Another Myth take

From: Wulf Corbett <wulfc_at_...>
Date: Tue, 19 Feb 2002 19:52:46 +0000

I've been considering myths from another angle. First some background.

Theistic feats are, in short, the 'channelling' of divine power by a worshipper, who, by duplicating the actions of their deity, empowers those actions with the deity's magical strength. They learn HOW by watching or otherwise experiencing the actions right there with their deity, then establishing a magical 'link' (cementing a feat) through which to channel the energy.

This leaves me with a problem. We know that theists can perform magical abilities, and augment mundane actions with magical power. We know they can inflict consequences upon others, although they may attempt to resist, even when those others do not acknowledge, or even do not even know about, the deity's powers. Just because you never HEARD of idiots throwing rugs into a fight (an action that, in any reality, would just aggravate things, or leave someone with a golden opportunity to end the fight by taking advantage of the opposition's distraction - hmm... that might be possible anyway) doesn't mean the magic can't force you to obey, if you don't resist.

HOWEVER... what happens when a theist augments a worshipper of another deity? Specific case - My Vingan augments the rest of the group (let's say a Yinkini, a Humakti, a Lhankor Mhy and a Telmori) with 'Fight Against Uz'. I think she CAN do this, but what actually happens? I can see three possibilities:

1. The feat imparts transient knowledge of the Vingan feat/myth to the recipient, allowing them to re-enact it like the Vingan. I don't much like this for various reasons, for a start aren't feats supposed to be cult secrets (small 's')? How can non-cultists benefit when Initiates can't do it? The Telmori probably shares no myths at all with the Vingan, and certainly has never seen one enacted on the Gods Plane, what sense would they make of such knowledge anyway?
2. The feat creates a sort of mini-wyter or magical 'power armour' around the recipient that augments (in the everyday, not rules mechanical sense) him. Unsatisfactory, I think, but leading straight into...
3. The feat forces your actions, just like the attack magic. You have surrendered yourself to it, and so get no resistance (barring the augmentation resistance) to the effects. This sounds the most realistic, but does pose some questions of itself. Surrendering yourself to someone else's God? Does that sort of thing work on Animists?

Here's another question. OK, I think I'm safe saying that my Vingan can augment everyone else with Fight Against Uz. But can she give them the ability to Run Over Treetops? Again, even Initiates can't do that, how can non-Vingans? Is my Vingan giving them an ability, like a Spirit does? Or forcing an action upon them? Do the recipients understand what they are doing, do they have to, to control it? Or does the feat somehow invade their consciousness and take over their instincts?

Like I say, I think I CAN have my Vingan use feats on other folks, but I'd like to know what's actually happening in her terms...

Wulf