Orlanthing characters know the basic things that Orlanth can help them with. I doubt that orlanthings in general have any good grasp of the intricacies or specifics of the magic that is available to them.
The feat names are for *players*, not characters.
>Our babester
>Gori either have darkness powers or are expert at fighting darkness...
"Fight darkness with darkness."
>I like to make the effort. My best analogy on the orlanthi are the
>Viking age Finns, who had thousands of spells and chants for every
>situation, from binding swordcuts to starting fires (and cursing or
>killing your enemies, or making cheese).
That analogy doesn't fit my orlanthings at all. Asking the gods for help is fairly different from knowing lots of specialized spells, charms and chants, which sounds more animist to me.
I don't have any doubt that the orlanthings *do* have lots of charms and chants, but in terms of superstitious practices, not magical spells.
> > And theistic magic actually does everything and cleans the kitchen
>> sink too; you can (and should!) improvise lots of effects from any
>> given affinity. Orlanth has the power of Storm in general; not an
>> array of specialized storm-related spells.
>
>Yes, but I like to think that the actual feats are referring to spesific
>_feats_.
A feat that figures in a myth is merely a manifestation of an affinity. It is the affinity that is important. The feats are merely suggested uses of the affinity.
>If
>one is going to allow any old interpretation on the feats, then why have
>named feats, why not just have the affinities?
Because it's nice to have some inspiration when coming up with affinity effects.
>This is basically what I'm after. Also would it hurt to give just a bit
>more info on the feats. Some of us really like to know whether a feat
>means that Babs has darkness powers or antidarkness powers.
Why can't she have both? Dark Earth fights Darkness during the Darkness. Dark Earth wins. Dark Earth steals powers from Darkness to fight better.
> > A feat is a suggestion on how to use the affinity. A feat does not
>> have a precise, unchangeable effect, not even in Glorantha.
>
>Funny that. I would think it does. It copies or draws on an act of a god
>or a hero. Sure some powers are wide ranging and flexible (Orlanthi
>commanding the storm), but some are small things, like enchanting
>thunderstones, or learning a swordsman hero's sword trick.
It seems that we look at the relationship between feats and affinities a bit different.
In my view feats are merely incidences of the power inherent in an affinity. Orlanth has the power to imbue stuff with the power of Thunder because he is Thunder; that he once enchanted a thunderstone and lobbed it at his enemy is merely a sign of that power. I can use that power to enchant thunderspears or summon storms with a thunderstone.
In my interpretation, you seem to think that the feats are powers in themselves, and that the affinity is merely a categorical label. Orlanth once enchanted a thunderstone and lobbed it at his enemy, a mythical truth available to his worshippers, who can draw upon that specific feat. Orlanth never used a thunderstone to draw forth a storm, and so his worshippers can't.
-- - Mikael Raaterova [.sig omitted on legal advice]
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