05-12-2017, 09:28 AM | #1 |
Join Date: Nov 2006
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Glamour as the Sanctity of older gods system idea
I was thinking about the faery folk and how they came to be. I feel they were once part of the cosmology of older pagan gods and are somewhat bound to them. Centaurs, saytyrs, nymphs and dryads to the Greek; dwarves, elves and trolls to the Norse and so on. I was thinking that somehow the older gods that lost power left behind their Sanctity which is now called glamour. It is a force that is similar to mama but is strongly aspected toward the older gods cosmology. Thus Greek glamour would power the supernatural creatures and carries of the Greek cosmology like hydras, chimeras and so on but other supernatural creatures from other cosmologies would not be sustained by it. This set up would keep the supernatural monsters in their own areas instead of having them mix and become homogeneous throughout the world. Of course the people who build dungeons would bring in exotics from around the world to guard their treasure but for the most part trolls would be more numerous in Northern Europe than in Asia due to glamour. Also wizards can use glamour like mana but they must use the right language and symbols to control it. A wizard trying to use Norse glamour must invoke spells from runes and speak the language to cast spells properly whereas a wizard using mana would just cast spells due to mana being generic. I think this might tie in with the new Silk Road supplement.
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05-12-2017, 09:58 AM | #2 |
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Lawrence, KS
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Re: Glamour as the Sanctity of older gods system idea
That doesn't seem to have much to do with the way the term Glamour is used in GURPS for a certain kind of modifier. So the choice of name might be confusing. But the idea is reasonable, at least as a possible basis for a world: Magic as calling on the power of forgotten or dethroned gods, gods who have fallen on hard times.
The ancient Romans had the word "numen." Originally, as I understand it, it meant "nod," as in a nod of assent. But it came to mean Jove's nod of assent, and then the power of that nod to send lesser spirits and minor deities to do his bidding, and then the power exercised by those spirits. And now it survives in English as the adjective "numinous." Perhaps the word "numen" could convey the desired meaning? Webster says "a spiritual force or influence often identified with a natural object, phenomenon, or place," which seems fairly close. Or you could look at the Spirit modifier in GURPS Powers, which includes the fickleness of the supernatural.
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05-12-2017, 10:33 AM | #3 | |
Join Date: Nov 2006
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Re: Glamour as the Sanctity of older gods system idea
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05-12-2017, 11:00 AM | #4 |
Join Date: May 2009
Location: In Rio de Janeiro, where it was cyberpunk before it was cool.
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Re: Glamour as the Sanctity of older gods system idea
So glamour would be related to a local cultural consensus ?
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05-12-2017, 11:10 AM | #5 |
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: On the road again...
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Re: Glamour as the Sanctity of older gods system idea
I usually tend to portray the fae not so much as "fickle" but as a kind of "blue and orange" moral compass: Their own moral codes are different from ours. This doesn't mean that we cannot understand their point of view, just that we cannot judge them by our own codes.
Look at it this way: they may see that causing a little injury can cause those strange humans to laugh. Therefore, they conclude that causing a lot of injury can be even more humorous, and wonder why those strange humans don't laugh, since after all they're only providing a lot of what the humans want: an injury to laugh at. Likewise fae of winter. They may see that humans like snow: they build snowmen and throw snowballs at each other. So they overdo it and cause a blizzard. They don't understand why the humans start cursing them for it; after all, the humans wanted snow! Basically, fae in my games don't think in terms of moderation. If a little is a good thing, a lot is a better thing. From our point of view, that may be "fickle". From their point of view, it makes perfect sense!
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05-12-2017, 11:10 AM | #6 |
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Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Forest Grove, Beaverton, Oregon
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Re: Glamour as the Sanctity of older gods system idea
But does it matter more on what gods were/are local, or what people's cultural beliefs were/are?
Can the fey move with human diaspora or are they stuck with more "fixed" deific forces/entities? I remember a fantasy comedy series where they must remain near humans descended from "their people". The protagonist was a very mixed guy in New York annoyed by "mythical" critters from around the globe.
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05-12-2017, 11:18 AM | #7 |
Join Date: Nov 2006
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Re: Glamour as the Sanctity of older gods system idea
In a way. I would think that the numen or glamour would be the remnants of previous Sanctity levels of the older gods who have been demoted in power. It would be free magical energy like mana but would be strongly aspected by the Sanctity from which it came. This a wizard would have to understand the culture, language and symbols of the numen from the cosmology he is using as a power source. For example, the numen would shape what kind of elementals there are; earth, air, fire and water in Europe while earth, air, fire, wood and metal in Asia.
Some religions like the Abrahamic ones are intolerant of other gods and magical power so they tend to drive the numen away while in other religions like Buddhism and Hinduism, the numen of the older gods is not driven out and can exist side be side with them. |
05-12-2017, 11:38 AM | #8 | |
Join Date: Nov 2006
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Re: Glamour as the Sanctity of older gods system idea
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