Common magic and Contraception

From: Thomas Doniol-Valcroze <tconrad_at_orbital.fr>
Date: Mon, 16 Dec 1996 18:46:28 +0100


Hi, there!

First of all, I must warn you I=B9m french. So my english might be=20 sometimes faltering, and, though I have bought every english-written=20 RQ book I could find, there are many spells, terms, places, people,=20 etc... whose english name is a mystery for me.

Praying for your leniency, here is what I wanted to say: I think we all agree to say that one of Glorantha=B9s great=20 particularities is that magic is a common thing, and that almost=20 anyone can have some.
Of course, what most PCs are interested in is combat magic and others=20 similar powerful effects. But rules are full of spells that PCs=20 (almost) never use, whose purpose is to give credilbilty to a=20 magic-full world (like many Bless spells, Peaceful Cut, and so on...). I sometimes regret that (my) players often neglect such spells: they=20 would easily forget to cast a Peaceful Cut after some hunting, but I=20 don=B9t think they would forget to use an Open Seas before sailing away=20 from shore.

Anyway, my point is that many spells have probably not been=20 created/found for combat, but for everyday use. Bladesharp could help=20 you chop your wood, Strenght would help you stack it, Disrupt would=20 allow you to scare wolves away, Heal, Light, Ignition and Repair have=20 many obvious uses, and so on...
In this point of view, I guess that many more common little spells and=20 rituals do exist in everyday life, and are commonly used by=20 Gloranthans as mere conveniences.
While I don=B9t mean to suggest that you can find some =B3washing machine= =B2=20
spells, I have been considering more seriously the existence of a=20 Contraception spell.

I see it as a quite common spirit magic spell, taught by the local=20 shaman or priest (though some cultures might not have it, or permit=20 it).

But this implies some questions (and not only =B3Do you need your=20 parents=B9 agreement?=B2):

If we consider that Glorantha does not have any more efficient=20 contraceptives than corresponding Earth cultures, then what effects on=20 populations would a magical contraception have? Wouldn=B9t it unbalance=20 the population figures? Because I guess that non-civilized (in the=20 Gloranthan sense) culture members typically have many children and a=20 high child mortality.

My second question is: Would you make it an Uleria spell? Because, since Uleria is a Fertility Goddess, it would not seem=20 logical, at first glance, to give her a contraception spell. But=20 Uleria is also Goddess of Love in all senses, including sex. This could be explain why Uleria priestesses can =B3propose their=20 services=B2 through Sun County villages, whithout getting pregnant too=20 often.

What do you think? Is this Gloranthan heresy, or does it make sense?

Yours, Thomas.


Powered by hypermail