>For example:
>- -What is range? Why is a spell effect by distance to someone? Is it
>because he beleives it to be limited in range? Why does a Battle Magic
>user have range? Do magic spells degrade as they travel through air?
Most people in glorantha will respond with some analogy like throwing axes. The limit is not whether the axe degrades or whether you believe the axe to be limited in range but how far you can throw the axe.
Similarly:
INTENSITY: How heavy an axe can you throw? MULTISPELL: How many axes you can juggle? DURATION: How long you can keep throwing axes?
>This kind of questions leads me to ask "What is a spell?" I'm not looking
>for the answers given in RQIII, GoG or others, but some basic gloranthan
>magic theory.
A spell is an otherworldly effect created or summoned by the magician. The precise mechanism which she does so vary from culture to culture but all are effective in that something happens.
David Weihe:
Me>> The rivals must have fallen into error first (ie become inactive or
>> sacreligious) for the excommunication spell to work. That is why
>> one can't excommunicate Illuminates.
>But why can't an illuminated High Priest excommunicate his rivals? He
>can tell the god whatever lies he wants to without fear, so he can just
>claim that the rival did all sorts of things in an enemy god's temple,
>and how is the god to know otherwise?
The God will _know_ whether the accused have lost faith or done wrong. He is not told this by mundane informers in their prayers but _feels_ it. If the accused did unspeakable things with a headless corpse in the temple of Thanatar (where Orlanth cannot reach) then the moment he steps out of the temple, the god knows. If the accused has not broken faith, then the excommunication spell is _ineffective_ no matter what the Priest believes (perhaps he was lied to by a Trickster) or what he has told the God.
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