I am still trying to understand the Otherside myself (I believe that other
names for it include the Godtime and the Hero Plane) so I will try to
provide another perspective. I am a newbie myself in many ways so bear with
me--others will have to correct me perhaps.
/// Nothing to "correct" : it's your Glorantha and what goes for you there is perfectly OK. But you draw a vivid picture which I like very much !
(snip)
The idea of heroquesting sounds simple in practice but putting it into play can be difficult. Research and reading about myth will come in handy here.
/// In game terms, it's the same as everything else : contests. And nothing stops you from writing your own myths. Even a small clan lost in the wilds may know a Great Cosmic Secret Nobody Else Knows. The secret could be "How we can make hydromel", which is the story when Grandfather met Queen Bee, danced with her and either recieved or stole her secret.
Go the Other Side, overcome a few obstacles (the troll in the dark, the wide chasm, etc.), meet Queen Bee (realize she's different from all other bees), then either seduce her or steal the honey, then avoid the other furious bees and get back home.
That's the myth everybody knows. That's what you tell the playes to expect. Then you throw a surprise at some point. Example : Brother Bear smells the honey and tries to take it from the Questers. If he succeeds, the clan won't be able to brew hydromel for a year.
This is called "experimental heroquesting." Naturally, the rewards are unimaginable as well but the risks are beyond belief as well.
/// This is also blasphemy and it almost destroyed the world. We don't do heroquesting. We stick to our rituals, and we kill the weirdos who try to pollute our sacred ceremonies.
A people called the God Learners became masters of experimental heroquesting and did things to the Godtime that beggared belief.
/// AAAARGHH ! Kill the meldek, kill the meldek ! Death to sorcerers !
Until Glorantha herself rose up against them and annihilated the God Learners utterly. In the most recent Age of Glorantha (the Third), "God Learner" is a terrible epithet meant for those who would tamper with the Gods themselves.
/// Oops, sorry. I hadn't read further. Soon as we hear the word "godlearner", we go nuts.
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