>>Yes, but Chalana Arroy is actually from an Iron Age culture. =
>>The issue is not the efficacy of the magic, =
>>it's the economic support system required.
> Gloranthan economic systems *encompass* magic, surely?
At least magic has its own economy and ecology. If the Rokari soapbox speaker of Nick's who explained the barbarians' magics from their gods had stumbled across a God Learner document describing their magic, he might as well have said:
"The divine magics of the pagans are an ineffective focalisation of the communal magical energies and sacrifices. By sacrificing parts of their living soul to their temple idols, and by sacrificing their daily magic in worship services, the pagans build up a store of magic not unlike our congregational services. The difference is the waste of magic dedicated to the demon gods they worship.
In addition, the pagans sacrifice more of their living souls to the demons to aquire specific powers. Our wizards achieve the same effects through scholarship and training, proving the inherent superiority of our way <blah, blah, blah>."
At least in my games of RuneQuest, a priest had to sacrifice a day's worth of MP minus one in a prolonged worship ceremony if he wanted to regain a point of divine magic. Acolytes, Rune Lords (in cults which had both priests and lords) and priests from associate cults were able to regain one point per week (in the communal service on the appropriate weekday), and advanced Initiates once per season (seasonal Holy Day).
All the time provided (the private part of) the Ceremony succeeded.
If you sum up the magic points involved in this process, a sorcerer with the ability to hold a spell (see Sandy's system) and a divine magic user get about the same deal for the reuse of an instant, powerful spell.
Peter Metcalfe on Ducks:
> It has been alleged that the EWF made the races of Ducks.
>>2. What are the Mythic ties of the Ducks?
> They are mostly Storm worshippers. They have a special relationship > with Death because the Cutter was used in their manufacture IMO.
Is this the same Cutter which later was used to separate the Pain Centaurs? Do all beastmen share this affinity to death, or has their more natural shape (after all, they were formed in the image of mythic entities, and became such) given them their ties to the spirit(s) of Nature worshipped at Wild Temple?
End of The Glorantha Digest V5 #598
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