[Glorantha] Re: Rune Magic

[Kevin McDonald]

Ian writes:
> One of my key issues is this paradox between most-common and rare, coupled with the loss of cults as the source of magic for most people, not the existence of foci, which others seem to believe upserts me but doesn't.
Yea, until I see otherwise I am assuming that by "common" they mean 
"wide-spread". In other words, rune artifacts can be found anywhere in 
Glorantha. (Do "runes" always come from gods, or can they also come from 
spirits and essences? Is this question even relevant in MRQ?) The 
locally popular form of "common magic" might well differ from place to 
place. YGWV.

Is HQ common magic really all that cult related, though? To me, it 
appears to fall more into the "communal knowledge" area. "Uncle Fred 
showed me that if I say a quick prayer and toss some bread in the river 
then the river's spirit will tell its children to support me as I swim 
across."

As for the rarity of magic issue, I am not sure "Battle Magic" was all 
*that* common in the old versions of RQ. It cost money to learn, and the 
vast majority of individuals are fairly poor. Perhaps the book prices 
were inflated for adventurers, but it still looked relatively expensive. 
How much excess capital would your typical farmer have on any given day? 
Without looking at the numbers, I would say that magic in RQ was a perk 
of relatively well-to-do commoners - a case of the rich getting richer. 
Those living hand-to-mouth might never have any personal magic. They 
might occasionally scrape together enough to pay a more prosperous 
neighbor to cast a spell or two for them, though.

My hope is that this "rune artifact" thing is an addition rather than a 
replacement for other forms of personal magic. As an addition it would 
be one more interesting way that Glorantha is magically active, in the 
same general category as power crystals and truestone. As a replacement 
it would mean Glorantha is a bit less "alive". Time will tell.

~Kevin McD