[Glorantha] Here, There, and elsewhere.

[Roderick and Ellen Robertson]

> >Besides the point that we really didn't have the heroplanes concept in
> >HeroWars, when TR was written...
>
> This explains a lot about why I, and I suspect others, have been
> confused. Prior to Greg's recent explanation the distinctions
> between the heroplanes, the God's War and the three magical worlds
> has been very fuzzy.

Hopefully I can clarify, rather than muddle...

We have the Mundane world, the Middle plane, "Here", etc.. It's where we
live (at least where our heroes live). It has places like Sartar and the
Lunar Empire and Ralios, and time proceeds from day to day and season to
season, with no* variation. It is defined by places - Our Stead, Boldhome,
The HellCrack, Genertela. A map of the mundane plane is what we've seen in
all those maps of Glorantha, The Lunar Empite, Prax, Dragon Pass, etc.

(* "No" meaning "except MAJOR magical events like the Sunstop that screw up
everything and make it tough to speak in absolutes")

The Hero Plane is just like the Mundane plane, but it is where the mythical
events of the past take place, over and over and over (or maybe just once,
with many different people viewing it differently). It is defined by events,
not places, so you don't go to "The Ash plain", you go to "When Orlanth had
to cross the Ash Plain".  Maps to the Hero Plain are called myths or spirit
stories, or the Lives of the Saints, etc. You can make changes on the hero
plain via Heroquesting, and those changes will become true for you, and the
people that supported your heroquest (Cult, clan, family, whoever) if you
set it up that way. You tend to meet the same peoiple over and over (your
Quest enemy, or whatever you want to call him/her) and this person may not
even belong to the same Time that you do - he might be from the far past, or
the near future. And yes, there are all sorts of Time Travel Paradoxes
available if you want to play around with them.

The God/Spirit/Essence plains are unchanging and is where the "master
templates of Glorantha" live. These are what we (I, at least, and Greg as
well, usually, subject to his trickster nature) refer to as the
"Otherworlds". The heroplane isn't an "Otherworld" in the sense that the
God/Essence/Spirit planes are. if you are big enough to add, remove or
change a "Master Template" in an otherworld, that change is propogated down
to the mundane world (and *may* appear in the HeroPlane). The change is true
for Everyone - the red moon is there in the sky, it doesn't matter if you
are an Animist, a Theist or believe in the Flying Spaghetti Monster, the
fact that the red moon is in the sky is indisputable. The Red Goddess
managed to make (or possibly change) a master template for herself.

Now, I wouldn't say that the Otherworlds are as immutable as Greg has
recently said - everyone that becomes a Cult Hero has made a tiny template
for himself, and the Lunars arre adding Gods (Lunar Immortals,  really) at a
hell of a rate. Each one of those beings creates a little place in an
Otherworld, so it's not a totally impervious place. But making a major
humongous change (like killing Orlanth Permanently Dead) hasn't happened
since the Dawn, and is what the myth of Arachne Solara's net is about.


> >A normal worship ceremony goes to the appropiate Otherworld home of the
> >being worshipped (Orlanth's hall, the Moon, the Waha's tent, or
wherever),
> >but you *normally* don't leave that safe place in the Otherworld
(remember,
> >this is a worship ceremony, not the beginning of a heroquest). If you do,
> >it's along well-known and safe paths, and can really be accounted part of
> >the God's Home.
>
> So a worship ceremony is a means of reinforcing the link between a
> community and their source of magic. It's not a HQ although it can
> be used as the start of one.

Basically yes. Worship ceremnies also introduce new members to the
Cult/Church/whatever, or ask for aid, or just make everyone feel cozy with
their faith.

Hope that helps a bit. There are all sorts of complications and
contradictions and inexplicable things out there, but this is my
understanding of the whole Otherworld system from talking with greg.

RR
C'est par mon ordre et pour le bien de l'Etat que le porteur du présent a
fait ce qu'il a fait.
- Richelieu