Atheistic Heroquesting

From: Peter Metcalfe <metcalph_at_bigfoot.com>
Date: Mon Feb 28 07:34:42 2000


>Sergi Diaz:

>mentions that the heroquesting atheists are:

>>an Apostate Dwarf (he was an Iron Dwarf before giving up Mostal) and a
>>Sorcerer like Zzabur (not so powerful, of course :-) ).

>>What I can't imagine is what can be the drive of the PC, apart from
>>gaining power or knowledge. Maybe if he is "tied" to his region or a
>>group of people are under his protection he will have a motive.
>>Another idea??

>Dwarves normally see the cosmos as the workings of the World Machine.
>They normally venture into the otherworld every sacred time to help
>repair the Machine and in such conditions, the cosmic machinery becomes
>more apparent to them, i.e. the sun is now a glowing cog of fire.

>But you mention that the dwarf is an apostate (for unknown reasons)
>which kind of puts a crimp into how he would heroquest given that
>he has rejected the world machine. If he were merely a heretic,
>then he would still see the cosmos in mechanistic terms but with
>significant distortions depending on his heresy: an individualist
>would see himself as a machine in his own right and not merely
>a component. So for me to suggest quests for this dwarf, I would
>like to know what made him reject mostal.

Well, we are exploring the PC's past right now, so this is not all clarified. When I end the actual adventures I will know it for sure. Then I will tell you, and maybe you will "illuminate" me ;-)

>Possible reasons for atheists to heroquest (other than the
>simple lust for knowledge and/or spells):

>- a portion of his soul/his lover has been lost/destroyed by some
>magical catastrophe/stolen by a god and the quester wants it back.

Hey! I like it. I will remember.

>- the quester is looking for anything that will confer long
>life without the hazards of conventional immortality spells.

Yes, the immortality I discused before. It is a logic HQ.

>- the quester is searching for exotic sources of magical energy
>to fuel his researches.

Mmm, here is the scientist point of view, too.  

>- the quester's augeries reveal that a terrible doom threatens
>the world (and thus himself) and he must find remote oracles on
>the other side who'll tell him exactly what this doom is and
>how to avert it.

And this ones enables the others adventurers to participate in the HQ as well. It can be a part of a campaign.

>From: TTrotsky_at_aol.com
>Subject: Re: Atheist HQs

>Sergi:

<< What I can't imagine is what can be the drive of the PC, apart from gaining power or knowledge. >>

>That pretty much *is* the motive behind Zzaburi sorcerers when they
>cross over to the Sorcery Plane (technically, they don't 'heroquest',
>but the results are the same). Because their myths don't involve people
>doing things, just impersonal forces interacting there's nothing to be
>re-enacted. For them, trips to the Other Side are not an aspect of
>worship, as they are for the theists, because (by definition) they
>don't worship.
>Which isn't to say you can't find a motive for them to gain power and
>knowledge, and drive the game that way. There is also nothing, in
>principle, to stop a sorcerer entering the God Plane and getting
>involved in more typical HQs - but of course, he'll be at a huge
>disadvantage, moth magically and in terms of his knowledge of the area.

So, I could think on him going to the God Plane similar to a Shaman going to the Spirit Plane (without the possible worship of powerful spirits, of course)

All this writes have helped me very much. Thank's everybody for it :-)


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