Re: Make up new Gods, dang it!

From: John Machin <orichalka_at_QkOYbb3hKVDY87osil4hcp-WokWcPDUW3j8_Cr9ZcHerpcqB0Vb8dZSCuAPLkTHLuU>
Date: Fri, 13 Jul 2007 19:14:10 +1000

On 13/07/07, Rob <lamorak33_at_KYVfDydBZFmpBksPjsxRhbTX35EVheq1GJzYGrk5zBUaidhXJWKmIgZpd-HnuRiITEyu3A4QVSl2ksE.yahoo.invalid> wrote:

> I totally hear what you are saying here. However, the mechanism is

> trying to replicate the fact you can use a table knife as a
> screwdriver, but it will never be better than actually using the
> right screw driver! But if a knife is all you have/know then you make
> do. And don't forget, most of the people you know are working with
> the same restrictions so the problem is not usually accentuated. Its
> really only when you come across concentrated magic users that your
> magic starts to look a bit rubbish, but in 'real Glorantha' I believe
> that concentrated magic use is not the norm. Player characters yes,
> becuase of the rules on character advancement costs, but not your
> average everyday Gloranthan dude/duddette/thingy.

Rulesets which punish heroic behaviour seem to be a really hard concept for me to grasp. Perhaps if we had a lot of rulesets called "AverageQuest" this might strike me as more sensible, but if the descriptive Glorantha (its myths) encourages multiple interpretations and different routes to the same sort of things then its probably in the interest of Gloranthaphiles to have this modelled more closely in the mechanics that exist.

I can understand that the fans of Glorantha can clearly perceive that the true Orlanth is a God, because he has been a god for a while know (longer than I've been a human if you want to get picky about it). However, I suspect that if it was possible to interrogate Aeolians about the nature of their worship they sure as anything would not admit that, yes, the traditional Heortlings are correct and they are aware that they are misinterpreting the nature of one of the core entities of their religion. Should the Glorantha of the Gloranthans vary a bit too? I find myself wondering about the poor Aeolians who claim greater insight than their rustic neighbours but whose ability to evoke the magic of their chosen entities is so penalised when compared to those same rustics.

Other comments on this topic give me some hope that this is being addressed in the revision that one ruleset is undergoing currently.

-- 
John Machin
"Nothing is more beautiful than to know the All."
- Athanasius Kircher, 'The Great Art of Knowledge'.