Spell-trading

From: Chris Lemens <chrislemens_at_S1WO735Pq1eUiLuiIHTNA13GW9lttd4MOmGkZWePHM5lctHlFr35xe8cpfHvAaV->
Date: Thu, 15 Dec 2011 07:49:40 -0800 (PST)

Peter makes some excellent points about Issaries spell-trading:  
> In terms of divine magic, you are essentially trading something
> that is a grace of your god, not a good to be brought or sold at
> the market.  I can see certain circumstances where this might
> be viewed favourably (ie within the Lightbringers) but generally
> it's a theft (of sorts) from the Deity.  The second issue that
>I have is that this is carried under the aegis of the Trade Rune.  A
> trade implies an enduring transfer of property whereas the Issaries
> spell trading has the spells being used once before being handed back,
> which is rather sophisticated commercial behaviour for a bronze age
> deity.  Yes, the spells are one use for game balance, but it's a rather
> hamfisted limit which raises a host of issues).
>
> I do not argue that Issaries can't trade magic (Sartar: Kingdom of
> Heroes has a feat called equal exchange) but I do think that in terms of
> divine magic, it's not something that can be carried out by the
> worshippers alone.

What if we re-characterized what is going on. Start with the assumption that the Issaries worshipper is acting like Issaries. One of the things that Issaries did was travel far and wide, meet interesting people, and give mutual assistance. You might call that trade, but I'd like to strip away the commercial connotation. So, one type of mutual assistance would be the kind of mutual protection between guest and host. The host offers the protection of his home; the guest offers to help defend the home. That's a trade of sorts.  
I would think that there are zillions of unknown stories about how Issaries travelled to some place and met a god who needed some kind of help that Issaries could give. Issaries the god. The god later reciprocated by coming to Issaries' aid. Based on this kind of story, the Issaries worshipper could call on the the worshipper of the other god to intercede with his god, who must (because of the story) give the Issaries worshipper the same kind of help.  
That certainly not the same thing as spell-trading, which really sounds more like sorcery to me. But it's pretty close. And the exact effect might differ from god to god. It might appear to be an effect in the natural world, or some kind of ally showing up, or the god granting the Issaries worshipper some kind of bodily benefit like strength or healing. It would really depend on the story of how the god came to Issaries' aid.  
I'm no expert on divine magic, but does this feel closer to right?  
Chris

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