Re: Sorcery not malkioni ?

From: Peter Metcalfe <metcalph_at_...>
Date: Sat, 23 Feb 2013 19:44:23 +1300

On 2/23/2013 3:29 PM, Glass wrote:

> But if the East is the land of mysticism, then either the East has relatively little overt magic (because its mystics are successfully resisting the temptation to indulge their powers and besides, there is no mystic magic system) or it has magic because its mystics are constantly falling off their path.

IMO A definition first. A Mystic is someone who spends his time meditating or grokking some unknowable concept. It really doesn't matter about his background - a priest of Dayzatar, a Hrestoli hermit or a Storm Walker are mystics as Mashunasan is.

Other cults make use of mystical practices in order to strengthen their attachment to their divinity. In HQ2, this is largely colour and doesn't need any special rules to handle. Any improvement is considered training and is just as effective as doing martial drills every day. For this reason, I don't see any need to speculate about the powers of mystic cults when they could just as easily be considered sorcerous, theistic or animistic cults. For example, Yelmalio is a pretty austere cult but it's handled well through theistic magic.

The Eastern Isles are associated with mysticism (Kralorela is another matter). I would say that is because it has more mystics per head of population than other parts of glorantha. The type of magic there falls into one of four styles.

1. The worship of the High Gods. This is what Easterners think of as mysticism. Their magic is subtle, unshowy and serene. They consider other magic to be florrid and unwise. Their magic has some benefits when used against everybody else (maybe they receive a +6 specific ability bonus all other things being equal) to reflect their closer attachment to the ultimate truths of Glorantha but also has some costs (maybe inability to harm other servants of the high gods). Also at this level is the worship of Kabalt, Mairnali and others. At a guess, they are perhaps 10% of the population (although the actual mystics are still a small fraction of this).
2. The worship of the Noble Wrongs. This is the worship of the Parloth as Gods rather than as Gods in the sense of the ultimate truths. The High Gods cannot be worshipped at this level whereas the Parloth can be worshipped at this level or at the level of the High Gods. The magic at this level is normal compared to glorantha although the servants of the High Gods consider it vulgar. At this level are the sorcerors of Martalak, the Sivoli schools of Martial Arts and so on. They are perhaps 20% of the population and see themselves as the Common People of the Eastern Isles as opposed to the mystical gentry. Foreign cults that find some degree of approval (ie Kralori draconic sects) are assigned to this level.
3. The worship of the Low Gods. These are the worshippers of the many colourful island gods. Their magic is exotic, often bizarrely so. Their magic is limited in being tied to their island. The followers of the High Gods and the Noble Wrongs consider them to be trivial and their worshippers backward. From time to time, some Low Gods may develop cults substantial enough such that their worshippers are considered followers of the Noble Wrongs (ie Hobimarong and Lumavoxoran). Most dream magicians are considered to be of this level of worship. They consist of maybe 50% of the population.
4. The worship of the Antigods. These are the evil people. Their magic is showy both in power and horror. They number 20% of the population.

A word about the population estimates: they apply to the Eastern Isles as a whole. Most islands are going to be entirely low god worshippers while places like Haragala and Mokato will be where most of the High Gods worshippers are.

> Or the East says it is about mysticism, pays lip service to mysticism, strives to pursue mysticism tomorrow -- and in the here and now works the same systems as the other three quadrants in order to keep worldly affairs moving. You say this.
I don't quite say this. What I do say is that the Eastern definition of mysticism is different from the standard/God Learner definition of mysticism. The Easterners say they are mystical and on their own terms, they are. In standard terms, they are not mystical but their religion is sufficiently infused with mystical wisdom that it has some effect upon their magic.

As for Kralorela, I'd say it's the land of Draconism rather than Mystics. Because they were originally part of the Vithela, they consider their rulers to be Mystics but in truth most of them are draconists with a small minority being Mystics. There's also a minority creed that follows the sagely teachings of Niang Mao rather than Draconism.

--Peter Metcalfe