Ritual Re-enactment and Heroquesting

From: Erik <epweissengruber_at_...>
Date: Thu, 09 Nov 2000 02:03:45 -0000

> Most myths have a re-enactment and pagent beforehand or during the
> heroquest. That's when you get the extra push from the separate
> grups. Or you use an item given by that group for a specific
purpose.

In many cultures, initiates of a god would learn secret songs and myths of their deity during ritual re-enactments of the deity's live.

I was thinking in particular of the Eleusinian mysteries enacted by the worshipers of Dionysus, who hoped that devotion to him would result in a pleasant afterlife (as opposed to the regular gray, spectral Greek afterlife).

I once ran a scenario where the characters were involved in just such a re-enactment, but one that got constantly interrupted by Broos, Ogres, etc.

The re-enactment, based on the quest of the 7 lightbringers, was actually defended by a "benificent" Lunar administrator who kept saving the PC's bacon when things got too rough.

The Lunar was actually stage-managing the events behind the scene: he really wanted to observe the sacred sites associated with the reenactment,  and discover the secret shrine where the re-enactment met its climax

• In short: the rituals that preceed a hero quest, as well as the basic narrative pattern of the hero-quest itself can be transformed into mundane adventuring.
• Moreover, a series of mundane episodes could be metamorposed into a heroquest that the PCs would become involved in.

THAT should teach your PCs to pay attention to the details of their adventures, and to keep good notes!!