>From Jane Williams
I have a sneaking suspicion that not only is it possible, it's the norm, if not quite to such extremes.
=46or a theist, not a God-learner (or a PC!), the object of the HQ it to behave as much like your deity as possible. If they made a "mistake", you make the same mistake, even if you know that doing something else would give better results. You're trying to be like your god, not redefine him. In fact, in some cases the required result may be you and your god learning the consequences of making a certain type of mistake, and therefore not making it again. ("Oops. Killing the sun is bad. Once was enough.")
But, that's theism. I've never got to grips with what heroquests are like for other Otherworlds. What are animists trying to do on a HQ? Emulate a spirit? Emulate a hero?
That may be my problem. In fact maybe I shouldn't have called them 'hero quests' at all. I've been thinking about a particular scenario which has been coloring my thinking on all hero quest-related topics since. Hence the odd questions.
Here's the set up...
=3D=3D=3D
"A sentient object was taken from the Spike and hidden far away. After
time began the object began to get lonely. Something about the magic
used to hide the object when combined with the unusual nature of the
object itself has, over time, produced a localised rupture in the
time-space continuum, err, I mean a weakness in the boundry between
the Inner world and goodness-knows-where. One side-effect of this
phenomenon was to drive away all wild-life bigger than insects and
suppress plant-life taller than moss from the surrounding area. Hence
the place has a poor reputation.
One day someone blundered through this 'weakness' and wandered around completely disoriented until (s)he encountered the object. The object was pleased to have had its monotonous existance disturbed but almost completely failed to recognise the human for what (s)he was. All it really percieved was that the person was a sentient being who used tools. The person was only aware that, amongst the unfamiliar surroundings there was a conciousness around somewhere.
Their attempt to communicate was minor defeat (well, it would have been if roll had been made) and the object's enquiries and demands were interpreted as a request for the person's tool (a shovel) to be left behind while the person's distressed pleas for mercy and to be allowed to go home were interpreted as the desire for a blessing. The object was happy enough to do this but didn't think that much of a blessing was warranted and figured it ought to be about tools since that is what the person had left it.
Shortly thereafter the person blundered back into the Inner World, sans shovel), made his/her way home and related his/her strange story to the clan elders. As time went by people in the clan started to notice that tasks that involved tools were a little easier than usual and that their tools were lasting twice as long as they usually did.
Eventually, after six years, the effect wears off." =3D=3D=3D
Assuming the clan has come to depend on this bonus what can they do? As far as I can see their cultural history has taught them to depend on a single tool--the hero quest. But with the dearth of information how comfortable would they be trying to do it again? And would they be aware that attempting to repeat a sequence of actions isn't necessarily a hero quest (or is it?)?
Or might they try treating it as a landscape daimone and dealing with it that way?
Thanks,
"Sig? We don't need no steeenking sig!"
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