When the article first appeared in _Tales of the Reaching Moon_ #12, it prompted a bit of discussion here on the Digest: "Too generous!" "Too open to abuse by powergamers!" "Sounds great!"
In response, one idea put forth by someone (was it Rob Mace?) was that the knowledge of using a particular rune spell had to be learned. This is _not_ the same thing as saying the spell _has to be sacrificed for_. "Learned" is in the sense that the priest teaches the initiate the legends surrounding the acts of the god which today allow that god's worshippers to use that kind of magic. There is also a ritual where the way to invoke that magic is taught. In game terms, this could be considered undergoing the Spellteaching spell.
So, even if you've got a lot of Rune Points sacrificed for, you might have limited ways to invoke their divine power.
Example One:
Flavius is a stereotypical one-dimensional warrior. He worships the Yanafal Tarnils aspect of the Seven Mothers with religious passion. He spends most of his free time training with weapons.
Flavius, in his narrow-mindedness, is really only inspired by combat. During the weekly services, he tends to fall asleep unless the priest is recounting a legend about Yanafal Tarnils' exploits in battle. If the sermon is to be about one of those other sissy deities, like Jakaleel the Witch, he frequently arranges to "have other duties."
When conducting more personal study with his priest, Flavius has stubbornly refused to 'waste his time' with any mythology not related to his purity as a warrior. Thus, he has undergone only the rituals required to teach him how to invoke the 'Shield' and 'True Scimitar' spells.
(These are standard, minor heroquests in their own right, much like the initiation ceremony is a minor heroquest. Do you know how 'deeper secrets of the religion' are said to be taught to initiates? Well, consider rune spell knowledge a 'deeper secret' learned through heroquest.)
In game terms, even if Flavius has 10 Rune Power points saved up, he can only spend them on the spells Shield and True Scimitar.
Example Two:
Etrigus is a devotee of the Irippi Ontor aspect of the Seven Mothers. He lives by the motto "Knowledge is Power", and his whole life is a quest to accumulate knowledge to that end.
Religious studies are one of Etrigus' favorite disciplines. He is encouraged by the knowledge that his motto holds true in this case; the more he learns about the secrets of the Seven Mothers, the more magical power he will have to wield.
Etrigus pays diligent attention during weekly services, and he frequently stays afterward to ask the priest questions about that day's sermon. He spends much of his time immersed in the mythology of the birth of the Red Goddess, and the roles of each of The Seven. Etrigus pays particular attention during instruction about magical ritual. His enthusiasm has made him the favorite of some priests; they see him on the fast track for priesthood himself. Others find his constant craving for spiritual instruction annoying.
Etrigus has performed as many of the mystical rituals as time has allowed. His command of the divine magic available to the Seven Mothers is unrivaled for an initiate so young. Not only has he walked several of Irippi Ontor's hero paths (learned how to cast several Irippi Ontor knowledge rune spells), but he has learned Shield from Yanafal Tarnils, Prevent Decay from Jakaleel the Witch, and several versions of Divination (so he can ask the Seven Mothers questions directly - it seems he is not content to pester only his priests).
In game terms, Etrigus has the opposite situation from Flavius. Etrigus has sacrificed 4 points of POW for Rune Power. However, his immersion in cult lore means that he can choose from almost ten different spells when he wants to cast some rune magic.
GAME MECHANICS SUMMARY
* POW is sacrificed for Rune Points.
I think that's the consensus of the discussion as it went here, without my long-winded examples and all. Please know that I wholeheartedly endorse this addition to the RunePower system. I think it is an excellent way to impose limits on the magic available to characters in the game. And, I think it makes good Gloranthan sense too.
Well, that's more than enough from me for today.
See you all in Chicago!
P.S. HEY HEY HEY
Last minute thought as I was proofreading!
Maybe this answers Jane's question very nicely, while also covering Nick Brooke's concerns about "why should a devout initiate _not_ emulate his god, by casting spells, in order to become a priest?".
He or she can have burned as many or as few Rune Power points along the way as necessary, but this is irrelevant.
Knowing how to cast the spells requires a good knowledge of the ways of the god, and this is good. This is rewarded with reusable rune magic. * * *
Yeah, I like this a lot.
End of Glorantha Digest V4 #50
WWW material at http://hops.wharton.upenn.edu/~loren/rolegame.html
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