The eldritch horror analogy is interesting. I like it overall. If we extend the analysis to include not just the gods, but the people involved, I believe it adds another dimension to the discussion.
In eldritch horror there are rarely any good guys. Arguably there are none. There are typically two groups of actors, and the rest of humanity is an ignorant mass concerned with mundane matters. Innocent of the knowledge of the supermundane.
The two groups of actors are the priests, and the individuals who seek to thwart the priests using some other eldritch power. The priests are universally bad. They worship their god at the expense of everything, and everyone, else. The oppositional force, let’s call them adepts, seek to keep the priests in check. They do not worship the eldritch gods, but they do use esoteric knowledge of other eldritch gods in furtherance of their mission. There is a semblance of altruism in their opposition to the priests, but it’s more accurate to view their behavior as the cost of their education in their arts. A moral obligation that comes with their pursuit of knowledge for their own ends.
The priests and the adepts both use their beliefs as mechanisms to bypass moral and ethical considerations. They have a higher calling or self imposed obligation they use to justify their actions. The only people left untouched by the eldritch horrors are the people who don’t get involved. The central lesson in the genre is that no good comes from getting involved.
Since this essay is about getting involved, I think we must ask what the goal is, and where the solution lies. Are we to play the role of the priest or the adept? Are we accelerating the rise of eldritch horror, or are we shaping the horror to benefit ourselves while minimizing the impact to non-participants?
Once a role is chosen, the location of the solution must be determined, and here, I believe, is the crux of all this. Is the eldritch horror actually the problem, or is the problem the people involved? By targeting the god we’re really no different than the priests who use the god to justify immortality. By targeting the god we’re just continuing an age old game of making war on ideas while the priests are out conjuring new gods. By targeting the priests we’re crossing a line that, historically, hasn’t resulted in much good, and has created suffering so profound we define our temporal position by it.
So what is the point? We’re either wasting our time in an eternal philosophical conflict or we’re engaging in an eternal physical conflict and the moral quagmire that entails. Does reason truly demand we get involved, or are we citing reason as an excuse to pursue personal gain?
Within the genre of eldritch horror, reason would seem to dictate no action. There is limited room for the role of the scribe who records the deeds of the priests and adepts. That allows for intellectual satisfaction, but the neutrality required is notoriously difficult to maintain. If the compulsion to act cannot be overcome, perhaps a gatherer and recorder of information is a viable option.
The eldritch horror analogy is interesting. I like it overall. If we extend the analysis to include not just the gods, but the people involved, I believe it adds another dimension to the discussion.
In eldritch horror there are rarely any good guys. Arguably there are none. There are typically two groups of actors, and the rest of humanity is an ignorant mass concerned with mundane matters. Innocent of the knowledge of the supermundane.
The two groups of actors are the priests, and the individuals who seek to thwart the priests using some other eldritch power. The priests are universally bad. They worship their god at the expense of everything, and everyone, else. The oppositional force, let’s call them adepts, seek to keep the priests in check. They do not worship the eldritch gods, but they do use esoteric knowledge of other eldritch gods in furtherance of their mission. There is a semblance of altruism in their opposition to the priests, but it’s more accurate to view their behavior as the cost of their education in their arts. A moral obligation that comes with their pursuit of knowledge for their own ends.
The priests and the adepts both use their beliefs as mechanisms to bypass moral and ethical considerations. They have a higher calling or self imposed obligation they use to justify their actions. The only people left untouched by the eldritch horrors are the people who don’t get involved. The central lesson in the genre is that no good comes from getting involved.
Since this essay is about getting involved, I think we must ask what the goal is, and where the solution lies. Are we to play the role of the priest or the adept? Are we accelerating the rise of eldritch horror, or are we shaping the horror to benefit ourselves while minimizing the impact to non-participants?
Once a role is chosen, the location of the solution must be determined, and here, I believe, is the crux of all this. Is the eldritch horror actually the problem, or is the problem the people involved? By targeting the god we’re really no different than the priests who use the god to justify immortality. By targeting the god we’re just continuing an age old game of making war on ideas while the priests are out conjuring new gods. By targeting the priests we’re crossing a line that, historically, hasn’t resulted in much good, and has created suffering so profound we define our temporal position by it.
So what is the point? We’re either wasting our time in an eternal philosophical conflict or we’re engaging in an eternal physical conflict and the moral quagmire that entails. Does reason truly demand we get involved, or are we citing reason as an excuse to pursue personal gain?
Within the genre of eldritch horror, reason would seem to dictate no action. There is limited room for the role of the scribe who records the deeds of the priests and adepts. That allows for intellectual satisfaction, but the neutrality required is notoriously difficult to maintain. If the compulsion to act cannot be overcome, perhaps a gatherer and recorder of information is a viable option.
Nice comment.
This deals with a lot of the themes from the follow-up essay, which I expect you may be interested in.
You were right. I was interested and genuinely enjoyed the article. I hope there is a Part III. I am interested to know about your personal approach.