> I don't think austerities is a necessary feature [for mysticism] at
> all (since Buddha rejected extreme austerity as a practice, there's a
> pretty good precedent for thinking so).
I don't see how that follows - he rejected extreme austerity thus no austerity is required?
> It would be a
> shame if the only mystics in Glorantha were ascetics.
I'll bite. Why is it a shame? If you are wanting to play monastic type characters (say Vithelan Sages) you can do so but pretending they are practicing mysticism in their off-time is rather credibility straining.
> * A theist, sorceror, or animist whose spiritual path leads not only to a
> god, saint, or spirit but beyond, the being acting as a sort of Bodhisattva
> to guide all beings toward the Ultimate, and so on.
Except that I had previously argued these people _are_ practicing mysticism (I've even discussed Taleo Lumine in the Tower of Yelm).
> I expect most "failed mystics with cool powers" are like this --
> people who have received powers from a practice allied with
> mysticism.
Except that how does failing mysticism lead to cool powers? Refute Reality is a rules artifact of the repudiated HW mysticism rules, a searing eyebolt of doom is not. Sheng Seleris and Oorsu Sara did not fail their mysticism while using their powers for goods, they were seeking to attain the ineffable but chose the world instead. Even then its a huge stretch to posit the fearsome magics they wielded were a direct consequence of their failing mysticism 101. It's like arguing that having a lapse in Christian Mysticism gives you 30 pieces of silver.
--Peter Metcalfe
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