Big heap o' cudos to Loren for his good reasons for Glorantha being
Earth-like.
And cudos to Sandy as well for his nifty descriptions of dwarven
magic. I'm sure there is a great debate at the Decamony level and
below about the most correct way of restoring dwarves that are badly
damaged in line of duty (most common among Iron caste members and
Rock caste members). Tin dwarves are capable of growing "bionic"
replacements for lost limbs and organs, ie "clay" (organic) organs
that are at least as good as the originals. (I think that they do not
use the Regenerate spell or an equivalent; they "clone" a new limb
from material similar to that used in dwarven food, and then they
attach it. I think, by the way, that most dwarven magic should not be
described as sorcery in the rules, but rather as Craft and Lore
skills that can make extraordinary things when you spend MP or POW).
Back to the issue: I think, however, that combined Copper-Iron
efforts can create mechanical limbs that do not only have a lot of
practical advantages, but also fits with the dwarven dream of
becoming more machine-like and one with the Machine. However, most
diamonddwarves argue that this is a devious shortcut to Diamondhood;
traditional dwarves suspect any quick process instinctively. I assume
there is at least one Individualist Iron Dwarf out there that has
converted most of his flesh into mechanical equivalents. However, he
is constantly loosing MP as he must keep all the little Animate Iron
spells going so that he will be able to move; the solution is of
course massive Tap of lesser non-dwarven beings during his missions
Outside. Inside, he is forced to rely on a constantly decreasing
supply of MP, since the Silvers follow their directions from High Up,
who want to get rid of this opportunistic heretic in a politically
not-to-obvious way, since he has become something of a hero among
younger Irons....
"It is obvious that the cybernetic enhancement are in no way
cost-effective. Sorry, no 46, we cannot let you use any more
resources for this product, and we suggest that no 678, the test
subject, reports to the euthanasia center for termination immediatelly."
Erik Sieurin