I have been wondering what the difference is between Daimons and Spirits, as seen by Gloranthans. The subject has come up in my HW game.
For example, how can you tell a Wind Daimon (Umbroli) from a Wind Spirit (Kolating)? I know that Theism works better on one and Animism better on the other, but is there any further difference? There was something about their state of embodiment, but I'm afraid I didn't really understand it. So if you have one of each in front of you, how would you tell them apart without using your magic or "Sense Gods/Spirits Nearby" abilities on them?
Another example is ghosts. I had an adventure with the ghost of a Maran Gor Devotee, and had to explain to the player of a Tol Yinkini that his "Fight Spirits" affinity wasn't that helpful here because these were daimons, not spirits. He didn't have a problem with this, but he's going to be get confused if he ever meets a Praxian ghost -- who, as I understand it, will be a spirit because they were an animist in life.
Some of my players aren't great Gloranthan buffs, and I'd like to be able to explain the difference in these two cases without resorting to "your kind of magic" versus "their kind of magic" waffle.
I don't have the same problem with Essences. It seems quite easy to describe a sylph as "not really intelligent, it just functions according to a set of scientific rules, including following the commands given to it by a sorceror".
BTW, although I've been lurking for some time, this is my first attempt to post. I apologise for any mistakes I've made.
Thanks very much,
Michael Abbott
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