[Glorantha] EWF pyramid scheme

Donald Oddy
> The pyramid scheme analogy comes from the description in the
> Mongoose RQ Glorantha book. At the time the book describes there
> are already so many members that a new initiate has a nearly
> impossible task to initiate sufficent members to rise to the
> higher levels. It's only those higher levels who can try to
> obtain the personal development and dragonic magic promised to
> all. Inevitably the promise is going to fail for the vast
> majority of initiates. It is certainly unsustainable in that at
> a certain point it will become impossible to recruit new initiates
> which is what makes it comparable to a pyramid scam.

This is probably a failure to communicate what the EWF is about: raising a community into communal dragonhood, and not so much granting an individual draconic powers.

The goal of the EWF is apotheosis as dragon(s). Several smaller communities managed to do so before the leadership was killed, and those dragons were part of the defenders in the Dragonkill War.

Maybe it goes against the Orlanthi grain to let a few leaders get the magic to use for all (although that's exactly how Orlanthi heroquesting works), maybe it just goes against the player character attitude towards magic ("if it exists, it ought to be mine"). Since the God Learners were still around when the EWF leadership was assassinated, I suppose it is _their_ POV (same as player character POV) we find in the histories.

> Now whether the emphasis of the EWF is on the individual or
> creating the Cosmic Dragon is going to be a YGWV matter.

As a path to individual perception of the Ultimate, the EWF probably is a fallacy. At least that's what orthodox draconic mysticism (i.e. Godunya) says. The EWF is _not_ to be equated with the Path of Immanent Mastery, though - it is a valid mystical method.

There is a risk of failure. That is called Kapertine, a draconic otherworld (some call it hell) where Ingolf went. Still, Ingolf can be contacted as an Orlanthi hero, which would be unusual for characters who went to a mystical hell (such as Sheng or Hofstaring). Received on Wed 07 Feb 2007 - 10:11:10 EET