This Quest is the standard Hill of Gold Quest that is so often used as examples in HeroQuest material. This is the Yelmalio version, and I hope to add the Zorak Zoran, Orlanth, Inora and Elmal versions before much to long (and possibly an Antirius version if I dare tackle Dara Happan mythology!).
As with all HeroQuests, there are three major forms it can take. The first, the practice run version, is described by Steve Marsh (Click here for a copy), the full Godplane form where immortality can be earned (described here) and the Invoked Powers. For more information on Invoked Powers and how they work refer to Simon Phipps HeroQuest rules. This Quest is written specifically for my HeroQuest system, but conversion to Simon Phipps, Steve Maurers, Peter Marancis, and your own house system should be more than easy. Hopefully I will get YAHQS conversions up soon. All skills given in this Quest description are divided by 5, so Orlanth, with his attack of 70% actually has an attack of 350% but this is reduced to 70 upon the HeroPlane.
In the Darkness, in the era before Time, Yelmalio sought his wife Ernalda. She had been captured by Orlanth Fatherslayer, and was being held captive by the evil Storm Wind. Yelmalio took his Spear from his Light Armoury, donned his Golden Armour and called to his side the Light Guard.
He came upon his nemesis in Vanch, near a large mountain that shone with inner radiance and mystical power. "Ho! Killer of Blood, Cause of my Woe!" shouted the Winter Sun, "You have stolen my wife, my love, my bloodkin. I have vowed with the twenty vows to protect her till my death, give her back else suffer the punishments so duly deserved by you, Sunkiller!"
Orlanth, warped by hubris, and dirtied and unclean, for we all know that Orlanthi cannot wash, did come forth to meet the chivalrous Yelmalio with his dark Sword of Death, the blood of Yelm still upon it. He set his feet astride and growled "I have taken the fair Ernalda as my own, and have taken great pleasure from her fair bounty. I have called my sage to declare year marriage void - and it has been done!"
"I recognise no such authority! I shall have my wife, or shall take your heart to reach her!"
With that Yelmalio assailed Orlanth with his Sunbow, and was battered back with Thunder. Advancing forwards, Yelmalio and Orlanth met in single melee - spear crashed against sword, blade against armour, magics and charms crackling against each other. The battle seemed like a stalemate, when Orlanth cheated! His friend Eurmal appeared at the last minute and distracted Yelmalio who was disarmed with one movement of Orlanths hands. He caught the spear, and then called upon the power of the winds to fly him away.
Disarmed, but undaunted, Yelmalio resolved to follow the scoundrel and - this time - he would reclaim his weapon, his wife and pass judgement upon the fiend. To try and see where Orlanth had fled to, Yelmalio ascended the mountain via the steeper side of the Hill.
Yet, unbeknownst to Our Lord, an evil Darkness Daemon had paused on one of his many rampages and taken refuge here. He had watched eagerly as the gods had fought, hoping to pillage the loser - and here was his chance! He leapt forth and, with his poisonous clib, beat the God to the ground. He plunged his hand forth and tore out Yelmalios Heart and Liver, devouring them and straling the Lords Fire Strength. The Daemon then took refuge in the shadows.
Yelmalio was brutally injured, but healed himself with two balms of Aldryas leaves, yet great damage had still been wrought. Yelmalio resolved that once he had rescued his weapons, his wife and carried out retribution upon Orlanth, then he would hunt down the Darkness Daemon and regain his lost powers. To this end, Yelmalio stumbled up the hill.
Gasping, bleeding, but still with a spirit of steel Yelmalio arrived at the hilltop. However, the top of the mountain was the domain of Inora, the Ice Princess. She had ruled it and saw the trespassing Yelmalio as a threat. She had long reigned free since the Sun was forced to Hell, allowing her to spread her icy sway across the world. She wished not for the Suns return, nor for any of the fire tribe to prosper for that would lessen her power. Upon entering her lands, Yelmalio instantly began to suffer, but after so much sufferance it mattered little. Inoras ice daggers crashed against his bleeding side, her snow powers cast freezing storms at him but eventually he forced Inora to flee from the Hilltop and away, but not before she had claimed his Radiance which she now holds.
Finally, unable to hold his head high, unable to even kneel, Chaos arrived. Like a Black Boiv it swarmed across the Hilltop. The ground broke, the earth rumbled and the end seemed nigh. Weaponless, defenceless, his skin unprotected by armour, his fiery might drained and his inner glow dulled, Yelmalio prayed that when he joined his father he would be forgiven his failure. But, WAIT! At the last moment, Yelmalios saviour arrived, the Elf Warrior charged forth and plowed spears into each chaos beast whilst his Wood Lords shot them with bows. Beating them off, High King Elf took Yelmalios battered form in his arms and to him to relative safety.
This is the story of Yelmalios flight, of his sufferance and his deliverance - of his might and just soul.
This is the ultimate Quest of the Yelmalio Cult. It is attempted only by cult heroes. All those who have attempted it have their name recorded in the cult tomes, and all those who have suceeded are hailed as the greatest of the cult. Only a handful have suceeded. A High Priest will only allow someone to attempt this Quest if they have a death wish or are extremley powerful.
As a note, this is a so-called "losers" quest. The point of the Quest is to get beaten up, lose powers and just survive. It is not to gain Fire Powers back. It is possible to complete the Quest, beat up Zorak Zoran and regain your Fire Powers but this makes the end of the Quest excessively difficult. Most Yelmalions who have HeroQuested to regain their Fire Powers have done so by fighting Zorak Zoran somewhere other than the Hill of Gold.
The Quest can be sacrificed for at any Sun Dome Temple, or its equivalent in the Yelmalion culture (obviously Balazarings sacrifice in any moderately large worshipping place). It can only be sacrificed for with the express permission of the High Priest, and a High Priest must be present in the ceremonies required to sacrifice for it. As this consumes 5 days of the High Priests precious time, they are only willing to make this investment with close associates.
The Hill of Gold Quest
5 points
HeroQuest Spell
This spell can only be cast on Yelmalios High Holy Day. No preparation is required. It begins the Hill of Gold HeroQuest, and transports the Quester to the HeroPlane so that they can go to the mythical representation of the Hill of Gold. However, all Questers are limited to the amount of equipment they can take. They may take as much mundane equipment as they wish (rope, first aid balms etc..) but may only take a spear, a bow and another weapon of their choice as their arms. They may wear any armour they own, but may not carry extra suits.
Those who support the Quester do not gain any benefits if the Quester suceeds other than a point of Piety (in other systems, give bonuses to the appropiate Personality Traits instead). If the Quest fails, then they lose a point of Piety, and if the Quester was defeated by Zorak Zoran they lose access to their Light Magic. If the Quester suceeds, but still fails to beat Zorak Zoran, the Supporters do not lose access to their magic.
Once the Quest is cast, taking six hours all in all, the Quester must go to the highest tower in the temple and cast Farsee. The candidate must then look and try and locate Orlanth, who will be running away from Yelmalio, furiously trying to avoid him. The character has a Scan (remember on the HeroPlane all skills are divided by 5) to spot him. The character can add their Piety if they are worthy candidates, judged by Yelmalio to be true, and the Piety is removed from their chance if not. The GamesMaster should decided whether or not the candidate is worthy or not.
The Quester must then follow Orlanth. This requires a Track roll with the above modifiers again. Failure at this stage incurs no penalty to either the Quester or his Supporters. The Quest ends, and the Quester finds themselves some distance from the temple. They may try again next year.
The Quester tracks the Storm God for a long distance. They must make a CON x1 five times over as they follow through the hard bracken and tangled vines leading to the Hill of Gold. Each failure results in the loss of 2d6 Fatigue Points, which of course do not recover naturally upon the HeroPlane although Endurance spells can work.
The Storm God is encountered standing at the foot of a large, precarious mountainside. He is carrying a large sword, black as night, and is naked, covered only in blue woad and tatooes. He is gruff, dishevelled and not very cultured. He threatens the Quester as he approachs and then engages in combat.
Orlanth will use his Thunderbolt power every round until the Quester reaches him, starting with the Quester 100m in the distance. He will then engage him in one-on-one combat in melee. He will only fly away if he is badly injured or has disarmed Yelmalio. Orlanth will fight until badly injured, and as soon as he is reduced to 25 hit points or less, Eurmal comes into action. Everytime the Quest is enacted, Eurmal confounds the Yelmalion Quester in a different way, each time resulting in the loss of his weapon unless the Yelmalion manages to make a DEX x1. Examples of how Eurmal achieves this is that as a Raven he swoops down and tries to steal their weapon, Eurmal jumps up from behind a nearby rock and grabs for it (very mundane) or the weapon the Quester is carrying turns out to be Eurmal and he changes into a snake and slithers away. Eurmal does not participate after this event, instead running off screaming in terror. If the Quester is defeated, Eurmal laughs at them and spits on them before Orlanth grabs him and hauls him off into the Sky. Orlanth will flee at 10 hit points or less. If it seems hopeless, Orlanth will offer to return Ernalda to the Quester (this usually means the Quester has the right to marry the local Ernalda priestess upon return and bountiful fields for the next year) and to give him Death, the sword Orlanth is carrying. However, defeating Orlanth means more Chaos in the last station (see below).
Orlanth Sunkiller, renegade godling
STR 60 Move 10/POW fly R Leg 20/13 CON 55 HP 37 L Leg 20/13 SIZ 18 FP 115-2=113 Abdomen 20/13 INT 16 MP 38 Chest 20/15 POW 38 Dodge 45 R Arm 20/10 DEX 25 L Arm 20/10 APP 11 DEX SR 1 Head 20/13 Weapon SR att/par dmg pts Death 2 80/80 4d8+4+4d6 20/1.5
Notes:
If Orlanth defeats the Quester he takes their spear and bow.
This is the climbing station. The Quester must ascend the mountain. Going the fast way is more dangerous, the way Yelmalio took. It requires four Climb rolls, each failure resulting in a fall of 6d6 damage. Taking the slow way, on a gentle incline on the otherside of the mountain is a bad idea. The Quester misses the encounter with Zorak Zoran as he spends weeks climbing this mountain, and gets to the top to find nothing. No powers are gained from this, but nothing more is lost. The Quest has failed and the Quester returns to the mundane plane to find themselves in Vanch a few weeks after the High Holy Day. Which serves them right for taking the easy option.
This station is where Yelmalio meets the Darkness Daemon who stole his powers. The Quester should be given a Scan to spot Zorak Zoran just as he ambushes the Quester. Failure to suceed in this means the Black Lord gets a free maul attack and bite attack on the Quester. Zorak Zoran is already beserk. This is a simple slugfest station. Zorak Zoran will stay for 10 rounds, and will not flee until he has taken the Light Powers of the Quester. If Zorak Zoran is defeated, his Beserk ends and he will offer to return the Yelmalion his Fire Powers (access to Summon and Command Salamander and Sunspear) if he spares him. Any Yelmalion who breaks his oath on this matter will be disdained by the normally honourable Yelmalio cult (immediate loss of 3 Piety). If Zorak Zoran is defeated, this means more Chaos appears in the later stations. It is possible for the Quester to fend Zorak Zoran off long enough for him to leave off of his own accord, not lose their Light Powers and still not have to face silly amounts of chaos monsters at the end.
Zorak Zoran appears to be a LARGE figure dressed in full lead plate armour. His helmet only covers the top half of his head, leaving his jaw, with several full sets of teeth inside, free to bite people.
Zorak Zoran, The Black Lord
STR 140 Move 4 R Leg 30/27 CON 120 HP 80 L Leg 30/27 SIZ 40 FP 260 Abdomen 30/27 INT 17 MP 45 Chest 30/32 POW 45 Dodge -- R Arm 30/20 DEX 40 L Arm 30/30 APP 1 DEX SR 1 Head 30/27 Weapon SR att dmg pts Club 2 100 4d8+35(db)+Seal Wound 30/7.0 Hand 5 100 2d6+35(db)+spcl --/--
Notes:
Runes: Darkness 90, Disorder 70, Death 60.
As per Station (iii).
The Quester encounters Inora at this stage. The, normally battered, HeroQuester ascends the mountain to the peak. Here a small snow storm is blowing and frostbite begins to set in (CON x3 every round or take 1d3 general hit point damage). Inora has been watching the Quester ascend, and decides that she, too, would like some of his magics and powers, with the added benefit of defeating a member of the Fire Tribe who subjugates her worship so much.
Inora appears as a beautiful princess in a long, icy blue cloak. She carries icy daggers upon her person, and her eyes are jet blue. Her long hair sparkles with snow. She begins the melee with a Snow Drift attack, then stands at a distance and hurls daggers at the Quester. Once the Quester is either unconsious or heavily damaged she approaches and attacks with her touch. She departs once she has stolen the last vestiges of Yelmalios power. If the Quester reduces her to half hit points or less, or appears to be frightengly powerful she flees at move 52 down the mountain. She leaves after 10 rounds anyhow, even if unsuccessful in her attack. If it were possible to stop Inora then the Quester could reclaim the magic she stole from Yelmalio in the original Hil of Gold Quest, by defeating her and offering her life in return. As per usual, defeating Inora means more chaos in the last station.
Please refer to Simon Phipps cult write up of Inora, especially for a description of her spells.
STR 45 Move Spcl R Leg 17/9 CON 35 HP 25 L Leg 17/9 SIZ 14 FP 80 Abdomen 17/9 INT 22 MP 700 Chest 17/10 POW 52 Dodge 85 R Arm 17/7 DEX 25 L Arm 17/7 APP 29 DEX SR 1 Head 17/9 Weapon SR att/par dmg pts Snow Drift 1 60/-- spcl --/-- Thr. Icicle 1/3/9 40/-- 1d10+3d3 10/-- Touch 3 70/-- 1d6+3d6+spcl --/--
Notes:
Runes: Ice/Cold 90 (whichever the GM uses), Light 30.
The last station occurs as the Quester lies, half dead, atop the Hill of Gold. It is here where he is attacked by Chaos. The number of Chaos is determined by how successful the Quester has been on previous stations. When Orlanth, Zorak Zoran and Inora defeated Yelmalio they departed swiftly, encountered chaos demons on the way back and slew them - if the Quester has defeated the previous gods at the previous stations then they will not be able to defeat the chaos demons, meaning more will attack the Quester. Five demons attack the Quester normally, add five if Zorak Zoran was defeated, add five if Orlanth was defeated and add three if Inora was defeated. Meaning that a total of 18 chaos demons will attack the Quester if they defeat all the previous gods and goddesses!
The chaos is normally different each time. The GamesMaster should feel free to design their own monsters, demons and creations to plague the Quester at this point - they should easily be of the standard of the Special Encounters in Dorastor: Land of Doom. Chaotic HeroQuesters are defintely a possiblity. All Chaos has one important feature here, any damage they inflict is permanent. Unhealable by time, magic, Regrow Limb, Ressurection, Divine Intervention, Cure Chaos Wound, in fact anything short of a HeroQuest. The example monsters given here are only a quick overview of a possible creature for attacking the Quester.
The Quester need only fend the monsters off for ten rounds. After that High King Elf and the Wood Lords appear to save him. They can dispatch six monsters before they themselves fall - so if there are more than six monsters, the Quester must defeat the remaining ones.
This is a description of an example daemonic horse to attack the Quester, upto five at a time could fit around him at once.
Daemonic Horses
STR 65 Move 15 RH Leg 30/10 CON 45 HP 40 LH Leg 30/10 SIZ 35 FP 110 Hind Q 30/16 INT 6(fixed)MP 30 Fore Q 30/16 POW 30 Dodge 40 RF Leg 30/10 DEX 30 LF Leg 30/10 APP -- DEX SR 1 Head 30/14 Weapon SR att dmg Bite 3 70 1d10+5d6 Kick 3 80 3d6+5d6 Trample 3 auto 10d6Notes:
Runes: Chaos 65, Beast 40.
The Wood Lords take the Quester back to their home. The Quester is fully healed of any and all damgae that the Wood Lords are capable of healing with their Aldryami magics (all stats have Restore cast upon, all limbs are regrown, all diseases cured). The Quester is declared Elf-Friend and gains 1d6x5% Aldryami Lore and Speak Aldryami. The Quester is expected to reciprocate this friendship.
Far more importantly, the Quester is now Immortal. This Power cannot be given to his followers or Supporters, for the power is gained by personal trials and tribulations and therefore is not a communal thing. They immediatley gain 5 points of Piety (Yelmalio). Immortal means just that, they do not age. They are also impossible to kill. While they are still affected by weapons, still drown and die of hunger, their body does not decay and can be healed back to life. Even if they are cut into small portions the portions can be healed back together magically. The Hero falls unconsious as normal, but does not die. Sever Spirit is ineffective, as are other such magics (Hand of Death etc...). Immersion in acid, immolation, being devoured by trolls, the rite of the Grisely Portions, excessive crushing etc... only serve to hinder the process of being Healed. A Divine Intervention followed by a Heal Body will heal the Hero back to life. The only way to kill the Hero is powerful Hero Magics or to give them an unhealable wound (although in the latter case the Hero does not die, they just remain unconsious with the unhealable wounds). They can still be imprisoned and other such things, so Lunar Hell or the Nakala spell Wrath of Darkness will soon ensure the Hero does not return.
For a description of what Invoked Powers are refer to Simon Phipps HeroQuest rules.