Re: Belintar & Nysalor

From: Philippe Sigaud <sigaud_at_...>
Date: Tue, 17 Feb 2004 21:27:50 +0100

S. Ben Melhuish wrote:

> Reading the final hero band (School of Ronos Allwinds), there was a
> reference to followers of Belintar believing that he was divided into
> seven parts, which were hidden across Glorantha. They're now searching
> for them to "put Belintar together again", to borrow a phrase.
>
> I've also read (I believe in "Glorantha: Introduction to the Hero
> Wars") that Nysalor was dismembered by Arkat at the end of that little
> squabble, and his pieces were hidden across Glorantha.
>
> (It gets a little murkier than that, actually, as I got the impression
> from "MoLaD" that Belintarian philosophy was influenced by Nysalorian
> philosophy.... But anyway.)
>
> And we know that it's difficult to make a heroquest (say, resurrecting
> your god or demigod) come out exactly how we choose.
>
> So: I think one element of my (entirely hypothetical) HeroQuest saga
> will be for the player heroes to help resurrect Belintar. And then:
> Oops! Time to find (an) Arkat....

Maybe what we did can help you some, for they are certain similarities:

My very first HW game (22 sessions) was based on a group of Masters of Luck and Death (champions of the namesake tournament) who were there when Belintar was cut by this beautiful stranger so gifted with blades and verses. During the second session, the first being the Tournament :) Then, as the Pharaoh's magic went mad and the Holy Country saw civil war, they discovered:

1. that Belinar was not dead
2. that he was in a 'special jail' somewhere
3. where he was detained (the Lunar Hells, no less)
4. where are the Lunar Hells
5. how to acquire Death magic and then transform it to use it as a key to open the Redblack Door

And then got into the Empire, entered the Hells and saved him :) (or were manipulated by Belintar, Great Sister and Jar Eel, all locked in a mighty struggle). Anyway, they had him back, through many HQ during the campaign. They used White Moonies, two dragonewt, a forgotten piece of creation and an Eurmali to do it. They even gave the Red Emperor an headache :) I like this game and want the heroes to shake the world!

Btw, the Lunar plan was to cut the Pharaoh into six part, to take a seventh, lunar part and then to use some freaky version of the Seven Mothers Quest to create a Kethaelan goddess, Belinatha. Totally open to cooperation and participation in the Empire, of course. (I think a being more or less in par with Great Sister or the Inspiration of Moonson). They needed 6+1 Masters of Luck and Death to do it and look who's nicely getting into the Hells?

Now, in my second game, with the same heroes and players (26 sessions and growing), they are magical secret agents, in the service of His Immortal Majesty. They get the scariest jobs and try to maintain the Holy Country in one part, even with terrible internal (kinstrife, Zistorites) and external forces (Vadeli, Lunars, Mostali) trying to tear this beautiful land apart.

Yeah, right, I was outside classical timeline from session #2 and didn't care. It's still almost the same Glorantha, only the Pharaoh is still there to put things in order. Or so it seems.

One of their main problem is ... that they are not certain who they've come back with, really. There is this other guy who calls himself the Other, a shadowy demi-god looking like Belinar and displaying the same magic. He does not like the Pharaoh at all, but some call him Belintar. And he is bend on destroying the Holy Country. So, who is who and where should the heroes loyalties lie?

Now, next session they will try a HQ to save the Heortland king from kinstrife and then want to bring Dormal back to stop the tides overflowing the Holy Country. Oh yes.

        Philippe