By Sandy Petersen
I. How does Magic work in Glorantha?
This question contains a number of false assumptions. First, everything in Glorantha is magic. Birth is magic - there are gods, spirits, nymphs, and entire cults devoted to this one act. Death is magic. The fact that you can see things far away is magic. Your heart steadfastly pumping, pounding, till you die, is magic. A sorcerer's power to drain another's soul is just another aspect of Gloranthan reality. The use of the term "Magic" in the RuneQuest game has masked the fact that much of this kind of power works perfectly well on Earth. When you don a witch's mask, the impulse to cackle is all but irresistable. Hearing a certain inane melody rouses me to tears, because I associate that song with a period in my life. An angry glare and body language can Demoralize an adversary as readily in a Dallas alleyway as in Boldhome. "Psyching" oneself up for a race demonstrably increases both speed and stamina. Much Gloranthan "magic" is no more than the recognition and utilization of these effects on a regularized basis.
Obviously, there are more impressive powers available for the studious or talented. But these powers have little in common except that all are unavailable to the common ruck of humanity. The underlying principles of sorcery are quite dissimilar to the foundations of spirit or rune magic. At this time, there is no functioning equivalent to the Monomyth to explain magic relationships.
Each type of magic uses its own unique approach in drawing upon its power source. In all cases, the magic-wielder must train his soul and intellect to understand and internalize the nature of his reality. This discipline, whether formal or inherent, hampers the wielder in comprehending any other power source. Hence, it is impossible for a shaman to learn the higher arts of sorcery, though he might learn a cantrip or two by rote. Similarly, no sorcerer or formal rune priest can gain a fetch. This is not to say that there is no overlap between the varieties of magic, but that the overlaps themselves are based on differing interpretations of reality. For instance, a priest might worship Orlanth with a cult structure. A shaman in the wilds of Prax might contact Orlanth and gain storm powers, but the shaman is dealing with Orlanth as simply a powerful spirit. The priest's attitude is quite different, and this is why he gains so many more aspects of power from his god, at the cost of certain freedoms.
Part 2 to follow: Shamanism
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/phibbs
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| Philip Hibbs +---------------------------------------------+
| What immortal hand or eye dare frame thy perfect symmetry? |
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