Re: Heroquest/Spiritquest/Essence Plane

From: Mike Holmes <mike_c_holmes_at_...>
Date: Wed, 15 Feb 2006 15:50:10 -0600

Sorry to take so long getting back to this. I'm afraid that few other than myself will get anything out of what follows, and that I've muddled things up unneccessarily. So read at your own risk. :-)

>This is an old discussion. My answers may not suit the questions there.
>Feel
>free to try again, but let us start over, rather than trying to build upon
>the
>multiple layers of this letter, ok?

Good point.

First I want to say that apparently I must have come off as trying to challenge somebody's authority on something, when I'm just trying to figure out if how I understand Gloranthan cosmology works. And forgive my lack of knowledge about individual Gloranthan myths. I try to use them as examples for common ground, not because I have a good handle on them. I've also used Earth myth examples, which is not me saying that I think said myths exist in Glorantha, but rather working on a hypothetical, "If Earth had these otherworlds, then X would be a Y sort of myth."

Because, to reiterate, the original question was what a heroquest by a wizard might look like. That is, I think from examples that many of us have an idea of what a theist quest might have as stations, and I get a general feel for what an animist quest might be about, but I'm proposing some ideas about what wizardry quests might be like. I could well be wrong, but that'd be as good to know as learning that I'm right. Better yet, just what they are like would be optimum.

To that extent, I understand that going to the Heroplane to get something is a heroquest, and that, generally, this is what's done. And that the heroplane is just as "mixed" as the mundane world, and that one should expect to tumble into a being from one particular otherworld any more likely than another.

But it still seems likely to me (and I may still be very wrong), that an adept will go on heroquests for which he knows the myths, said myths likely being part of his religion's lore. So, my guesses seeming to be all wrong, I'll simply ask directly, what do these wizardry myths contain, typically? I know that's a gross question, but are there no typical myths? What sort of folks are they about, Saints, Essences, God? What sort of travails do they come up against? Are there any common sort of outcomes that they seek?

On somewhat of a tangent, there seem to be examples of people going to other planes to get things, as well. You give an example that some magic items might be retrieved from the various pure otherworlds. Also magic abilities can be gained there. Even though these are not heroquests per se, would it be out of line mechanically to use the heroquest rules like the heroquest challenge, and stations, in order to enumerate such trips, when they do occur? Or should they be like normal existence, with normal contests, and just be an excuse to buy the ability at 13?

Mike

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