On Sat, 22 Feb 2003, David Gunderson wrote: @> >#I don't think Vlad is considered average, not by any means, but I @> >#don't think of him as an Uber Witch either. Heck, Noish pa gave him @> >#the anti vomit charm and Vlad never even thought of it. I believe that @> >#Morrolan might be a more powerful witch (warlock?), @> @> When you think about it, Morrolan almost HAS to be a better @> witch/sorcerer/etc then Vlad, just by sheer practice. That's always been @> one of the things about Drageara that intruiged me : A human could be @> fighting a dragearan who's had 300 years longer then him to improve his @> skills. When you consider that, Vlad's advancement through the ranks of the @> Jhereg becomes even more impressive :-P This is addressed explicitly, albeit in an offhand way. Morrolan was burning something (either rosemary or basil, can't remember which) in an attempt to see around the corner, and Vlad arrives and tells him its the wrong one. Morrolan makes some comment about having been a practicing witch for 300 years before Vlad was born and Vlad basically says, "It still ought to be (basil|rosemary)." I am desperately trying to remember which book this occurs in. I bet it was Jhereg. Anyway. It seems likely that Vlad is a better witch than Morrolan is, although Morrolan is definitely a better sorcerer (and probably a better swordsman). Noish-pa, of course, is better than Vlad is. Assuming that it's that straightforward, and not something like "I'm better at doing X and you're better at doing Y". @> Something else to think about - Have we ever seen a witchcraft/magic hybrid @> ? Maybe something Morrolan cooked up and I've just forgotten ? Because if @> not, that could be REALLY neat :-) Vlad uses a symbol from sorcery when he does his teleport in Taltos. He explicitly says that it doesn't mean anything in that context, though, so it probably doesn't count. From the language used in the books, they seem to be incompatible forces. (Although, of course, this could be deliberate trickery.)