> Sorry about the provocative subject line - doubtlessly you all see
> the AD&D +1 Sword mechanism as a horrible game construct.
>
> Nevertheless it puzzles me that you find very little evidence that
> such an item could exit in Glorantha. Looking at this issue from a
> Gloranthan (rather than Runequest) point of view:
>
> 1) First of all, why not have a non-magical +5 (RQ terms) sword,
> maybe also doing an extra point of damage. These bonuses could just
> be due to fine workmanship.
>
> 2) Swords with a Bladesharp 1 matrix are common (relatively
> speaking). What about something with a permanent BladeSharp 1 on it.
> Can Spirit Magic ever be permanent, or do you have to bind a spirit
> into your sword and get it to constantly cast Bladesharps for you?
They are called "Swords of Sharpness" and appeared in one of the Wyrms Footnotes, although I can't remember which one. Apparently the God Learners found a way to churn out enhanced versions of these (equivalent to a +4 sword, I think) but this was by all accounts a BAD THING (can't see why though).
> 3) Armouring enchantments are fine (so you can have a +1 shield).
> Couldn't toughened weapons do more damage as well. And why not have
> enchantments to lighten weapons but keep them just as tough - that
> ought to be worth a bonus on the skill to use the thing.
You have the same ideas as one of my players who had a sword weighing 15 ENC (it had merged with a number of other swords, adding their properties to its own, but also their weight) and was deserately loking for such an enchantment.
> 4) What about "holy" weapons of one sort or another - something with
> a permanent godly blessing which is extra effective against some
> adversary.
Humakt and Yanafal Tarnils make these with Geases. Other cults get them though HeroQuests. There is a story of a SwordSmith in Different Worlds, I think, who can make magical swords for HeroQuestors.
> After that the ultimate question is whether magical items and
> creatures in Glorantha have to follow prescribed rules. The main one
> that I'm sort of guessing at is that magic comes out of life - only
> living things (including spirits) can do magic. Is that true, and
> are there others?
Well, Glorantha is a magic-rich world where most people have spells. Why not have small magic items commonly available? We did in our campaign - the Sling with a Speedart matrix was found so often we reckoned that a broo somewhere had a chaotic feature to produce these as excrement, which is the opinion most people had of them.
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