Sir'hibas vs Sadhu?

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    • Sir'hibas vs Sadhu?

      After wrapping up most of the map creation for a Shard dream on Furcadia, I was able to talk a friend of mine from Furcadia into giving a look at the Shard rules. I bought her a PDF copy off RPGnow.com since she lives in New York and I in Minnesota, and she decided that she wanted to start building a Shard character to use in that dream. We have not completely fleshed out all of her details yet, but she does seem quite intent on playing a Sadhu character.

      I am happy to see her so enthusiastic about doing this as she told me how she once tried to get involved in another tabletop RPG years ago only to have her character immediately killed off in an attempt to keep her out of the game. This will be her first real venture into using a tabletop gaming system. There may be a few others interested too, but my focus is on getting her introduced to the setting and set up first.

      The issue I have is that I am not exactly clear on the difference between the magic and rituals that might be required of a Sadhu character versus a Sir'hibas sorcerer. If the Devah have granted Sadhu their ability directly, is some ritualistic preparation still required?

      My thinking on this, and please do clarify for me if I am off base here, is that instead of performing an intense ceremony or ritual at the exact time the Sadhu wishes to use magic, they should have perhaps done more religious ones at some point prior. Perhaps a show of devotion to the Devah, if you will. If the Sadhu neglected their religious duties or devotion for too long, their magic simply would not work until they do start paying more attention to them.

      The reason I am uncertain is that the description of the Sadhu says that their magic appears to be more miraculous in nature, yet the chapter on magic seems to focus exclusively on the more ceremonial Sir'hibasi magic.

      I'd really appreciate any input on this so that I can help get my friend started on the right track both in Shard and tabletop Roleplaying in general.

      Thanks,
      -=Targath=-
    • RE: Sir'hibas vs Sadhu?

      A very good question, Targath. :)

      For all practical purposes, the magic practiced by a sadhu and a sir'hibas are almost identical. They both require elaborate rituals, chanting, singing, prayer bowls/beads, incense, and elaborate tattoos etched upon a janah's skin. The main difference, as you pointed out, is that a sadhu's magic is much more religion-centric - prayers focusing on specific devah or holy days, incenses known to be favored by various temples, tattoos that are much more religious in their significance, etc. But the "laws" of Darduni magic are the same and must always be observed.

      Hope that helps.

      -Aaron
    • Thanks Aaron. :)

      I figured that the magic had to work pretty much the same, but wanted to know for sure because I am certain that my friend will be asking me for specifics once we get her character ready.

      I can tell that she is excited about playing because she was already trying to get into character while just chatting in the dream with me the other day. I hope that I do a better job of introducing her to tabletop RPGs than the last GM she had, but I did tell her that I will be new to the GM side of things myself, so expect some flubs on my part. :P
      -=Targath=-