[HQ Ignorance] Re : Scene 50: Anzhur's HeroQuest: The Conversion of the Seshnelans

[Loran]

[OOC]
Ok... not easy one.
I didn't get any good news I hoped (no community supports and no return from Aalmon, no direct contact with the population), but we get seshnela regalia.

I have to think and check my assets (my 2 HP won't make miracle here).
some questions :
1. Do I have full support from my sidekicks? (Othor and Swordsinger)
2. Do I have the Banner of Red Valor with me (I suppose yes)
3. Is the Fellowship (at least present members) a community that can give support
4. May Azhur have a private discussion with Rotterex before starting ?
5. Can Seshnegi regalia be used in this?

Perhaps more questions later...
Loran



----- Message d'origine ----
De : Lev Lafayette <lev_lafayette at yahoo.com.au>
À : HeroQuest Glorantha <ignorance at mimesisrpg.com>
Envoyé le : Samedi, 19 Janvier 2008, 14h16mn 14s
Objet : [HQ Ignorance] Scene 50: Anzhur's HeroQuest: The Conversion of the Seshnelans


It is written that two centuries ago Pope Mardron
brought together the Sixth Malkioni Ecclesiatical
council after Bailifes the Hammer, Duke of Rindland,
broke the remaining rule of the Old Hrestoli and
established the Kingdom of Seshnela. With this
success, the Rokari flourished, claiming that they
were returning to the original creed of Malkioni
against the caste mobility as revealed to Prince
Hrestoli. One may wonder then why they did not simply
return to the ossified structures of the Brithini in
Arolanit; this became clear at the Council.

The remainding members of the pre-Hrestoli Loskalm
were bribed by the new Rokari forces, and voted to
recognise Rokar was indeed the Third Prophet of
Malkionism. To the Hrestoli, this was the Blashemy of
Leplain. To the Rokari, the angelic spirit of Malkioni
descended upon the Council and made a just and
righteous decision that Rokar was indeed a True
Prophet of the invisible God, that Saint Mardron was
the True Pope.

Just ask Pope Theoblanc, Anzhur thought grimly.

In response to Othor's question, Anzhur, Aarolin* and
followers used the secret entrance first used by Kalen
Ironhand [OOC: can people mention if they're following
here?] and entered the Thrice-Walled City. The
darkness enveloped them, as it did with Kalen. By his
reckoning, the most appropriate Quest to embark upon
would be the meeting of Hrestol and the meeting with
the old Malkioni faith; after all, it was the Rokari
claim that they were closest to the old ways, and the
very conservative (but desparate) Aaronlinit would be
an ideal subject. Regrettably, Anzhur thought, there
was insufficient time for a full Practice Quest, but
at the very least he hoped to able to engage in a
communication ritual.

But in the darkness they stumbled about, lacking the
innate senses of the Mostal stone people. The loyal
Othor heard and noise and informed his lord of the
presence of others and Anzhur begged silence among
those present: it was the sound of the grinding of
metal upon stone, the sounds of pattering and of
movement which moved closer and closer. In
desparation, Anzhur searched upon the walls and found
the tiny charred remains of an old torch, which he lit
as quickly as possible.

Like with Kalen, the Bazak had come out in force.
Numerous, but thin, they could represent some
challenge if diplomacy went badly. Anzhur had no
desire to let this happen and from what he had been
told, the Bazak were led by one most cordial. A
particularly well-groomed Bazak moved to the front of
the pack and raised himself on his hind paws.

"I assume you are a companion of the stone man. A
messanger was released with agreement to our terms. We
would remove the King, Guilmarn The Fat, and provision
would be made for a seasonal supply of deer and
protection for our kind once the city was yours. Well,
we have completed our side of the bargain. A single
sudden strike with even the greatest force would
indeed be prevented by the magics of the former King.
But not a horde of gnawing teeth", whereupon the Bazak
smiled, bearing his bloody teeth; disconcertingly the
others followed suit, and proved they too had
participated in the assasination.

"It was quick, but far from painless", the Bazak
continued. "There is something from his chambers which
you may be interested in", and with that the sound of
metal dragged upon stone came from beyond the meagre
torchlight. Four bazaks each came forth bearing a
crown, a sword and a sceptre; symbols of the King of
Seshnela and representing the three high castes of the
land. Othor took the items on Anzhur's behalf. King of
Seshnela! thought Anzhur momentarily, before realising
what such a title currently would entail.

"Follow us for the way to the King's Tower" said the
Bazak.  With Rotterex the Bazak leading Anzhur's party
followed into the Tower (see description in Kalen's
travels in this building**).  Eventually the made it
to the top; the King's Tower overlooked the entire
Thrice Walled City. Here was the location that Anzhur
would engage in his HeroQuest.

The first station, Anzhur thought, would be to contact
the Battle Seers in hope to gain community support.
But the defensive magics exited here against such
things and even if it did succeed the support that the
Battle Seers could offer (p91) would be hampered by
the enormous distances their magic would have to
travel (p100). Anzhur gave up on that idea.

The second station, was to provide sufficient magics
so that their voices could be heard by all within the
Thrice Walled City. [This requires a contest against a
resistance of 14, roll of 3 (ouch!), but with a
modifier of -15].

In the third station, Aarolin will tell his tale
confirming that an army led by Vampires has fallen
upon the Southern Army of the Kingdom of Seshnela.
[This seems reasonable itself, so only a resistance of
14, roll 13. To add additional information 'So we must
ally with the Telmori' is worth a modifier of -5, 'We
must ally with the Aldryami is worth -10, and 'The
Vampire Army is led by Theoblanc' is worth -20,
cumulative so "We must ally with the Telmori and the
Aldryami against Theoblanc" is woth -30.].

The fourth station, is to establish the HeroQuest and
to contact the imbue the Essence of Malkion. [This
requires a contest 'Cross over to the Other Side',
(p197). The resistance is 10W3, roll 12. However the
appropriate location will give a bonus of +5 to this
attempt and the items will give another +5]. Success
will cause Anzhur to glow with the purest white and
speak with an angelic voice, giving him a +5 bonus to
the arguments in the HeroQuest.

Once imbued with the Essence of Malkion, Anzhur can
act out the role of Prince Hrestol converting the
conservative sect member, played out by Aarolin. This
will consist of four arguments [Each success will give
a +3 bonus to the next argument, each loss a -3
argument].

The first argument by Aarolin is that there can be no
mobility between castes. One God, One Church, One
King, One Peace. God gave birth to man within their
caste and within that caste they must live. To go
against the caste that one was born in will lead to
failure to reach Solace in that station and result in
chaos; as witnessed by the Kingdom of War in lands of
the Hrestoli. [This is largely agreed to by the
Wizards and Knights present (obviously) and they would
be very resistant to any threat to their power;
resistance 20W, roll 18]

The second argument by Aarolin is that women are
physically and spiritually weaker than men, and are
especially prone to devilish influences. This is
proven by the leadership of the cult of the Deceiver,
Gbaji, who were often women. Besides, a woman's word
is not to be trusted, as they always change their
mind. Women are only fit to obtain Salvation as Nobles
or Peasants, never Wizards or Knights. [There is only
some reluctance to this proposal; after all some of
those present are women who only believe the doctrine
half at best; resistance 5W, roll 3 (ouch again!)]

The third argument by Aarolin is that Sin leads to
hell and damnation. Heretics and pagans alike find
themselves in Hell, which includes tappers,
caste-breakers, and sexual deviants for all eternity.
Sin is breaking the laws of Malkion as revealed by
Rokar. It includes breaking the castes, tapping,
impure thoughts, theft, adultery, falsehood,
drunkenness, gluttony, immortality spells, heretical
thoughts, envy, slander, avarice, inane speech,
indecency, and arguing with a priest or your lord.
[The resistance strength of this argument is quite
weak; most of those present have engaged in some of
the above some of the time and would dearly love to
hear an argument that would release them from the
threat of eternal damnation; resistance 14, roll 15]

The final argument of Aarolin is that proof of Rokar's
divine recognition comes from the miracle of his
trial. When captured by the Church, he was burned at
the stake, but when the flames reached their height,
the holy messangers of Solace and Joy came from the
sky and took him to the Creator. [The resistance to
this is strong as everyone in Seshnela believe this
occurred; resistance 20W, roll 6].

Now, by playing the role of Prince Hrestol confronting
an orthodox Brithini, Anzhur can counter each and
every one of those arguments successfully, he'll
engage on one of the most successful mass conversions
in the history of Glorantha!


* Yes, the closeness of his name to the Brithini
Kingdom of Arolanit is not mere coincidence.
** See: In the Chamber of the Broken King
http://mimesisrpg.com/pipermail/ignorance_mimesisrpg.com/2007-November/000792.html



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