"Bladesharp" and other "combat" spells.

From: Bryan J. Maloney (jacobus@sonata.cc.purdue.edu)
Date: Thu 10 Feb 1994 - 20:30:55 EET


Ahem, what's this stuff about "bladesharp" as a "combat" spell. Every
sensible Orlanthi farmer knows that the PRIMARY use of the spell is to
get your plow through the tough bits of sod.

(Or is RQ4 going to abandon the wonderfully "civilian" feel that had been
building up and go back to a more "wargaming" style of RPG?)

Now, "bladesharp" at very high levels would be a different matter, and would
only be available to specialists.

One more thing:
Bludgeon: The PRIMARY use of this spell is by metalsmiths and carpenters,
who cast it upon their hammers. This spell is also used by folks who have
jobs breaking rocks.

The list could be endless.

Anyway, unless RQ:AiG is going to regress to its purely militaristic old
emphasis (and the 2nd edition was very heavily combat-militarism emphatic
by modern standards), we need to rethink the basic philosophy of magic and
many spells.

Remember, the PRIMARY use of the vast majority of magic in Glorantha is NOT
for combat, even spells that those of wargaming mentality call "combat"
spells. If RuneQuest is going to truely become "RuneQuest: Adventures in
Glorantha", let the magic reflect that.

Therefore: Farming cults would probably teach "bladesharp" 1 but no higher.
Craft cults might teach "bludgeon" 1 but no higher, etc.

Remember, a knife can be a tool or a weapon, in many cultures it functioned
as both. We, in our age of narrow specialization, have often lost the
ability to see this versatility of function.

Now, some spells are definitely "combat" in that their function is far
less amenable to adaptation to a variety of situations. The only uses
I can come up with for Speedart and Multimissile is to give one a better
chance of hitting something else and doing damage to it.

But this does not change the fact that emphasis on the "combat" aspects of
magic is too damned heavy--unless RQ:AiG is meant to continue the D&D
tradition of magic and campaign settings, that is...


0,,


This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.7 : Sat 05 Jul 2003 - 20:34:51 EEST