Grimoires in Glorantha

[kintire]

So if a shaman spent all his Magic Points to summon a big elemental (say: a salamander), the Sorcerer can't use his Dominate (Salamander) spell to tackle it ? Or - when the shaman's companions actually kill the spirit, the Initiate won't be able to bind it with his enchanting skills ?

The three styles of magic are not forbidden from interacting: Sorcery has the spell Spirit Block for example. If the sorcerer learnt Dominate Spirit, he could do exactly that. But it wouldn't help against a priests' companion for example.

Elementals are a bit different. All the styles of magic interact with the Runes, including the Elemental Runes, so a sorcerous Dominate (Salamander) would work fine.

 

[soltakss]

They'd be Essences for a Sorcerer, rather than Spirits.

Huh ? You lost me there. What are Essences ? In which book do I find those ?

HeroQuest terminology I'm afraid.

Some bright spark decided that the Spirit Plane/God Plane and Wizard plane were separate places that came together in a big bump. Spirits come from the Spirit Plane, Daimones come from the God Plane and Essences come from the Wizard Plane.

It gets even worse. People who are descended from those originating in the Wizard Plane do not have spirits, instead they have Essences. In Dragon Pass, one of the rivers making up the Creek Stream River (I can't remember which is which) is from the Spirit Plane, so is Spiritual Water, one comes from the God Plane and had Divine Water and one comes from the Wizard Plane and so has Essential Water.

It's a load of rubbish, in my opinion, but what do I know?

 

[kintire]

HeroQuest terminology I'm afraid.

They still have seperate otherworlds in MRP

Some bright spark decided that the Spirit Plane/God Plane and Wizard plane were separate places that came together in a big bump.

Wound together in the Great Compromise, actually. And there isn't necessarily one of each!

It gets even worse. People who are descended from those originating in the Wizard Plane do not have spirits, instead they have Essences.

And what's wrong with that? anyway its not quite true: this kind of thing is determined at death, otherwise no one could ever convert.

In Dragon Pass, one of the rivers making up the Creek Stream River (I can't remember which is which) is from the Spirit Plane, so is Spiritual Water, one comes from the God Plane and had Divine Water and one comes from the Wizard Plane and so has Essential Water.

This is very unusual. The mundane world is descended from all of the otherworlds, and you can't usually distinguish like this.

It's a load of rubbish, in my opinion, but what do I know?

But its fundamental to how Glorantha works. If the mundane world isn't a number of otherworlds run together, why do different cultures have such different myths, and how does imposing one reality on another through HeroQuesting work?

 

[Voriof]

Rurik's Grimoire Ramblings Part 2: Mechanics Nitty Gritty.

OK - so you need the Read Grimoire skill as a Sorcerer. You use it to read and learn spells from your order's Grimoire. Great, just what you needed as a Sorcerer - ANOTHER FREAKIN SKILL TO LEARN! Each spell being a skill plus all the manipulations and now this? It is enough to drive a guy to theistic worship.

My understanding from Cults II is that your Read Grimoire skill is used to cast any spells you have learned from your Grimoire instead of the individual spell skills.

That was the intent as originally written.

If you have the grimoire with you (and that has risks) you can cast any of the spells in the grimoire at your read grimoire skill. Of course, you can always learn a separate skill which allows you to cast the spell without the grimoire and as I recall, having a separate skill and the grimoire gave more than a little benefit.

But as one person noted up thread - the Read Grimoire skill is perfectly sufficient for those spells you want to cast at home at leisure such as summonings or various ceremonial or ritual spells. But defensive and adventuring spells, one had best learn for oneself.

Replacing a grimoire was, as I recall, supposed to be difficult. Its more than just a book afterall. It is about important to a sorcerer as a place of worship is to a divine user or a spirit circle is to a shaman-type.

Jeff