From: David Cake (davidc@cs.uwa.edu.au)
Date: Tue 24 Sep 1996 - 13:40:02 EEST
Recently the subject of Alchemy has popped up on the rules digest,
What do people think about alchemy in Glorantha? Who uses it, how
The only people that I am sure use it are the dwarves. The
I think it is also possible that some human 'alchemy' techniques
I think the metamagical basis of many alchemical theories is that
and I thought it was a subject worth raising here.
does it work (does it bear much resemblance to medieval alchemy?)?
Quicksilver Mostali are the inventors and masters of this technique. There
are predawn legends of feats of Alchemy by the original Quicksilver
Mostali. But how many of their techniques have made it into the outside
world? And is human alchemy the same thing, or a different technique?
The Mostali already had these techniques at the Dawn, perhaps many
of their secrets passed to humans in the first council period? I think the
early elemental schools of sorcery are probably the original users of
alchemy among humans, but I am unsure to what degree they simply stole from
humans.
are actually Vadeli secrets, and not part of Mostali lore. Mostly secrets
of a disgusting and organic Tleilaxu-like nature.
Of course, some 'alchemy' secrets e.g. many RQ2 systemic poisons,
are really just a specific application of other knowledges. Many elves can
produce fancy potions, for example, but this is by knowledge of plant lore
and secret plants, not alchemy as such.
the substance within the 'hermetically' sealed vessel is cut off from the
effects of the normal world, in effect becoming like a small piece of the
heroplane, where simple physical actions then have a magical refining
effect. I think this is a rough Gloranthaisation of the Jung/ Campbell etc.
thinking on alchemy (not that I have read much of it, there are whole books
full of Jungs thoughts on alchemy).
Cheers
David
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