> > Performing this myth wouldn't create a spell, it would result in the
> > effect. (Performing the Orlanth and Aroka heroquest doesn't give you
> > the spell Stop Drought, it *does* stop the drought.)
>
> You're normally the first person to cite multiple possible purposes
> and outcomes for the 'same' quest, David. This quest _can_ result
> in a Stop Drought spell -- the more usual terminology is 'Rain Feat',
> though, and the 'quest' is regarded as Heler (or O. T.) worship
> ritual. In principle, any quest/ritual can have a result that's
> either personal or communal, and either one-off or repeatable/on-going,
> as well as potentially working on several different 'levels' or scale
> of effect. Naturally that's not to say that all such outcomes are equally
> easy, or equally well-known, in each case.
Well, yes, Heortling heroquests can be used for any one of a number of outcomes (Orlanth and Aroka can kill a dragon, find a new friend, etc.).
But they do not result in spells. They result in something happening.
Although I'm not sure he still stands by it, Greg wanted each magic system to have a different approach to heroquesting. Divine magic heroquesting creates a result by the performing of the heroquest. Orlanth didn't perform the Lightbringers Quest to learn the Return Sun To Sky feat. The deeds of the quest returned the sun (whether it's direct or symbolic doesn't really matter).
Greg wanted sorcery to be questing where you'd learn a spell, and somehow tap into (no reference to Tap spell intended) the power source for the spell -- laying down pipelines back to the mundane world. Unfortunately, there was lots of hand-waving, and I never did understand how this might work in game terms.
A Pamaltelan would quest to find someone capable of performing the result required, presumably persuading this entity to do it.
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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