A river might helpfully turn your waterwheel, if you made respectful sacrifices. If you don't, the river might flow around the wheel, purely out of spite. Or it might tear it apart. Things we consider _normal_ on Glorantha already have a magical base. Enslaving the natural forces of the world beyond the accepted covenants - like trapping an undine for use in a landlocked waterwheel - will have dangerous repercussions. Now, pious cultists, with the proper enchantments, might obtain a small, degenerate variant of an elemental to use properly, (ie, a Lodrilli forge-helper, maybe called a "Fire-Newt"). But to maintain it, he would have to make sacrifices of MP, POW, and occasional materials. He certainly wouldn't think of of summoning, binding, and selling Fire Newts to outsiders! Even if he did, sooner or later the Bad Man of Fire Newts would come calling, wanting to know why his kin were complaining.
IMO, another problem would be the hoardes of offended cultists showing up to rescue the Sylphs, Undines, Salamanders, etc. I dunno about sorcery and the west - maybe they can make limited use of elementals by insulating themselves from the spirit-sources. Or maybe physics works a bit differently there, due to the way magical energies are expended.
Good plot possibilities, though. Thanks to whomever for bringing it up.
SANITY
>most of the time people only run away from things because they think they
will get
stomped, not necessarily because it is a sanity blasting horror from beyond.
Unless you're a survivor of the Dragonkill, in which case the mere mention of Dragon Newts sends you diving for the bedcovers. (Pendragon Pass "Fear Dragon" stats of 16+ all around!)
I've always thought that Gloranthans adapted well to the sight of slimy monsters, because they were somewhat familiar. The worldview is there to deal with them. (This stuck me when I watched the first "Poltergeist" movie
I think Gloranthans would experience SAN loss when presented with technology: an orchestra in a box, a flying metal tube full of people, the concept of an infinite universe, expanding into nothingness.
Now, really nasty, personally horrifying things like seeing your family reduced to herdmen, your friends turned into vampires, or your childhood tutor as a Than Atari might produce SAN loss. But I think the average Sartarite views the threat of Walktapi about like we live with the daily possibility of being creamed by a truck crossing the highway divider. It's scary, but you have learned to accept it as part of your world.
Pam
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