Now sometimes people just want cool powers. And maybe that’s what we should focus on:
- Want to get some good Killing Powers? Go into the recesses of the underworld and steal Death. Source – Humakt, Orlanth, Eurmal, Zorak Zoran.
- Want to gain near-invulnerability? Slay a near-invulnerable monster (the White Bear, a Dragon, White Demon, etc.) and bathe in its blood or wear its hide or whatever. Mythic basis – Orlanth killing the Dragon, or shamanic mysteries of the Horned Man or the Hunting God.
- Want to gain a mighty Lightning Spear? Go to the Hill of Gold and take it from Yelmalio by beating him up. You might have to fight Zorak Zoran and Inora in the process. Mythic basis – Orlanth, Yelmalio, Zorak Zoran, Inora.
- Want to get super strong? Find a way to beat up Shargash and take his ring or belt. Mythic basis – Orlanth, Yelmalio, Shargash.
- Want some neat dragon powers? Find a way to talk to a Dragon (which might start with a visit to Tradethink Market or the Dragonewt Temple), do what it asks (probably something mythic as well), and bring it to them. Mythic basis – Orlanth, Eurmal.
- Want to find a way to translate any text? Make your way to the Cosmic Mountain and climb up high until you find the Knowing God, and somehow persuade him to give you his quill or steal it from him. Mythic basis – Lhankor Mhy, Eurmal.
Now the trick with these is you either need players that say – I want X cool power, how do I do it? Or you need to tell them – your temple leaders tell you to get X cool power, and here’s how to do it.
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The advantage of this approach is it is something that can be created and is not campaign dependent.
I’m being cryptic here for a reason. The difficulty of any given quest depends on a combination of:
- How difficult do you want to be on your players? Do you want them to likely fail? Do you want several of them to die? Do you want them to likely succeed but only by pulling out all the stops?
- How big a deal is this in your game? Are they effectively getting a Bladesharp 6 matrix with a crystal out of this? Are they getting a weapon that slays like Sever Spirit without mercy? Does this shatter armies?
- How powerful are your players? Are they initiates? Are they Rune Lords dripping with magic items and crystals?
On one end of the scale, maybe their foes are Rune Priests and Rune Lords or dream dragons or regular old giants.
On the other end of the scale, maybe their foes look more like the Terrors from the RQ Bestiary.
This is where the idea of specific heroquest mechanics fall flat because these should ideally be woven into your campaign and tailored to your player characters. I get why people want samples, but I also hesitate because I know they will be treated as more than they are.