<< First, what is materialism in Glorantha? It seems to me that it's all that
we consider materialism in RW terms plus magic that has materialistic effects
(meaning physical manifestations).>>
I'd say its an approach to looking at the world in terms of physical processes and impersonal forces - even if you believe that there is a Prime Mover behind it all somewhere. If the Invisible God wasn't so invisible and immaterial, he'd be holding a pair of calipers and a set-square ready to compute all the mathematical functions and geometry that keep everything ticking. As opposed to the more direct way of doing things that Orlanth has.
<< In that sense, sorcery is materialistic, but spirit magic and divine magic
(in RQ terms) are also definitively materialistic.>>
I'd say that while it is possible to deal with spirits and gods in a materialist fashion (as the God Learners did) true polytheists and animists interact with and explain the world through divine and semi-divine beings rather than through more direct manipulation. Thats why Gloranthan monotheists are 'materialist', while polytheists and animists aren't.
<< I will use the same convention to distinguish Theism from theism.>>
I think 'monotheism' and 'polytheism' might cause less confusion here.
<< What is not materialistic is all that we would consider meta-physical in RW
terms. I suppose that that applies to mysticism and to monotheism a la
Invisible God or Arachne Solara.>>
I'd have to agree that the Malkioni aren't *just* materialist; their basic philosophy is one of dualist reductionism - the concept that the world can be reduced to basic mechanical bits some of which are material, but some of which are spiritual. Orlanthi, however, don't really think of anything in a materialist way at all; they explain it all through the actions of gods and spirits.
<<If this is so, [mono]Theism and mysticism are meta-physical, and shamanism, sorcery and [poly]theism are materialistic.>>
But once again, the monotheists *are* sorcerors in Glorantha. There may be some exceptions, like the Perfecti, say, but they're in a minority. One could argue that animists are materialistic since they deal with the world at a pretty basic level, and it may well be that some Malkioni do indeed describe them in that way. But I don't think its helpful in game terms, since animists don't think in the way that materialists (as we understand the term) think. Polytheist magic relies so much on veneration and imitation of divine entities that it would be difficult to think of it as materialist at all IMO. One could argue however - and I'm sure the Malkioni do - that polytheism only works because of sound materialist principles even if the polytheists don't realise that themselves. But to use them in a game IMO we need to know how they think rather than how others think of them.
Graeme, on a completely unrelated topic:
<<Lowlights: [snip] too many people with good stories for me to tell my joke in the story telling session.>>
Oh yeah, forgot to mention the storytelling as another highlight. Especially Jane William's Vinga myth - great stuff!
Forward the glorious Red Army!
Trotsky
End of The Glorantha Digest V6 #62
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