[ in response to what I wrote regarding old style Runequest ]
> Well, there are a several takes on this. First, the BRP system was
created
> (by Sandy, right?) as an offshoot of the CoC system. That is, the
system was
> invented to support Cthulhu, not Glorantha. So saying that
Gloranthan
> metaphysics match the old system is of dubious merit it seems to
me.
>
> But for argument's sake, let's say that we want it to match the
POW system.
Oh no, not my intention at all - I have thrown away my simulationist bent, once and for all! :^D
> Well, what do you mean by "doing" the magic. I think that in all
cases, the
> character is "doing" the magic.
Weeeellllll...what I was responding to was that magic has to originate in one of the other worlds, and I feel that common magic allows us to say - hey, I can do my own magic, and you know what its pretty good too! I suppose this is *digest glorantha metaphysics* so not appropos here. My comment regarding Runequest was that you could cast magic without having to be even a lay worshipper or follower of a shaman or whatever.
You can do that with common magic - you do your own thing, but it leads me to the question: just where do Heortlings, for example, learn their common magic. I designed the Anzarni clan for my game, but now realise that I don't have anyone who teaches any common magic - like a shaman or whatever. Its got me slightly puzzled.
That is, what HQ implies to me is that magic
> is, in fact, doing the right little ritual or whatever to open the
door to
> the source of power of the magic. Which then creates the effect.
Yep. But why can't that source of power be the source of power intrinsic to that person?
>
> In the POW system, using POW simply means exhausting your ability
to open up
> the otherworld, or where ever the magic is coming from.
>
> Note, however, that it's a simple matter to use the HQ rules to
create a
> "magical exhaustion" effect - I've come up with such a system
myself.
Cool, but I like rules-lite gaming, so I will tend to keep things
simple.
>
> >FWIW I think that it would be sad loss to Glorantha if magic
always had to
> >come from otherwordly beings/nodes/spirits and that people had no
*mana* of
> >their own.
>
> Well, what about Natural Magic (see the article on this if you
haven't
> already: http://www.glorantha.com/support/natural_magic.html)?
These are, in
> fact, said to come from the people themselves. I think that what
they "Do"
> here is precisely the same sort of thing - they do a ritual that
opens up
> the door to the power coming out - but that the source in this
case is, in
> fact, the character. So I don't think that the current model loses
anything
> by having only some common magic come from otherworld beings. That
is, there
> are five sources of common magic, and only three of them
are "otherworld"
> sources.
And I think thats cool.
> Does that help at all?
>
> Mike
I guess we actually agree on most of what I said, and if I read you right, who teaches common magic is undefined, at least in the rules as they stand. I mean, there could be good gaming material here! I just don't buy the shaman thing. I thought Kolatings mostly lived outside of society and as most people have common magic as kids (I thought) I can't imagine a good theist exposing his kids to loony shamanic types.
Regards
Rob
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