> In a way, I have a similar problem with my player who has a poweful
but poorly
> controlled magic item (the Banestaff). He's put it in his
background, vague and
> undefined. On one level, it is just any other ability at 13. On the
other hand, it
> supposedly holds horrible, horrible amounts of power.
>
> I'm not quite sure what to do with this. If this thing can level a
city (not that I've decided it
> can) then the 13 is somewhat problematic, isn't it?
>
Well, given that most magic in Glorantha ultimately comes from an
otherworld, and that something that potentially powerful would
presumably be connected to something powerful....I'd make it a
relationship. That is, whether the player knows it or not, the Bane
Staff either contains a daimone (or spirit or essence), or else
somehow has a channel to one. Learning to use the staff is really a
matter of learning how to persuade daimone (or whatever) to do what
you want. Poorly controlled but powerful implies something like
a "patron" relationship.....you are trying to get them to pay
attention to what you ask, but when you do they may deal with the
problem in a way you don't anticipate at all.
Note that there are all sorts of spirits and daimones (and gods!) out there, humans just normally deal with the ones that are most comprehensible to humans. The being behind the staff's power might be something quite thoroughly alien to humans, which is why it is hard to comprehend that there is more to randomness behind what it does.
Just one thought on how to model that sort of thing. After all, is it that different having "staff of massive devestation" 13 and "Head of the Comet Seers is my great-uncle" 13?
--Bryan
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