Thanks, Mike. I was thinking the mechanics would be simple (although I
wasn't thinking "not exciting"...), but it's good to be reminded of
the power that description & elaboration play in regard to HQ mechanics.
wrote:
wrote:
> > 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.
>
> Ah, here's the joy and sorrow in HQ. if you and your heroes take the
trouble to be
> descriptive, it sounds cool as the stuff below. But mechanically,
it's very simple, and if you
> focus on the mechanic, it's not very exciting.
>
> >
> > 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!
>
> I think this is a quest challenge with extraordinary support.
>
> >
> > 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;
>
> Lunar sorcery as an augment
>
> > inhuman promises as his proposal;
>
> Relationships as an augment
>
> > and sealing their vows with unholy rites performed by forgotten
> > deities.
>
> > Lunar Mythology for the ceremony.
>
> 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?
>
> "Just" is the tricky word here.
>
> > A heroquest in a foreign mythology?
>
> Yes.
>
> > 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?
> >
> The question becomes one of whether there is a good myth that fits
that the actors can
> use to cast their targets into effectively.
>
>
> > 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.
>
> This is "just" a description of where he kept the relationship
described below.
>
> > Sheng Seleris had stolen a portion of the Emperor's worship and
> > sovereignty."
>
> Relationship: Worshipped and Obeyed by (Kostaddi and whatever else
it was)
>
>
> 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?
>
> The amount Sheng won was the amount he staked in the quest challenge.
>
> > 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?
>
> Yup! Or to die while trying.
>
> Mike Dawson
> http://differentgames.onestop.net