Re: Common Religions, common magic, and otherworlds

From: Greg <Greg_at_tU7xw3sIGYYXrzjPgP3CeithEy4vRCmiFjHJZccKrhi4qHNoFDi8Z3-YdE_tEf3xJO8Zzh0>
Date: Tue, 26 Jun 2007 12:37:47 -0800


YGWV bryan_thx wrote:
> --- In WorldofGlorantha_at_yahoogroups.com
> <mailto:WorldofGlorantha%40yahoogroups.com>, Greg <Greg_at_...> wrote:
> >

> Thank you, that did help! Especially that Talents are the ones
> specifically coming from mortal world entities.
>
> However, that leads me to another question: what mortal world entities
> can grant magic, that are not daimones, spirits, or essences?
> (implied was that those would grant feats, charms, and spells)?

Some heroes, some landscape entities. Think of people who became part of the landscape, etc.
Also, some entities from Otherworlds may have gotten cut off from their otherworld.
Also, entities that came to power when there were no Otherworlds: i.e., the Great Darkness.
BUT, I think, relatively rare compared to entities that live in the Everything World, but have otherworld origins.

BTW, a lot of the Landscape entities, especially the smaller ones, may be Everything World denizens.

> > This is the biggest thing that I would change if I published HW
> today: I
> > would have only "common religions" with "mixed worship."
> >
> Of more interest: could you expand a bit on what you mean by this? I
> think you are saying that all religions would be like the existing
> common religions, incorporating mixed worship.....

Yes, that is what I am saying.

> but this is the
> impression I already have from the book.

OK! Glad someone got it!
Perhaps I exaggerate, but...

> At least, every culture has
> a common religion, even the heortlings learn talents and include some
> small number of animists, and I think they are about as extreme as it
> gets in terms of religious focus.

Yes, that was the intent. But most people do not seem to have realized the magnitude of this.
I don't know if it is because everyone is a minimaxer at heart, or if it is carryover from other games, or if it is just improperly presented. I tend to think the last.

> >From the play perspective, what is more limiting is the concentration
> of magic issue. Everyone can have common magic, adding color and
> breadth to the character--unless they want to be good at their more
> active magic, in which case they lose the rest. So whichever way the
> broader culture goes, I suspect that it does not have as much impact
> on the average player-character.

Yes. And we could have skipped the whole concentration thing with just the Common Religion approach. Including it is what makes all the players want to become "weird," in Glorantha terms, by concentrating. I think in actuality is it relatively rare.

-- 
Sincerely,
Greg Stafford

Issaries, Inc.
1942 Channing Way, #204
Berkeley, CA 94704



           

Powered by hypermail