> Subject: Heroes vs Otherworld Beings in Terms of HQs
>
>> From: Greg Stafford <Greg_at_...>
>>
>> These are not essentially different from each other. Each attempts to
>> follow the
>> path of a supernatural being who helped to create the world in its own way.
Now, I am not entirely clear on what Mike is asking, but shall attempt to eludicate upon what I *think* he is asking.
> I know it's a technical difference, and maybe it only makes a difference to
> me. But what I'm talking about, generally, is the character perception of
> what sort of being they're following.
The “character perception” is mallable and easily misguided. The
clarity of the
HeroQuest rules probably rarely exists inside the world of Glorantha. I have
said before that most of the people probably use the same words to describe
beings that are distinct in the HQ rules. They are more like to classify
supernatural beings as “ours” and “not ours.” The category of “ours” would
include gods, spirits, essences, heroes, ancestors, ghosts—heck, even lies and
false beings—that are known and worshipped.
So the question of the “character perception” is slippery, subjective and
probably not relevant to descibe the “actuality” or “reality” of the being in
question.
> Is it a daimone, or somebody from myth
> before time? Or is it Arkat who the character understands once lived amongst
> men (and trolls) after the dawn? That is, is the heroquest in question an
> emulation of something from the gods war, or an emulation of some redact of
> the gods war done after time started?
The heroquest would, almost always (and I say “almost” only to hedge my certainty) be from the Gods War. It reproduces an act of creation, an actionof change, and hence is in the Gods War.
> The difference in perception is the difference between following the acts of
> a saint, or following the holy spirit (to use a Catholic example an somewhat
> analogous to wizardry). Which I think may at times lend a different cast to
> the whole thing. Am I following the quest of Sir Percival into the
> otherworld? Or Archangel Michael (a non-human, all otherworldly, being)
> kicking Satan out of heaven?
My point here is that the activities of Michael is part of the Gods War. So is Percivale playing about at the Grail Castle.
> For animists, following a "hero" shaman who discovered a path in the
> otherworld (and who is now an ancestor spirit), or a myth of Oakfed - I'm
> assuming he never lived in the mundane world though I'm only guessing there
> for an example.
Of course Oakfed lived in the mundane world. He burned down all the forest of Prax, for instance.
> For theists, is it one of Harmast's early heroquests that are being emulated
> - a hero cult? Or is it an adventure of Destor, a "god cult?"
Their actions, in that they are creative acts that shaped the world, are the same in that respect.
> As I've speculated before, I think such quests
Where “such” means what?
> are probably part and parcel
> of eventually becoming a worshipped hero and the attendant "apotheosis" that
> occurs for those that lived in the mundane world once. That is, it's
> probably rare for a heroquest to be emulated by another unless it's passed
> down as part of such a cult.
How could a heroquest even exist if it was not passed down as part of a cult?
> Anyhow, this is all probably somewhat off topic from the original thread
> about heroquests in general, hence why I retitled it.
I will be glad to try to be more clear on this, if you wish, Mike.
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