Re: Spirits -- Shamans vs. Wizards from Sandy Petersen on 1996-08-29 (Glorantha Digest Vol 03)

From: Sandy Petersen <sandyp_at_idgecko.idsoftware.com>
Date: Wed, 28 Aug 96 19:07:33 -0500

Joerg
>wizards are even better able to command spirits quickly than are
>full shamans under RQ3, who have to defeat the spirit by leaving
>their body, beating it to zero MP and then capture that useless
>bundle of spiritual energy used up - the wizard just tries until one
>of his 1-point Dominate spells does the job.

This comment makes me suspect that you have not tried this in practice, Joerg. Consider the following points:

Any reasonable spirit (i.e., a POW of 10+) has a 95% chance of resisting a 1-point Dominate. It will take the wizard an average of 18 tries to successfully Dominate the critter.
Whilst in spirit combat, the wizard gets a Concentration roll each round in order to cast his Dominate. The nominal Concentration roll is INTx2, as I recall.
Since a typical wizard will succeed on his Concentration roll about a third of the time, this means that he can Dominate that darn spirit after a mere 50 rounds of spirit combat.

>a Rokari wizard is well able to provide a protective circle with
>Spirit Resistance, and with the appropriate equipment (religious
>symbols, even better relics) even should be able to banish spirits
>that haunt his parish.

Hmm. About that protective circle ... a reasonably mighty wizard can put up a Protective Circle with a strength approximately equal to the average evil spirit's POW -- remember that a typical spook is usually in the 16-17 range. This means that when the spirit attacks the Rokari wizard, fully half the time it won't be able to attack in spirit combat (because it will fail to overcome the Resist Spirit). And I'm sure that it will never think of casting a Neutralize Magic, or of just wandering away much much faster than the wizard can move his circle.

Wow! Joerg, now I can see why wizards are so much more effective vs. spirits than shamans. Add to this their utter inability to exorcise a spirit from any possessed individual, and I'd never want to have a shaman around again!

Seriously, wizards are at a _severe_ handicap vs. spirits, as we ought to know by looking at the record of the wars of the West. Traditionally, the most deadly foes of the Malkioni have always been shamanistic cultures.

Sandy P.