>Pfah! One doesn't become a Great Smith by praying to the likes of
>Gustbran or Vrang 2Jhomang! Does Volund ever pray to the AEsir
>when he crafts his swords?
No, but neither does Hephaistos pray to any smith deity when performing his deed. Volund/Wayland _is_ the Gustbran of the Norse sagas. Just like Ilmarinen is both the hero and god of smiths in Kalevala.
>Did Daedalus ever sacrifice to Hephaestus? No!
Why should he? The guy is the archetypical (mad?) scientist, just like Leonardo of Quirm^H^H^H^H^H God Forgot. As opposed to Hephaistos, Daedalos builds mundane devices with only near-magical virtues because of their excellent craftsmanship. Like Archimedes, Leonardo da Vinci, T.A. Edison later.
>The key to crafting Great Things is mastering
>the craft and learning the secrets of embodying great forces within
>them.
>Go to the Dwarves. Steal their notebooks if need be. One could
>adopt the trick by the Slarge in Elder Secrets of travelling from
>town to town and challenging the smiths to a duel. Use exotic
>materials (Water of Diamond for Temper etc). The Great Smith would
>be more of an independant magician than a Priest praying to a deified
>two-bit Tinker.
The Smith has always been the mystic magician, though not necessarily the clever guy.
The tinker is more the Malkioni sort of people - logical to the extreme, not chanting during work but sitting down doing sketches or just thinking. Most don't believe in common divine magic, or disdain it, believing in numbers, if anything.
Another smithing question still unresolved: what work processes are necessary to craft a Gloranthan sword or plate armour from bronze bars? Are these cast items, driven items, or layered and welded items? Does the Redsmith require a furnace with bellows at all, or is he served with a large crucible? If so, will he walk with a stoop?
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