Re: Magic

From: Sandy Petersen <sandyp_at_idgecko.idsoftware.com>
Date: Mon, 25 Mar 96 18:14:28 -0600

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, Big Hralf, one of my favourite Greydog
characters,
< called Demoralize his "Big Shout", and it worked very nicely),

Nick Fortune
>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?

        Most low-level spirit spells are on the order of an adrenaline surge or other intangible effect. This does NOT necessarily apply to more powerful spirit spells or to any Rune spells. The Reflection spell, IMO, would be recognized as real magic not only in Glorantha, but in our own world. Demoralize, Heal, Bladesharp, Fanaticism, and Coordination would not necessarily be recognized as anything but "psyching up" (or "psyching out", in the case of Demoralize) to us on Earth.

        Some spirit spells, however, clearly partake of magic beyond this. A Fireblade is obvious magic, as is a high-powered Heal. A Disrupt may or may not be, depending on how you interpret the damage it does.

Sandy P.

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