Groking Illusion (Re: Sense Runic Powers - an example)

From: eg0sum <eg0sum_at_...>
Date: Tue, 18 Jun 2002 10:52:19 -0000

> > My Irripi Ontor character used the See + Hear
> > Historical Events feat to see what happened.
> > He also used See Runic Powers to enhance his
> > view of the scene - can he percieve the
> > illusion power being used?
>
> All in my opinion based on what Greg has posted...
>
> No - there is no such magic as "Illusion". In Glorantha, Illusion
> is a meta-magic that allows the user to make other types of magic
> (within the limits of their experience and knowledge). So either
> the assasin used their illusion to create a change form magic (very
> difficult) or to create a disguise magic. The See Runic Powers
> would, if successful, see one of these two magics.

Illusion is explicitly a rune. I'm not sure how meta-magic can exist with the coherent framework of theistic belief. With god-learners perhaps but not within, say, the Lunar Pantheon.

Also, re-reading Greg, I'm happy for Orlanthi to refer to the Big O as Storm but I don't think this works quite so well for Lunars where people explicitly took on certain roles. But then that's part of what makes 'em interesting.  

> Changing history after the fact to accomodate what we know now, it
> would actually be more likely that the assasin had
> deception/disguise magic rather than illusion.

The assassin had illusion magic but Simon may have to retro-change this. Illusion does not seem appropriate given that it actually means 'creating temporary bits of reality' rather than 'changing the perceptions of the beholder' - an idealist might argue that these two statements are synonymous of course!

I think much of the problem comes from using Illusion in a different way to the usual sense. But that's what you get with Shamans!