James Frusetta makes some good points:
<< Is non-reusable resurrection (say, as Daka Fal or Kyger Litor get) equal to Chalanna Arroy reusable resurrection?>>
I'd have to agree with that, but I was talking about a higher level than just the individual spell. There's all sorts of things that KL followers can do with magic that CA ones can't, and generally speaking I'd say they balance out. Neither cult reflects the entirety of its culture, either (although KL comes close) and on the cultural level I see no reason to suppose trolls are magically inferior to Orlanthi - surely you of all people aren't saying they are?
<<Bah. Is the vast panoply of magic that a Lunar or an Orlanthi can sacrifice for equal to the crud that a starving band of feral Broo get in the Wastes of Prax? Fooey.>>
Fooey, indeed. But I'd argue this is due to lack of training and opportunity rather than an inherent weakness in the magic they have access to.
<<Me: No matter who you are, one point of magic is one point of magic. James: But I'd think 1 pt. battle magic /= 1 pt. rune magic (/= 1 pt. sorcery).>>
Indeed. Perhaps my statement wasn't as clear as it could have been. Rune magic is 'better' than battle magic in the sense in which I mean it. However, my opinion is that overall, 1pt. Orlanthi rune magic = 1 pt. Dara Happan rune magic (and the same for battle magic). Whereas, if the Orlanthi, frex, were 'wrong' about the nature of mythic reality I would expect their rune magic to be 'weaker' than the Dara Happans' if indeed they had access to any at all. And I don't think it is.
<<If Lunar/Dara Happan "mass use" magic is of a greater order of magnitude, then it's "better" magic. If they have regular access to it and other cultures don't, then they've got a big advantage.>>
And I've previously agreed that they do have such an advantage. My position is that they have "mass use" magic not because they are 'right' about the nature of the universe, but because of their culture. I would expect another culture with the same ability to regiment people being able to employ "mass use" magic that is just as good as that of the Lunars even if their belief systems were incompatible. Frex, I would expect this to be true of the Kralori. If the Orlanthi could stop bickering and get together enough to have regiments to use regimental magic on, theirs would be equally powerful too. This is what I mean by the magic being 'equal' in strength.
<< And of course RQ assumes that a Orlanthi Bladesharp = a Pentian Bladesharp
Perhaps a clearer illustration of what I mean by 'better' is needed:
If an Orlanthi puts a certain amount of magical energy into making his
sword better, then, IMO, it would require the same amount of magical energy
for a Lunar to counteract this effect. And vice versa. (In game terms we say
that it takes Dispel Magic 2 to dispel Bladesharp 2, but the numbers are just
a game convention IMHO). In this sense, divine magic is clearly 'better'
than spirit magic, since it requires less effort to dispel a spirit magic
effect with divine magic than vice versa (the roolz say the proportion is
1:2, but this may just be for simplicity).
Of course, the Gloranthans have no way of measuring the amount of magical energy involved in casting or dispelling magic, and I have no doubt some of them claim their magic is 'better' than the foreign sort in this sense. However, I see nothing in Greg's clarification of how magic 'really' works in Glorantha that contradicts my view. So, from my POV as a GM - which is what I have been talking about - I don't know and can't tell which culture has the better handle on reality. And, as a result, I don't care.
Phew!
All hail the Reaching Moon
Trotsky
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