>
>
> > Further, it can be easily argued that a specialized magic keyword is
> worth
> > it's weight in words. They're generally much more powerful than the
> "base
> > level" keywords.
>
> Now what do you consider a "specialized magic keyword" (SM kw), and
> what is a "base level keyword" (BL kw)? Is "spiritist of the great
> ancestor tradition" not a SM kw? Because that's what a Puma would get
> for free. And this in turn means the player gets something "powerful"
> for free and specifying the char to belong to another religion doesn't
> *gain* you anything. Except for roleplay. And that's what it's about,
> so I'm not complaining about this anymore - just a bit confused by
> what you mean or not, Mike.
I think you might be reading a bit more into this than intended. As you noted, the basic magical keywork that you get for free doesn't generally give you very much. Spiritist is better than the base for theists and venerative religions--spiritists at least get some charms, giving them probably a +2 on a number of abilities. All the basic levels also give you some degree of religious knowledge and relationships.
However a practitioner can get fetishes, which can be everything that charms are or can be used in more impressive manners (from a narrative point of view the decicion to release a spirit from a fetish for the bigger boost is the most 'powerful' of any of the magics, becuase it makes a dramatic decisions whenever you do it. Purely from a rules perspective it is also powerful). Plus you can make your own charms and fetishes potentially, have spirit face (magical senses are useful!) and so on.
So a couple of words in your narrative give the character more raw power, more interesting decisions, and more scope to do things.
--Bryan
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