Re: Ernalda feeds the tribe in the Valley of Cradles

From: bethexton <bethexton_at_...>
Date: Mon, 11 Nov 2002 17:21:32 -0000

Sounds on topic to me :)
>
> I am looking for a quest for the Heortling farmers settlng in the
valley of
> Cradles to use to adapt their farming techniques to the new
terrain. I guess
> the premise is:
>
> "The old ways are not working: it is too dry, the river floods too
often, our
> crops wilt and our herd beasts are unhealthy. Let us perform the
Ernalda Feed
> the Tribe Heroquest."
>
> Cue KoDP heroquest - but wait! Things do not follow what was
expected.

I would differ from you here in a few ways.

First of all, although quests can take weird turns, essentially the myth you are using guides the quest. So if you set out on the Ernalda Feeds the Tribe quest that you always performed, that is pretty much the quest you'll do. It is just that either the opposition will be high, or the effectiveness limited. More likely the latter--yes, the crops grow better, but they are still subject to drought and flooding and you haven't dealt with that, so any improvements are strictly marginal.

Secondly, to me this sound like fodder for a number of hero quests. Just going through incredibly tortuous quest seems a little inappropriate, when there are many adaptations to be made in the new land. Some of the quests might be ones that the clan knows well, such as Orlanth and Aroka, to bring about more regular rain fall (it may never be as frequent as back in Dragon Pass, but at least often enough to irrigate the seeds after planting, and to fill out the grain heads before harvesting. Some might be new--something like you described to get better control over the local rivers. Others could be variation on a a theme--maybe they have to find the local earth daimone and "tame" it, and they know the myth that worked back home, so they find out as much as they can about this daimone, tweek things a bit, and do it.

In short, I'd present the players with many problems that need solving, and let them go after them one by one, slowly improving their situation, rather than hitting them with one very challenging quest that deals with everything.

Just my opinion, naturally.

--Bryan

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