Runequest - Heroquest - Wedding Of Pavis.pdf - Hero Quest - ronin717

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The Wedding of Pavis

By Ian Thomson

Pictures by Dario Corallo

A ‘Friends Only’ Release

Not for Distribution

Fan Site: www.pavis.nzrpga.org.nz Official Site: www.glorantha.com

What You Will Ideally Need to Run this Mini-Campaign:

1) A copy of either the original Big Rubble boxed set, or (preferably) the newer Moon Designs book ‘Pavis

and the Big Rubble’ (P&BR).

Without one of these the Narrator will need to invent a lot of missing detail -although some of that could be

solved by downloading the articles from the ‘Pavis and Big Rubble Companion’ website.

2) As much of the downloadable material from the ‘Pavis and Big Rubble Companion’ website as possible.

3) The official HeroQuest rulebook, or a good understanding of the workings of that game system.

(Downloading the House Rules from the Companion website is also an option.)

4) Preferably an ongoing Old Pavic campaign on the model of the ‘Grey Company’ series from within the

Companion 'zines; or something similar. If such does not exist, consider running one using the material from

the Companion fanzines – much of which is now available on the Companion website. OR of course the

campaign itself as it unfolds in the P&BR Companion fanzines.

Author’s Introduction

This mini-campaign is really a bonus article for ‘Beyond Pavis’ (P&BR Companion: Vol. 5), and would - if

considerably smaller - ideally have been published as the last section of that ‘zine. ‘Beyond Pavis’ for instance

contains the large ‘Uleria’ article (pp34-42), which is very useful background information to this article. Pavis’

connection to Uleria was first mentioned in the ‘Rough Guide to Pavis City’, and the idea came to me after reading

some articles on ecstatic worship as part of the ancient societies. In the ‘Shadows of Pavis’, Raus’ dismissal is

mentioned in ‘Off to Pastures New’ (p128). In my House Campaign timeline the Wedding scenario took place a few

weeks after his dismissal. ‘Off to Pastures New’ effectively continued in ‘Beyond Pavis’ with the introductory

scenario ‘A New Governor’ (pp83/84). An adaptation of this latter is at the start of Part Two below (again called ‘A

New Governor’).

This adventure began as an attempt to create an official scenario for the famous ‘Wedding of Pavis’ that

has been mentioned in canon literature for a long time. Some of the ideas were discussed with Greg Stafford

during the months in 1999/2000 when he had the time to spend doing such things with an eager novice writer. Also

several writers and participants in the Freeform ‘The People of Pavis’ had their experiences scoured for clues.

Special thanks to: Andrew Bean, Nick Brooke, and Ingo Tschinke. Daniel Fahey also assisted in the early

development stage. In the end my main priority was to create a suitably entertaining climactic and mythic series of

events for the Grey Company campaign as featured in the ‘Pavis and Big Rubble Companion’ 'zines. (Although

they also tied in to the few canon descriptions of the Wedding available in ‘King of Sartar’.) I also decided to offer it

to anyone who enjoyed the 'zines (via the HQ Discussion Group). Writing the Companion was an amazing

experience, and this last scenario (plus the forthcoming ‘Liberation of Pavis’ mini-campaign) give it the scenarios in

that magazine the ending they deserve.

This scenario is geared to the personalities of the players in the house campaign. The playtest in fact ran

as the grand finale of my several-years-long house campaign, so it might not ‘best fit’ your own version of Pavis

and Glorantha. Over the course of the Companion publications, a few people noted that ‘something’ seemed to be

missing from the published material, and they were right - this was it. This adventure playtested excellently and

was a very suitable climax to the Grey Company campaign. I hope it gives many other people a heap of fun as

well. Although it is a very detailed outline, I improvised enormously when running it, and probably you will need to

do that to some degree. Also, it took three days to prepare this draft, and by the end of which my error and

continuity checking was probably not working at 100%. Therefore read it through carefully, and make notes for

likely variant options that your PCs might take, and how to keep the show on the road if they fail at certain stages of

the investigation or the HeroQuest.

I have completed the initial version (and am now running - from February 2005), of the final extended

scenario for the house Pavis Campaign, involving a trip to renew the treaty with the Paps Elders, and culminating in

the battle that liberates Pavis from the Lunars. This will hopefully be playtested within a few months. It also

contains my notes for the campaign as it continues through an adaptation of Shadows on the Borderlands (Avalon

Hill, 1993). That final piece will probably be the end of my long and overall happy involvement with Pavis.

I still remember seeing the original RQ Rulebook when I was about fifteen, and looking at the cool map,

and saying “Pavis; what’s that, can we go there?” Well, I guess I can say I’ve been there now! :)

Special Dedication : During 2004, another childhood icon of mine passed away - the UK’s Radio One ‘Disc Jockey’

John Peel. This genuine and humble dry-humored man kept real music alive for decades in the face of endless

barrages of commercial rubbish, and was a fixture at the Glastonbury Festival. He once said that he would only

retire when songs stopped making him cry, and I still remember his famous ‘John Peel shuffle’ when he was

contractually obliged to present ‘Top of the Pops’ on BBC1. (It was exactly the same dumb dance for each dumb

song no matter what the style, and was his inimically subtle way of showing that he wasn’t very impressed.)

SAVE THE ELVES - IF YOU ARE USING A COMPANY OR UNIVERSITY PRINTER PLEASE PRINT THIS ON

DOUBLE-SIDED PAPER - THAT’S THE ‘DUPLEX’ OPTION IN PRINTER SETTINGS - SAVE THE ELVES

A ‘Friends Only’ Release

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Fan Site: www.pavis.nzrpga.org.nz Official Site: www.glorantha.com

Acknowledgments : Bo Rosen for assisting with the Companion website all this time, Dario Corallo for the super

new pic, and the (essential) playtesters (mentioned at the start of each section). Peter Maranci for the incredible

inspiration of his Grey Company piece, onto which the P&BR Companion hung so well from the very beginning.

(HeroQuest, Issaries, and Glorantha are all copyright Issaries Inc.) Also to Michael O’Brien for the extremely

important concept ‘MGF’ (Maximum Game Fun), and to Paul Sommer for the canal map and all his other work.

IMPORTANT NOTE: If you want to play this mini-campaign rather than run it, STOP reading here. Zip this

file, and archive a copy deep within your computer’s dustiest folders (for reading later after having enjoyed

an unadulterated playing experience). Then seek out a reasonably experienced – and Gloranthan-

knowledgeable – Narrator to run it, and send them an electronic copy. Now sit back and enjoy the ride!

Setting the Date

The House Campaign is set during the term of Governor Raus (officially 1622-23), whereas in the official timeline

the wedding of Pavis to the Red Goddess is attempted in Earth Season 1621. In my House Campaign, Part One of

this piece was set during Raus’ tenure, and the rest set just after his removal and exile to his holdings down-river.

Transference of this scenario to the official timing will require only minimal alterations, although as it stands this is

designed to end my House Campaign.

Narrator Notes

Heroes performing in this scenario must be worshippers of Pavis. (The majority of them must be at least initiates,

though a minority can be communal worshippers – provided their main deity is one traditionally tied to the original

city of Pavis.) Sensibly at least one should be a devotee of one of the Pavic Hero Cults (all detailed in the zines).

They must also be known supporters of the city and not to be friends of the Lunars. (Otherwise it is not realistic that

they would be chosen to perform this mission.) Since this scenario is highly difficult and dangerous, they must also

be at least middle rank heroes. I have not given statistical ratings to some of the characters within, though I have of

course listed the principle skills themselves. You as Narrator must go through and add these, as best suits the skill

levels of the player-run adventurers. I think I shall also mention here that several times I accidentally wrote the

‘weeding’ of Pavis. I think I’ve eradicated all traces of that, although somehow it sounds almost apt! Please note

that because I had been working on this for so long I actually found several documents with different ideas in, and

so there is bound to be some repetition of information amongst the first pages of introductory information.

BACKGROUND TO THE WEDDING PLAN

Why is the Wedding Planned at All?

There are no longer any plans to build a Temple of the Reaching Moon in Pavis, so why are there plans to wed

Pavis into the Lunar Pantheon? Because there are those amongst the Lunars in Pavis who realize that the city's

founder and his Priests are connected to a powerful tradition. These people, who we shall call the 'Wedding

Planners', are entrepreneurs who have sponsored the long-term plan of wedding Pavis to the Red Goddess, so

that they can have complete access to the archives, myths and traditions of the Pavis Cult. Their connections in

high places within the Empire have assured that their goal has official sanction, if not official sponsorship. In short,

marrying Pavis into the Lunar Pantheon would benefit a cadre of Lunar Priests and Mystics who want to plumb the

mysteries of Old Pavis and the Green Age, for their personal advancement. The benefits to the Empire follow from

this, rather than the wedding being a main Empirical objective.

The Backing of the Emperor

A Hero Band of Lunar Mystics has been in Pavis since shortly after the occupation, following portents and hidden

agendas. They are not an ‘official’ Lunar organization, but have been unofficially authorized by the Red Emperor.

He backs them in their quest to plunder the Green Age secrets of Pavis because (a) such things interest him, (b)

such things might add to his power, (c) he personally knows and respects two of the members of this band, and

believes that they are sensible and skilled enough to handle this challenge without creating a terrible mythic

catastrophe for the Empire. It was to this end that the Emperor secretly sponsored the raising of Cyrilius

Harmonious through the ranks of the Pavis Cult, even making his induction to the priesthood a non-negotiable

clause in the Treaty of Occupation (providing that Cyrilius met the entry requirements of course).

The Difficulties Involved

Their problems in Pavis have been mostly been the various convoluted challenges created by the Priests of Pavis.

Although the priests are at pains to put themselves forward as neutral or mildly favorable to the Lunar plans, in fact

most are opposed. Thus, they have carefully stymied the Lunar attempts to understand the myths of Pavis and

have set various difficult requirements that the Lunars have had to fulfil in order to be admitted to a further level of

involvement in the Pavis Cult. The first hurdle was that no worshipper of a foreign god can be initiated into the

deepest levels of the cult, and that no ‘deep’ initiate can reveal secrets to outsiders. Even Cyrilius Harmonious is

not privy to many of the secrets. Prior to his inauguration the other priests subtly altered the rights, duties and

jurisdictions of the various priestly roles. This shuffle made sure that his position (‘First Citizen’) was the lowest

A ‘Friends Only’ Release

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Fan Site: www.pavis.nzrpga.org.nz Official Site: www.glorantha.com

rank within the priesthood, responsible for as much of the drudgery and as little of the intricacies and ‘secrets’ as

could possibly be arranged.

Hence, whilst Cyrilius is able to give helpful hints to the Lunars (but no solid facts otherwise he would

become subject to Pavis’ Divine Retribution and excommunicated from the cult), he literally does not have enough

knowledge to help them nearly as much as they had hoped. Cyrilius is not the only Lunar worshipper of Pavis, but

the Ancient Measure (Hero Band within the Cult of Pavis that secretly

controls most of the non-Lunar power in the city – and even influences Lunar policy) also manages to divert these

people down blind alleys (as far as mythic understanding of Pavis goes). A Catch-22 situation also exists: Lunar

worship is a foreign form of worship until and unless Pavis is married into the Lunar Pantheon, and thus those who

retain worship of the Red Goddess cannot be initiated very deeply into the City Cult.

The Priests of Pavis imposed many other difficulties for the Lunars to overcome. Typical of such things

were philosophical debates on Pavic lore. The first major obstacle the Lunars faced was a decree (through augury)

from Pavis himself: anyone who wished to petition him for marriage had first to prove themselves knowledgeable in

the principles on which the city was founded. It took the mystics, and the best efforts of a group of Irripi Ontor

sages, six whole years to piece together the fragmentary references - from the city's disordered and incomplete

records, and from observations and measurements taken within the city itself - the answers to a number of highly-

specific geomantic theorems. Only when this was done were the Lunar mystics granted access to the first level of

Pavic myth. (Of course certain unauthorized investigations had already taken place, but none had been able to

progress very far.)

The second major obstacle the Lunars faced was making sense of the myths that they explored. Each

Gloranthan religion is internally complex and contains multiple inherent regional variations. Though the cult of Pavis

has comparatively few full worshippers, its origins are within the vast city that once stood on this spot. However,

tens of thousands of worshippers, hundreds of devotees, and scores of Heroes once supported Pavis, and their

influences remain. The myths of Pavis are shrouded in Green Age symbolism and levels of hidden meaning, and -

due to the (apparent) destruction of most civic records over the last 500 years of siege and occupation - almost

impossible to research. Nonetheless, the Lunar mystics set themselves enthusiastically to trying to comprehend

and solve the myths to which they were granted access. Knowing all the time that these myths were not sufficiently

primary for their purposes, but also confident that every small thing they learned brought them closer to their goal,

they persevered. Other, lesser, obstacles included ritual requirements such as a new petition for marriage to be

made once per year in a precisely formal way at the original Pavis Temple in the Big Rubble. These things slowed

progress, but in no way halted it.

The Lunar Breakthrough

This secret information will not be learned by the PCs until towards the end of the second section of this scenario.

It is difficult enough for outsiders of any Gloranthan cult to understand the secret myths and rituals of another

religion. (Each religion operates as a secret society even within its own pantheon, and even more so between

pantheons.) Hence, the Lunars had been researching, investigating and stealing - and carefully impinging on -

Pavic myths, for over a decade before they finally had sufficient understanding to believe themselves capable of

marrying Pavis into the Lunar Pantheon. The final key was to find a Pavic myth capable of supporting this magical

event (essentially the basis for a HeroQuest). This they uncovered within a history book recovered from the Rubble

last year. Very little historical record of Pavis exists (except in the hidden archives of the Pavis Cult), because

almost all the records of the EWF were wiped out when the dragons destroyed that Empire. Pavis had never (to the

knowledge of these Lunars) been married since he left the EWF; however one or two records vaguely mentioned a

consort.

The book that fell into Lunar hands last year (unwittingly through the auspices of the Imperial Society for

the Reclamation of Pavis) was the journal of one of Pavis’ lesser associates at that time. This man (Kenrast Harbilt)

was one of the city priests (of which there were many at that time). He recorded his general knowledge of the initial

romance between Pavis and Santrella Averne (the city’s High Priestess of Uleria at that time) and the ritual

requirements she had to go through in order to prove herself worthy to undertake the ‘partnership ceremony’ with

the city’s founder. So, whilst Pavis did not enter into an actual marriage (something which he had apparently sworn

not to do), he did enter into a committed personal and mythic contract with a woman, which apparently endured

until his apotheosis and resulted in offspring. This revelation provided the Lunars with all of the framework they

needed to begin to prepare their own ‘wedding’. (They had already uncovered the fact that the city was founded on

a mythic lattice incorporating all five elements, and the actions of Santrella confirmed that some manipulation of

this state of affairs could be crucial to any attempt to master the city’s myths.)

One thing they suspect strongly, but do not have confirmed, is that Darkness is not properly linked into the

city, and that Pavis only came to a tie in this particular contest. Thus, their plan is to alter the myth at this point,

introducing Lunar-associated Darkness into the myth.

Involvement of the Cult of Pavis

Cyrilius Harmonius is the Lunar-friendly Pavis Priest, who has already allowed far greater Lunar access to Pavis

Cult archives and traditions than most other Priests would wish. However, he is unaware that the Cult of Pavis is

also intertwined with a secret organization that protects and continues the evolution of various ancient mythic

A ‘Friends Only’ Release

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Fan Site: www.pavis.nzrpga.org.nz Official Site: www.glorantha.com

projects. These projects are themselves tied intrinsically to the design and function of the city itself, but such

knowledge remains the sole province of the inner circle of this secret organization. Of course, rumors and

intentionally incomplete and misleading information still circulate in the wider domain. The members of this inner

circle of this group, that we shall name only as the 'Stonemasons', are painstakingly choreographing events that

lead towards their greater goal, and this greater goal does not include the subsuming of Pavis into the Lunar

Pantheon, and consequent hi-jacking of the Great Project.

What might surprise many (if the public knew any of this information) is that whilst worshippers of the City

God form the majority of members of the Stonemasons, there are nonetheless several Lunars and members of

other foreign cults within their ranks. All members do worship Pavis, but through an unusual Guardian Being, rather

than through the main face of the cult. No great details on this organization are included in this piece, precisely

because it is so well hidden. This scenario deals with the attempted wedding of Pavis to the Red Goddess, and the

faces and motivations behind the scenes are only fleetingly apparent to the adventurers who are involved in

working for the good of the city.

The Lunar mystics who are attempting to wed Pavis to the Red Goddess have been working for more than

a decade to infiltrate the Pavis Cult and uncover the city's secrets. Their efforts have met with some successes,

and at last they feel so confident that they have announced the Wedding. These plotters believe that they are now

capable of proving Rufelza's mastery over the secrets that the Pavis Cult holds so dear. Despite the deep

foundations of their own efforts, the Stonemasons are rightfully worried. They had hoped that their influence on the

policies of the main Pavis Cult would delay the Lunars for at least a few more years, until they had completed

several more key elements of the Great Project. Nonetheless, the Lunars have acted, and the Stonemasons must

respond.

Involvement of the Ancient Measure

When the first petitions of the Wedding Planners made their pivotal intention known, Benderri the Son of Pavis,

expressed his guarded sympathy for the idea. However, he explained carefully that Pavis would need to be

courted, and would not simply step into the Lunar fold like some subject being. Specifically, the Lunars would need

to show their understanding and mastery of the deepest ways of the city, and would need to do so without any help

from the Pavis Cult. Benderri declared that only by proving their own worth in this way could they show that the

Red Goddess was a fitting marriage partner for Pavis. Of course, the Lunars could simply have demanded that the

wedding would occur, and then forced their way through any number of myths to make this happen. However, the

interweaving of Pavis' goals with the myths of the Green Age proved a formidable set of obstacles, and the Lunars

found that the simplest way indeed seemed to be to move step by step into a greater understanding of the real

'Pavis'.

The Wedding Planners have at last uncovered the elemental lattice that Pavis was attempting to construct.

Pavis had succeeded in bringing together the elements of Earth, Air, Fire and Water, but failed in allying the

Darkness to his cause. The Dark Priest, Jokat Pulos, failed even more spectacularly in his last-ditch attempt to

complete this magical harmonization in order to strengthen the city against the nomads. (His failure resulting in the

occupation of the city by the trolls of Dagori Inkarth – see ‘Shadows of Pavis’: “The Fifth Element”.)

It has taken the Lunars years to uncover and investigate the myth that Pavis assembled for his use during

his explorations, but now they are ready. They have reconstructed the myth of the Five Elements, and declared to

Benderri that they are now capable of proving their mastery of Pavic myths by completing at last the mythic ritual of

harmonizing Darkness into the city's fabric. To aid in their attempt, the Lunars have brought in a group of Blue

Moon trolls who will act as their own representatives of the Dark.

If the Lunars can indeed complete the harmonization of Darkness with the other four elements, they will

have proved the Goddess' worthiness to wed Pavis beyond a shadow of a doubt. Therefore the Stonemasons are

now urgently attempting to discover the full extent of Lunar plans, and sabotage them at their core, even if this

means sending their own Heroes into the myth. The reason why the Stonemasons abhor the idea of a union with

the Lunar Pantheon, is their hatred of Chaos. Chaos destroyed Genert's Garden, and is the very thing that Pavis'

powers of harmony are designed to stand against. This intolerable dichotomy has not been explained to any

Lunars, not even the very few that are mid-circle members of the Stonemasons.

The Wedding Planners

A group of Lunar mystics have known about some of the Green Age secrets of Pavis for a number of years, in fact

they first visited Pavis in 1608. Their type of mysticism is elementally related and requires that they operate in core

groups of five (one member for each primary element, and each member also tied to the Moon Rune). Though

disappointed that the Lunars have abandoned their plans to bring Prax into the Empire, the mystics have received

special dispensation from the Red Emperor to explore the myths of Pavis with an eye to marrying Pavis into the

Lunar Pantheon. The mystics explained to the Emperor that many secrets of the lost EWF are available through

the Pavis Cult’s innermost archives. Not to mention the chance to study one of the few divine beings with a

Harmonius Green Age connection, and bring these mysterious powers into the Lunar Pantheon. (The mystics have

made a specialization of exploring Second Age lore related to the possibilities of great powers achieved through

uniting the disparate elements into a harmonious single essence.)

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Runequest - Heroquest - Wedding Of Pavis.pdf

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