Published Heroquests

[Nick Brooke]

There are examples of five different types of heroquest in Black Spear: a magic road, temple incursion, static power-up, enemy ritual and getting lost on the Other Side. In case that helps. I don’t have a Grand Unified Theory of Everything or hand my players ratings in strange new stats, but you can certainly add that sort of thing if you like.

[Erol of Backford]

6 minutes ago, Nick Brooke said:

Black Spear

Picked it up today as well. I think it'll take 2-4 weeks to get to me in printed format. Worth the wait I am sure.

[soltakss]

17 hours ago, Erol of Backford said:

It'd be nice to have a full list of known Hero Quests as it would for all the scenarios out there...

Secrets of HeroQuesting lists the HeroQuests that I have found, here is what I have included.

 

HEROQUESTING IN OTHER RULES
Although HeroQuesting was mentioned in RQ2, rules of HeroQuesting have not been detailed to any great extent. However, some rule sets have attempted to cover HeroQuesting in various ways. The following is a summary of how these rule sets treat HeroQuesting.

Author’s Comment
Why bother talking about how HeroQuesting is covered in other sets of rules? Surely, this supplement is looking at new rules, not harping on about old versions? Yes, but looking at previous rules for HeroQuesting helps influence new rules. How closely to these rules fit with existing rules? How do the existing rules differ from each other and the new rules? These are interesting questions.

The author will not pass comment on the HeroQuests, as people will have different ideas of what makes a good or bad HeroQuest. 

Hero Wars

Narrator’s Book
The Otherworld Magic chapter contains rules about HeroQuesting as well as a HeroQuest, Hervald’s Helm. These rules are variants of the “normal” HeroQuesting rules, with special attention paid to crossing barriers and using Contests. The Grotto of Despair is a HeroQuest to the Other Side.

Thunder Rebels
Although Thunder Rebels does not contain any HeroQuesting rules as such, it does contain an excellent description of the Storm Stead and GodTime, as well as a detailed breakdown of Orlanth Cults/SubCults, with myth fragments, all of which are useful for building HeroQuests.

Storm Tribe
As with Thunder Rebels, Storm Tribe contains no HeroQuesting rules but many cults with their myths that can be used as the basis of many a HeroQuest.
 
QuestWorlds
Although the QuestWorlds system is built on the idea of using HeroQuests, in fact HeroQuesting makes up a tiny part of the rules and supplements.

HeroQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha
There is a HeroQuesting chapter in the rulebook. This covers the types of HeroQuest and where they occur. It also covers creating HeroQuests, using Myths, Differences in the Story, Ritual preparations, Community Support, Crossing Over, Power Spots, Alien Worlds, Dropping Out and Falling Off, Opponents, HeroQuest Levels, Expect Surprises, HeroQuest Moment, Station Results, Side Benefits, HeroQuest Challenge, The Climax, and The Return. There is a HeroQuest, Heavy Earth, which pits Sartarites against a local Earth Spirit.

The HeroQuesting rules are good and follow the classic HeroQuesting model. HeroQuests are split into Stations, with opponents and rewards. It gets its knickers in a twist when discussing the Planes, moving a HeroQuest between the Otherworld to the Gods War then to the Hero Plane, so my advice is to ignore that section. 

HeroQuest Glorantha
The rewrite of HeroQuest 2 for Glorantha has a section on HeroQuesting, which covers Origin, What is Myth, What is HeroQuesting, The HeroQuest of Eringulf Vanak Spear, Breaking Down of a HeroQuest into Stages, HeroQuest Surprise, HeroQuest Challenges, The law of Synchronicity and Types of HeroQuest. The Illumination chapter has a note on Illumination and HeroQuesting. There is a HeroQuest detailed with descriptions of how it works, what the rewards and penalties are and, more importantly, how it could play out.

This is well-written and is a lot clearer than those in HeroQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha. 

The note on Illumination and HeroQuesting is very useful and shows what benefits an insight can bring to HeroQuesting. The sample HeroQuest allows the HeroQuestors to rescue a stolen goddess from Hell and has a lot of detail that will help enrich other HeroQuests.
Anyone who is interested in HeroQuesting in Glorantha should buy HeroQuest Glorantha as it is an invaluable resource.

Sartar: Kingdom of Heroes
This contains a chapter on HeroQuests and Running a HeroQuest, as well as a HeroQuest, The Feast of Beasts, with several Stations that count as scenarios in their own right. It also details the consequences of success or failure at each stage. The HeroQuest takes up 60 pages and is well worth reading.

The HeroQuesting rules are very simple and easy to read. HeroQuests are of two types, this Side and Other Side, which is an interesting split. The rules are better described than those in HeroQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha and have a different slant to those in HeroQuest Glorantha. The rules also include a description of the Short Lightbringers’ Quest as an additional bonus.

Sartar Companion
This contains two HeroQuests, The Hero and the Grove, and the Law Staff, which are given as scenarios. Although not as detailed as The Feast of Beasts, there is enough information here to run the HeroQuests fairly easily.

Pavis: Gateway to Adventure
This contains the Three Blows of Anger and Red Moon Rising HeroQuests, which are interesting as they are both Involuntary HeroQuests, where the HeroQuestors are forced onto the HeroQuest.  

The Eleven Lights
This is full of HeroQuests. War is a minor HeroQuest, or rather a ritual battle, which includes The Thunder Shout. Peace Weaving is a minor HeroQuest to bring Justice to the clan. The Stealing of the Giant's Cows is a HeroQuest to strengthen the clan's herds. The Missing is a minor HeroQuest to find some missing children. The Three New Stars is a HeroQuest to restore stars to the Sky. 

13th Age Glorantha
13th Age Glorantha is a rules system about Adventuring and it is no surprise that it covers HeroQuesting. In fact, it has a whole chapter devoted to HeroQuesting.

Running HeroQuests: Advice and mechanics for adventures on the Hero Plane.
•    The GodTime, The Hero Plane, & Myth
•    Entering The Hero Plane
•    Assume Competence
•    Invite Style
•    HeroQuest Surprises
•    The Way Things Look
•    Paths To Victory
•    Fleeing From A HeroQuest
•    Tiers
•    Higher-Tier Myths

DIY HeroQuests: Guidelines for building your own.
•    Initiating Design
•    Mythic Lore
•    Deity Protagonist
•    Victory
•    Create Four Or Five Stations
•    Station By Station Advice
•    Premade Myths - A couple of Humakti Myths
•    Humakt The Champion
•    Humakt And The Sword Of Life
•    Broken Myths: Chaos-affected Myths
•    River Crossing
•    Wedding Of Orlanth And Ernalda
•    Broken Myths By Class

Lost Myths: Mysterious myths where the HeroQuestors are on their own to figure them out. 
•    Stories That Might Shape A Lost Myth
•    Example Of A Lost Myth: Fangplace
•    Mythic Adventures - Special contexts for HeroQuests and what can happen on the Hero Plane.
•    Bring Out The Dead
•    Here Come The Dead
•    Dogpile
•    You Can Never Go Home
•    Vindictive Nightmare

Gloranthan HeroQuests to Emulate: Snippets or short descriptions of HeroQuests, these are fascinating summaries of previously unknown HeroQuests, including: Lokamayadon's Hagodereth Quest, Harmast's HeroQuests and The Quest OF Eringulf Vanak Spear

HeroQuests detailed are: Humakt the Champion, Humakt and the Sword Of Life, River Crossing, Wedding Of Orlanth and Ernalda, Fangplace, Sounding the Horn of Alarm, Upland Marsh HeroQuest and Starlight Ritual

Running Glorantha Chapter: We have:
•    Runes & HeroQuesting - a description of how runes are used when HeroQuesting
•    Entering the Hero Plane
•    Narrating a Rune While HeroQuesting
•    Death & Heroic Returns - An interesting description of how Heroes can return from the dead
•    Returns Are Not Immediate
•    Heroes Return
•    If The End Is Death, The Means Don't Matter
•    Save The Body?
•    Dying On The Hero Plane
•    Three Methods Of Attempting A Heroic Return
•    Heroic Return Examples

HeroQuest Gifts: A long section of acquiring HeroQuest Gifts, with some interesting ideas
•    Acquiring HeroQuest Gifts
•    Successful HeroQuesting
•    Empowered Runes
•    Timing Of HeroQuest Gifts
•    Trace Of Glory
•    Player Chooses
•    Gifts Are Singular
•    Basic Bonuses Don't Stack
•    One Gift Per Level
•    Minimum By Level
•    Upgrading Gifts
•    Creating Experienced Characters
•    Gift Types
•    Gifts By Rune
•    Gifts As Loot
•    Gifts As Signature Magic Items

Overall, HeroQuesting in 13th Age Glorantha is pretty good. It fits into the "Super RuneQuest" mold, but for 13th Age, where HeroQuests are treated as if they are normal Adventures with HeroQuest stuff tagged on, which is how they should be treated.  The descriptions of HeroQuest Gifts are useful, although I don't know enough about 13th Age Mechanics to comment on them individually, they are eminently stealable for the HeroQuest or RuneQuest rules.

Stafford Library
The Stafford Library is a set of rules-independent books detailing the history, geography and mythology of Glorantha. Once called the Unfinished Works, these are an unparalleled resource for anyone interested in Deep Glorantha.

Author’s Comment
I have only mentioned those Stafford Library works that I own and which have useful content for HeroQuesting. 

Arcane Lore
This is the only supplement wholly devoted to HeroQuesting. As such, it is an invaluable resource, containing 35 HeroQuests in varying forms, from sketches to fully-detailed HeroQuests. However, it is hit and miss in places, a hotchpotch of different rules that contradict each other. I recommend purchasing this to anyone interested in HeroQuesting.

The chapters cover various aspects of HeroQuesting, the Otherworlds, deity Classification and much more: HeroQuesting, How HeroQuesting Works, What is HeroQuest, Metaphysical Mechanics, Four Magic Systems One Magic, Characteristics of the Three Realms of HeroQuesting , Release Keys, The HeroQuest Quiz, The Divine Rune Identification System, The Heroic Rune Identification System, Gods and Mortals, Deity Statistics, The Pantheons of Glorantha, Fame, The Chaos Wars, Arkat's Tome, A HeroQuesting Vocabulary, The Seven Planes, Shared Characteristics, Levels of the Hero Plane, Entering the Hero Plane, The Other Worlds, The Mythic Ages, Crusades and The Malkioni Otherworld. Each chapter goes into its topic in detail, but there is not attempt to provide a unified whole. Some rules are clearly for the RuneQuest game, some are for the HeroQuest (QuestWorlds) game and some seem to be for a different but unspecified system. 

HeroQuests covered are: The Hill of Gold, The Lightbringers’ Quest, Maintain Spirit, The First Battle, Downland Migration, Liberating Ernalda, Killing Aroka, Fourteen Tribes, Great Music Wind, King Contest, Crushing the Green, Winter is Scattered, The Trembling Shores, Route to Orlanth's Longhouse, Rainmaking and the Harvest, The Quest of Knowledge, The Wyter Quest, Kargan Tor's Court, Berserkergang Quest, The Quest for Ten Strikes, A Humakti Scenario, So You Want to raise the Dead, Elovare's Blue Moon Quest, The Seven Sky Gates, The Path of Lightfore, Tale of the Twelve Brethren, The Crossroads, The Jackal's Path, Alebard's HeroQuest, The Citadel of Drang, Hellmouth, Renallien Breaker of Bricks, Waha's Beast Quest and The Seven Sky Games. All the HeroQuests are usable and can easily be adapted for anyone’s game.

Book of Heortling Mythology
Crammed full with Myths, sometimes quite detailed, this can be used as the basis of many HeroQuests.

Fortunate Succession
This list of the Emperors of Dara Happa is full of Gloranthan history. As the Emperors were often Demigods or Heroes themselves, there are a lot of hints regarding their HeroQuests.

Glorious Reascent of Yelm
This contains many myths of the Sky Gods and histories of the Emperors of Dara Happa. The myths can easily be turned into HeroQuests and the histories contain many examples of HeroQuesting.

History of the Heortling Peoples
This contains descriptions of the history of the Orlanthi. Among these histories are many examples of HeroQuesting, especially Creative HeroQuesting. These accounts show that Creative HeroQuesting did not begin with Arkat. The ritual and battle to create Nysalor, the war between Rastalulf Vanak Spear and Lokamayadon, the war against Nysalor/Gbaji, the deeds of Henrik and the Iron War against the Clanking City are all described in detail, with HeroQuesting elements. 

Author’s Comment
Both the book of Heortling Mythology and History of the Heortling cover the First Council, Arkat Wars, Dragon wars and the Wars against the Clanking city, but from different viewpoints. However, both have enough of the events, stories and myths that can be used to describe the HeroQuests used in those events.

King of Sartar
The Story of Argrath is all about HeroQuesting. The Lightbringers’ Quest is described in detail, The Strange Fragment describes using HeroQuesting powers, Orlanth Mythology has some excellent myths that can be turned into HeroQuests and Three Invocations describe how a HeroQuest can be invoked. 

Nearly every page in this excellent book provides hints and examples of HeroQuests.

 
Middle Sea Empire
The God Learner chapter covers Developmental Stages, detailing the history of God Learner HeroQuesting, The New Order of HeroQuestors, the Impossible Landscapes and Five New Ways books and Overall Effects on the Hero Planes.
This is interesting from a historical point of view and also describes the effects of HeroQuesting on the Hero Plane.

Revealed Mythologies
This contains mythologies of the Western, Southern and Eastern lands of Glorantha. It is very theoretical in places, but gives a good overview of those areas.

The Western section describes GodTime through Western eyes, splitting it down into a series of Actions. It describes the Western Otherworld as Kiona, Solace and Joy and has a Glossary of places and terms. The Pamaltela section describes the GodTime in a more accessible form than the western view, with myths that can be used as the basis of HeroQuests. As with the western section, it has a potted History and Glossary. The Vithelan section covers similar ground, with a description of the GodTime in terms of cycles, describing the Gods and Antigods. This is less useful than the Western or Pamaltelan sections and does not contain a History.

Overall, this is a reasonable source of myths, but is very alien to someone used to looking at very rich Central Genertelan mythology.

RuneQuest Glorantha
The latest version of RuneQuest contains some things on HeroQuesting. The Games Master's Guide should contain a little more, with a HeroQuesting Character Sheet and extra rules. 

HeroQuesting seems to have been built into the rules from the bottom up, which can only be a good thing. 

Author’s Comment
In my opinion, RuneQuest Glorantha, the latest version of RuneQuest, is the best and prettiest version that we have seen. It has its flaws and could have done with a good proofreader who excels at checking rules, but has a lot of good stuff that supports HeroQuesting.

 
RuneQuest Glorantha Rulebook
HeroQuesting is mentioned throughout the Rulebook, which is how it should be, as HeroQuesting is an integral part of Gloranthan gaming.

Introduction
•    Epic Scale: This mentions a HeroQuest as a ritualized adventure where an Adventurer may discover new magical secrets and better learn how to become a Hero.
•    Heroes and HeroQuesting: This describes HeroQuesting as a magical act that brings mythological magic into the Mundane World, a HeroQuestor as someone who simultaneously interacts with Mythology and the Mundane World and a Hero as someone who has walked this path and been changed by it. Pretty good definitions, I think.

Game System
•    Campaign Time: This mentions Sacred Time as a propitious time for HeroQuesting
•    Sacred Time: Mentions that the only adventures carried out during Sacred Time are HeroQuests
•    Death and Permanent Damage: Anyone dying and passing through Judgement can only be brought back by a HeroQuest

Skills
Cult Lore: This includes HeroQuests as part of the things covered by Cult Lore

Runes 
•    Magical Tests: This mentions HeroQuesting as being a place where magical tests are important and commonplace, showing two ways of having a test, either a Skill above a certain amount or rolling below a Skill on 1D100

Passions & Reputation
•    Reputation: HeroQuesting is given as a way of gaining Reputation

Rune Cults
•    Cult Mysteries: HeroQuesting is given as one way of gaining cult mysteries
•    Worship: HeroQuest rituals are mentioned as a way of accessing secret rites
•    Wyters: HeroQuests are mentioned several times, as something that defines a Wyter, as a way to gain new abilities for the Wyter and as a way to restore a Wyter
Rune Magic
•    Resurrect: Reiterates that a person dead for more than 7 days needs a HeroQuest to return
•    Seal Soul: Reiterates that a person dead for more than 7 days needs a HeroQuest to return
•    Summons of Evil: If the participants have a HeroQuest Enemy, that enemy will be summoned by the spell

Between Adventures
•    Sacred Time: Performing a HeroQuest is an optional event in Sacred Time and can give a modifier to the harvest

Although the information on HeroQuesting is sketchy, there is enough built into the rules to imply that HeroQuesting should play an important part in future RuneQuest supplements.

RuneQuest Bestiary
There are few mentions of HeroQuesting in the Gloranthan Bestiary, which makes sense as this is not really a supplement suited to an in-depth view of HeroQuesting.
•    Dragonewts: The Don Armor skill is gained through a successful HeroQuest
•    Mistress Race Troll: Typically has powers gained on HeroQuests
•    War Zebras: Their ability to breed is due to a HeroQuest miracle
•    Wyter: Created through HeroQuesting

Author’s Comment
What about the various Scenario Packs or in other Jonstown Compendium supplements, surely there are HeroQuesting rules in those?

Yes, there probably are, but as I am planning to play in a RuneQuest Glorantha Campaign very soon, I have promised not to read them. However, once the campaign has finished, I am free to read them and comment.

Watch this space!

Author’s Comment
There are excellent HeroQuesting rules in the system we are not allowed to mention. However, we are not allowed to include them in the Jonstown Compendium, so I won’t.

Fanzines
Although fanzines are not canonical and are generally not published by Chaosium, there are a large number of HeroQuests and HeroQuesting ideas in various editions of Fanzines. 

The Fanzines covered are: Tales of the Reaching Moon (ToTRM), Tradetalk (TT), RQ Adventures  (RQA), Codex (CX). Wyrms Footnotes (WF), Different Worlds (DW) and The Book of Drastic Resolutions (BoDR):
•    ToTRM2: Heroes, Five Foes
•    ToTRM4: Golden Barge HeroQuest
•    ToTRM7: Glorantha: The Game, The Whole World in Your Hands, HeroQuesting Basics, Designing HeroQuests, The Old Hare's Riddle, HeroQuests of the Twins, Berserkergang Path, The Blue Boar HeroQuest, The Silver Fox HeroQuest, The HeroQuest Quiz
•    ToTRM12: Questlines There is Always Another Way
•    ToTRM14: Questlines Paths of the Hero
•    ToTRM18: Odayla Initiation, The Stormwalk Path
•    TT5: Three Flowers
•    TT6: The Tower of Xud
•    TT7: The Unicorn Quest
•    TT9: Fintnail's One Day House, Joraz Kyrem Gains an Ally, Aldryami Planting Song
•    TT12: Dry Hard
•    RQA3: The Devil's Bones
•    CX1: The Spirit of the Stream (HeroQuest in all but name)
•    CX2: Map of the God Plane
•    WF09: The Shepherd’s Tree HeroQuest, The Great Raid on the Temple of the Wooden Sword HeroQuest
•    WF10: The Founding of the Temple of the Wooden Sword
•    WF14: The Crown Test of Leika Ballista
•    DW4: Waha HeroQuest
•    DW45: Pavis HeroQuest
•    BoDR Prax: Waha's HeroQuest

Author’s Comment
What about HeroQuests in other Fanzines? Why haven’t you included them?

Mainly because I don’t have the fanzines, have lost them or have not remembered HeroQuests in them. 

I would be pleased if readers could let me know of Fanzines and HeroQuests I have missed, so I can include them in future versions of Secrets of HeroQuesting.

Treat it as a Knowledge Quest.
 

[jajagappa]

3 hours ago, Erol of Backford said:

I have started to generate a list, including all the old zines, again just scenarios but its 1000's of pages, maybe when I retire...

Well, for that, you're in luck as someone just happens to have made a hobby of collecting everything about RQ and Glorantha. And the latest updated edition is available! It is of course, MIG III, the Meints Index to Glorantha. There's a full Master List of Scenarios (both Gloranthan and Gateway) in it. 

PDF is available now here: Meints Index to Glorantha.  Hard cover is coming - they had copies at Chaosium Con, so shouldn't be too long before shipments reach the warehouses.

It does not include the Moon Design HeroQuest 2 works or the latest Chaosium offerings, but everything before that is there.  

If you want to add in what's in the Jonstown Compendium, then I recommend @Nick Brooke Jonstown Compendium Catalog 2022. It provides a comprehensive list of all JC titles organized by scenarios and source books. (And there's a separate index for the current year's offerings)

[Erol of Backford]

Seems like I'll need to get it printed with holes punched for a 3 ring binder!

[soltakss]

3 hours ago, Erol of Backford said:

I need to learn how one to run before buying 10... I love that they are Hero Quest sessions in the Rune Quest actual campaigns.

Until the official rules come out, Secrets of HeroQuesting has an in-depth description, but other supplements have lighter versions of HeroQuesting.

Basically, you play a HeroQuest just like any scenario, except that it follows fairy tale logic and people need to keep towhat they are supposed to do.

3 hours ago, Erol of Backford said:

Location, approximate year and season, difficulty factor, antagonists, plot hooks, repercussions, good prequel scenarios, good follow up scenarios.

None of those apply For HeroQuests, as you can perform a HeroQuest anywhere and at any time.

3 hours ago, Erol of Backford said:

White text spoiler follows as edit (sorry about that)

If you click on the eye (Highlighted) you can put spoilers into posts.

 

3 hours ago, Erol of Backford said:

I am sure it's out there somewhere, a comprehensive list of all scenarios and only scenarios?

I put together some for Jonstown Compendium supplements, but have not updated it for a while, however it merely lists the number of scenarios and not what they are called.

 

Supplement	Series	Location	Scenarios
Blue Moon White Moon	Standalone	Anywhere	1
Rocks Fall	Standalone	Anywhere	1
The Pendulum & The Pit	Standalone	Anywhere	1
The Quacken	Standalone	Anywhere	1
The Ruins of Bonn Kanach	Beast Valley Campaign	Beast Valley	1
This Fertile Ground	Beast Valley Campaign	Beast Valley	1
Joulupukki	Holiday Dorastor	Dorastor	1
Seven Hills	Holiday Dorastor	Dorastor	8
Spider Woods	Holiday Dorastor	Dorastor	5
Temple of Heads	Holiday Dorastor	Dorastor	5
Wood of Terror	Holiday Dorastor	Dorastor	18
Spirit Hunt	Quatrini	Esrolia	1
Rivers of Blood	Quatrini	Grazelands	1
How Humakt Learned to Grieve	Standalone	HeroQuest	4
Humakt Raven and Wolf	Standalone	HeroQuest	1
Life of Moonson Book Two The Freeform	Life of Moonson	Lunar Empire	1
Rubble Redux	Rubble Redux	Pavis	4
Rubble Redux The Insula of the Rising Sun	Rubble Redux	Pavis	4
A Grim Pilgrimage	Quatrini	Prax	1
Stone and Bone	Standalone	Prax	1
The Gifts of Prax	Standalone	Prax	1
Black Spear	Black Spear	Sartar	7
Cups of Clearwine	Clearwine	Sartar	1
Dregs of Clearwine	Clearwine	Sartar	1
Valley of Plenty	Jaldonkillers Saga	Sartar	4
Jallupel Goodwind	MoTM	Sartar	1
The Avengers of Earth Temple	Quatrini	Sartar	1
The Search for the Throne of Colymar	Quatrini	Sartar	1
Underwater Quest	Quatrini	Sartar	1
A Sword Turned Inward	Red Deer Saga	Sartar	15
Elgar's Sword	Red Deer Saga	Sartar	6
Whitestone Ruins	Red Deer Saga	Sartar	3
Six Seasons in Sartar	Six Seasons in Sartar	Sartar	8
The Company of the Dragon	Six Seasons in Sartar	Sartar	32
A Site to Die For	Standalone	Sartar	1
A Tale of Woodcraft	Standalone	Sartar	1
Applefest	Standalone	Sartar	1
Arrows of War	Standalone	Sartar	1
Bad Day at Duck Rock	Standalone	Sartar	1
High Rock Hill	Standalone	Sartar	1
Jorthans Rescue Redux	Standalone	Sartar	1
Kovid's Nineteen	Standalone	Sartar	3
Night in the Meadow	Standalone	Sartar	3
Remembering Caroman	Standalone	Sartar	1
Rostakori	Standalone	Sartar	1
Secrets of Korolstead	Standalone	Sartar	1
The Duel at Dangerford	Standalone	Sartar	1
The Throat of Winter	Standalone	Sartar	1
Vinga's Ford	Standalone	Sartar	1
Yozarians Bandit Ducks	Standalone	Sartar	1
Kingdom of the Flamesword	Standalone	Seshnela	3
Tales of the Sun County Militia	Sandheart	Sun County	1
The Corn Dolls	Sandheart	Sun County	1
The God Skin	Sandheart	Sun County	2
A Trek in the Marsh	Standalone	Upland Marsh	1
The Howling Tower	Standalone	Upland Marsh	1

[Erol of Backford]

34 minutes ago, soltakss said:

If you click on the eye (Highlighted) you can put spoilers into posts.

I couldn't put it into a spoiler when I went back in but the first time I tried to edit I couldn't get it to spoiler format. Thank you for all the listings, I have most of the old school stuff, zines and all. Some of the newer material I am more selective and lean toward printable stuff. Like the HQ Book.

Edited April 22, 2023 by Erol of Backford

[Jason Farrell]

The most recent RQ video posted on Chaosium.com says this: "In this Chaosium Interview, Jeff Richard talks about heroquesting, a core part of RuneQuest and the world of Glorantha."

Just saying.  Bolding mine. 

[Jeff]

3 hours ago, Jason Farrell said:

The most recent RQ video posted on Chaosium.com says this: "In this Chaosium Interview, Jeff Richard talks about heroquesting, a core part of RuneQuest and the world of Glorantha."

Just saying.  Bolding mine. 

Yes it is. Since before even RuneQuest. And developing a good means to communicate how to create and run heroquests, as well as mechanically define their consequences has proven challenging. It is important that it be done right, that it be something that ties into Greg's views on mythology and his written stories - otherwise we shouldn't do it at all. Now I think we finally have a mechanical system and a narrative approach that works and it is going into final form. 

Jeff

[Jason Farrell]

17 minutes ago, Jeff said:

Yes it is. Since before even RuneQuest. And developing a good means to communicate how to create and run heroquests, as well as mechanically define their consequences has proven challenging. It is important that it be done right, that it be something that ties into Greg's views on mythology and his written stories - otherwise we shouldn't do it at all. Now I think we finally have a mechanical system and a narrative approach that works and it is going into final form. 

Jeff

I hope so.  But it concerns me that you're using language (you "think") that still allows you to hedge your bets and not follow through with it.

Because I don't agree at all with your conclusion that you "shouldn't do it at all" if it's not perfect.  And yes, I'm using the word "perfect" rather than repeating your "done right" because for something that's supposedly a core part of RQ, it's quite amazing that there have never been published rules, not in decades.  I can appreciate wanting to do justice to Greg's views and stories, but respectfully, I don't think you can say it's a core part of the game if you're open to never including it IN the game.

I'm nobody.  Just a reader, a player, and a fan.   The game will be what you and your team make it.  But I feel like pushing back a bit is necessary if those of us who want to see these rules hope to ever get them, because there are tons of fans who are happy to repeat verbatim what you said above, likely because you yourself have been saying them for quite a while.  You can listen or not, but I think it's important that you don't just hear feedback from the echo chamber RQ fandom can often be.

Perfect is the enemy of good, it has been said.  Thing is, if you release these rules, for some they will be perfect, even if you don't quite think they are.  And when the thousands of us have them and use them, our feedback and stories may allow you to fashion them into something more perfect in your eyes as well. 

[Jason Farrell]

Old Pavis: City That Time Forgot (current bestseller on the JC) has an extended heroquest.  Ian includes some rules (more in the form of guidelines and suggestions) for heroquesting in general in that volume also.

[Bill the barbarian]

6 hours ago, soltakss said:

I put together some for Jonstown Compendium supplements, but have not updated it for a while, however it merely lists the number of scenarios and not what they are called.

 

This is such a great idea I have started a Topic with soltakss list at the top. Anyone else have JC supplements not listed can post them to the Jonstown Compendium List of Supplements.

[DrGoth]

19 hours ago, soltakss said:

That is odd, because the HeroQuesting pack that we brought out, How Humakt Learned to Grieve, did not sell particularly well despite being our second best-selling Silver title.

I wondered why there were so few of those on JC

[Bren]

On 4/22/2023 at 1:01 PM, Nick Brooke said:

There are examples of five different types of heroquest in Black Spear: a magic road, temple incursion, static power-up, enemy ritual and getting lost on the Other Side. In case that helps. I don’t have a Grand Unified Theory of Everything or hand my players ratings in strange new stats, but you can certainly add that sort of thing if you like.

If my players would only play faster, I would get a chance to run Black Spear before my delayed retirement SS kicks in.

Edited April 23, 2023 by Bren

[Erol of Backford]

Whatever happened to 1 point of will per 3 points of power and another for each 50% and 100% in each of the base cults skills, another for each cult membership, prient or rune lord status, Londra had 28 on Alebard's Quest...

[Nick Brooke]

6 hours ago, Erol of Backford said:

Whatever happened to 1 point of will per 3 points of power and another for each 50% and 100% in each of the base cults skills, another for each cult membership, prient or rune lord status, Londra had 28 on Alebard's Quest...

“You can certainly add that sort of thing if you like.”

[Brian Duguid]

Am I the only one who is very slightly dreading the publication of Heroquest rules? Fingers crossed that they don't give the impression that Heroquests must be run in only a certain way: that you can only interact with the Hero Plane (etc) using particular attributes; that success and failure are only measured in a certain manner; that there is a preferred "exemplar" of what a quest is for, how it progresses, etc. I'm looking at running a this-world Heroquest in an upcoming session (won't say more in case players are reading) and what I want with that is flexibility to do it however I want: whatever suits the characters, their stories, and the background material that will inform it. What I really don't want is a set of rules that reduce that flexibility.

[mfbrandi]

13 hours ago, Brian Duguid said:

Am I the only one who is very slightly dreading the publication of Heroquest rules?

No, you are not the only one:

• Not every important thing needs its own set of game mechanics.
• Heroquests should be able to get acid-trip strange, not just by-the-book odd.
• Heroquests should sometimes sneak up on the characters (and their players) — “When did the heroquest start?” “I don’t know, but we must have been in it a while.” — but if there is an obvious mechanical shift that could give the game away.
• If Chaosium makes a conceptual breakthrough and comes up with some genius new mechanic, will it suitable for all and only heroquests?
• Gloranthans speak of heroquests, but I suspect the things they speak of bear a family resemblance to each other rather than sharing some clearly defined essence.
• “Here are the rules of creative heroquesting — if your players think of something ‘outside the box’, it doesn’t work and it doesn’t count.”

But those are — of course — just worries, and I wouldn’t dignify them by calling them arguments against HQ rules. I may be wrong on every count.

However, it must be said that in general, I hope that each publication will open up readers’ imaginations by making them think of things not on the page, rather than shutting them down by providing yet more detail to be observed. I suspect that that gets harder and harder as publications pile up seemingly trying to define Glorantha. Better to be allusive and/or contradict the last thing said than try to present something consistent and complete?

Presumably, the notion of a heroquest is contested in-world, so do we want it nailed down at the meta, rules level? I don’t know.

Edited April 24, 2023 by mfbrandi
spelling

[Puckohue]

I don't worry. If there are published rules I don't like I change or ignore them.

[Nick Brooke]

45 minutes ago, Puckohue said:

I don't worry. If there are published rules I don't like I change or ignore them.

That’s the difference between Game Mastery and Game Slavery, right there.

[mfbrandi]

54 minutes ago, Puckohue said:

I don't worry. If there are published rules I don't like I change or ignore them.

Sure. I was just being sympathetic to Mr. Duguid.

I am not now and have never been a member of the Boy Scouts of America someone who thinks Chaosium has a duty to publish/refrain from publishing according to my whims. They should follow their own vision. I don’t get the whole GRR Martin fandom thing of ranting at the “content provider” to dance like a monkey on a chain. Why would one do that?

[radmonger]

Maybe the premise of needing heroquest rules is wrong. 

A heroquest is just a scenario. The Spirit and God Planes are, when it comes down to it, just different locations for an scenario  to be set in.

Neither RQ nor HWQW has ever had rules for creating scenarios. That's the job of the scenario author, who is sometimes also the GM. What is had had is regional and cultural sourcebooks that provide background information for scenario authors. That way different scenarios, written by different authors, mostly line up (with a few notable exceptions). 

Now the other side is both infinitely large and fractally unmappable. The inside of Yelm's palace may contain a thousand time more rooms than would ever fit. One of those rooms may contain a garden that stretches for hundreds of miles. At at the far side of which is a building, which only appears on Windsday, and may only be entered by initiates of Aldrya. In a cellar of that building are steps that descend 100,000 flights...

So you are not going to a nice complete logical map, like Argan Argar's Atlas. So maybe what is really needed is a series of sourcebooks for aspects of, or perspectives on,  the other side. Like the Spirit Lands, Storm Hills, Yelm's palace, the Underworld, ... 

These sourcebooks would naturally include some sample scenarios to show how it is done, and the usual amount of new rules for in the form of skills or spells. But the fundamental goal is, if two people to read that book and independently write heroquests, both should feel like they belong in the same world. 

[jajagappa]

2 hours ago, radmonger said:

Maybe the premise of needing heroquest rules is wrong. 

A heroquest is just a scenario. The Spirit and God Planes are, when it comes down to it, just different locations for an scenario  to be set in.

I think this is pretty much on-target, and is largely the approach I've taken to running heroquests. 

2 hours ago, radmonger said:

So you are not going to a nice complete logical map, like Argan Argar's Atlas. So maybe what is really needed is a series of sourcebooks for aspects of, or perspectives on,  the other side. Like the Spirit Lands, Storm Hills, Yelm's palace, the Underworld, ... 

Between the Godtime maps in the Guide, the example Underworld maps in SKoH and 11 Lights, and the Hero Plane map that Jeff has shared, there's several examples of these already (13th Age Glorantha is another good source).  I suspect the multiple myths coming in the Cults books will help fill in a lot of potential paths that heroes could take. 

The harder thing for RQ is understanding what benefits you might gain (a Rune spell is the most obvious, but clearly there are other possibilities). In HQG, it was very easy to create something on-the-fly. In RQG, more difficult to define, so this is where I think some additional rules will help.

[Steve]

2 hours ago, radmonger said:

So maybe what is really needed is a series of sourcebooks for aspects of, or perspectives on,  the other side. Like the Spirit Lands, Storm Hills, Yelm's palace, the Underworld, ... 

You may be in luck. The sticky post on Upcoming Glorantha Publications suggests that, as well as heroquesting rules coming to us via the GM book, we can also expect a separate Heroquesting sourcebook.

[Erol of Backford]

7 hours ago, Puckohue said:

I don't worry. If there are published rules I don't like I change or ignore them.

We are still using RQ2-3 stuff and love it. All the new stuff just keeps adding more flavor and depth.

8 hours ago, mfbrandi said:

Heroquests should be able to get acid-trip strange, not just by-the-book odd.

Agree, Hero Quests should be acid-trip strange and is a perfect analogy though I've not enjoyed that in my life, yet... 

I suppose the Persistence of Memory and a few other of Dail's or Escher's paintings could be possible visual enhancements, melting landscapes, giant green elf brians falling from the sky... make it all the more bizarre.

11 hours ago, Nick Brooke said:

“You can certainly add that sort of thing if you like.”

Curious if the hero points mechanic was ever spelled out more clearly than in the Bill Keys article Alebard's Quest in TotRM 05? I'll have Soltakss' book in a few weeks and see how it goes.

Thank you all for pushing us to the edge of integrating Hero Quests into our game, it's been many years in the coming.