the mechanics of myth

From: Joshua Neff <figaro9_at_...>
Date: Fri, 05 Mar 2004 05:09:17 -0000

I've been reading up on the history of the Lunar Empire in the Glorantha.com library. Great stuff, very inspirational for my current Lunar game.

Some of the stuff that happens is gloriously epic & weird & cool. It's exactly the kind of stuff I'd love to see in my game, & if I were a PC in a HeroQuest game, it's exactly the kind of stuff I'd want my hero to do.

But I was wondering how some of it would work using the HeroQuest mechanics. I'd love to hear how others on this list would do it.

For example, "When the Red Emperor wrestled with Sheng Seleris it was not merely a battle of muscles and grips, for both were Runelords and mages, and their conflict extended beyond the physical plane. During the psychic turmoil each was probing the other, seeking secret fears to use as a weapon in the struggle." A wrestling match that spans physical & magical planes? Cool!

Or, "The Red Emperor used the secret fear of the barbarians to summon their Goddess of Tormented Death, who ruled over a hell reserved for outlaws, exiles, and captured sylphs. He courted her grandly using alien sorceries as his calling card; inhuman promises as his proposal; and sealing their vows with unholy rites performed by forgotten deities. The child of this union was named Yara Aranis." Summoning a foreign goddess? Courting her with "alien sorceries"? Getting a goddess pregnant? Would this just be a heroquest? A heroquest in a foreign mythology? And then severely changing the heroquest (or making it up as you go along)? Or is there a different way you guys would handle this?

Here's another one: "Trouble fell first amid the very heart of Peloria in the year 4/34 (1443 ST.) when Sheng Seleris revealed the power which he had stolen from the Emperor in their wrestling match of 3/34 (1389), 54 years earlier. He had hidden it in the heart of a ruby-throated hummingbird which lived in the Gardens of Carresh. Sheng Seleris had stolen a portion of the Emperor's worship and sovereignty." Woah! Sheng Seleris stole a portion of the Emperor's power & hid it in a hummingbird? First of all, that sounds like something from one of my favorite books, "The Dictionary of the Khazars." Brilliant. And this would work with HQ mechanics how?

Now, I realize that these examples are all of the Red Emperor, who is himself a diety (or demigod) (pardon the old school D&D reference there). But this kind of surreal stuff is one of the reasons I want to game in Glorantha, & seems to me to be the stuff PC heroes should be doing. Right?