Re: Changed magic in 2nd and 3rd Age

From: L C <lightcastle_at_fB8ETFIPzocrr7SLTPLA8ZZ2RWc8BB3i0NvagpUdwi9f4DkpjqGazzpZEbqjbTPC>
Date: Tue, 16 Jun 2009 00:49:19 -0400


Simon Phipp wrote:

>The person who did the original quest can make the spell available to
others, so they don't have to heroquest for the magic. The spell becomes available to a family, a cult, a religion or even a culture, >depending on the power of the heroquest.

So you are even more strongly of the "first you do an HQ, then it brings the magic back" interpretation?
Founder attunes the Grimoire, then others can copy those spells and get power, no need to cross to the other side? Hero founds cult, then theists can just do sacrifices according to those rites, no need to cross the other side?
First Shaman negotates treaty with spirits, then others can follow those rules to get deals with spirits, no need to cross to the other side?

(HQ-ing)
>In my opinion, it's a matter of degree.
>
>Harmast did some experimental heroquesting to make the Lightbringers
Quest. He found the scattered myths from his own cult and reassembled them into one big myth, then he proved it worked twice, >once to bring back Arkat and once to bring back Talor. He based it on the myths of his own cult and culture, but he definitely went away from what his peers had done.

That is certainly how I've usually heard that described.

>Arkat had the advantage that he had access to the myths of different
cultures and recognised that they had things in common. He went off the beaten track by exploiting the similarities and differences. He >was arguably more powerful a heroquestor than Harmast because he achieved more.

Seems right.

>However, they weren't the only ones. The Second (Third?) Council
created a new god by HeroQuesting. They didn't do this by repeating the heroquests of their cults, but by combining quests and inventing >new ones. Nyslaor carried this on in the Curse of Kin and his other acts.

Seems like a possible interpretation. I don't think I've ever heard it described *how* they made their god, but presumably - since HeroQuesting is the big magic of all magics in Glorantha - that's how it had to be done.

>However, in my opinion, it goes back even further. Orlanth slew Aroka,
but the quest that he performed has a lot of similarities to the quest that his brother Vadrus had done to gain the Blue Woman. Now, >some might say that God Time events are different to HeroQuests, but they are not, really.

An interesting view.

>There is an Earth King in the Snakepipe Hollow scenario who seemed to
have been on some kind of HeroQuest when his temple was attacked. That's not a great example, because it is a throwaway story >snippet.

Don't know what an Earth King is.

>The Godlearners are different because they systematically heroquested.
They also combined quests and made new ones. They repeated quests again and again, taking horrendous losses until they got what >they wanted. They had access to many more quests than even the Arkati and used their power to gain new knowledge.

Also, assuming that the 2nd Age books are canon, they were able to mitigate those losses by having a "drop out of HQ without taking the penalty" spell. They may not have had enough to get by the losses otherwise.

>The Lunars worship a goddess who was reformed following a particularly
dangerous and new heroquest. Their worshippers gain new knowledge and adapt the quests of others to their ways. It's a different >approach to the Godlearners, but is equally as valid.
>
>
>Of course, I'm probably wrong.

That's all right, I know I am. :-)

I'm just trying to get a handle on some things about magic.

I happen to like your "the HQ is done once to set it up" idea, but that seems explicitly contradicted by the way magic has usually been described.

LC            

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