Interesting that there is a character named sadism...

This is not a post whining about who attacked who, but rather an attempt to analyze one facet of why so many of those exist.

It seems to me that sadism is monitered primarily by either the maturity of individuals, or the divine oversight of gods - the former is rare, the second inconstant. Instead of relying on these, it seems wiser to analyze the skills which enable sadism to occur, and attempt to rectify the problem from there.

One such skill is astralbond. I am curious at the thought process behind this skill. It traps the enemy after a death, until they ressurect, defenceless and EXTREMELY vulnerable. A small thief like myself simply has to doublestab mandrake and jegga, and death is almost assured. A knight can do likewise. Other examples occur of easy, skill-less deaths one can obtain upon ressurection, if they person is trapped there.

Any truly good fighter, if they can kill the person in the first place, would not need such a skill. Instead it appears to cater to mediocre fighters, those unsure of victory, or those reveling in the sadistic kill of the unarmed.

Now the SKILL itself appears in the charming skillset (after GM, I believe, which means only mages get the skill inherently, ie without an item), which is logical. After a ghosting, mages are very vulnerable, as they have no rituals. Giving them one such weapon to use on their attackers, putting those they kill in a similar position as themselves when they are killed, makes sense (disregarding the fact that enemies ghost when they fall to a mage, due to the mortal ritual).

But allowing the charm to be charged onto an item seems to only enable the weak and the sadistic. Therefore 3 options appear viable. One, allow the skill to only be used by those who can cast it, ie those who have the skill in charming. Two, remove the skill and replace it with one better suited towards fighting - the true fighters out there must desire this, another skill to enhance their fighting, rather than cheapen their victories. Three, limit the usage of the skill to duels, gemquests, flagquests

, and the like - at times when sadism does not occur, but the skill may be much more vitally necessary to secure a complete and utter victory.

Or, I suppose, if people enjoy the cheap kills and the sadism, and the gods instead decide to double their vigilance, keep the skill how it is, and simply increase the divine punishments.

Written by my hand on the 19th of Midwinter, in the year 1132.