> Heh, Granny Weatherwax might agree with you (but
> call it headology),
(grin) Yes, I like Granny Weatherwax. But the Discworld magic system is very different from the Gloranthan one.
but the
> thin line between "magic" and "messing with people's
> minds" is nigh unto
> non-existant in Glorantha, and in pre-industrial
> (and modern) Terra, too.
The second I *might* agree with you (at least, that in historical RW and quite possibly the modern one, they couldn't tell the difference), but in Glorantha, and on the Rules list, using psychology faces standard opposition ("make Jane slim" has a difficulty of 10W2 or so), magical has a resistance of 14. Very clear, very neatly drawn. There is no middle case.
> What's the diifference between a 12-step
> anti-alcoholism group with weekly
> verbal encouragement on the one hand, and a
> litugist's "Resist Intoxication"
> cast on a holy day with the support of the
> congregation on the other?
A resistance of 10W2 or 14. Easy. Gloranthan magic *can* be quantified, have lines drawn around it, have vocabulary with precise definitions, and so on. And a good job too, or we'd be wasting our time having a rule system, or, indeed, discussing it at all.
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