So, has he decided to re-roof the house yet? :-)
> > You start by following a particular myth - "How
> > Zorak Zoran stole Fire from
> > that wimpy Yelamlio". Before the quest starts, you
> > declare your "wager
> > ability" - what are you putting up to get the power
> > in the myth?
>
> Before it starts? So this is part of the "setup"
> ritual, where the presiding godi makes sure all the
> conditions are right, you'll end up in the right bit
> of Other Side, and so on? So if he gets it wrong, or
Yes. What ability (or maybe "type of ability") to wager is included in the myth - sort of like instructions in a recipe: Take 1 Quester, a fire-related ability of at least 10w2 rating, a spear, three leather thongs... bake on low heat until a low boil, then violently throw in a 300 pounds of Zorak Zoran ...
> even more interesting and relevant, if he's trying to
> stitch you up....
If you can't trust your godi...
> > Once you get to the proper point in the quest, you
> > declare the wager, and your opponent declares his.
>
> Your opponent being another HQer, probably? Possibly
> even one provided for the purpose? In which case they
> may not realise there's a HQ Challenge due at this
> point.
Either another HQer (probably your special Heroquest opponent)), or the Heroplane version god/whatever itself. It's *so* hard to tell the difference between the two!
Your opponent is going to be doing his own version of the event - if you're doing "Yelmalio at the Hill of Gold", your opponent will be doing "Zorak Zoran at the HoG". you cannot force a HQC on an unsuspecting opponent. I think we had this discussion a few months ago - even if you are sucked into a quest, you will certainly have your "Myths of [god]" ability to help you determine what you're doing. And, if you *are* sucked in, you haven't had a chance yo declare your wager ability, so can't participate in the proceedings.
Even if you provide Timmy the Trollkin as your "Zorak Zoran" (ala Cults of Prax), you can't be *sure* what you're going to face on the other side (You'll note that the CoP fight takes place entirely in the mortal realm, it's much more of what we now call a "practice quest" than a "go to the hero plane" quest - actually rereading it, it was just a ritual, not a quest at all.). With the mutable nature of time in the Hero Plane, you might actaully face Timmy the Superhero Trollkin from 50 years in the future instead of the Sniveling Timmy of today (assuming Timmy is your special Quest opponent).
> > Then you have a contest using the two wagered
> > abilities.
>
> This is where I get a bit puzzled: ISTR some myth
> (Eric of the Vanak Spear?) where the hero wagered some
Err, afraid I don't recall that one off the top of my head.
> random ability against Asrelia's Lucky Dip, and got
> some pigs out of it. It seems unlikely that either
> side were using the ability that they hoped to
> win/lose as their TN in the contest. Playing chess
> with Death (yes, a little non-Gloranthan, but...) you
> use your ability to play chess, but wager something
> else (your life, say).
As in all HQ contests, you need to start with some ability, but can change to another during the contest, so I'd say you have to *start* with your wagered ability, but thereafter can use something else - start with Fire, but finish with Spear, say.
> > The actual ability rating the winner will get is the
> > *lower* of the two
> > ratings wagered - so if I wager a 10w3 ability, and
> > you wager a 10w, the
> > actual new rating (whoever wins) will be 10w.
>
> And the wager is the base ability, but the TN used in
> the contest will be that ability after augments,
> whether positive or negative?
Yes. The wager is the number written on your character sheet, the base ability rating. You can certainly augment that number during the quest and/or contest, and you can ask your backers or specific help at the Heroquest challenge.
> > Considering that you've got to use the abilities
> > wagered in the challenge,
> > I'll probably win, with a 2-mastery advantage...
>
> Unless I can manipulate things so I've got a major +ve
> augment and you've got a major -ve one?
If you can beat a 2-mastery disadvantage with modifers, then more power to you :-). The basic situation will be described in the myth - if you've been beat up by Orlanth and chaos and now have to face Zorak Zoran...
> > > And when can you do this - at fixed points in a
> > HQ?
>
> > It occurs at the point determined by the myth. So
> > you do it only when the
> > myth says "And Zorak Zoran faced Yelmalio and stole
> > his Fire" or whatever.
> > You don't get to make every part of a HQ into a HQ
> > Challenge. Most quests
> > with HQ challenges only have one challenge.
>
> I believe some HQs have rewards to be gained at
> intermediate stations, and may be done with that in
> mind rather than the main outcome
Yes, you might "befriend Water" (whatever the narrator determines that means) at some point in the myth, and you could do the quest to just that point then "drop out" (page 200 - "Questers may purposely drop out of a quest. ... Some quests can be stopped after certain stations, allowing the quester to return to the mortal world with the benefits he has gained to that point.")
I don't think so. I don't think that the mortal has the option of declaing an event to be a HQC, instead the myth is the determining factor. So for minor risk, you get minor results. The big rewards come with big risks, and they come at pre-determined events inside the myth.
RR
C'est par mon ordre et pour le bien de l'Etat que le porteur du pr�sent a
fait ce qu'il a fait.
- Richelieu
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