Anyone on either list not know about the other?
HW-Rules: hw-rules_at_...
HeroWars: HeroWars_at_egroups.com
There. hopefully everyone will join *both* lists (though why, exactly, we need two of them, plus the Glorantha Digest (send a "subscribe" request to glorantha-digest-request_at_...) is another thing entirely)
> Are Fetishes specific to the type of spirit that you are placing in
> them?
>
> I'm guessing that the answer ought to be yes - For example a Fly spirit
> fetish might include a feather, while a Combat fetish includes a
> predators tooth.
I'd say that it depends on your play style and players. In Gloranthan Reality, I'd say probably "Yes, it matters very much". Tradition Knowledge helps you determine that you need a primary flight feather from the left wing of a Spotted Hawk when making a fetish for a "Fly high" spirit of the Long Man spirit tradition.
Now, in HeroWars, you can drive your plots by making the heroes get the absolute correct items for their fetishes, or you can ignore it. One way can be a lot of fun and lead to many strange adventures ("tell me again, *why* are we climbing this incredibly tall and hazardous cliff?" "I need to get droppings from the Cooroo bird for my 'Animal speech' fetish, and this is the only place it nests"), but it can also be a *lot* of work ("uh, Mr. narrator sir, I want a fetish for a 'Leap far' fetish. What do I need to make it?"). The other way leads to "lessened Gloranthan immersion" but runs a heck of a lot faster.
As far as "refilling" fetishes, whta is meant is that your "fetish quota" may be "refilled" between adventures, not that the physical fetish is "refilled". Some 1-use fetishes may be destroyed by the act of invoking the spirit within - "throw this packet into the fire to summon the spirit", "smash this gourd", "eat this leaf"...
You can spend as much or as little time as you want/prefer/need to describe the various fetishes, rituals, spells, etc. Ask yourself (or ask your players) "is it fun? does it advance the plot?" It can be like the loving shots some movies use when the hero is arming up for the final confrontation (early Schwarzenegger movies tend to do this a lot) - the hero opens the valise filled with weapons and ammo, and spends the next 10 minutes of screen time loading guns, ramming knives into sheathes, tieing, slinging or belting on various pieces of equipment and finally he is shown in all his glory: bandana around his head, greasepaint camo smeared on his cheeks, enough weapons to storm a third world country and bare arms cradling a machingun (with ammo belts casually draped across his many, sweat-speckled torso)... (Think of the Arming or Orlanth vis a vis the arming scene in "Commando" - no wonder Arnie can fire a machine gun with the tag end of an ammo belt hanging out of the reciever and *never reload* - his ritual arming obviously gave him the "Endless Ammo" feat!)
Roderick
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