> I see from RQ2/3 rules that spirit magic is taught by Cults (Rune
> Priests) using a Rune Spell. However this only allows a priest to
> teach something he already knows.
Partly correct. In RQ2, Spellteaching could only teach a battle magic spell which the Priest already knew. In RQ3, Spellteaching summons a cult spell spirit, and these only exist for those spirit magic spells available to a cult. The RQ3 paradigm is the "modern" one, and that's what I'm discussing below. Any RQ2 players out there who have learned to use a modem may disagree, but who cares about them, eh? :-)
> So how does a cult learn a new spirit spell that no priest knows?
It doesn't. When you say "a cult", you are asking how the cult of Orlanth learns Fireblade, right? They don't. Orlanth doesn't have any Fireblade spell spirits, any more than he has the Rune Spell for Sunspear. That's not the kind of thing Orlanth is about. And a Storm Voice who has somehow learned Fireblade still can't summon a Fireblade Spell Spirit to teach it to someone else -- or, at least, he can't do it using a Spellteaching rune spell acquired from the cult of Orlanth.
If you are an Orlanth initiate and you want to learn a spirit magic spell that isn't provided by your cult (i.e. a spirit magic spell for which your cult has no spell spirits), you will not be able to learn it from your cult. However -- cf. Gods of Glorantha, Cults Book, p.20f -- "an initiate can usually purchase spirit magic both from his own cult and from all allied cults. Eiritha initiates can thus obtain spirit magic from temples of Aldrya, Dendara, Ernalda, Storm Bull, and Waha. Spirit spells purchased from allied cults cost 100 pennies + 50 penies per point of spell. A Bladesharp 3 would cost 100+150=3D250 pennies." [Compares with the cost of 30L + 15L per point of spell from your own cult: Bladesharp 3 for 75L]
And supporting your allied cults is generally seen as a Good Thing. NB: although the rule above does not say so, I am certain that cult special spirit magics are *not* routinely made available outside the cult -- Chalana Arroy's "Sleep" is the obvious example; also Eurmal's "Hotfoot".
> Do they have to contact a shaman, or is there some sort of equiva-
> lent service available through the god?
Where there are good relations between cults and shamans, there is no problem whatsoever with priests, initiates, acolytes and/or rune lords getting spirit magic and indeed rune magic from friendly shamans. Thus a Praxian Khan of Waha is likely to have whatever set of weird-ass spirit spells and rune spells he desires (and his shaman can provide). But this does *not* change the fundamental spell availability of the cult of Waha.
There may be out-of-the-way shrines where weird variant cult spell spirits can be found (as well, of course, as out-of-the-way shrines where one-off subcults can be found). If, IYG, you desperately need to award a cult some non-standard spirit magic spell, then of course you should do so. But there is no "routine" way for cults to increase the pool of spirit magic spell spirits that they have to call upon -- other, that is, than asking around to see if any of their friends can come up with the goods.
ORLANTHI SPIRIT MAGIC AVAILABILITY (GoG only, ignores other cults).
Befuddle Chalana Arroy Bladesharp Orlanth, Valind Coordination Mastakos Demoralise Orlanth
Disruption Orlanth, Valind Dullblade Chalana Arroy Endurance Chalana Arroy Extinguish Valind Fanaticism Storm Bull Farsee Lhankor Mhy Glamour Issaries Glue Issaries Heal Orlanth, Ernalda, Storm Bull Light Chalana Arroy Mindspeech Orlanth, Issaries, Lhankor Mhy Mobility Orlanth, Issaries, Mastakos, Valind Protection Storm Bull Second Sight Ernalda, Valind Shimmer Chalana Arroy, Ernalda, Valind Speedart Valind Strength Orlanth, Ernalda, Valind Vigour Ernalda
So: we're missing the RQ3 Ritual Spirit Magics (where any cultist can and should use the Ritual Rune Magics instead); the Darkness spells (Bludgeon, Darkwall) and Fire spells (Firearrow, Fireblade, Ignite, Lightwall), the Shamanic spells (Spirit Screen, Visibility), and a smattering of others -- Countermagic, Ironhand, Multimissile, Repair, and Slow. Other than that, every spirit spell in the book is easily available to Orlanthi through their associated cults. I don't really think we need a mechanism for improving on this.
One interesting "tweak" to the rules: in a discussion with Sandy, we agreed that spell spirits' POW (and therefore the difficulty of finding and overcoming them) should depend directly on the points of spell they carry. A cult spell spirit has POW 1D3 per point of spell; we suggested that a "wild" spell spirit have POW 1D6 per point. Thus a Bladesharp 6 spirit is six times harder to find (and vastly more difficult to overcome) than a Heal 1 spirit. Also, of course, cult spell spirits don't roam wild and free upon the spirit plane: they're guarded and warded by their cults' temples. And there may come a point where it's more worth a shaman's while to raid a temple, overcome its defences, and "rustle" a domesticated cult spell spirit -- with amusing consequences -- than to hunt down its frumiously rare and dangerous cousin across the wilderness of the spirit plane, all of which adds to MGF and scenario potential.
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Nick
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