And it appears Mostali create creatures just for the purpose to remove the stuff from the circulation.
>that something closer to the D&D approach is closer to
>Glorantha.
Gods forbid. Magic is common in Glorantha, not magic swords.
Bog standard and all that: IMO, if everybody has a Sword+1, they are not anything special any more since they are not extra effective against each other.=20
The original argument of the minor-effect magic sword is probably the proliferation of minor magic items so prevalent in D&D. That everybody has a magic item probably prevented quarrels among prebubescent players...
IMO in Glorantha there is _no need_ of a massive amount of magic swords because the weapon-related spells are relatively common. In fact, in practical level an average warrior would be much more interested about learning magic that would enchance the effectiveness of all his weapons (RQ3 Bladesharp) that getting a single magical one that he could lose by accident, combat, raid or as a tribute. He could as easily use the magic for a weapon he just snatched from an enemy guard. Only Humakti (which I do not see as "average") and the like are sufficiently attached to a specific weapon (the one they intend to awaken as their allied spirit ?) to boost that one. And even them learn Bladesharp 4 in the beginning.
(This is a reason similar to my complaint about RQ 3; is the sign of a powerful sorcerer really that he can have a maximum amount of trinkets for his spell matrizes that he can use all his Free INT ?)
I am not opposed to an idea that there would be masterpieces made by legendary smiths (or their unmentioned apprentices) which would be sharper (dmg+1-4 in RQ terms), lighter (reduced STR requirement and/or encumbrance) and tougher (increased AP) but I really think that it is the user's skills and spells which should make the difference.
Therefore I think that the only permanently magical swords (or other weapons) are those with really powerful effects like Griffin Mountain Windsword or at least in the category of Lottery Swords. Then we could meet an occasional Fireblade enchantment in some aristobrat's blade who could not bother to learn the spell...
As for the magic swords of the Clanking City; It could be that the world is "full" of magical weapons produced there but most of them are not recognized as magical any more. Reasons could be (aside from intentional destruction of enchantment):
Another potential reason why dwarves wanted to destroy the place; Mostali are somewhat justified in their belief that they can produce high-quality equipment. Making reliable and hardy weapons could be the closest Iron Dwarves have for a religious ideal ("Work is a prayer"). If the production quality of the local merchandize went low enough (mass production hints that there really was a demand for the stuff), they could have regarded it as a mortal insult ! Talk about a luddite tendencies...
Maybe they concentrated on magical enchanting in an expense of the good-quality blades and hardy structure. Sword with a Bladesharp 18 effect is not usable if it cannot withstand a single blow...
And Richard; I think nobody ever forbade you to use Rolemaster but this is bit too obvious plug to justify Rolemaster-style equipment bonuses. You do not have to justify them for us, only to your players.
As for MP-storage crystals; they _are_ darn common in Glorantha.
Death to Argrth
Vesa Lehtinen
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