>>Me> There is nothing intrinsically inefficient about animism.
>Joerg Baumgartner:
>>As long as there is a spirit ecology equal to its task in supporting a
>>spirit-contacting population, I think that animism is among the most
>>efficient methods of contacting the Other Side.
>I do find the notion that an extension of infinite power into mortal
>reality to be in available only in limited amounts to be odd.
So each tradition has unlimited resources? Hardly. The links to the transcendent present in any given area of Glorantha is limited, and can be depleted, as the Dead Place or tapped Brithini or Vadeli lands testify.
>Do Praxians worship Spirits because there aren't enough Gods
>and Godlings to go around?
I'd say that the Praxians inhabit a spirit-ridden waste where there aren't enough Gods and Godlings around, yes, but mostly this is so because the Praxians have aided their spirits to take hold of the magical energies there. They did so because the resources were there, and they could harness them.
>Do Orlanthi worship Gods because there aren't enough spells?
Orlanthi do have a choice within their culture (although we still haven't seen anything published about the animist Heortlings yet). There are areas or groups which have taken the animist choice. Magical economy (the like of "nobody will use misapplied worship/other magical means because it is inefficient" I have heard so often when my ideas about Aeolians were ridiculed) seems to dictate this.
>Given that these rationales sound
>comic, I don't see why such limits should be placed upon Animism.
Certain limits of available magic are placed on any system.
>The main reason why people worship Gods, Spirits or Saints is
>due to the local magic places which are similarly attuned to the
>same spiritual forces.
This doesn't really explain how the Seshnegi could prosper in Pendali lands.
>The Orlanthi are theists because their
>local magical geography is inhabited by godlings they can use.
The key here is "they can use". They take whatever works best, and persist under animist conditions as well, though with less advantage over rivals.
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