> who used mind tricks/hypnosis/hallucination/Light powers/Smoke =
> and Mirrors/whatever to create false and unreal things that disappeared=
=
> with a wave of the hand, a gust of wind, etc ?
We (as players and narrators) should call him something other than an
illusionist because 'Illusion' is one of those words that has a different=
meaning in Glorantha from the one we're used to using in our world and other game systems. If we were starting from scratch, a better name for the Illusion rune would be Creation.
I doubt there are many Gloranthans who can make the distinction.
> But there are * some * Runic limitations to what you can and can't do =
...
> can't create Illusory Primal Chaos (a logical fallacy). Trying to creat=
e
an =
> Illusory Boggle would be an inherently self-contradictory magical act. =
I'm not sure what you mean by 'Primal' here. But, any chaotic being, or any boggle, is a thing with existence in Glorantha. Therefore, it was created by Illusion - because EVERYTHING was. Therefore, someone with Illusion powers can create another one.
> An Illusionist gives me a bowl of soup, and I start eating it. Yummy !
> Suddenly, some smart-alec in dark sunglasses appears, and tells me :
> "There is no spoon"
> "Do I have soup on my t-shirt ?" is obviously (or not-so-obviously) a =
> game question more than a Gloranthan one, but the pertinence of the =
> question does seem to indicate that the weaker, at least, of Gloranthan=
=
> Illusions are more like their D&D counterparts than you're suggesting.
No, because the spoon, once made, is a REAL spoon (as real as anything el=
se
in this totally illusory world).
These discussions are bedevilled by the D&D approach to illusions, with t=
he
concept of 'disbelief' as a counter to them. As I understand it, the onl=
y
way 'disbelieving an illusion' occurs in Glorantha occurs when a Mystic
uses some sort of Refute power. And Refute powers work on anything in th=
e
world, because everything in the world is an illusion.
Quite apart from any philosophical aspects, I think this approach to 'illusion' has great advantages for the process of running a game. The whole D&D-based approach to illusions and disbelief is filled with contradictions - I've never seen a satisfactory theory which deals with such chestnuts as whether an illusory torch will light up a cave, or what=
happens if the cave is an illusion and some but not all of the party ceas=
e
to believe in it.
Andrew
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