From: Curtis Shenton (curtiss@netcom.com)
Date: Wed 09 Jun 1993 - 22:30:21 EEST
>
>
>
> SORCERY NOTES (C) Paul Reilly and Mike Holliday 1993
>
> Here's a short description of our system, slightly changed from the
> version I sent to Oliver Jovanovic. It seems apropos to post it in the
> light of the current discussion. I lack the time to polish it
> so it may be rough in spots. Let me know what you think.
>
Overall I have to say I really like it. Somehow sorcers seem like they
would "feel" right using this system. I'm pretty sure the basic premise
is sound. And other details can be polished later. That's what
playtesting is for after all. :)
>
> We've experimented with several ideas about how sorcery
> could work. Our method has been to first look at how we want magicians
> to function in the society and then to reverse engineer from there.
> We also like the idea that there are laws of nature in Glorantha and
> that the different magic systems (Divine, Spirit, Sorcery) have some
> underlying similarities that reflect these laws.
I really like this idea. One problem I think all three magic systems in
RQ have is that their are really countless magic systems in Glorantha.
And there is really no way to fix this. Writing up a seperate magic
system just for Godunya worshippers doesn't make sense. So the next best
thing is to base it off of sorcery. But by emphasing the ways the three
magic systems are similar I think later variations(like Godunya or even
Lunar magic) will be easier to develop. The similarities will hopefully
help people customize later magic systems for different parts of a
Glorantha campaign. After all I don't think Mostali magic should be
_exactly like Malkioni sorcery, just very similar.
>
> We also saw that the description of Western people and culture was
> not in agreement with the sorcery system. We tried to take the
> descriptions as canonical when building a new system. Apparently this was
> misleading, for example on the question of Runic Sorcery:
> Basically sorcerors could dedicate themselves to a small number of Runes,
> increasing say their fire powers at the cost of their magic in general.
Sounds good to me.
>
> [very interesting background on what the Shaman's and Sorceror's
worldviews are deleted]
I really like the parellel here. It always seemed to me that if the
shaman could develop part of himself into a fetch other cultures and
worldviews would be able to do soemthing similar. In fact given the
nature of Glorantha I'd be shocked if no one else developed something
like this.
I also like the conecpt of Presense. I once tried to develop
something along the same lines myself( I was using lounar magic for
sorcery and just ignoring the RQIII sorcery system) and was basing the
was basically a substitute familiar and the wizard was really at a
only fixes many problems with the current sorcery system it will be a
more interesting system to characters in. The mindset of sorcerors under
the presence system will be more in line with what I think of when I
think of a wizard.
> ************************************************8
> The main advantages of this system as I see it:
>
> Sorcerors get to make a strategic
> decision as to whether they should let their magic be 'out' in running
> spells or kept in a reserve. An example would be afforded by Sauron vs.
> Gandalf in _The Lord of the Rings_. Sauron has most of his magic 'out'
> in running spells while Gandalf has few running spells but instead keeps
> a strategic reserve.
I think this will be quite an interesting addition to Glorantha. Wizards
will have lots of options for making developing their own unique style
and tactics without making them all powerfull.
>
> Anyway, that's the basic idea. I have skill (Recall Presence, Self-Discipline)
> and spell descriptions written up and there was also a substantial Runic
> component where sorcerors could dedicate portions of their Presence to different
> Runes. Each Spell had two or three Runes and you could only use dedicated
> Presence on a spell with that Rune. This was based on comments such as:
>
>
> "Western Wizards and sorcerors love to use the standard Gloranthan Runes."
> - p. 21, Player's Book: Genertela, authors Greg Stafford & Sandy Petersen.
>
> I've deleted the Runic component of this system in this description
> since I've heard that Greg is now (perplexingly) of the opinion that
> Western magic is not Runic. However, I'm writing it up a variant for
> FREE INT, das RuneQuest-Magazin.
That's too bad. I've always liked the runic ties of the Western Wizards.
Any chance you'll post this sytem to the regular RQ digest?
> .
>
> - Paul
-- Curtis Shenton curtiss@netcom.com internet 4@3091 WWIVnet Currently working on something, I'm not sure what, for WotC 0,,
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