Bronze age mod cons...

From: Pete Nash <pete_at_pipistrel.com>
Date: Fri, 02 Oct 1998 16:52:45 +0100


I seem to have peeved a couple of people with the hearth spirit idea...

> Is it just me, or is the idea of a Orlanthi hunter coming home from a
> hard day at the office, having his missus ready with a nice hot meal
> prepared on her Ernalda 1 magic point / hour hearth a bit naff? Are we
>
> reducing Ernalda to the level of a 1950s appliance salesman? Extra
> things to make the "little woman's" life a bit easier while hubby's
> out
> earning the cash to pay for such fripperies.

What I was trying to do was show the richness and importance of magic in a Gloranthan's everyday life. A group spirit of the home is a good way to reprisent this. All I said was it helps keep the fire burning effeciently. ;-) It doesn't cook, it doesn't milk, it doesn't shear, weave, clean, ferment, baby mind, and the hundreds of other things a woman must do. And it was only a small sacrifice by each person of the house to keep the spirit happy. I mean what does a Barntar man do during the ploughing season? He casts his magical strength into ploughsharp spells to help out. Is this a 'vibro plough appliance'?

I also believe in small spirits that live in the well which are propriated to keep disease spirits away, spirits which keep an eye on your sheep, spirits which stop weeds growing in your newly ploughed field, etc.

I am not trying to have 'naff' magic items to make peoples life easy. ;-) What I try to do is place a _commitment_ on a player so that they must burn a little magical strength here (for keeping the fire going), a little there (to protect against disease) and so on, so that they don't just think that their entire magical ability can be squandered for self gain.

If a player 'wastes' all of their magic on killing a luner, then they will find that normal life at home beomes more difficult. Dinner is cold. They get a dose of the trots from the water. A miscevious spirit processes one of your sheep and it opens the gate and lets all the others run away. The woodpile gets damp. The potentail oppertunities are endless.

To me life is tough for a Gloranthan, even when they are continually using their magic to help them survive. It is these little sacrifices which make life bareable. To use magic is normal. But when you try to do everything without magic, things become very tough indeed. Look at a Yelmelion who has performed the hill of gold quest. They are unable to _ever_ light a fire again, whether using ignite, rubbing sticks or even thrusting a burning brand into a pile of wood. Life for them in dark season must be really unfun.

Sorry if I trod on anybodies view of Glorantha. I always thought it was a world of magic with bronze age society throw in. Not a bronze age world with a touch of magic thrown in. ;-)

Pete


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