Eek, beware the Gift Bringers...
> There was a comment on the HeroQuest-RPG mailing list about Vinga's
> mile javelin throw feat, and how the Heortlings were never civilized
> enough in myth or history to have mile markers.
>
> In fact, they were -- the EWF was at its heart a Heortling empire,
> with plenty of cities. Whether or not they actually had mile markers,
> they were certainly civilized enough to have.
>
> And that raised the question: could Vinga's feat be from the EWF era?
> (I don't care if it was or not, but *could* it be?)
Vinga's myth is out of time. Maybe the name of the feat can be traced back to the mile markers of the EWF.
> We know that various Lunar gods performed deeds in the Third Age,
> which can now be used as myths by their worshippers. And it appears
> that Sartar may be a similar case.
>
> I think it's likely that other Third Age personages, like Retter the
> Stalker have "created" myths which can be used by their followers
Sartar created roads and cities. The EWF too. But not Orlanth. But IMO you can't create Jonstown or Boldhome a second time. It takes a new hero to make a new city (or, by the way, extend a previous one), because there is no definite Orlanthi way to do this.
> The reason I'm concentrating on Third Age here is that it's a much
> shorter amount of time ago. Sartar is around 120 years ago. That
> seems long enough that it's no longer considered history.
It _is_ history! End of the 15th century Solara Tempora.
> It may be that any myth from a historical era is a hero-myth, in that
> the myths remain those of Sartar, rather than blending into those of
> a god. (If I needed to settle in a new land, would I use the myths of
> Orlanth taming Dragon Pass, or would it just be the myths of my
> ancestors, who moved up from Heortland?)
Yes, I like the idea of a "hero-myth".
> The overall question revolves around playing -- in our games, it's
> relatively common for us to use a heroquest to achieve a difficult
> goal. Is it fair game to consider historical events of 100 years ago
> to be myths which can be heroquested?
IMO, no one could ever re-enact the "myths" of their historical ancestors and founders. Most of what they did took place in the mundane plane, with much magic and perhaps dealing with otherworld beings and heroquesting (for example, a possible heroquest with the Grazers), but the result is here. You have their rites to *maintain it*. You can take their role in a standard heroquest (for example, How Old Man Argrath killed Aroka).
Making a new city ring (for example, in the Colymar land) would involve new problems and their solutions. Your ancestors never really did that. They'd say we'd prefer to stay in the city we founded. They want you to maintain what's already here, and if you're pious that's what you do, because you can't take them with you. You can't use Sartar's myth to make a new kingdom of Sartar in new mountains.
You can follow his example, but it's not going to take place in the Heroplane, Sartar did it in the mundane world anyway. And you certainly won't have any support from Sartar because it's not his kingdom.
Unless... hmmm... maybe Sartar founded countless other kingdoms all over Glorantha? Did Retter the Stalker, or Hendrik Freeman, found a kingdom too? Surely they were all inspired by the same god.
My 2 eurocents...
Jerome
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