(3) The Guardian Border
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WHY ARE YOU HERE?
Arrghh, get the hell outa my way.
DO NOT APPROACH, WE ARE THE HOUNDS OF THE FOURTH ROOT AND CAN COMMAND GATA
TO IMPRISON YOU FOR ALL ETERNITY.
[Thinks thoughtfully, while holding his maul] I'm Lostani, Deathlord of
Zorak Zoran, Devotee of Boztakang and Slayer of the Four Households of Light!
WHY HAVE YOU COME?
To claim myself a new weapon, let me past!
HAVE YOU BEEN WARNED?
Warned? Warned of what? Have those elves lied to me, why, I'll....
CHAOS LIES BEYOND HERE.
Good!
YOU WISH TO SLAY CHAOS?
Of course I do you stoopid f*%_at_{in piece of furniture...
YOU MAY NOT RETURN.
Are ya going to try and stop me?
YOU MAY NOT RETURN.
Ahh, f_at_:k off [swings maul; blast of energy blows him back] COugh!
[suprised] Oh, I *see*, I can't return -- Okay, I'll bear it in mind. Can I
come past.
YES, BUT YOU MAY NOT RETURN.
Hmmphhh, then let me past [moves past the hounds]
Returning is a tricky idea, and probabley futile. Past the elven forest are the Lands of Chaos. The author recommends the following approach for the Lands Past The Forest; the best option is to hurl beings that the Quester had already slain at him, a handful (three or four) should do. This individualises the Quest for everyone -- truly infuriating opponents that the Quester took great pleasure in dispatching are truly the best. If need be, give them a home advantage, such as blessings, more chaotic features, an ambush, or fighting on Ghostdirt. If the Quester dies here they return to the Mundane Plane dishonoured, if they flee they are excommunicated. In any case, if they fail then the GM may wish to bring the Chaos Beast back to the life on the Mundane Plane to plague the Quester even more. In certain cases you may have chaos beasts and personalities already annoying the Quester to transport themselves to the HeroPlane for either a final showdown or to ensure the Quester fails. Frex, King Ralzakark, hearing that the annoying Deathlord Kalak Blackmaul, has embarked on the Quest. He sends Shrike to ensure that the Quester does not return....
Author's Notes: This section seperates Life from Death and the Start of the
Quest from the End, using it to ensure that the Game doesn't become
overwhelmed. Use it as a chance to unearth old enemies/memories/hatreds and
make it a more memorable game ("Ai, I slew Howler twice, the second time was
the hardest though...").
You may wish to revert to the normal RQ system rather than YAHQ's for this
part -- it depends upon your own flavour.
(4) The Blue Moon Army
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Author's Notes: This episode has excellent possibilities for expansion, gambling with members of the army for magic items and powers, or helping in raids. It also makes the Quester ready for the end of the Quest.
(5) The Facedown With The Scorpion Bitch
- ----------------------------------------The Quester must now track Bagog. The trail continues for some distance and then begins to grow fainter. Eventually the Quester will be forced to rely on better tracking means. Questers who have a Perception of 2+ or more may be able to sense her (you can smell the acrid smell of chaos on the winds, and feel the faint thuds in the ground where her feet hit the floor) or track her (100%+ track skill). Otherwise spells or abilities must be used, such as flying up and trying to spot her, using Identify Scent if the player somehow has access to it. Lastly, a player may attract enough attention to himself so that Bagog comes, of course, other more deadly beings may take an intrest first....
Author's Notes: Those Questers who come unprepared deserve everything they get. If they don't pay attention to the Myth they will die. Throw hideously powerful beasts at them, weaken them, and then devour them via chaos. Those who get lost, or give up, return to the Mundane Plane, if they have Boztakang's Blessing then they are not dishonoured. Those who die becuase of chaos are devoured by the Void.
If Bagog comes to the Quester, tough shit, the Quester loses the chance for an ambush and is attacked with all her magic cast. Otherwise, the Player comes across a huge monster-god's ribcage, and in this, lapping previous wounds, is the Scorpion Queen herself. Allow the Quester to come up with intresting methods of ambushing/earning an advantage over her. Well placed ravines and cliffs may help.
BAGOG, THE SCORPION QUEEN GODDESS
Body: 5+ Skills: Agility 1+; Combat 3; Knowledge 2; Perception 2+; Social
0; Stealth
Mind: 3 0.
Spirit: 6 Magic: Death(high)3, Protection(high)2.
Magic Points: 30
Powers: Any damage dealt by the Scorpion Queen is the equivalent of a POT 30
poison resisted against the Quester's RQ-mechanic CON. If he suceeds, fine,
if not he dies.
Bagog can only cast her high magic if given warning of the Questers
approach, otherwise she doesn't have this chance. In her current avatar she
is a huge Scorpion Beast, with no humanoid body parts, the Quester is most
likely dwarfed by her magnitude.
Usually, if the Quester suceeds they remove the tail for consumption and
return to the Mundane Plane. They may choose not to return, but some return
to plague the elves once again.
The Quester must remove the tail of his defeated opponent, and normally
plucks one of her legs off and hangs it from his belt as a trophy, and may
then return at any point. The tail can then be ritually devoured as the
final ritual of the HeroQuest; this devouring is done with great ceremony
upon the Mundane Plane. If the Quester devours it whole then he can bestow
his weapon with great powers (it is forever effected by Seal WOund and
constantly secrets a POT 20 poison), however, he may wish to share it with
his supporters. The tail can be devoured, a bit by each of the Supporting
Worshippers, and thenceforth their weapon will gain a special power. This
power can be used once per day and lasts for fifteen minutes, once used
their weapon secretes a POT 12 poison. If they gave total support (willing
to sacrifice themselves for the Quester) then this is increased to POT 18
with a Seal WOund effective only towards Bagogi, Bagogi spirits and Scorpions.
If Bagog wins, the Quester is dead but may be ressurected. Bagog does not
have enough control over Chaos to commit them to Oblivion.
If the Quester fails then his supporters all loose access to the spell
Seal Wound, they may not sacrifice for it. If the Quester fails and the
Supporters were giving total support then tough shit, not only do they loose
access to that spell but become susceptible to poison -- they immediatley
fail any CON vs. POT rolls. This is irrevisible, except for a very ardious
HeroQuest to return things to normal. Such is the price of a powerful HeroQuest.
End Notes
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Yes, this is a diffcult Quest requiring a lot of forethought and
prepartion. Make this clear to your potential Quester.
Those who become devotees of Boztakang form a spiritual link with the god.
>From now on he is a semi-apostle of the god. Many people do this on the
mundane world. The Quester gains re-usuable access to COunterchaos and
one-use access to Stones To Kill Chaos. He may gain these spells at shrines
to Boztakang. This is a minor power that can be given to those who have
suceeded this far but fail to kill Bagog.
Previous Quests (either Mundane or actually HQ's) would be best to ensure
powers against Bagog and scorpion people. To truly get the best out of the
Quest I would have previous adventures collecting items and antidotes; as
well as run in's with the Bagogi who are trying to prevent the Quest taking
place as it harms their cult, I think they would have repetitive attacks by
the same Bagogi who would finally appear at the end of the Quest, as the
Quester tracks Bagog, to try and kill him.
- -------------------------------------------------Nick the Shaman of Thed E-Mail:wal_at_eff.u-net.com
I thought Britain was Dorastor without broo, but then Sandy made it all clear to me.
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