HeroQuest - return from the dead - lore help please

[Trotsky]

Hi everyone - in our campaign there is a powerful NPC (King Kangharl of the Colymar - we are playing in 1620) who wants to bring back his lover a Seven Mother Priestess from the Underworld. She was beheaded and it has been long enough for her to now to be beyond resurrection. So, Kangharl (Initiate of the Seven Mothers) wants to undertake a HeroQuest to bring her back. What myth could he use for that? 

The adventurer's will probably want to stop Kangharl's HeroQuest, they were the ones who cut the head of his lover in the first place! They could try to disrupt the ceremony itself but that is unlikely to happen. They could counter-HeroQuest (not sure of the right term there) - has anyone done anything like this? We have played a few HeroQuests so far but this one digs deeper into the lore than we have done so far...

Thanks in advance.

[Runeblogger]

I'd suggest the Path of the Goddess, where she was trapped in the Underworld by Chaos, and Yanafal Tarnils came to her rescue.

[Trotsky]

Thanks Runeblogger - which publication would I find that information?

[soltakss]

56 minutes ago, Trotsky said:

Thanks Runeblogger - which publication would I find that information?

I think it was in one of the short Stafford Library supplements, but can't remember the name. It did not describe the whole myth, but gave a lot more than we had before.

[Joerg]

There is The Lives of Sedenya. It also helps explain why we get to have two Teelos at the same time - Teelo Norri (who had been sacrificed in the Seven Mothers quest) and Teelo Estara (the Red Goddess) after her return to the surface world.

Yanafal's quest is extremely powerful. It also demands the ultimate sacrifice, and a target resurrectee able to embrace the ultimate Chaos like Teelo Estara did. Illumination from having released the Crimson Bat in the Goddess Quest is required to even attempt this.

[soltakss]

16 minutes ago, Joerg said:

There is The Lives of Sedenya. It also helps explain why we get to have two Teelos at the same time - Teelo Norri (who had been sacrificed in the Seven Mothers quest) and Teelo Estara (the Red Goddess) after her return to the surface world.

That is what I was thinking of, thanks.

I have it as a thin document by Greg Stafford 2006, but was not aware that it was available as an online document. 

[Trotsky]

That’s great - I will check them out.

Has any of you run an ‘interrupt HeroQuest’ HeroQuest?

I am wondering whether it would be a multi-station quest, or just to run the station where they would try to counter the original quest?

[jajagappa]

3 hours ago, Trotsky said:

in our campaign there is a powerful NPC (King Kangharl of the Colymar - we are playing in 1620) who wants to bring back his lover a Seven Mother Priestess from the Underworld. She was beheaded and it has been long enough for her to now to be beyond resurrection. So, Kangharl (Initiate of the Seven Mothers) wants to undertake a HeroQuest to bring her back. What myth could he use for that? 

There's a few different options available you could mine.  A lot depends upon where you think the 7 Mother's Priestess' soul ended up.

Sartar: Kingdom of Heroes has the quest to rescue Hofstaring's spirit.  Everything up through meeting the Judge of the Dead can work fine (the 7 Mother's Resurrection of the Red Goddess is something of a variant of the Lightbringer's Quest).  The main questions then are:  where did the Judge of the Dead send her soul? what trials do you face to get there?  And how do you free her spirit from the Underworld (assuming she's not a Hero with the ability to escape it)?

HeroQuest: Glorantha book has the quest to restore the goddess Orane from the Underworld.  She's held in Ty Kora Tek's Caverns of Silence.  There's a couple pathways suggested to get there.  Then you have to bargain with Ty Kora Tek to release the spirit.  Still the challenge of truly escaping the Underworld, but the Red Goddess must provide some methods (and the Blue Moon path might be another).

Also see some of the background on the Lunar deities in the Glorantha Sourcebook starting on p.147.  For instance, Gerra is the Dying Moon, and descended into the Throne of Woe to enter the Underworld.  Rashorana (Nysalor) is the Dark Moon - Illumination which can never be eliminated and always returns.  Then there is Ulurda/Orogeria of the Crescent Come Moon - she was the celestial huntress, the Blue Moving Planet that appeared before the Dawn. She appeared in the Celestial Forest and stalked the Sky Bear, which had taken all the stars and animals. Ulurda caught it, but instead of killing it, she tamed it. She released the stars, and went among them in the Sky.

You could use these three to shape the story of Descent (Gerra has the inverted step pyramid that descends into Hell), which is a story/path of Grief.  Then confrontation with the Devil who is also the Empty Emperor (or possibly the Judge of the Dead), from which Illumination (and the spirit sought) are found.  Then to escape, follow the Blue Moon Hunter path through the Nightwood to find the sleeping Sky Bear (who is also Odayla/Orlanth's Ring).  If you can tame the bear, he can release you when he reappears in the heavens.

 

[soltakss]

1 hour ago, Trotsky said:

Has any of you run an ‘interrupt HeroQuest’ HeroQuest?

I have a few times.

The PCs can:

• Run a parallel but intersecting HeroQuest, where they have stations that intersect with the HeroQuest to be interrupted
• Run the opposing HeroQuest in full, i.e. they play the part of the opponents on the other HeroQuest on their whole journey
• Dip into a Station, again acting as the opponents, but only for that single Station
• Do something else entirely

In the example given, Kangharl is performing a HeroQuest which puts the lover into the target, as the Red Goddess. The Adventurers could oppose that by looking at the Stations on the HeroQuest and inserting themselves into those Stations.

I don't think they would know the full HeroQuest of the opponents, if there is such a HeroQuest.

Rule One issue 11 has the main part of Yanafal Tarnils's HeroQuest:

• He decides to leave his post and search for Teelo Estara(The Adventurers could oppose him and remind him of his duty, preventing him from starting the HeroQuest)
• He walked through God Time Myths, slaying or imprisoning anything that opposed him (The Adventurers could attack him here, acting as the opponents who were slain or imprisoned, hopefully changing that outcome)
• He met the goddess Ak, who had birthed Death and defeated it (The adventurers could be Ak or her companions)
• He travels to the Fields of Waste (The Adventurers could ambush him on this journey)
• He confronts Teelo Estara and makes a decision to replace her on the Stake (The Adventurers could try and persuade him to remember those he had abandoned, those who were dying because of him, to remind him of his duty)
• Teelo Estara must choose which of her fallen companions she can bring back to the surface, she chooses her tormentor and, by doing so, allows the others to return with her (The Adventurers could interrupt the choice, persuading to choose another and leave Kangharl trapped in Hell)

 

Just some ideas.

[Trotsky]

Thanks everyone - all very helpful . I think the players would love to leave Kangharl trapped in Hell!

 

 

Edited November 28, 2020 by Trotsky

[Scorus]

On 11/28/2020 at 10:53 AM, Trotsky said:

Thanks everyone - all very helpful . I think the players would love to leave Kangharl trapped in Hell!

And deprive the dragon of part of its meal?

Does Kangharl know that your players killed her? If so, then he might be prepared. If not, then he would certainly know after they interfered!