On 2/10/2011 4:39 AM, David Cake wrote:
> Spells applied to ones own person are just as effective as
> when applied to another, IMO. Individuals who are able to cast
> powerful spells on their own weapons and armour and use them in
> battle abound among the Irensavalists etc.
Because the Hrestoli knights are wizards and warriors and so not
breaking caste.
> But magics that use community support, whether used to
> empower the appropriate members of the community (blessing all the
> defenders of the community, for example) or for other great magical
> efforts, work correctly only when caste rules are being followed.
Why should it work correctly only when caste rules are being followed
when this does not apply to any other gloranthan societies? It's
community _support_, not behaviorial orthodoxy.
> Note also that the spells available generally favour the
> status quo. The Abiding Book contains spells that enforce caste
> restriction (based on the various stories of Malkion instructing the
> castes in their right duties). There are no spells in any Orthodox
> Grimoire for zzaburi to instruct talars.
Malkion instructs the King is mentioned in Revealed Mythologies as an
Abiding Book story and so would be used by wizards to instruct their lords.
> Wizards who wish to overthrow the
> status quo, on the other hand, have to first learn or research such a
> spell, which may take considerable time and effort.
Except that according to you the spells are effective regardless on who
they are cast upon. So the Wizard has no need to research spells in
order to overthrow the status quo. For example the Bardan Wizard does
not need fighters to operate the arrows that he blesses. What I'm
suggesting is that the his arrow blessing magics are more effective than
his own magic missile/arrow spell because the first spell follows caste
whereas the second doesn't.
--Peter Metcalfe