Also, since AH took back the RQ system in their lair, don't you think that the next Game For Glorantha is gonna be totally different from the one we're using ? Is there any trouble in view if the next system is to close to RQ ?
Here is what I dislike about the current system :
The spirit plane is so important in Glorantha that it should be described a lot more and be a world where something more than "you encounter a Spell Spirit with POW 15" or "you must defeat the Man Man" can happen.
By splitting magic in three systems, it's becoming hard to establish new forms of magic. Just take Lunar magic, which is based on a mix of sorcery and spirit magic, but which looks just like a mix of those two and not a school of magic of its own.
I suggest that we make just two systems : the Effect System and the Power System. So, we could have a list of the effects possibly made by any magic in glorantha and a list of ways to acquire the Power to cast those spells.
This way, you would have a description of Healing Effects, with all the possibles options like duration, number of HP gained, chances to heal disease, different ranges, limitations, etc., and a cost related to each of these parameters.
In the other half of the system, you would identify the source of this Power. There you would find a description of the ways to acquire spells, like what is available from your family, from local animistic spirits, from the temple, from sorcery books research, from spirits you summonded, etc.
I suggest this because effects don't seem to be so different from one magic system to the other two, each having its version of healing, of extra weapon damage, of anything, but with very few flexibility to them, apart from sorcery, but this is far from perfect. Also, with this list of effect, it would be easy to make improvised spells, one of the MAJOR lacks of the RQ rules. Not that I think that everybody can cast every spell the way he like it but that an Orlanth priest shoulb be able to raise wind and call clouds in single spell without having to learn it beforehand. Also, by separating POWER and EFFECT, you can create new ways to acquire spells, or use the same way to acquire a different but similar spell, all this preventing the system to make Glorantha a generic world.
The hard work to do to achieve this is to establish a well balanced system, with a lot of variables, which isn't time consuming during play. Maybe most of those little NPCs could just have a list of effect with variables indicating the powers and limitaions of their spells, thus, once you know the generic effects of the generic spells, you don't have to remember the difference between divine healing and spirit healing and sorcery healing and ritual healing, you just have to focus on the cost and effect, leaving the POWER part of the magic rules to the PC's trying to acquire new powers.
On the POW vs CON vs VIT topic :
I don't think any of the suggestion made to replace POW would be any
better during play nor to explain the nature of magic in Glorantha.
But I do like the idea of sacrificing health or fatigue to cast
spells, but this would be for particular forms of magic.
Also, shouldn't we first talk about which characteristics would make the next system ? Are they gonna be the same, will they be on the same range, how sould they relate to skills ? These are all preliminary questions to be answered before going any further in creating mathematic rules for the next system.
Luc Lavergne
National Animation an Design Centre
Montreal, Canada
End of The Glorantha Digest V5 #182
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