| Q: |
I have some follow up questions to the answers you just posted on the
HeroQuest website. Please feel free to edit and/or discard any of the questions.
Are there still Heroes and SuperHeroes (as in WB & RM) in your Glorantha? Are
they different to Immortals? From your previous answers, I guess yes and yes but,
for a while, I was conflating and confusing Heroes with the Hero-cults of
Immortals. |
| A: |
Heroes are absolutely different from Immortals.
The word "hero" is used in several different applications in the book and has
generated confusion. For instance, every player character in the game is a hero,
used here as in the literary sense that the main character in a story is called
a hero. This would be synonymous with protagonist.
Then there are the Heroes, who are characters of superior performance, fame or
position such as Kallry, Broyan and Argrath. These are individuals of much greater
than usual magnitude who are capable of performing world-changing deeds and who
are keys to the larger, epic plots.
Superhero was a term from WB&RM that designated the individuals with off-the-chart
powers. We could still use the term to designate Heroes of superlative power, of
semi-divine or divine magnitude since both JarEel and Harrek (for instance)
eventually surpass the 10w3 magnitude in some of their abilities. That said, they
are still Heroes, though Superior, in that they are not gods.
Finally, there are the heroes of Hero Cults. These are immortals, for they live in
the Otherworld and they have maintained their individual identity, and they
receive worship. This is a very unusual status even for famous and powerful
people. |
| Q: |
It appears that some mortals become guardians (KoS p. 135 - "Hauberk Jon was
the first mayor, and afterwards the protective spirit for the city, which was also
named after him"). Is this the same as becoming an Immortal? |
| A: |
Yes, but with some differences. Yes, in that they receive worship and maintain
their individuality, but the Guardianship status is different in that they do not
generally provide specific magic for their worshippers. Their magic is not
separable from them and so worshippers can not use it. Instead, the Guardian
itself has to be present to apply it. |
| Q: |
Do some Immortals get to have it both ways, i.e. they have completed their
quest for divinity, have their own place in an otherworld and yet remain in the
mundane world? |
| A: |
Since there are always exceptions to everything, the answer is yes. But these
are exceptions, and have to be addressed individually, and with an understanding
of the reservations that they have. |
| Q: |
Examples might include Teelo Estara, |
| A: |
Teelo Estara is more than a human who becomes a Goddess (though she is that
too.) But she does obtain immortality and remain in the world for a long time
until her Apotheosis. But whenever we speak almost anything about the Red Goddess
Sedenya, and her avatars, incarnations and aspects, we have to keep in mind that
it is exceptional and can not be used as a rule for anything except the Lunar
Way. |
| Q: |
Nysalor, |
| A: |
Nysalor seems like one primarily because the thousand years since his life
have accrued many mistakes and misconceptions about him that are accepted as fact.
But during his life Nysalor may have been worshipped by the ignorant, but he never
game them magic in return. Nor does he give magic now.
And of course, the Lunars now consider Nysalor to have been an earlier incarnation
of Sedenya. |
| Q: |
Arkat |
| A: |
I do not know of Arkat having been worshipped by anyone in his lifetime
(although as always, there would have been mistaken and useless worship of him by
the ignorant.) After he returned to Ralios he completed his purification and
Apotheosized, and he did live in the world for a short time between his obtaining
Immortality and his apothesization. During that short period different people
still perceived him differently, adding to the confusion of his subsequent
worship. |
| Q: |
and/or Ethelrist (parts of his History of My Black Horse Troop are grimoires
if I remember correctly). |
| A: |
One need not be immortal to create a Grimoire. Ethilrist is not worshipped. |
| Q: |
If so, do these Immortals in the mundane world continue to learn/grow? |
| A: |
Nope. They can not. They have done away with that by being Immortal. |
| Q: |
Can a person be worshipped before they become an Immortal? |
| A: |
As the above shows, they can. But they won't grant any magic. It would be an
error to worship living beings. |
| Q: |
(Godunya might be an example) |
| A: |
Godunya is Adored by most in his realm, but he does not return any magic to
them except the link that may take their souls to the Otherside when he goes to
the Sunset Lands. |
| Q: |
Does either side (worshipped or worshippers) benefit and how? |
| A: |
No practical or useful benefits are gained by either member of a team where
a mortal is worshipping a mortal. |
