Re : The Lead Cross Quest
The orrigin of this quest is Makla Mann's quest to destroy the healers of healer valley. These healers had been resurecting 'the wrong people' and thus were in his view abusing their life-giving powers and weakening the power of Death which he held sacred. By righting this wrong he gains the Lead Cross, which gives him power over undead, who are also dead things which have no right to walk the earth.
In order to recreate this quest, the questor would have to slay a resurecting healer. The problem is that, despite the supposedly moral objectives of makla mann, unfortunately any healer that has ever resurected anyone will in fact do. Idealy, the healer should have resurected the 'wrong kind of person' as well, such as a criminal, a chaotic or a sworn enemy of the questor.
An ideal target for such a quest would be the wild broo healer of the rockwood mountains. I'm sure many lunar or solar healers would also fit the bill.
Re : Combining Magical Practices
Before deciding what magical systems can or cannot be combined, I think we need to consider what magic actualy is. Is it just a set of rote formulas involving hand waving and chanting? If so, surely you should be able to combine whatever magical arts you like. Of course magic is much more than just the external trappings and mummery visible to the profane outsider.
Magic isn't just a side show tacked on to a religion, in a very powerfull way the magic realy is the religion. It isn't simply a product of the philosophy of a people, it is their living philosophy. In the words of the great Obi Wan Kenobi, what is a magician but a practicing theorist?
If you are an Orlanthi Thunder Priest, you know for a fact that the air around all of us is a living thing, part of the immortal body of Umath, and is thus sacred. Sorcerors believe that air is simply inert matter, to be manipulated and dominated using materialist arts. In fact, the workings of their magic prove this to them. To an orlanthi, such an attitude is vile sacrilege. Thus the very concepts necessery to sorcerous manipulation of the air are abhorent to them. The world views of the two systems of magic are fundamentaly incompatible.
Henotheism blurs the boundaries, but I think it looses out as a result. Initiates might learn lay sorcery instead of spirit magic, but their priests use divine spells rather than being sorcerers. As a result the priesthood do not have a deep understanding of sorcery and are less well equiped to teach the propper spells to their flock. I believe that the spells available to them are more limited as only those parts of the two philosophies that can be made compatible are incorporated into the faith. Any magical lore that would contradict other parts of their beliefs are excised, drasticaly limiting the powers available to them.
This is different to the situation with theists such as the Orlanthi. The Orlanth cult teaches only selected spirit magic to it's worshipers, but there's nothing to stop them learning almost any other spirit magic from a shaman or from a friendly cult. On the other hand an Aeolian initiate learning proscribed sorcery spells is potentialy dabbling in magical philosophies that are heretical to their church. They are at a likely to cause them doubts about the doctrines of their faith and lead them into error. They walk a very fine theological line.
Lunars and other mystics bypass many of these strictures. They see boyond the intelectual artifices of doctrine and the emotional crutch of faith, at a heavy price.
Sorry, waffling on a bit.
Simon Hibbs
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