Elf Bow Hero Quest

[Joerg]

There is a difference between an elf bow, and elf-grown bow (like the ones used by the Rathori, whose forests don't really have good timber for making bow staves), and a plant including its spirit magically shaped into a bow.

In a way, elf bows are lesser dryads, and may be born as such. A sufficiently friendly dryad might offer to give birth to the child of an adventurer in bow shape, on the Other Side.

[Erol of Backford]

7 hours ago, Joerg said:

A sufficiently friendly dryad might offer to give birth to the child of an adventurer in bow shape, on the Other Side.

Totally did not see that coming, what a cool and terrible idea at once. Being born as a weapon, your mother is a dryad. The forest, elves, peace, love and nature... how does that work!?

On another note what would a male counterpart be to a dryad?

[SDLeary]

11 hours ago, Erol of Backford said:

On another note what would a male counterpart be to a dryad?

I believe it's simply Elves... at least in Glorantha.

In Greek mythology, probably a Silenos (Satyr).

SDLeary

[Joerg]

15 hours ago, Erol of Backford said:

The forest, elves, peace, love and nature... how does that work!?

What makes you think that nature has anything to do with peace and love? Ok, we have "mother nature", but it is a struggle of eating and being eaten.

(One dog walk later:)

15 hours ago, Erol of Backford said:

On another note what would a male counterpart be to a dryad?

I don't think one is needed. A deep French kiss would be sufficient for the dryad to give birth to a child of the partner, regardless of sex or plumbing.

Edited October 26, 2022 by Joerg

[Erol of Backford]

23 hours ago, SDLeary said:

In Greek mythology, probably a Silenos (Satyr).

I just had mentioned a bald Satyr in another post, still laughing about that!

21 hours ago, Joerg said:

What makes you think that nature has anything to do with peace and love?

Gloranthian Hippies from the early 70's for the win.

21 hours ago, Joerg said:

we have "mother nature", but it is a struggle of eating and being eaten

I can't stop laughing.

[Erol of Backford]

I was reading about the Green Bows in Tarsh in Flames, I think they are also in Armies, and am wondering why there isn't something like that developed for Yelmalian archers in Sartar? Sun County in Prax doesn't seem to like elves much...

Since the whole Elmal/Yelmaoilan issue was sorted out in the 1580's why wasn't something developed earlier for Yelmalians who are closely linked to Elven cultures besides these Green Bow people?

Maybe its something PC's could develop in Sartar and the Heortland as who wouldn't want a personalized bow with a spirit bound into it?

[Manunancy]

Binding a cult spirit into a regular bow wil grant about the same result, and save a big hassle in delaing with the aldryamis. Though i can imagine aldryamis giving tips, help and magic to lunar-aligned yelmalian. Which would later backfire in very nasty ways (maybe you bow exsuding a contact poison sap to kill it's wielder or the like) as a revenge for Rist and Erigia.

[Erol of Backford]

On 9/18/2022 at 2:31 PM, GMKen said:

“Treetop Mountains” where is found the peak where Shanassee was first planted

If you could find this place via Hero Quest and come away with your Super Bowl Ring a PC might have some greatly enhanced archery skills... without having to have delt with the whole live elf bow process? Who knows YGWV.

Being poisoned by your own bow sounds a bit rough!?

Edited April 24, 2023 by Erol of Backford

[Erol of Backford]

48 minutes ago, Manunancy said:

lunar-aligned

No siree!

[radmonger]

Heroquesting for a slightly better bow seems to me like one of those things that works in a computer game, but is not going to translate to tabletop very well. 

Based on an aside from another thread about grazers 'worshipping their horses', the model I would use is:

- awakening an elf bow is a minor heroquest, akin to initiation. May or may not be run on-screen. This gets you access to a specific part of the Other Side, in this case the deep heart of your wood.

- adding a new power to an elf bow is a generally off-screen, low risk activity. It involves spending POW, and picking from the menu of options know to your community (i.e. the seeds and cutting available in the Other Side part of your elf woods). The 'power level' of such abilities is roughly equivalent to comparable Rune Magic, perhaps slightly higher to reflect the fact it is tied to the bow.

- a proper heroquest discovers, or steals, a new such ability. While you get it personally, the true consequence is that you have brought it back to part of the Other Side that is known and safe to your community. And assuming you tell them, they can do it too, as above.

In short Bow Magic is Rune Magic known by the bow. To an elf, a properly cultivated living bow spirit, inhabiting it's own body, always going to be infinitely preferable to the results of binding a dead spirit into a crafted body. They would probably regard the latter as akin to a zombie.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 25, 2023 by radmonger

[soltakss]

7 hours ago, radmonger said:

Heroquesting for a slightly better bow seems to me like one of those things that works in a computer game, but is not going to translate to tabletop very well. 

You would be surprised, it works really well, or has done in my games. All you need to do is to find a relevant myth and then use it to gain some benefits. You might get Speedart, or Multimissile, or a matrix in the bow, or a bow that does more damage, has better range, or arrows that ignore cover and so on. Not everything is about getting better swords, after all.