> Returning to a topic raise some weeks ago: I also feel uneasy about the
> Resurrection spell. It should definitely have a chance of a chaotic payoff
> (subject/caster gains mark of chaos, subject returns possessed by chaotic
> spirit etc.)
I don't see how Chalana Arroy's wonderful gift should possibly be tainted by Chaos. My guess is you're concerned that resurrection is too common in your game, and are trying to dissuade the players from using it. Then make it less common, not crocked!
Actually, it is crocked, though it's hard to express in game terms. You frequently come back changed. In PenDragon Pass, I might have the character randomly lose a passion. Imagine a Varmandi coming back from the dead and no longer caring about the Orlevings! Or his family.
> Am I the only Glorantha fan who feels there is too much magic lying around
> in the game. For a start, the character generation formulae generate
> ridiculously powerful characters (a retired soldier with 10 points of
> unspent Divine Magic?, barmaids in their twenties with 120% weapons skills)
To start with, where do you get your example? According to the RQ3 rules, a 29 year-old barmaid has 14 years of experience. "Barmaid" isn't one of the occupations listed, but in most of them, the best combat skill you get is Fist x2. This means she gains 28% in Fist attack. That puts her up to 53% (plus bonus), a long way from 120%. Even in the Quick Experience system, "skills accompanied by experience-check boxes can be increased only to 75%."
Second, someone who has 30 years of experience could indeed have 10 points of divine magic. They're 45 years old -- why should they be rank beginners? They're also not created according to the "2d6+15" age rules in RQ3.
Arguing from "the game" is pretty shaky, given that Chaosium has said that the forthcoming Hero Wars game more accurately reflects Glorantha than any previous game. This means that previous games aren't totally accurate.
Finally, Glorantha is in fact supposed to be a magic-rich world. Everyone casts spells! That's not at all common in game worlds.
Brad Furst
> I believe that Greg sed that Glorantha(c) has far less immediate access to
> healing magic than is portrayed by RuneQuest(c) Battle/Spirit Magic.
> Wouldn't ritualization of healing magic be a step toward that direction?
I presume you mean TM (trademark), not (C) (copyright)?
I think this is true (though lamentably I don't think it's really in print). I think the point is that RQ magic, where you're pretty much completely patched up after every battle, trivializes both wounds and healing.
> Am I forgetting some important myths or legends which require immediate
> access to healing magic?
No, though I know that in Greg's (lamentably unpublished) fiction, quick healing is possible. It might be slightly longer than a melee round, but certainly not a lengthy ritual.
I think MGF suggests you should be healable in combat. Otherwise, many of the players will have nothing to do after being taken out of combat early in a melee. I still stand behind my proposal that the best solution is to allow a wound to be healed but once (or more precisely, to be affected by a single healing spell, the largest one used if several are). This lets large healing spells have value, lets people back into the fight, but frequently leaves partially healed wounds to remind people that combat is serious.
David Dunham <mailto:dunham_at_pensee.com> Glorantha/RQ page: <http://www.pensee.com/dunham/glorantha.html> Imagination is more important than knowledge. -- Albert Einstein
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