is just light and possibly sound manipulation, so that isn't all that big a deal. Ronson can create things due to his hammer, as well as make things either drunk or apathetic due to his specialisation. That doesn't mean, however, that he can heal the sick, make someone sick (other than hungover), or other things not relating to his abilities. And I don't think that any of them can manipulate time to their will.
Besides, I don't think it's "The Gods can do anything, rather that "The Gods can learn any magic if they put their mind too it, and have a few additional abilities". I also suspect that Ronson's enmass teleportation ability is in part due to his hammer, which I am saying is the source his creation ability.
Oh, and I think that the Gods limit eachother, like Than limited them all when she took over the Deadlands.
@Heidrek: it's not a question of "why can he?" but more of a "why should he?" When you have a cast made almost entirely of god-like beings and ALL of them can do anything, it becomes harder to come up with stories that challenge them.
(And for the record, many real-world religions feature surprisingly-limited deities- many legends would have lasted all of two seconds if all they had to say was "and then god X just wished everything right *poof*". )
Sijo: in one of the earliest storylines Ronson stops an entire army by teleporting everyone to random bars across the continent. When dealing with mortals, I think he's only limited by his capacity to give a damn.
Well, Well, my first comment here....
First of all, a great page, as always.
@Sijo: Oh, I don't think it's that hard to summon several people and make them invisible. I mean, he created a mug of bear without even knowing how to do it and he's been a god now for some time. I think, even the most apathic god (Which is obviously Ronson) would be able to do something like that.
However, something that would be really strange would be Ronson being able to do that Astral travel thing, or whatever it was that Claremont invented.
Hah, I knew Ronson wouldn't let the truth be covered up so easily. :D Though I didn't know he could both make mass summons AND keep them invisible. His abilities are getting a little Deus Ex Machina. I guess that is one of the challenges of writing "gods".
Rohano at 8:13AM, May 3, 2010
I don't think the point of this particular story is to challenge Ronson, but to show how he deals with a regular obstacle in his quest for solitude, and to show us one of the only things that makes him more angry than apathetic. It isn't a heroic plot, but rather character development.
SpANG at 7:55AM, May 2, 2010
Oh brother... is it already time for another "Deus Ex Machina" discussion?
Sijo at 5:48AM, May 1, 2010
@ Ronson: That is how I understand the gods' abilities in A-K so far, yes- that theyre all capable of nearly anything, they are just limited by their knowledge and beliefs. (And yes, time travel is always self-conflictive- stay away from it.) Also, after some thinking, I realize that this is probably far from the first time that Ronson had to deal with this situation, and thus knew how to defuse it already. It just seems a little too perfect to the casual reader, though.
Nolim at 3:38AM, May 1, 2010
I think Sephin qualifies as time-travel-ish. He is also a potential poster boy for the aura of apathy. As for the mallet and Mjolnir, they are the only known deicidal powers. I wonder if Thanantria has ever heard of them. Then come the somewhat pantheistic figures of "the planet" and "the light". So far, those remind me of that smoke monster in Lost. In conclusion, the story gives its characters plenty of limits already. And that makes it good, but also call for future explanations.
Ronson at 8:59AM, April 30, 2010
Deciding where the limits to a gods power are is tricky, and I don't think I've addressed it properly even now. I don't think Ronson did any amazing magic by making these people appear, or by making them unseen to two people ... that would be easy with a little bit of research, I think. I don't allow time travel in the story because I think that would create an unlimited power situation, and nothing that happened would have any permanence. They can slow their perceptions of time to nearly nothing, but that's not the same thing. The limits of the gods' powers are basically the limits of what they feel they are capable of - and the "special" powers that they have are just the difference in perceptions between them. Does the mallet help? Probably.
Sijo at 7:48AM, April 30, 2010
@Darius Drake: My point is, most writers today just assume that being a god means "my character can do anything" and that really kills many story possibilities. Here for example, I was looking up to Ronson being frustrated at "his" Church and wondering what to do about it, then it turns out he had the solution along ALL THE TIME. Of course this is just a short story and didn't have the room to develop well, but I still prefer it when Ronson (or the other gods) have to sweat a little to solve the day's problem. @Ronson: Hey no problem, stuff happens. We'll still be here to read the rest of the story later. :)
Ronson at 6:19AM, April 30, 2010
Anyone stopping by for a Friday update: Sorry, I messed it up apparently. The next update will be on Tuesday. I queued these all a month ago, and apparantly missed a Friday. Sorry!
Randal at 6:13AM, April 30, 2010
@Sijo A gods biggest challenge is not getting too full of himself. Something Ronson seems to be able to manage better than his peers. And looking at Chuck's following, I'd say he's doing a fine job managing his gods.
Darius Drake at 2:21AM, April 30, 2010
@ Sijo: The gods do have limitations. All of them can move people, but only Ronson has really displayed the ability to move them enmass. Invisibility is just light and possibly sound manipulation, so that isn't all that big a deal. Ronson can create things due to his hammer, as well as make things either drunk or apathetic due to his specialisation. That doesn't mean, however, that he can heal the sick, make someone sick (other than hungover), or other things not relating to his abilities. And I don't think that any of them can manipulate time to their will. Besides, I don't think it's "The Gods can do anything, rather that "The Gods can learn any magic if they put their mind too it, and have a few additional abilities". I also suspect that Ronson's enmass teleportation ability is in part due to his hammer, which I am saying is the source his creation ability. Oh, and I think that the Gods limit eachother, like Than limited them all when she took over the Deadlands.
Sijo at 7:33AM, April 29, 2010
@Heidrek: it's not a question of "why can he?" but more of a "why should he?" When you have a cast made almost entirely of god-like beings and ALL of them can do anything, it becomes harder to come up with stories that challenge them. (And for the record, many real-world religions feature surprisingly-limited deities- many legends would have lasted all of two seconds if all they had to say was "and then god X just wished everything right *poof*". )
MrSmilingUndead at 12:11AM, April 29, 2010
Maybe it's just a question of perspective. ;-) But, yeah, epic cult fail. :-D
Rohano at 7:38AM, April 28, 2010
Epic cult fail
GaijinMonogatari at 7:14PM, April 27, 2010
Sijo: in one of the earliest storylines Ronson stops an entire army by teleporting everyone to random bars across the continent. When dealing with mortals, I think he's only limited by his capacity to give a damn.
Heidrek at 7:29AM, April 27, 2010
Well, Well, my first comment here.... First of all, a great page, as always. @Sijo: Oh, I don't think it's that hard to summon several people and make them invisible. I mean, he created a mug of bear without even knowing how to do it and he's been a god now for some time. I think, even the most apathic god (Which is obviously Ronson) would be able to do something like that. However, something that would be really strange would be Ronson being able to do that Astral travel thing, or whatever it was that Claremont invented.
Thelric at 6:11AM, April 27, 2010
ouch
Sijo at 6:07AM, April 27, 2010
Hah, I knew Ronson wouldn't let the truth be covered up so easily. :D Though I didn't know he could both make mass summons AND keep them invisible. His abilities are getting a little Deus Ex Machina. I guess that is one of the challenges of writing "gods".
SoItBegins at 2:14AM, April 27, 2010
Ha-haaaaa! Go Ronson!
Lunetta at 2:04AM, April 27, 2010
i'm surprised of how much effort he puts in undoing the temple :P
Darius Drake at 1:44AM, April 27, 2010
Heh, I wonder if any worshipers of Bikk are in that group.
ghostrunner at 10:29PM, April 26, 2010
my enemies wouldnt even fit in the room :D
magicalmisfits at 10:16PM, April 26, 2010
wow when God says don't you probably should'nt