The Rookie
Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2020 3:01 am
[The Selfish Ghoul]
I spent a lot of my first month fighting undead. I thought it might be a fine vindication from all the necromancers that I have had to flee. I haven't been able to get this one Ghoul out of my mind
The Ghouls in the Burrows seem to have an agreement of some sort because they all cast haste on each other. Ghoul A to B, B to C and C to A. I imagine this is to ensure engagement when in combat against a single foe. Ghoul A starts the fight, is hasted. Ghoul B enters the fray, is hasted. Ghoul A breaks away to haste Ghoul C as he initiates. This guarantees that pressure will be maintained on the enemy throughout the fight instead of everyone casting haste on themselves leaving them open to attack.
However there was one Ghoul that broke this contract. He cast on himself and then Ghoul B also cast on him which left Ghoul C in the lurk. This incident has been plaguing me for days.
It is the Problem of Selfishness.
This is such a monumental problem that just thinking about it sours my mood. In order to build a good and orderly society there MUST be social contracts. There are only so many things that can be outlawed through government. While some aspects of selfishness do lend themselves to the criminal, most do not.
How do you deal with the Problem of Selfishness?
It would be naive to expect everyone to be good and altruistic. To put others before themselves. To struggle for the greater good without compensation or incentive. I'm not even talking about evil here. I do mean solely the neutral, mundane selfishness of regular people.
I'm sure that the day we met was not the Ghoul's first showing of selfishness but it was certainly his last. Maybe it could have been avoided. Could his brethren have been more vigilant against his smaller acts of selfishness? Shouldn't we all be?
I don't mean to sound strict but how do you trust someone who is selfish? Even I can understand lawlessness if it is to aid the helpless like stealing to feed the hungry but I cannot understand stealing for yourself.
Most selfishness is personal. How do you convince someone that is talented to be more altruistic? They have no incentive to. We've build our world to value getting ahead at the expensive of others. Its rewarded. So how could you possible combat something that is as fundamental and encouraged as selfishness?
I still haven't found an answer for this. I'll pray on it some more.
I spent a lot of my first month fighting undead. I thought it might be a fine vindication from all the necromancers that I have had to flee. I haven't been able to get this one Ghoul out of my mind
The Ghouls in the Burrows seem to have an agreement of some sort because they all cast haste on each other. Ghoul A to B, B to C and C to A. I imagine this is to ensure engagement when in combat against a single foe. Ghoul A starts the fight, is hasted. Ghoul B enters the fray, is hasted. Ghoul A breaks away to haste Ghoul C as he initiates. This guarantees that pressure will be maintained on the enemy throughout the fight instead of everyone casting haste on themselves leaving them open to attack.
However there was one Ghoul that broke this contract. He cast on himself and then Ghoul B also cast on him which left Ghoul C in the lurk. This incident has been plaguing me for days.
It is the Problem of Selfishness.
This is such a monumental problem that just thinking about it sours my mood. In order to build a good and orderly society there MUST be social contracts. There are only so many things that can be outlawed through government. While some aspects of selfishness do lend themselves to the criminal, most do not.
How do you deal with the Problem of Selfishness?
It would be naive to expect everyone to be good and altruistic. To put others before themselves. To struggle for the greater good without compensation or incentive. I'm not even talking about evil here. I do mean solely the neutral, mundane selfishness of regular people.
I'm sure that the day we met was not the Ghoul's first showing of selfishness but it was certainly his last. Maybe it could have been avoided. Could his brethren have been more vigilant against his smaller acts of selfishness? Shouldn't we all be?
I don't mean to sound strict but how do you trust someone who is selfish? Even I can understand lawlessness if it is to aid the helpless like stealing to feed the hungry but I cannot understand stealing for yourself.
Most selfishness is personal. How do you convince someone that is talented to be more altruistic? They have no incentive to. We've build our world to value getting ahead at the expensive of others. Its rewarded. So how could you possible combat something that is as fundamental and encouraged as selfishness?
I still haven't found an answer for this. I'll pray on it some more.