>> How is this not antiethical to the 'mystery' inherent in religious bel=
ief?
>I think belief isn't a question of whether a god is real or has power >(=
even=0Athe monotheists would agree with the theists -- though the >theist=
s might not=0Aagree about the Invisible God). The question of >faith is "=
correctness."
>Is my interpretation of events the correct one? Did Orlanth slay an >unj=
ust=0AEmperor, or was the Rightful Emperor cruelly assasinated? >Are spir=
its=0Aunimportant, or are they your friends, and it's the gods >who are s=
elfish and=0Aremote?
If one cult is correct, I can agree that its magic ought to work. But sin= ce=0Aboth are sort of correct, shouldn=92t the magic sort of work? Is Glorantha a world were relativism rules magical power? (You can=92t ca= st=0AThunderbolt, Wind Priest, Orlanth is dead in this country)
>> Why shouldn't the average farmer or city prole be as convenience->> we=
althy=0Aas Western poor (TVs, toilets, sanitary water, etc.)?
>Well, none of your examples directly relates to Gloranthan magic, >and m=
any=0Aof them depend on mass production more than just >technology per se=
- - And mass=0Aproduction is a lifestyle many people >would not choose to u=
ndergo -- it took=0Aa certain amount of coercion >in England as I recall =
(the Enclosure Laws).
Yes. I agree... and I must admit I posed this as a Socratic question.
Well, I was thinking along these lines:
First, humans would befriend helpful spirits, which provide food, warmth,=
=0Apleasant emotions, fertility, shelter etc.
Naturally one might use health spirits to disinfect or =93chase away the = disease=0Aspirits=94... one might use Coordination or something to improv= e weaving or=0Aspinning... unless we are to assume that one must use magi= c constantly to even=0Aone=92s odds against failure (subconsciously), the= Gloranthan would naturally=0Aincline to the economical use of magic, in =order to make life more salutory,=0Aprofitable and enjoyable.
There might be no one method of assuring sanitation or fine goods, but th= ere=0Amight be common methods of improving one=92s basic skill and so on.= The=0A=91technical sense=92 of magic lies predominately in the RQ rules.= If one is to=0Ause magic so abstractly, one loses the context of mystery= that surrounds it in=0Aour world. Rather, one makes choices based on gai=n, on concrete values.
=0Aplayers. The closest magical act to spirit magic is superstitious acts= (which=0Aoften involve foci or repetitous behavior)... but the descripti= on of that sort=0Aof magic involves a great deal of luck, and the effect = of the act to the=0Apractitioner is unclear (you can=92t say for certain =that not changing your=0Aunderwear really helped in the playoffs). The key to Gloranthan spirit magic is that the effect is pretty establish= ed.=0AOne can say with authority that the spell works. Nonetheless I thin= k they work=0Atoo well, or not randomly enough for my tastes. Thus the factory-made elements go away when the outcome is not nearly as= =0Apredictable.
>I think the basic answer is that Glorantha is a magical world. Yes,
>everyone has magic which they use to better their lives. But there >are=
=0Amalign influences -- disease spirits, winter spirits, and the >lasting=
effects=0Aof chaos (i.e. Genert's death, which greatly impacts >the fert=
ility of=0AGenertela). It balances out.
I haven=92t seen real evidence for a world where malign power is that=0Ap= ronounced... I guess Glorantha is infected with an overall nonsentient=0A= - -presence- of danger and chaos. This can be seen by the arbitrary deaths = by=0Aaccident or malnutrition which occur. Are you in fact saying that magic is necessary to merely exist? In other words, the magic props up a bronze age society on a devestated w= orld?=0AThis needs to be developed... just how is Glorantha devestated? A= re the green=0Aand pleasant hills of Sartar brown and weedy? A psychic wound could explain this (i.e. we sacrifice POW to heal the wor= ld=0Along enough to succeed) but I can=92t see this not having an effect = on the=0Anatural world.
>Also, don't forget that Glorantha was nearly wiped out by the >Darkness,=
=0Awhereas 2000 years ago, our planet was doing quite well.
Keep in mind that the trolls -liked- the Darkness. Doing well worldwise= =0Adoesn=92t mean that humans would find it habitable. I suppose that mak= ing humans=0Ascarce would be helpful for the natural world (unfortunately= making them=0Auncomfortable just encourages them to alter the world...)
Here=92s a real world example that describes my line of though better tha= n my=0Aoriginal post. If one is a magician (of whatever type) and one wis= hes to be=0Aemployed often, you must establish a reputation for success. = But the=0Acounterpoint to that is not all spells work every time (just as= k a doctor). So=0Aone must hedge one=92s bets. You say that the mana you = have is powerful, but it=0Ais difficult to know the outcome. Under our pr=esent concept of Glorantha, one=0Acan say =93I will succeed=94 or even = =93I have an 85% chance of success. I will bill=0Aaccordingly.=94
Either we must posit a much more loose sense of magic or we must undermin= e our=0AGloranthan cultural model. The power of any cult of course is tha= t it promises=0Apower or success. The capacity for a cult to exist in Glo=rantha must be a mix=0Aof its magical promise and its social function.
I guess this is sort a plea for magic fuzziness in the new system. I can= =92t say=0Aif it=92s playable yet. My players have initiates (no rune lev= els) so they are=0Arelatively simple to keep confused about magic.
Here are some spirit magic spells I think belong in a magical Glorantha (=
as=0Aopposed to a world where magic exists but seems mostly to belong to=
=0Aadventurers)
Contraception
Artistic Concentration
Clean Body/Shave
Understand Accent
Preserve Food
Ferment (obviously magic)
Clean Clothing, Dye Clothing
Remember Fact
Affect Luck
If anyone can add to this, feel free--
Jeff Erwin
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