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

[Dougie]

OOC: ok, Karala is along for the ride & is happy to help out however  
she can. However,  although she has skills useful for persuading  
people (Inspire Others, Charismatic Presence etc) I can't help  
thinking that being both a primative heathen and a woman would ofset  
any advantages she could bring to the table here. She absolutely does  
not (& does not want to) understand the purpose of this Hero Quest...


How is Thaneora doing? Are the Telmori hidden / protected and ready  
to strike at dawn? IIf Segurine is about to fall they will attack  
earlier - Karala can contact Thaneora and Wilkairtha using her  
Reindeer Spirit...

Dougie.


On 19 Jan 2008, at 13:16, Lev Lafayette wrote:

>
> 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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