What follows is a major ramble about Leonardo.
I think that Leonardo has yet to be fully fleshed out officially
Is that correct?
Do any of you wonder also that atheists can exist in Glorantha except
in totally isolated areas, because magic is VISIBLE in Glorantha, that is
spell casts can be seen as far as I recall?
So if Leonardo chooses not to believe in sorcery (oh hang on a minute,
sorcery may be invisible - it is in my game)
So if he chooses that, fair enough, although that would mean he also
has no exposure to sorcerers, which I believe would be unlikely on the
God Forgot?
So in this case he'd maybe watch people flying through the air under their own power, resisting damage, creating illusions, blasting each other with bolts of lightning, or other more mundane sorcery and go "Nah, its not happening, its all rubbish, make believe!" and then maybe "Why is my INT slipping away and that bearded man staring at me so intensely?"
If he chooses to not believe in gods, and hence deny the existence of
spirit and rune magic, doesn't that make him insane?
(definition of insane in this instance - someone who refuses to
believe in the existence of things that are tangible and observable
in effect)
Of course he could simply be a genius, and choose to deny the gods even though he knows that in some form they exist, and have a measure of effect on the world. Maybe he thinks they are jumped up spirits for instance. And with sorcery perhaps he believes it to be an inferior science: "Yes of course it exists, I've seen it work, but its a primitive manipulation, much less noble than the pursuit of real science. Mark my words, real mechanical science is where its at, thats the future. All this magical nonsense will be gone in a few centuries. But this mechanical science will always exist!"
Perhaps Leonardo learned from dwarves, or alchemists. There -may- of course be some connection with Leonardo DaVinci who - despite being a definitive genius - I am sure didn't work entirely without external reference. I presume he read books, had some kind of schooling or inspiration, borrowed equipment from people (even if it was just so he could pull it apart and build his own). Perhaps no schooling of course, although he must have had interaction with the world in order to buy the materials he needed.
Summing Up:
Leonardo has seen Spirit Magic and Rune Magic, he has no interest in
following any deities, believing that all they want is to drain power
for their own benefit and use the peoples of Glorantha as pawns in
their own power trips.
Leonardo has seen sorcery. He believes it is a doomed science,
relying on decades of concentrated learning, and on fickle natural
forces which will eventually dwindle and no longer provide enough
energy to manifest their effects.
Leonardo studied ancient texts (EWF, Justreli, Feldichi, Mostali?)
perhaps through a sorcerer or Knowledge Cultist parent or guardian.
His genius mind ate it all up and started spinning out new and amazing
possibilities at an early age. He had access to many resources
because of being an only male child of parent/guardian of the elite
class of his society (any ideas?)
(What's at Talar Hold?)
The Leonardo I am thinking of had access to the Roswell UFO wreck
(sorry I mean remnants of a bygone civilisation, perhaps his guardian
was an fanatical Henry Jones-type explorer of the machine ruins, and
picked up a small library of technical manuals? Before the expedition
from which he never returned, leaving Leonardo his entire wealth).
And it all blossomed from there, making Leonardo the first inventor in
Glorantha for centuries (certainly the Feldichi made stuff, however
they may have used a combination of sorcery and mechanics.
Leonardo uses mechanics. Well, I'm struggling to identify where he
gets the high quality materials to make durable and reliable machines,
unless his guardian doscvovered an entire laboratory and store-rooms?
I'm hoping for plenty of feedback on this.
Final note, in my Glorantha (at the moment) Leonardo lives in a tower inside a small fort surrounded by a fortified town in which lives his eager disciples and various support staff. He may not teach people directly but has such a reputation that many people respect and support him in whatever ways they can. I may decide later that this is an entire crock, of course! :)
cheers
Ian
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