>From what I have read (little though it is) about heroquesting,
>(one of) the most important things is to know what to do when.
>I'm assuming a quest which re-enacts BTW! So, given that there
>are a small number of 'stations' - typically 5-7 - is there any
>reason why the information needed couldn't be distilled into
>a couple of sentences.
>e.g. when you meet the troll, kill him. When you try and cross
>the bridge, fall in and give the catfish your earth gift, ...
To a certain extent this is so. Take for example the Westfaring portion of the LBQ quest. Mastakos lists the steps and what must be done at each point.
The problem is that when Orlanth re-enacted it, the relevant landmarks had changed (the Luatha had occupied the Black Isle of Introspection, etc).
>I'm wondering whether Arkat was so successful, as were the
>God Learners, because they a) could distill it down and
>b) *did* do so?
I don't think they distilled the quest in the manner you describe. What they did was recognize the changes were actually different manifestations of the same hidden truth and develop some secret way of catergorizing these truths.
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