From:	Fade <runefo@***.UIO.NO>
Subject:	Ritual magic
Date:	Wed, 20 May 1998 23:09:35 +0000

From the discussions on the list recently, I've gotten an impression
that a lot of people think ritual magic is very different from
sorcery, and that spells can be cast through rituals that cannot be
cast through normal spellcasting.

I assume the basis for this is the 'ghost dance', since there's
nothing elsewhere that supports this to my immediate knowledge.
It is apparent from several sources (Harlequin's Back, for instance)
that sacrificing one's own life for some purpose lends immense
magical power, also on an individual basis - the ghost dance's
'power' was then most likely from that sacrifice, and not from ritual
- the ritual was used to strike beyond visual range, as is normal
rituals.

So I'd say that ritual magic is only more powerful than regular
sorcery in that it has some special conditions it can avoid -
primarily, LOS or sustaining, as well as giving potentially more
dice.

I know some of you won't agree at all, and in part I agree - it's
cool with rituals that can do really weird or wonderful stuff. But
for ordinary play, I'd say the above is the rule, not the exception,
and that anything outside that should be one-shot deals and not
common at all.



--
Fade

And the Prince of Lies said:
"To reign is worth ambition, though in Hell:
Better to reign in hell than to serve in heaven."
-John Milton, Paradise Lost