Arachne Solara, HQs

From: Simon Phipp <simon.phipp_at_walshwestern.com>
Date: Tue, 19 May 1998 19:23:15 +0000


Ian Thomson:
> I've been scanning ny stuff for cult details
> and only the Prosopedia has anything of note
> However there are a few references to other bits
> ie Deezola was a priestess?

As far as I know, Deezola and Cragspider are both devotees of Arachne Solara and are avatars of the Goddess in the world. However, what this actually MEANS is another thing entirely.

I doubt if Arachne Solara is worshipped in a normal cult, but she can be contacted and interacted with - the above deities managed it as did a Demigod in the First Age who wrapped her in her own net to enable the Sun Stop.

Richard Develyn:

> Apart from HQ, what is your opinion on how people in _normal_
> Glorantha interact with the Hero Plane. In particular:
>
> 1) When you worship, do you _see_ the myths?

Proper Worship ceremonies are in themselves HeroQuests in that:

1. They contact and reinforce the myths.
2. They take place on the God Plane.
3. They can give concrete benefits to those taking part.
4. If they fail they can have disastrous effects.

In my HQ rules, worship ceremonies are one of the various types of HeroQuest.

> If someone was HQing in
> the myth you're looking at, would you _see_ them?

Oh yes. When Hon-Eel appeared amongst the Earth Priestesses in Tarsh, she appeared at the height of their worship ceremonies where they were expecting one of their dressed-up initiates to act in a certain part. This confused them a little, but the worship succeeded and thus Hon-Eel was proven not to be an enemy.

> 2) Again when you worship, do you affect the myths? One person alone
> ain't going to do much, but imagine a clan who arrive at their
> favourite watering hole and find it polluted. Through their combined
> worship for help and inspiration, do they manifest a putrid watering
> hole in the Hero Plane, ready for someone to HQ to sort out?

People who perform worship ceremonies have a certain script to follow. They almost never deviate from the script as they are re-enacting the God Time deeds of the deities. Anyone trying to deviate from the script would be looked on harshly as they may well fail, with the above-mentioned disastrous effects. This is frowned upon.

People leave changing Myths to the experts, not to some priests in a Temple. However, there is nothing save peer pressure to stop anyone trying to change a myth in a Worship Ceremony. If such an attempt succeeded it will only create a new Hero Path which others may follow. It will not change all myths of the cult.

In the above example, the Clan would only be able to cleanse the Pool via a HeroQuest (presumably they do not just use Purify Water). If they worshipped a deity/Hero which could cleanse the pool and a Holy Day was coming up then they could perform a worship ceremony with the infected pool as the focus. The worship ceremony would then cleanse the pool as required. They certainly would not create a pool on the God Plane for people to come along and clean.

> 3) Could you ever come across someone HQing in _normal_ Glorantha?
> If the myth they're HQing in involves some place which exists now,
> would you see them at it if you were there in person? Would you be
> sucked into the Hero Plane?

Mosts HeroQuests are Mundane in nature. They do not involve the God Plane or the Hero Plane (two different things, by the way). These HeroQuests can be performed by Initiates or Rune Levels. Some examples include the Three Blows of Anger in Bituran Varosh's travels, the Yelmalian River Quest (marrying Oslir to Yelm) and the Waha Beast Quest from Different Worlds.

You would certainly see them there and could interact with the Quest. However, you would know that they were Questing and that becoming involved would mean that you would effectively be part of the Quest. Most people do not join in Quests in this way. Those that do often take on the parts of encounters on the Quest, whether as friends or enemies. Certain people sit in Holy Places and wait for HeroQuestors to turn up so they can ambush or help them.

If someone is Questing on the God Plane (trying to become a Hero or to change or create a myth) the they will not be seen on the Mundane Plane as they are no longer there.

> 4) If someone HQs a myth which represents something which happened
> in the past in _normal_ Glorantha, could they change history or
> geography? If someone entered the Waha kills Basmol myth and, to be
> a little less drastic, changes the nature of the fight so that
> Basmol spills little or no blood, what would happen to the crystals
> which were formed from that blood - would they cease to exist?

No, what existed still exists. What may happen is that people may wonder whose blood this was and may HeroQuest there to find out. They would then have to locate the faint, weak HeroPath and see that the blood was due to Basmol being badly wounded on that Path. However, if they are there as observers they would not know whether Basmol was slightly wounded or badly wounded.

In any case, they would be changing the Myth from the God Time, not from normal Glorantha. Anyone changing Quests in normal, mundane Glorantha does NOT change the myth, merely that particular interpretation of the myth on that particular Quest.

This is why dynamic HeroQuesting is dangerous. Anyone can use other HQ segments on a HeroQuest in order to achieve their ends, but if they stray too far from the core Myth itself then they will have problems. It is possible that the HeroQuest will not recognise the substitutions as valid and the HQ may well fail. It is only when these are made at a Mythical level that the Myth may be changed. Further HQs may then be made with the new Myth and the HQrs need not make their dangerous substitutions because their Hero has already done it for them.

Simon Phipp


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