> There's no such thing as misapplied mysticism. There is only mysticism
> and failed mysticism.
>
[examples deleted]
> So in my opinion, failing mysticism in glorantha incurs a sense of
> worldiness that makes many things easier to do. Most failures quickly
> reject their fallen state, cleanse themselves and try again. Sheng's
> fall from grace in my opinion was so great that he got a ridiculously
> large bonus (like say three bump ups in any task) to anything that he
> did. Plus there was the fact that he, like Ingolf, was unwilling to
> admit that he was a screwup. If he did give up what he had, he would
> have only been a thousandth of the man he was before.
>
OK, this may be just a semantic quibble -- Yes, I used the term "misapplied mysticism" badly, especially since "misapplied" already has an in-game meaning. Assuming you above scenario is correct, Sheng Selleris used a mystic insight in a non-mystic way (the bonus you describe), much the way that a lot of Illuminates use a partial mystic insight (say, "Good and Evil are both transient concepts that are irrelevant in the face of the Ultimate" or "as we are All One, Evil is a sort of stupid concept") and take it to the non-mystic conclusion that "Good and Evil don't matter, I can do anything I want." Being that sort of sociopath might give the character a "bonus" to many actions (and. perhaps, a hinderance to others) but it is not mystic in any way (failed, rather than misapplied) and it's neither good for society nor the character (at least in the long term). This, I would think, should be the pattern for most failed mystics -- some bonus from a distorted worldview, with whatever powers might have been gained as an adjunct to the practice ("Neato Martial Arts," "Iron Will," whatever), which, as has already been discussed, are probably spells, feats, or charms related conceptually but not mechanically (for want of a better word) to the mystic practice.
Ingolf is a slightly different case. His mystic path seems to have given him "cool mystic powers," which, as far as I can tell, he was supposed to not use in the world (except maybe in some sort of ritual way) until he was ready (presumably to become a dragon). When he did use them he lost them (or, perhaps merely crippled them). I suppose those might have been crazy spells, feats, or charms, but they seem different to me. Dragions do get to break the rules, so I guess it can be chalked up to that. I think this temptation to affect the world was possibly the problem of the EWF -- the more potential power the leadership gained, the greater the temptation to "settle" for being gods or similar worldly beings became, and more and more of the leadership fell for it, forgetting that the Dragons weren't remotely interested in that.And then they got eaten up.
Is that more in line with your thoughts?
Peter Larsen
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