> David and Nick engage in an unseemly public debate
but given the lack of interest from others, I won't prolong it here. Suffice to say, Dave and I take radically different lines on how Gloranthan magic works (I'm not talking about the strict rules of RuneQuest magic, devotees of which have a mailing list of their own).
I find it slightly absurd, given the premises of Spirit Magic, that I can surreptitiously cast Fanaticism on someone else, or cast Bladesharp on a sword I'm not wielding, or that Countermagic should block Heal spells, or that Yelmalions should have to drop their spears if someone casts Fireblade on them, etc. etc. If I were reworking the magic rules, this kind of guff would (by and large) go out of the window.
> If they are trained Hoplites, they don't need spells to form Shield Walls
How does this differ from saying: "If they are trained healers, they don't need spells to cure diseases"; or "If they are trained swordsmen, they don't need spells to improve their sword skills." Dave seem to be attacking the very concept of RuneQuest cults granting enhancing magic to their members.
I can't help wondering if this is just because Hoplites are "civilised" (thus boring and not deserving of magic), whereas sword-slinging champions and frothing berserkers are "barbaric" and can therefore have "real" mythology and religion, not the dull ersatz stuff that civilised folk, monotheists and the like have to make do with. Do you really think there's nothing magical about a formation of a thousand men, united by their worship of a regimental god, pressing forward in the thick of battle, shields locked and muscles heaving with a common purpose, each trusting the comrades around him in their formation to play their part in winning another victory for the Empire?
(BTW, if Granite Phalanx is "silly", what did you think of the dodging phalangites of Sun County? :-)
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