Hard Heroquesting from Jeff Richard on 1997-10-17 (Glorantha Digest Vol 05)

From: Jeff Richard <jrichard_at_cnw.com>
Date: Fri, 17 Oct 1997 06:09:13 -0700

Jose Ramos wrote:
>Although I agree with Jeff that you don't need CON 50 to pass the test of
the Bath of Nelat. But you >need to resemble Orlanth in a remarkable way, at least concerning Honesty. And the difficulty will >depend on the depth.

That is my point - the Baths of Nelat is the test of seering Truth, not high Constitution.

>Grabbing a live coal is hard, but possible for a Rune Lord with some inner
cult knowledge. Getting a >limited knowledge will be easier than becoming omniscient.

That is the key to heroquesting.

>It is re-enactment, but it is also a test. No matter how well he knows the
ritual, a coward will not >succeed the taming of Storm Bull, unless it is such a watered ritual that it is ineffective. And to face the >Bull in the Heroplane is much harder than facing it in a temple re-enactment.

Yes and no. As long as the hero precisely re-enacts the significant actions of his god, the result will be repeated.

>Finding the ritual parallels is important, but just because you re-enact a
mythical event is no guarantee >of success. If you call a power, you must be able to handle it, or fail.

Re-enactment of a mythical event is of magical significance.  Attempting to 
re-enact a mythical event is no guarantee of success, but a successful 
re-enactment is (by definition) successful.

>And that is why noone has yet succeeded in a "Kill the Evil Emperor" quest
at maximum depth, and >brought again the Darkness. Although perhaps a Red Emperor was killed that way...

Or more likely, no Red Emperor agreed to three tests. See the Enclosure for why the Kill the Evil Emperor heroquest is rarely performed.

>In brief, although I enjoy the mythical and physical experiences of the
varmandi, I have the feeling some >mythical actions succeed too easily (for story and plot reasons) to generalize to all of Glorantha. Just >IMHO.

I believe that most Gloranthan cultures are chock full of rituals and ceremonies that re-enact the significant deeds of their gods, saints, spirits, whatever. These rituals are a precondition (not a guarantee) for success in mundane deeds such as farming, fighting, maybe even fornicating.

Jeff