[Glorantha] Moved from: HeroQuest-RPG Re: The Missionaries

[Jane Williams]

Moved list, since the moderator requested it ages back.

> > Still, you've explained why it
> > needed magic, not just mundane teaching. We've dealt with that bit
> > of the discussion.
> > Trust isn't the point, not being able to learn is.

John:

> Jane, do you consider someone with a phobia to be brain damaged?

Huh? If the phobia was caused by damage to the brain, then yes. Since AFAIK
we *don't* know what causes phobias in the RW (well, I don't), I doubt if
I'd make that assumption, though it seems a likely one, in fact come to
think of it almost a tautology. Inherent defect from the start is about the
only other option. But since we've known for a long time that we're not
talking about a phobia, so what?

> If someone with, say, agoraphobia is told that going out into the
> open is safe, if they are shown (by someone else's example) that
> going out into the open is safe, or if they are even forced to
> experiance that going out into the open is safe, does that mean they
> have now 'learned' to function in the open permanently?

Does this have anything to do with it? John, are you missing posts or
something? I know some groups are having this trouble, could be worth
reading via the group web interface?

> I think what the others are trying to say is that there may be any
> number of reasons why people A cannot 'learn' from the example of
> people B (especially in the world of Gloranthan) that don't have to
> involve brain damage.

But we already know what the reasons are in this case, so why are we going
over this yet again?

What they're unable to do is (checking exact words) "But the important point
is that they were INCAPABLE of knowing or understanding this--and many other
things"

Not incapable of doing it *after* understanding it, incapable of
understanding it in the first place. It's not even a case of the obvious
mundane explanation of knowledge having been lost over generations, it's
actual damage (yeah, mental, not physical, no surprises there) that prevents
that knowledge being absorbed. Which is a wonderful, fascinating idea!

We know exactly (well, more exactly) what had been damaged. We know what did
it. "parts of their souls that had been damaged by the overabundance of
Darkness in the universe."

Both quotes from Greg's last post, back here:
http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/HeroQuest-RPG/message/29510

And if that's what Greg says he meant by a story that he wrote, well, he
ought to know.

Now can, we move on to the interesting questions, not rehashing the old ones
that have been answered? 

Like, if an imbalance of elements can damage souls over a long period of
time, will the far shorter Windstop have any similar but lesser effects on a
few people? How does one then cure this? Looks like those missionaries knew,
but that's a real case of knowledge that's been useless for millenia and
hence lost. So go and ask the ancestors... Plot hook, scenario hook....

Were the "many other things" the same for all cases, or was it a different
selection for each patient? Not sure what effect or game use this would have
myself other than a bit more randomness, but there probably is one.

In fact, if element imbalance damages the ability to learn, then on an
individual basis,  what happens if you lock someone up in the classical
melodramatic Dark Cell for a few years? We can look up the mundane effects,
but if there are magical ones too, that's getting interesting.

Damage is specified as being to soul, not to spirit or essence. The
missionaries are theists, so that's their area of interest and expertise. I
wonder if the same sort of damage would also have happened to the bits of
brain tuned to the other magical realms? Again, no point in using RW
comparisons here, Glorantha doesn't work the same way.