Re: Four Magic Weapons; myths

From: David Dunham <david_at_...>
Date: Mon, 31 Jul 2000 07:03:38 -0700


Peter

> >Has anyone given thought to how to convert the Four Magic Weapons
> of Orlanth?
>
> Master of Elements (Lightning Spear, Scarf of Mist, Shield of Arran,
> Sandals of Darkness)

This certainly maintains the obscure feat name doctrine (unless you happen to be a Glorantha scholar). It also allows improvising other elemental feats, and since the moon is an element, this could be a rather poor idea.

I do believe Orlanth has taken more than one power from other elements, but then it wouldn't be the *Four* Magic Weapons...

David asked

> >Would you really guess,for example, that Pierce Trolls and Spit
> Down Wind belong
> >in the same affinity (Urvairness) if you didn't know the story of how
> >those things were regarded by Dara Happans?
>
> Which myth are these feats based on ?

The same myths as all the Vinga feats: ones you get to write.

There are far more myths in Glorantha than we've got written down here in the real world. (This was never more apparent then when we were working on King of Dragon Pass and had no heroquests for anyone but Orlanth!)

BTW, the idea that each myth has a feat also suggests that the Four Magic Weapons are four feats (whether "loose" as I favor or grouped into an affinity, which Peter likes). This is one of the rare cases where we have a micro-myth (the longest is 3 sentences) for each feat [River of Cradles 160-161].

David Dunham     A Sharp     david_at_...
Voice/Fax: 206 783 7404     http://a-sharp.com
Efficiency is intelligent laziness.

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