The rule of thumb that I tend to go by, is that the magic of daily life and "normal" situations looks very much like our "real world" despite the fact that it really is magic rather than physics that makes things work that way.
Even common battle magic generally works like a Maori Haka, or a medieval knight's Token of Favor. Important, but subtle effects that could be written off by a "modern" observer as coincidence, or wishful thinking, but that practitioners know for certain is important to the task at hand.
At the clan or tribal level, you start to see overt and undeniably "magical" effects. Each clan might have a few thanes who can fly or call down lightening upon their foes. A tribe will have several Heroic warriors and priests who can consistently perform feats that are clearly "supernatural" if they are properly prepared and supported.
Superheroes and Demigods do exist in glorantha whose mere presence is obviously magical (Herrek, Cragspider, Jar-eel, and such) but they are the exception rather than the rule, and most Magic is much more subtle than that.
Worship Ceremonies are "clearly magical" for initiated participants, but outside observers might see nothing more than costumed mummery and abstract ritual.
Magic in Glorantha is everywhere, and in everything. But most of that magic looks an awful lot like what we recognize as "natural events" here in the "real world." That said, overt magical effects are not uncommon, and holy days, major battles, or other major events are almost always accompanied by "magic" that could not be easily explained by modern science or "real world" physics.
Powered by hypermail