From: Thomas Doniol-Valcroze (tconrad@orbital.fr)
Date: Mon 16 Dec 1996 - 19:46:28 EET
Hi, there!
First of all, I must warn you I=B9m french. So my english might be=20
sometimes faltering, and, though I have bought every english-written=20
RQ book I could find, there are many spells, terms, places, people,=20
etc... whose english name is a mystery for me.
Praying for your leniency, here is what I wanted to say:
I think we all agree to say that one of Glorantha=B9s great=20
particularities is that magic is a common thing, and that almost=20
anyone can have some.
Of course, what most PCs are interested in is combat magic and others=20
similar powerful effects. But rules are full of spells that PCs=20
(almost) never use, whose purpose is to give credilbilty to a=20
magic-full world (like many Bless spells, Peaceful Cut, and so on...).
I sometimes regret that (my) players often neglect such spells: they=20
would easily forget to cast a Peaceful Cut after some hunting, but I=20
don=B9t think they would forget to use an Open Seas before sailing away=20
from shore.
Anyway, my point is that many spells have probably not been=20
created/found for combat, but for everyday use. Bladesharp could help=20
you chop your wood, Strenght would help you stack it, Disrupt would=20
allow you to scare wolves away, Heal, Light, Ignition and Repair have=20
many obvious uses, and so on...
In this point of view, I guess that many more common little spells and=20
rituals do exist in everyday life, and are commonly used by=20
Gloranthans as mere conveniences.
While I don=B9t mean to suggest that you can find some =B3washing machine=
=B2=20
spells, I have been considering more seriously the existence of a=20
Contraception spell.
I see it as a quite common spirit magic spell, taught by the local=20
shaman or priest (though some cultures might not have it, or permit=20
it).
But this implies some questions (and not only =B3Do you need your=20
parents=B9 agreement?=B2):
If we consider that Glorantha does not have any more efficient=20
My second question is: Would you make it an Uleria spell?
contraceptives than corresponding Earth cultures, then what effects on=20
populations would a magical contraception have? Wouldn=B9t it unbalance=20
the population figures? Because I guess that non-civilized (in the=20
Gloranthan sense) culture members typically have many children and a=20
high child mortality.
Because, since Uleria is a Fertility Goddess, it would not seem=20
logical, at first glance, to give her a contraception spell. But=20
Uleria is also Goddess of Love in all senses, including sex.
This could be explain why Uleria priestesses can =B3propose their=20
services=B2 through Sun County villages, whithout getting pregnant too=20
often.
What do you think? Is this Gloranthan heresy, or does it make sense?
Yours, Thomas.
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