> Zachary Kline:
>
> > As I prep for my Glorantha campaign I'm wondering what sources
> > I can draw upon for heroquests?
>
> In my opinion, HeroQuests are Myths in Action. You take a Myth, lay it on the world and perform it in order to achieve a required result. The more powerful the myth or the deeper it is laid on the world the stronger the result.
>
> So, the most important thing for HeroQuests are the Myths. Any of the old Gloranthan supplements are chockablock with myths, most of which are now on the Issaries website.
>
> > They seem rather an abstract concept, at least as described in the
> > Sartar book.
>
> Yes, they are portrayed that way.
>
> In my opinion, that is the wrong approach to take.
>
> HeroQuests are strange as they allow the participants to interact with the gods and to take on the role of gods. Basically, they are prayer-rituals that work. I would say that many people perform HeroQuests during their daily lives, far more than is hinted at in the published sources.
>
> The world-changing/myth-making HeroQuests are specialised ones that only happen a few times in an Age. Stealing a wife from another clan or getting a magical sword, they are the HeroQuests that are often done.
>
> > I've played the game King of Dragon Pass extensively, and know of
> > the quests in there. How do people tend to handle this? I could
> > invent myths, of course, but I was wondering if there were any
> > other sources people recommend. Is the Book of Heortling Mythology
> > worth a purchase?
>
> Any book on Gloranthan Mythology is worth buying, as far as I am concerned.
>
> There is a Stafford Compendium book that is about HeroQuesting, although I can't think of the title (someone will chip in, I am sure) - that is good, but a bit heavy in places and has a lot of ideas that fell by the wayside and are no longer in vogue.
>
> > I guess I'm just trying to wrap my head around the concept of HQs.
> > I don't foresee running one for a while, but my players are
> > interested in doing so eventually, and I need to stay ahead of them.
>
> First of all, don't think of HeroQuests as something special and magical and rare that are really hard to do. They are not.
>
> HeroQuests are concrete things that people do to get a result that they could normally not achieve. They are a means to an end. Sure, they are prayers and reinforce the mythology, but so what? I have never bothered personally with the mythical/mystical nature of HeroQuests - as far as I am concerned, they have that place in Glorantha and that is one of the many areas of roleplaying in Glorantha that I gloss over in play.
>
> So, you want to run a HeroQuest. You need to ask a few questions and decide on what to do.
>
> Question 1: Why do you want to do the HeroQuest?
>
> Seriously. Is it because HeroQuests are cool? It is because the PCs need to do something that couldn't normally be done? Do they want a magical item or have a foe that they need to kill? Do they need to get somewhere 200 miles away in a single day?
>
> Question 2: What do you want to achieve?
>
> The players will want to achieve something, but that is only half the Quest. What do you as a GM want from the HeroQuest? Do you want to introduce a new ally or an enemy or embroil the PCs in something they weren't previously involved with? All these can be done through HeroQuesting.
>
> Question 3: Who do the PCs worship?
>
> This is important as most HeroQuests rely on pre-existing Myths as the template for the Quest and Orlanth will have different Myths to Yelm, for example.
>
> Question 4: How do I go about making a HeroQuest?
>
> 1. Find a suitable Myth.
> 2. Break the Myth down into logical and obvious sections, or Stations.
> 3. Decide which Gods/Goddesses are encountered in each Station and also what rewards, if any, the HeroQuestors can gain by taking part in each Station.
> 4. Decide what rewards should be gained for completing the HeroQuest and what penalties, of any, should be incurred for failing.
>
> Question 5: How do I run a HeroQuest?
>
> 1. Treat is as any other adventure, but add an extra magical element to it.
> 2. Use familiar people (other NPCs, enemies and allies) in the roles of the other Gods and Goddesses of the HeroQuest.
> 3. Add some extra Stations, miss some Stations out completely or mess about with what happens in the Stations - make them unpredictable.
> 4. Do not run the HeroQuest strictly as Stations, try and let them merge naturally into one another so the players don't know when a Station begins and ends. Obviously, you might want some Stations to seem separate or individual with strict beginnings, ends and rewards.
> 5. Do not run them as rigid, formal affairs. They should be fun, be magical and be dangerous in places.
> 6. Every action on a HeroQuest has the potential to have an effect on the world. Make the actions count and use them to introduce plotlines that happen as a result of the HeroQuest.
>
> I hope that helps a little.
>
> Have a look at http://www.soltakss.com/index.html for some ideas about HeroQuests and some sample HeroQuests.
>
> See Ya
>
> Simon
>
>
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