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Magic in Glorantha


Martin

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Now we had a similar thread on the FB group and the (sort of) consensus was that each spell was different, and even a given spell taught by a different cult might have different sensory effects. But (as always) YGWV and one of the posters said that, as a GM, they allowed their players to recognise their opponents' spirit magic spells based on the sensory effects. I do not -- in My Glorantha a Lunar Bladesharp has different sensory effects to an Orlanthi Bladesharp.

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6 minutes ago, GianniVacca said:

Now we had a similar thread on the FB group and the (sort of) consensus was that each spell was different, and even a given spell taught by a different cult might have different sensory effects. But (as always) YGWV and one of the posters said that, as a GM, they allowed their players to recognise their opponents' spirit magic spells based on the sensory effects. I do not -- in My Glorantha a Lunar Bladesharp has different sensory effects to an Orlanthi Bladesharp.

Does that mean a Lunar that learned Bladsharp 3 from his cult spirits can't learn Bladesharp 4 from a spirit summoned by a Shaman ?

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23 minutes ago, Mugen said:

Does that mean a Lunar that learned Bladsharp 3 from his cult spirits can't learn Bladesharp 4 from a spirit summoned by a Shaman ?

I think it's a GM ambience :

you can show same spell effect, regardless any difference expect spell impact / magnitude

you can show different effect, because the source of learning (lunar teacher, orlanthi teacher) ex red or blue light on your sword

you can show different effect, because the source of magic ==> you (your runes, your passions, your gods) regardless the source of learning

 

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1 hour ago, Martin said:

Do people chant or waves their arms about?

Do their tattoos glow or does light tingle from their fingers or lips?

Does magic derived from diffrent runes have different colours?

Yes to all, IMO (but not always - if you make your sorcery by geometry and architecture, you don't also have to wave your arms about).

Colours might correspond to the Runic colours, for instance.

Edited by Akhôrahil
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27 minutes ago, Akhôrahil said:

I like to tell my players when they (or someone they meet) is shining with an aura of magic from everything that's cast on them.

At the insane end of the spectrum, we get hero auras like Harrek's and Jar-eel's from the Prince of Sartar comic.Image result for jar eel prince of sartar

image.png.ed62221e316e6ed86ec2eb89c263f16a.png

I like that a lot. It allows us to make use of great iconographic art. For example, just the other day I was watching a video essay on Chinese animation: it mentioned how early Chinese animators took Tang dynasty religious art and incorporated some of the art conventions into their films. One of these was to give the gods flowing ribbons behind them. I can picture Kralorelan heroes, all buffed up, inexplicably gaining such magically flowing ribbons, or a Loskalmi Man-of-All gaining a full-body byzantine halo or glory with flowing runes or something. Great stuff.

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On 1/13/2020 at 10:19 AM, Martin said:

What does magic look and  feel like in glorantha?

Do people chant or waves their arms about?

Do their tattoos glow or does light tingle from their fingers or lips?

Does magic derived from diffrent runes have different colours?

Doing shameless self-publicity: The Armies and Enemies of Dragon Pass suggests possible aspects of magic that might be seen/heard/felt etc. primarily by Element, but also for Chaos, and a few other Runes, and also the Elemental Hero effects that might be witnessed.

There are also some descriptions of magics being cast and magical effects.

There's a great deal more in the book that just armies and warfare...

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/296535/The-Armies-and-Enemies-of-Dragon-Pass?src=hottest

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On 1/13/2020 at 5:19 AM, Martin said:

What does magic look and  feel like in glorantha?

Do people chant or waves their arms about?

Do their tattoos glow or does light tingle from their fingers or lips?

Does magic derived from diffrent runes have different colours?

Is using magic tiring?

Yes! 😉

Snarky response aside, these are very, very broad questions with many, many answers. And we've got examples shown in RQG, not to mention Prince of Sartar.

People will chant, wave, sing, dance, concentrate, meditate, count their beads, etc.

Some spells will cause tattoos to glow, or spark, or darken. Some will cause flares of magical light. Some will cause eyes to glow as they detect or sense substances. 

Darkness magic may appear hazy or shadowy or smoky. Fire magic may dance like flames, or be a burst of light. Air magic may whistle like the wind, or boom or rumble.

Magic will "tire" you in certain ways - your "essence" (i.e. magic points) is diminished, or your connection to the deity dwindles. Other effects could apply particularly if performing long-running rituals or ceremonies.  We don't have fatigue points in RQG any more, but these types of rituals may require CON rolls (or similar) to keep at the task.

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3 hours ago, Bill the barbarian said:

Page-08-Flat.thumb.jpg.ea33f0154c575f2dbe1e8f0b33cecbd9.jpg

This is  one of my faves from the comic Price of Sartar Any of the kids know who this is? (No grognards, allowed. That includes you jajagappa!)

I think she worked as a dental tech last time I got work done...

(Sorry for blowing your answer, Bill)

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5 hours ago, Martin said:

Hey guys

Yes i am well aware that the effects and things happen i asked about

I asked the questions more as a jumping off point . hoping for people to suggest some cool examples

I'm not opposed to Avatar the Last Airbender-style movements. Maybe not as essential to the spell but to loosely quote the Wheel of Time (which has similar movements for spells) "a somatic mnemonic". An Ernaldan priestess performing a temple dance to activate a spell seems thematically appropriate for Glorantha, for example.

Then we have the auras/glories shown above. For inspirations for these, I suggest looking up religious iconography and imagery from lots of different cultures. I've discussed Chinese art, and Christian art some, but there is of course tons and tons of stuff from Indian, Southeast Asia, Tibet, and inspiration from pre-Columbian America, or even some surviving European pre-Christian stuff. 

Mantras/spell words are another staple. I mean, there's a reason it's called "spells" after all. Words have power. There's a comic strip in one of the rulebooks, I believe (I've only seen it in a preview) where an Orlanth Rune Lord heroforms(?) by shouting psyching him up after taking damage by chanting/saying "I can still breathe." and bringing down Orlanth's storms on the enemies. It's a great little moment. Whether you want to go full-on anime and have people shout the names of their attacks or not is up to you, but I think going more poetic and less "Bladesharp!" is probably good. Battlecries might double as spell-words for the more martial cults. Sorcerers and the likes might need longer chants, even sustained ones, like a Catholic exorcism or a Hindu religious chant. Skyrim's shouts are a very literal example, where the spell IS the word. There is something incredibly satisfying about shouting "fus do rah!" at an enemy and see them flung halfway to the next village. It seems like a VERY Orlanthi thing to do. :P

Other effects include more "subtle ones". A faint glow about a person. Shining eyes. Vibrations through the air, like shockwaves. Earth around them warping in some sense. Heat emanation. Their voice taking on a different quality. The entire body surrounded by a mirage of fire, if not a real one. Or swallowed by shadow. Going monochromatic, or getting additional coloration like Jar-Eel above. Etc. 

Edited by Sir_Godspeed
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2 hours ago, Sir_Godspeed said:

There's a comic strip in one of the rulebooks, I believe (I've only seen it in a preview) where an Orlanth Rune Lord heroforms(?) by shouting psyching him up after taking damage by chanting/saying "I can still breathe." and bringing down Orlanth's storms on the enemies. It's a great little moment.

Yeah that's from HQG, it's a fun panel. One of the most anime moments in Glorantha I've seen 😛

Screenshot_20200115-101550.jpg

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2 hours ago, Richard S. said:

Yeah that's from HQG, it's a fun panel. One of the most anime moments in Glorantha I've seen 😛

Screenshot_20200115-101550.jpg

This page describes the effects at the end of the Battle of Iceland a.k.a. the Battle of the Auroch Hills, when Orlanth is freed at least partly, the Great Winter is broken and Orlanthi Rune Magic becomes possible again after a long time ...

And yes, that is a great illustration. And as it is from Kalin Kadiev I'm still hoping that at some time the Prince of Sartar comic will reach this point, so that we can see this page in full color ...

(Yeah, an old man may still have dreams ... 😉)

Edited by Oracle
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Pretty sure that Jeff & Kalin have both said that they each hope & intend to get back to it... but that it's very very time-intensive, and very low pay, and they both need to prioritize the commercial projects that pay somewhere close to market rates...

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10 hours ago, g33k said:

Pretty sure that Jeff & Kalin have both said that they each hope & intend to get back to it... but that it's very very time-intensive, and very low pay, and they both need to prioritize the commercial projects that pay somewhere close to market rates...

of course it is clearly understandable (and understood)

when I say I miss Prince of Sartar comic, I m not criticizing*, just saiying it is a good work and I hope it will continue (BUT after full description of god/goddess/heroquesting/sorcery /... in RQG)

 

* = giving bad words - not sure of the word to use

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10 minutes ago, French Desperate WindChild said:

of course it is clearly understandable (and understood)

when I say I miss Prince of Sartar comic, I m not criticizing*, just saiying it is a good work and I hope it will continue (BUT after full description of god/goddess/heroquesting/sorcery /... in RQG)

 

* = giving bad words - not sure of the word to use

Totally understood, I feel exactly the same way. It's what made me take the leap into Glorantha (was only vaguely familiar with the name and something about the bronze age theme before), and I'd love to see it continued. I don't think anyone here sees your comment as a criticism of the people behind it, just enthusiasm for the work itself. :)

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