Hi all,

after a "hiatus" in Hârn gaming for approximately 2 years (since Bill Gant moved from London to Singapore), I might come back to some sort of HârnMaster/HârnWorld gaming... playing/writing via eMail & Skype with one of my players from a campaign we played YEARS ago (it's been a while... 10 years and more have passed since then... he played the Shek-Pvar "Hafgan" in my campaign). Björn was always eager to add some more chapters to the story of his most favourite RPG character ever. It was one of the things one of us would always bring up when talking about the "good old times with RPG gaming" - getting back into our old story, back to the old characters, back to old friends & foes, and to tie up all these loose ends...

Anyway... in preparation for this (even though it's not set in stone yet that it will happen...) I blew the dust off my old HM/HW collection and started reading myself back into the material...

For some reason, I have the impression that we never read all the details in HMM. Might be because we started our campaign back in the days of HM1 and switched to HMC/HMM within one year after its publication - and maybe we were more concerned with "mechanics" than with the "background".

Could it be that attunement to a convocation is described a bit deeper or different in HMM compared to HM1 (or HMG)?

So a Shek-Pvar Mavari is building up a "foundation" in himself (his Aura?) to which he then adds a bit of the "principle" (or magic energy) of his convocation.
In most cases, this "adding of the principle" is done with a "Jorum". (Which is created with the Neutral Spell of the same name.)
The principle is then stored in his Aura and remains there until he dies.

Am I wrong, or is HMM the only source that describes it like this?

So in other words, the step by step process world be:
* Shek-Pvar Mavari builds the foundation (which takes months...)
* He is given a Jorum to achieve attunement.
* The principle within the Jorum is released and (if all goes well) directly absorbed by the Mavari who stores it in his Aura.
* This enables him to access the principle from then on and thereby work magic of the given convocation.

First of all, in case HMM really IS the only source describing it like this:
I DO like this.
It is almost a scientific explaination to why and how Shek-Pvar can access the magical energies to cast spells.

However, I have some questions/thoughts:

Jorum:
Surely this can not be the only source for the principle in an attunement process?
(I believe HMM only says that IN MOST CASES a Jorum is used...)
If the Jorum would be the only source: Where exactly did the first Shek-Pvar ever get his Jorum from?
So... which other sources exist that the Shek-Pvar could get his spark of principle from?

"Powering" spells:
Where exactly does the Shek-Pvar take the principle from that he channels into the form he created when casting a spell?
Does he take it from within him (from the principle stored in his Aura), or does he open a "rift" to another sphere/dimension/plane from where he takes it (and the principle within him enables him to do so)?
I believe it was the latter... wasn't there a neutral spell discibing something like this?
And if he takes the principle from within him: Wouldn't he then loose it over time? Or does it re-generate?

Can a principle be lost?
So the Shek-Pvar, when attuning himself to a convocation, stores some of its principle in his Aura...
That allows him to use it to power spells or access the "plane" of this principle and put some of it into his spell.
Is there any way he could ever "loose" that bit of principle in his Aura or have it taken from him?
How could that happen? Spells? Miracles? Deity/demonic powers?
And if it is possible to happen - I assume that would prevent the Shek-Pvar from casting any spells of the convocation he lost the principle for? He would basically loose his attunement?
(Now... that would allow me as the GM to do some NASTY stuff to the Shek-Pvar...)


Any sources with an official answer to this?
And if not - how would you handle it? What would you allow (and how would it work), and what wouldn't you?


Thanks a lot in advance for your input!


Best Regards,

Timo

HM1 and HMM are VERY different in this.

HM1/HMG a mage attunes to a single element. They keep that attunement their whole lives unless, in a rare case, they become a grey mage. They effectively get bonuses in the area and related convocations and equivelent penalties in the opposing area(s).

HMM the mage adds attunement of each convocation in turn. They become "grey" by obtaining attunement to all convocations (so actually they become rainbow mages not grey mages)



In the ether surronding the physical world in which souls and spirits dwell their are also pockets of convocational energy. A mage creates a spell form while gathering convocational energy in the ether. When the spell is cast the mage opens a channel for the energy to enter the physical world, enter the spell form and power spell effects.

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