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The Garhound Contest for Hero Wars


evilgaz

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Howdy!

I discovered on t'interweb references to an expanded "Garhound Contest" (from Sun County) for Hero Wars, but all the link seem dead now.  Is this document alive and well?  Freely available?  Or is it something that was but a candle flame in the face of Urox and is now extinguished forever?

Fresh from rooting around in the Old Sun Dome and defeating Yelmalions keen to enact the "three angry blows", my plucky band probably needs something more rounded as the next step of the journey.  I've got Sun County, but as I'm using a different system anyway, it'd be good to get an expanded version of the scenario if it's lurking somewhere.

Cheers!

Gaz

 

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  • 4 months later...

The contests themselves are very mechanical under HW, it's got a very RQ feel to it due to it's origin in Tales of the Reaching Moon 4. I would revisit the original RQ scenario in tales and base it on that - less mechanics - easier to use with HeroQuest. Perhaps @MOB has a more updated take on this.

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Search the Glorantha Resource Site: https://wellofdaliath.chaosium.com. Search the Glorantha mailing list archives: https://glorantha.steff.in/digests/

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While I transplanted the Garhound Contest to the Orlmarth and made some slight modifications, I did run these using HQG though somewhat abstracted as only one of my players had a character competing (vs. a lot of NPCs).  Generally I used an approach of a character's ability + augment vs. a set difficulty.  The level of victory or defeat was then used to rank the contestants and where more fine-grained result needed I looked at the difference in die rolls.  For the wrestling match, instead of a set difficulty I used a determined ability level for those that mattered.  Let me know if you have questions about how I approached it.

I ran the contests over a 2 day period, specifically:

The Contests for the hand of the Harvest Queen

There are 7 contests in all over the 2 days leading up to the sacred marriage and the Harvest ceremonies. They are:

DAY ONE
The Foot Race
In the Godtime, many young gods set off to explore the world beyond the Great Mountain. Some fell, some got lost, but a dozen gods succeeded and discovered Ernalda. These gods vied to become her husband and protector. Only the first 12 men to reach the finish can continue in the competition.

The Javelin Throw
In the Godtime, Ernalda’s spouses and suitors often fought amongst themselves to prove who was the greatest warrior. Orlanth challenged all to prove their skill with the javelin, a weapon of the Fire Tribe, but thrown through the air.

The Wrestling Contest
In the Godtime, though Ernalda’s suitors each fiercely contested with one another to win her favor, they also were vigorous, spirited young men who enjoyed oneanother’s fellowship, and they sought as much to impress each other as they did to win Ernalda’s charms. This is a chance to exercise the gifts that the gods have granted to strong, healthy young men.

The Escaped Pig
In the Godtime, Ernalda’s prized pig escaped from the garden. Her spouses and suitors set off in pursuit to be the one to capture and return the pig to her.

DAY TWO
The Slingstones, or the Hail of Pain
In the Greater Darkness, when chaos swept the world, Ernalda’s husbands had to fight their way through biting chaos and screaming winds to reach her side and defend her. You must endure the stinging hail and bitter blows to strike down evil Gagarth and win through to the Harvest Queen.

The Apples of the Hidden Isle
In the Godtime, Ernalda’s suitors vied with each other to bring her gifts. When they heard a tale from the storyteller Skovari of a beautiful and unique magical fruit that grew in a distant land, they raced on steeds to acquire one. The path was long and twisting, and a nearly impassable river had to be crossed to get to the fruit tree.
You must find and ride a steed to the Great Apple Tree and pluck an apple, then return. At the end of the race, the winner must present his fruit to the Harvest Queen. Only someone with a healthy fruit can win.

Wit and Charm
Ernalda’s suitors sought to impress each other with their intellects, and would often hold great contests using poems, riddles, songs, and/or boasts of deeds. Those who impressed Ernalda won her praise.

In each contest, the best three candidates receive feathers from the Harvest Queen: in most cases, 3 for the victor, 2 for 2nd, and 1 for 3rd; in the apple race it is 5 for the victor, 3 for 2nd, 2 for 3rd, and 1 for 4th. The Harvest Queen's favorite has already received one feather.

When the contests are done, each candidate steps forward and presents the Harvest Queen with his feathers. The candidate with the most feathers is the victor and is crowned the Barley King.
 

Since I run a play-by-forum campaign, you can find these starting here: Harvest Games in Orlmarth campaign

(Due to some unfortunate circumstances, you won't find all the original posts by the player involved, though can find his actions quoted in responses).

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On 8/24/2016 at 10:26 PM, jajagappa said:

While I transplanted the Garhound Contest to the Orlmarth and made some slight modifications, I did run these using HQG though somewhat abstracted as only one of my players had a character competing (vs. a lot of NPCs).  Generally I used an approach of a character's ability + augment vs. a set difficulty.  The level of victory or defeat was then used to rank the contestants and where more fine-grained result needed I looked at the difference in die rolls.  For the wrestling match, instead of a set difficulty I used a determined ability level for those that mattered.  Let me know if you have questions about how I approached it.

I ran the contests over a 2 day period, specifically:

The Contests for the hand of the Harvest Queen

Nice!

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  • 5 years later...

I was one of the people who put the HW version together and found a copy of it a few months ago on that incredible old XHD I found behind a cupboard

The RQ version is better, although we did add a few extra fun bits

Basically I felt it was too epic a contest to be left out of the HW rules, and so we wrote it up again

------------------------------------

Former Issaries Inc. 'Pavis Expert'

Some of my creations and co-creations: https://preview.drivethrurpg.com/en/browse?keyword=Ian Thomson 

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