Magic

From: Nick Fortune <nick_at_nymar.demon.co.uk>
Date: Wed, 20 Mar 1996 18:44:51 GMT

Nick Brooke:
> One big jump we have to make is in our own minds. Some things are "magical"
> in Glorantha which we would say were psychological or intangible in the
> real world. For example, casting Fanaticism on yourself (anyone think you'd
> cast Fanaticism on your enemies by insulting them? :-), or Demoralising
> your foes (Big Hralf, one of my favourite Greydog characters, called this
> spell his "Big Shout", and it worked very nicely),

Loathe though I am to criticise the senior half of the Wakboth partnership, I don't think this is the whole story. Suppose Big Hralf meets some bloke with Reflection running. Presumably Hralf shouts so loud he scares himself. I can cope with that. But what happens when Hralf's buddy who (not being too quick on the uptake) disrupts the same target? We have a spell that has just reflected both a blast of magical energy _and_ an attempt at psychological imtimidation. If a curious sage was to observe the proceeding with Detect Magic running, he would even be able to detect Hralf's self induced funk. So while I wouldn't dispute there being a major psychological element here, I can't see this as purely psychological.

Nick Fortune                                         nick_at_nymar.demon.co.uk
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+++ Sense Of Humour Down For Maintainence +++ Witticism Unavailable +++

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