First, these are big questions, but not usually important ones in play - feel free to start a campaign without having thought about these things at all.
>
>What exactly IS a HeroQuest, and how would one be initiated?
>
IMHO a heroquest is simply a journey to the otherworld. Also IMHO this means shamanic discorporation is a minor heroquest. Many religious rituals are also minor heroquests, transporting the entire congregation to the fringes of the otherworld.
I would be interested in opinions of this view, as it is the basis for my fairly sizable set of heroquest notes.
However, when people talk about heroquests they usually mean something more serious than these two examples. They usually mean some sort of serious expedition to the heroplane, undertaken by powerful folks. This is partly because in RQ2 days that is all we knew about.
>What is a "Rune Level" character (this confuses me, in a system without
>'levels')?
>
It is RQ2 shorthand for 'someone who has obtained a position of importance within their religion', meaning generally either a Rune Lord or a Rune Priest. Now days, it generally has a much broader meaning, if it is used at all - including adept sorcerers and shamans, probably - and so doesn't seem to make as much sense.
>What is 'ownership' of a Rune? How does one get to own/be associated
>with a Rune?
Only gods own runes, and even then only important gods. To become associated with a rune, in RQ2 terms you attained 'rune level' - Rune Lords are associated with the Mastery rune, Priests with the Magic rune. But it doesn't seem to be something that is thought to be that important anymore (though it still is to some people).
Cheers
David
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