I think I have stirred the hornet's nest of mysticism quite enough for now. I can't claim ot understand much more than I did before, but I do feel a bit more confident of running my game while I wait for the ILH-2.
Mysticism in Glorantha seems to be as hard to define as it is on Terra, and for the most part as private and contained within the mystic. Obviously, in the manifestly magical world of Glorantha, the mystical insights offer gateways to great power, but for the true mystic these powers just aid the mystic on his/her innner journey.
When a mystic nearing true enlightenment is tempted to pervert his/her mystical insight into tangible power, this power will (for the most part) manifest as sorcerous, animist and/or theistic power.
So basically the terrible failed mystics seem to be pretty much like the Nysalorian illuminates of the Empire. People who are somewhat unhinged from the normal rules of the universe and can exploit magical powers in ways that normal people can't.
The difference being that the Nysalorian illuminate is not necessarily all that powerful to begin with, whereas a high-order mystic is a powerful (if non-active) being whose power is transformed into tangible forces when he/she succumbs to the temptations of the world.
So, if one looks back at the HW mechanism. A mystic nearing enlightenment is propably "compeating" against a resistance of at least w6. One that fails near the end therefore has a refute attribute of w5+ which he/she then propably converts into that which tempted him/her.
Hmmm... look, a mechanic! I have no idea if that is right at all, but it seems to fit the history of such things.
Again, thank you all!
-Adept
I think I think... Therefore I think I am.
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