P Guccione:
> Are you talking about Rune spells or the cult-equivalent of Spirit
> Magic?
Both. They will both simply be treated as "divinely-gained spells".
Simple conversion: Each point of Rune Magic equals 4 pts of this
magic. If the spells are too similar to existing Spirit Magic this
way, use Spirit Magic as the guideline instead.
> The only remark I have is: why
> POW? What if we used the (Cult) Lore skill the way Intensity is used in
> RQ4 sorcery?
Because that is exactly the way (Cult or Sect) Lore is going to be
used for Argrath! wizardry. (Argrath! sorcery, ie totally atheistic
wizardry, would use some skill of Natural Philosophy). But then, Cult
Lore is needed to gain a position were you can get a better link (ie,
a priest or runelord).
I'm somewhat wary of speaking of own pet rule projects, but one more
clarification: This is the "low magic", or rather, personal magic, of the system.
The "high magic", or rather, communal magic, will be handled somewhat like
the big Orlanthi rituals discussed here on the list, just a little
more rulesyfied. Pendragon's celtic magic is the main inspiration.
Short rules summary:
1. Decide what it is you want to do. Describing the mythical
background to the ritual in great detail makes the GM, ie me,
inclined to give bonuses, but my players are in no way Glorantha
scholars and it would be totally unfair to request anything but the
most basic details. "Humakt is the god of war so he can help us gain
victory in this battle." is perfectly OK, but if you can relate som
exact battle of a Humakt-led force against that enemy ("Humakt served
Vadrus attacking Genert's garden, so we will use that to increase our
chances against the Praxians" for instance) the GM will be much
nicer.
2. Roleplay both planning the ritual ("We'll capture some Praxian
scouts and give them a honourable chance of ritual combat as part
of it.") and performing it. As ususal, good reasoning and roleplaying
makes the GM in a good mood.
3. Now the rules part: spend your MP. Most such rituals will need a
whole group to perform, since every point give very little effect.
Generally, for anything not affecting a large group/area, having a
long duration or a really gross effect, personal magic is far more
covenient. If you are in a holy place (best example: a temple), each
MP gives more effect, as if it is a holy day, or you are a holy
person yourself.
4. More rules: if the GM doesn't think the ideas of your ritual are
either humongously good or humongously bad, the leader of the ritual
have to roll vs his Religion/Cult Lore skill, modified as the GM
pleases for good or bad behaviour. If the GM is absolutely sure the
ritual will fail or work, you do not have to roll, really.
5. The GM compares what you wanted to do with how much oomph you pt
into it and how well you succeeded, and then considers the effects.
I'll tinker together a working model using the Pendragon magic rules
as a guidance.
Note that they might not always be readily appearent - much effects
will be about "changing the odds". You will generally know how much
you have succeeded, however - you gain a feeling of accomplishment.
Fertility before dishonor!:
Michael Raaterova is sensible:
> Genert's magic was
> of the very earth and land itself, so the fertility of living creatures,
> which is the manifestation of Uleria's power, isn't affected much, unless
> these creatures were tied to Genert, the land or Earth in general.
Agree! BTW, I think that rituals are more or less necessary for
EVERYTHING in Glorantha, but there must be gross failures from
everyone involved to have a great effect. That people who directly
worship gods of fertility get more children is fine with me, but not
that it is impossible for those who don't to get it. In the same way,
if the
BTW, for the Wizards of the West, there are Blessings from saints and spells like Bless to get the same effect, and if they are not present, there are less of a chance for healthy children, but it's not impossible. The idea of mods to any childbirthtable or something like that is fine with me.
Regarding "Genert is dead, so everything is infertile unless magic is used to regain it", have you ever considered this would mean that Genertela ought to look like Prax? I happen to like ADD Dark Sun (insert BIG TM), but it aint Glorantha. Though human crops are bred for giving huge harvests, not to survive on bleak lands, just because a land is wild does not necessarily mean its infertile. Personally, I consider Bless Crops icing on the cake; its the equivalent of using a lot of fertilizer. I consider that spell to need a sacrifice as "material component". I'm sure there are some Evil Variant somewhere which steals the fertility of another land ("the area will never give more this year than was planted, no matter what is done") instead - that happens to be a common RW magic here in Sweden, btw. A grandmother of a gaming friend of mine actually believed in it, and knew a method to do it.
I think there is one relationship between Good Earth and "Bad" or more accurately Frightening Earth which is rarely explored. This is the one where the "Bad" Earth is the wild lands, which must be conquered in some way to be useful for the growth of crops. Think about it, you have to engage in plant genocide to get new fields. In the West, I'm sure this may be an actual _conquest_, with the Wizards casting spells to bind or drive away the local wilderness spirits. Remember that elves are almost chaos monsters in their opinion... In the Midth, people will still be vary, but the methods may be more peaceful. Perhaps you will have special sacrifices when land is cleared, or someone has to marry the Lady of the Wild. (I'll send you the end of my story about her _real soon_, I promise, BTW).
Jon S Green:
> For me Humakt completes a cycle: the fertility gods create, the living
> gods oversee the life, and Humakt and the Death pantheon oversee the
> transition through Death.
IMO Humakt killls; he is everpresent when something dies. However, he
doesn't _steal_ the life, he doesn't keep it. Note that hadn't that
ungrateful brat stolen Death, no one would ever had died except in
fair and glorious combat or from blissful old age.
BTW, that it is said that Humakt doesn't really care what happens to the dead (ie corpses), as long as they are too badly treated and not turned into undead. I think Humakt don't care very much were the dead (their sprits/souls/minds)GO either, as long as they do not come back the same way.
"The Owl and the Pussycat went to sea, in a beautiful pea-green boat..."
>From "The Owl and the Pussycat" by Edward Lear
Erik Sieurin
bv9521_at_utb.hb.se
Bodagatan 39, 2 tr
50742 Boras
Sweden
033/141731
End of Glorantha Digest V4 #259
WWW at http://rider.wharton.upenn.edu/~loren/Rolegame/glorantha.faq.html
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