Dara Happan magic and no gods

From: Jon Thorvaldson <Jon.Thorvaldson.4851_at_student.uu.se>
Date: Sat, 24 May 1997 11:31:01 +0200

GD #421:
>>Heck, I like the Dara Happans as much as
>>anyone, but I don't see any evidence their magic works better than anyone
>>elses. I think their success is due to quite different reasons.
>
>Then why were the Lunars able to defeat the Carmanians? Why
>were the Lunars able to defeat Sheng Seleris when he was at the
>height of his powers and then some? Why have the Lunars been
>able to defeat Orlanth in the very land where he was born and the
>Praxians within the confines of their Sacred Land?

IMO, the reason for the success of the Lunars is that they have coordinated their mages. The Lunar Colleges of Magic are very much into Battlefield magics. This is a new thing, and that is the root to the Lunars' success. They do things in new ways, that their does not know how to defend themselves from.

>To say that the Dara Happan magic works no better than anybody
>elses is like saying that the Technology of the 19th Century
>Europeans is no better than anybody elses IMO.

Lunar magic is still magic. It's not tacnukes. They just do it differently. It's not a new thing. The cult of the Red Godess might have a new thing the way they manipulate Spirit magic like sorcery, but there are not that many of them.

GD #423, Peter Metcalfe wrote:
>In a Theistic Culture in Central Genertela, can one get along without a
>God?
>
> When I introduce new gamers to RQ, I always get something along these
>lines... "Do I have to join a Cult? I really don't want to be taking
>orders from some God. Is it really necessary?" Then I sit that player
>down and have a long talk with him or her about culture and mythology in
>Glorantha, and how the Gods aren't just some excuse to restire your
>spells on some outer plane, but are real and interact with normal humans
>on a daily basis in RQ, and how the world itself is inherently Mythic

I think the thing to relize with Glorantha, and this is what makes it so different from any other RPG world, is that myth, religion and culture is one and the same. For, say, an Orlanthi to reject cult membership would be to reject the whole of his culture and his world view. The gods and the myth define the world. I understand if some players may have problems to realize this. But, IMHO, this is what makes Glorantha so enjoyable. That, and the richness of the setting. I'd say that, unless you're a soulless western atheist, no sane Gloranthan rejects the gods. If this doesn't get to your players, then tell them that the cults are also the powermongers of Glorantha. You won't get anywhere if you're godless.

        Jon Thorvaldson

---