Skip to content
The Well of Daliath
Menu
Menu

Changing History in the Hero Wars

Posted on February 2, 2021

The approach is the same as in a game like Pendragon (where Arthur, Lancelot, Merlin, etc. are NPCs). Here’s the advice the forthcoming RQ Campaign book has:

We encourage you to include well-known Gloranthan characters and events in your campaign. Their presence adds to the players’ experience and lends authority and authenticity. However, their inclusion always threatens the worst. For instance, what if Gunda the Guilty is facing the adventurers in battle and happens to roll a 00, while the adventurer rolls a critical success. What should you do? Here are some suggestions:You can fudge: “Well, a blow like that would have killed any normal mortal twice over, but not the mighty Gunda!”You can invoke a deus ex machina: “Gunda reels, but a spectral armed woman rides down from the sky. Everyone make a Cult Lore lore – it is one of Humakt’s choosers of the dead! She kneels over Gunda to tell her that it is not yet time to join Death, and kisses her gently on the lips. Gunda wakes, slightly dazed.

”How about surprise: “Gunda’s body falls to the ground. When you move forward to loot the body, make a Homeland Lore roll – made it? You realize this isn’t Gunda! Someone is wearing her armor and carries her weapons, but it is definitely not her!”Or do nothing. Change history. “The terrible Gunda the Guilty, boon companion of Harrek the Berserk, is dead.” And we pity the killer – as Harrek the Berserk will stop at nothing to avenge her death.You can even resurrect the character! Some characters like Argrath, the Feathered Horse Queen, Sir Ethilrist, and Jar-eel have escaped the Place of the Dead before and can do it again, others might be resurrected by their followers or community. “Sometime after the battle, you hear that Harrek traveled into Hell to rescue Gunda the Guilty and fought Death himself to do so. Despite bringing her back to the world of the living, the White Bear has announced that he shall kill everyone involved in Gunda’s death, and that he intends not only to kill them, but their families, and even their neighbors!”Most characters are dispensable anyway. Only the death of one of the five main characters would extensively change the campaign plot. And even that is not inviolate – although it does create additional work for you as your campaign will go in a very different direction without much guidance or support from published materials.

Changing history requires some forethought, but nothing requires you to follow the campaign to its predestined end. You may decide to throw predestination to the wind, let any player-character become the Prince of Sartar, and maybe even allow someone else to marry the Feathered Horse Queen and become the King of Dragon Pass. In the end, this campaign is yours to decide what you make of it.

Jeff Richard

Next
Previous
Gunda, Hero Wars, RQ Campaign (preview)

Sections

  • Search Tips
  • Current RuneQuest Glorantha Publications
  • RuneQuest Glorantha Corrections and Q&A
  • Catalogue
  • References for Glorantha
    • Gloranthan Canon
  • Gloranthan Documents
  • RPG Systems & Versions
  • Gallery
  • Role-playing in Glorantha
  • About This Site
  • Get involved!

Latest Posts

  • Notes on The Red Goddess and Chaos

    In 1220 ST, great stirrings in the world centered in …
  • The Three Categories of Chaos

    Philosophers identify three categories of Chaos in the world: 1. …
  • A Few Notes on Chaos

    Chaos is not “natural”. It entered the cosmos through the …
  • Boldhome After the Dragonrise (1625+)

    After Boldhome’s liberation in 1625, Kallyr spent only a few …
  • Notes on Boldhome under the Lunar Occupation (1602-1625)

    When the city fell in 1602, the Red Emperor first …

Links

  • Chaosium
  • Glorantha on BRP Central
  • RuneQuest on BRP Central
  • RuneQuest Glorantha on MeWe
  • Glorantha Wiki on Fandom
  • Prince of Sartar Webcomic
  • Glorantha G+ Archives on Tapatalk
  • Search mailing list archive

Latest from BRP Central

  • Out now in hardcover: The Meints Index to Glorantha, 3rd Edition
  • Hyalor Cult?
  • Active sorcery spells
  • Request for info: The "taming" of the Telmori
  • The White Upon the Hills - A review
  • Why would a Golden Bow shaman be adventuring in Sartar? (Alternate question: How old should a shaman be to have an assistant?)
  • help with heroquest idea?
  • Monster Empire
  • Kallyr was busy
  • Adventures in Nochet, Esrolia

Popular Tags

2007 Avalon Hill Boldhome Chaosium Chaos pantheon Cult demographics Cults of Runequest (preview) Ernalda Esrolia (homeland) FR G+ post Greg Stafford Guide to Glorantha (preview) Humakt Issaries Jar-eel Kralorelan pantheon Lunar Empire Lunar Pantheon Magazine Malkioni pantheon Map Maps Michael O’Brien Mongoose Nochet (metropolis) Nomad Gods Oriflam Orlanth Orlanthi pantheon Photo reference Population demographics Prax (homeland) Praxian pantheon RQ3 RQG Sandy Petersen Sartar (homeland) Spirit Cult Subcult Tales of the Reaching Moon Troll Pantheon Yelm Yelmalio Yelm Pantheon

Recently added or updated

  • CHA4032 RuneQuest Glorantha Bestiary – Q&A

  • Protected: CHA4042 – The Prosopaedia (2023)

  • Zaytenera

  • Zotulla

  • Zong the hunter

  • Zzabur

  • Zorak Zoran

  • Zaktirra

  • CHA4028 RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha – Chapter 16 Sorcery Spells Q&A

  • CHA4034 Red Book of Magic – Chapter 02 Rune Magic Spells Q&A (A-M)

  • CHA4028 RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha – Chapter 04 Homelands Q&A

  • CHA4028 RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha – Chapter 07 Combat Q&A pages 206-225

  • London Calling… A wonderful presentation on the Guide to Glorantha project (2013)

  • CHA4035 RQ Starter Set – Book 1 Rules – Q&A

  • CHA4039 The Smoking Ruin and other Stories – Q&A

  • Teelo Norri

  • Gustbran

  • Time

  • Ulurda

  • Grain Goddesses

©2023 The Well of Daliath | Design: Newspaperly WordPress Theme