Re: Why There's No Electricity in Glorantha

From: Sandy Petersen <sandyp_at_idgecko.idsoftware.com>
Date: Sat, 14 Oct 95 14:33:39 -0500

Tim Torres
>Does anyone want to suggest that electricity did not exist in
>"legendary" times on Earth? Why shouldn't it exist in Glorantha?

1. Because in Glorantha, the interaction of man, myth, and magic is much more immanent and essential to understanding the world. "Electricity" is much less satisfactory as an explanation than is "because Gold is the element of the Sky".
2. Because we have no need for that hypothesis. We already know that lightning is the result of a marriage between Sky and Storm. We know that St. Elmo's Fire are caused by evil spirits. We know that Will o' Wisps are glowing sprites. I don't see where electricity comes in at all.
3. Even if there _is_ electricity in Glorantha, it is essential that this NOT be considered part of a RQ game. At best, it is worthless and incomprehensible to PCs. At worst, it encourages them to try real-world things that their characters would never consider -- like lightning rods or Leyden jars. That said, I might let an lightning rod work, but only if the symbol affixed to its top was the proper one to attract (or repel) lightning.

>You're right, gold is easier and other metals need more magical
>"oomph." In some cases, it might be nearly impossible, requiring
>more magical oomph than even mere mythic heroes can aspire to.

        Yes, and there's probably more to it even than that. For instance, to make any other metal glow (except maybe silver, which should shine faintly) you need to explicitly use sky-related enchantments such as Light or Glow or Sunbright.

        BUT, merely tempering gold makes it glow. In addition, I expect that almost _any_ enchantment placed into gold, whether it be a Fireblade, Armor Strengthening, or a bound spirit, tends to make the gold glow or spark a bit. I also expect that certain kinds of enchantments are harder than others to enspell gold with -- like Darkwall. (Also I doubt a Darkwall enchantment would make even gold glow.)

        This applies to other metals, too, of course. Simply tempering a piece of copper, I suspect, makes it valuable to stick under the soil near growing plants. I bet that almost all Gloranthan midwives put a copper blade under the bed during childbirth, "to cut the pain", the same way that Ozark midwives used to do with axes (they didn't use copper, but they don't have the lore we do).

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