Editing Roddun (section)

===Gratitude, Taking What You Need, and the Difference Between===
Rodduns, as mentioned above, basically form a cohesive society because they fully accept and integrate the principle of "You scratch my back, I scratch yours". Promises are sacred, and also transaction-like; the roddun psychology hinges around the notion that gratitude always comes in a tangible form. Words are empty, meaningless; you want to prove your gratitude, you do it with something physical.

And yet, at the same time, roddun are not a materialistic people; material goods are only valuable in so far as they are useful. Food is the ultimate currency amongst rodduns, because you can eat food and it keeps you alive. Other physical goods may make life easier, or be nice to look at, but the more their value to other races is in the aesthetic, the less value they hold to roddun.

By extension, this means rodduns believe in the principle of taking what you need; usefulness equates to value, in their mindsets, so naturally ownership is not important to them. If you don't need something, leave it for somebody else to take, or give to them if they ask for it. If you need something, take it - but only from those who do not need it. This is one of the reasons why the rodduns have so readily centered their culture around the notion of protecting the poor and the outcasts of society; they need every little scrap they have, so the roddun have no qualms about giving it to them. It helps that such people more intuitively grasp the rodduns' "quid pro quo" mentality.

This is further complicated by the roddun view that kinship dictates morality. Roddun often become Robin Hood-style thieves because they do not know the rich people they are robbing (making their behavior morally acceptable) and because the rich people are, by roddun values, selfish and immoral people, hoarding goods because they ''want'' them rather than become they ''need'' them.