#402
Jun 14, 2026
Books
This week I read:
Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained by John Milton
I last read this 13 years ago and remember liking Paradise Lost a lot more than Paradise Regained, and also generally thinking that Satan came across as an alright guy in large parts of it and God as the bad guy. I didn’t feel exactly the same about it on this reread, but still fairly close.
Satan’s actions seems somewhat justified: God presents his Son to the angels and tells them to obey him as they would God, and Satan’s reaction is “who’s this new guy and why should we care?” He does then, admittedly, lead a third of the angelic host in rebellion which is a bit far, but the original sin—questioning the right of this newcomer, the Son, to rule over the angels—doesn’t seem excessive to me. When Satan sets off to Eden to tempt Adam and Eve, God knows that the Fall will occur. He sets angels to watch out for Satan, but tells them that it’s no use. Then when Adam and Eve succumb to temptation, as God knew and said they would, He sends the angels to cast them out of Eden. But he tells the Archangel Michael to give Adam a vision of the future, of all the sins of man up to the Flood, and the eventual redemption by Jesus.
Adam weeps at how merciful God is for giving them this eventual salvation.
Why? Why does God do this? The poem takes pains to emphasise that it is the choice of Satan to rebel, the choice of Eve to eat the apple, the choice of Adam to do the same and so fall with her rather than stay in paradise, that is why they must all be punished. But simultaneously, the poem emphasises that God knows all, he knows what you will do before you do it, he knows the entire future of the world. I am unable to square free will with complete predetermination.
If God didn’t want Adam to sin, He should have created Adam differently. Adam as he is had no choice but to sin. God puts people in situations where they are forced to sin, punishes them for it, and then expects them to thank Him when He eventually stops. Where is the mercy in this? This is abuse.
Christian mythology is weird.
Roleplaying Games
Hot Springs Island
This week the players returned to the island and explored the hexes around Hot Springs City some more, having decided that the city itself is a bit too dangerous for them right now. Along the way they bumped into an earth elemental who spend the next two days talking about the geological history of the island in great detail, though they did get a couple of pieces of potentially useful historical information.
We also pulled out the hunting rules for the first time, and the players killed a duecadre (kind of like an ostrich) which produced way more food than they could carry. I was a bit unsure about the Dolmenwood hunting rules, as they seem to produce a lot of food, but we talked about it and decided to go with the rule as written: it feels in the right ballpark when compared with real-world game animals, also it produces fresh rations, which will spoil in a matter of days if not preserved, and the players are hardly carrying around sacks of salt or barrels of vinegar so it becomes something of a logistical challenge (and they’ve already been talking about setting up a permanent camp with a smokehouse).
It’s been terrible weather for the past few days, but we kept forgetting and a couple of times I ruled things in a way that wouldn’t really make sense when there’s lots of wind and rain going on (e.g., they heard the buzz of an approaching giant mosquito during a torrential downpour: firstly, they shouldn’t have heard that, secondly the bug probably wouldn’t be out in that weather). Not a major deal, but I’ll just have to pay closer attention to the weather going forward.
We also had a few great moments when I described a creature and the players consulted the Field Guide to figure out what it might be. That is exactly what I wanted to happen, and it’s very gratifying when I describe a giant bug and one player says “I think that’s a Vyderac Seeker, be careful of its spit”. Brilliant!