HeroPlane Hazards

In my vision of the HeroPlane there are random hazards that befall certain unlucky Questers. Not only are HeroQuests culturally personal explorations of the HeroPlane, but there are hazards that traverse the HeroQuest at will, appearing every so often. This is not meant to be a form of Wandering Monster table ("roll 54 on the HeroQuest Encounter Table and meet Orlanth"), but as the campaign advances the GM should insert encounters onto HeroQuests that should not normally be there. To believe that a HeroQuest is constantly the same is incorrect.

Most, if not all, of these Hazards should be campaign related. For instance, in my campaign a character's failure to overcome the Dead from the Ritual of Mazoo's Defeat by flying over them rather than dealing with them, means that when he was on the HeroPlane in another Quest, dealing with the Elurae foxwomen, he met them again - the maruading band of Dead charged up the hill to meet him. In Simon Phipps campaign the Son of Thed appears on HeroQuests the characters go on. If your campaign involves a lot of HeroQuests then you may have a campaign enemy send ambushes - for instance, characters in a campaign in and around Upland Swamp may find that they are on HeroQuests and keep getting attacked by Delecti's forces (mummy's and vampires). All encounters should be planned.

This details some more of the widely known hazards that befall HeroQuesters, not all will be useful, but will hopefully present some ideas. All statistics etc.. are given using my system and YAHQS. Note that conversion from my system to most other HeroQuest systems should be very, very, very easy. Statistics given are in their normal RuneQuest form, and do not include any dividing modifiers (i.e. no skill listed here has been "divided by 5").

Most Hazards are either geographically located (for instance, the people of the Kitori have often encountered shards of Larnste while HeroQuesting), chaotic and therefore belonging to no myth and every myth, forced to weave their way in and out of the worst parts of the HeroPlane (Broos of the Black Pus) or immensly arcane (servants of Arachne Solara and the Dark Man).

It is impossible to HeroQuest specifically to meet these beings. You cannot "buy" HeroQuest Spells that involve these Hazards. Usually, however, if you really deserve to meet one, you do.... Sometimes these beings and events occur in holy places on the mundane plane, but as these are parts of the HeroPlane anyhow the difference is unnoticeable.

The Hero Wind

This Wind blows across the HeroPlane periodically. It has been known to sweep up Questers and displace them elsewhere, on a different HeroQuest. For instance, an Orlanthi Quester struck by this may suddenly find themselves displaced in the Underworld, or near the Sky Dome. It often deposits those it picks up in it's power onto another HeroQuest! Sometimes with other Questers! This HeroPlane oddity has no origin, it is thought to be a "natural" phenomenon. The Wind is rarely fatal, depositing Heros onto Quests that they may conceivably suceed in. It is thought, that as it often picks up groups of HeroQuesters and puts them all together (breaking even geographical boundraries, so a Kralorelan Quester may appear next to a group of Pamaltelans), that it may be sentient, or benign. No proof has been offered either way, but chaotic HeroQuesters have never met it.

It appears as a dull whistle, appearing at varying times during the Quest (during a boring trek across a desert, appearing in the middle of battle) that quickly picks up. Those who hear the whistle can, with a successful POW x1, identify the Wind if they have knowledge of it (have met it before). It is possible to flee from the Wind at this point, but as few people have ever encountered it before, this is rare. The Wind then appears, physically. It is a huge, black cyclone, the actual wind in the area doubles, then triples in strength and by the time the cyclone arrives it is a whistling, ear piercing screech. Inside can be seen spirits and demons flying around helpless as it charges across the HeroPlane. It takes, from the moment of being visible to arriving next to the Questers, only about thirty seconds to move. It then picks up the Questers, and surronding people, and takes them across the HeroPlane. Those that wish to resist may do so. The Wind attacks their POW with it's POW of 45, if it suceeds the Quester is pulled off into it's belly, if it fails then the Quester manages to stay where they are (although the same might not be said of their companions). The Wind will then drag the Questers to another place, which should - of course - be predetermined by the GM. The Wind may or may not, at the GM's discretion, drag other HeroPlane beings off with it. So if it engages in the middle of a combat, it may actually drag the demon/beast etc... to the same location as the Questers. The Questers are not neccessarily all deposited at the same point on the HeroPlane.

Not only are the Questers now lost on the Heroplane they also lose any Cult Support they're given - the Supporters may well think that they are dead. The Wind has, in the past, been known to continually follow people. As soon as they finish one HeroQuest the Wind comes and sucks them away again, and the Quester is left hoping that the next Quest will be the Quest Home....

The Mostali HeroPlane Pipework Corps

The MHPPC are a sub-cult of the main Mostali cult. Their sanctums are found only in the deepest parts of the Mostali complexes, and all their orders are recevied from the Decamony itself.

Members of the MHPPC are encountered upon the HeroPlane in all sorts of places, and no HeroQuester has ever seen anything so strange as seeing them in action. They are encountered almost randomly, having no sense of organization, not seeming to follow any set paths. When encountered there is normally a group of 10 dwarves with some Nilmergs aiding them. And they build Pipes. Big, cylindrical pipes. Written on the sides of the pipes are instructions in Mostali, apparently referring to information to do with the flow of liquids that, apparently, would flow through the pipes. The pipes are indestructible, which leads one o think they are either truestone or adamant, although they appear to be metallic. The pipes have no beginning and no end, they will stretch from one wall on the HeroPlane to another wall, and on the other sides of the wall there is nothing. Obviously powerful magics are involved. Why are the Mostali building them? What are they for? No-one knows...

This is more of an oddity to amuse the players with. If the Gamesmaster wants this to be a combat encounter, then simply add Iron Mostali and Jolanti to guard them. Otherwise the Mostali ignore the Questers and continue on with their work. If the group HeroQuest a lot, the GM could use them repeatedly and then base an adventure around what happens when the Mostali turn the pipes on, their network stretching all over the Godplane, it could have some odd effects...

The Broos of the Black Pus

These chaotic entities are some of the more dangerouns hazards known. They appear only when the end of the Age is upon the world and the HeroPlane begins to be disrupted and become unhinged. They are said to come from the Black Pus, an area of the HeroPlane that connects directly with the Void outside and thr pathways to the world only appear when the mystical world begins to collapse, allowing the Broos to escape and wreak havoc. They are feared by all HeroQuesters, for they can drain knowledge and power from Heros, leaving them weak shells of their former selves.

Between five and twenty broo appear in any one encounter. They appear from nowhere, charge down and attack in a brutal frontal assault. The broo are never afraid of dying, for they appear once again, born from the Black Pus Pits where they are spawned from. They wear no armour but wield large swords. They obviously detect as chaotic, and are all infected with the Black Pus disease. Those that contract it break out in hideous boils and pus filled sores, taking from between one day and ten minutes to break out depending upon severity. This reduces APP by half. Other than the fact that it is highly contagious (can be contracted at a range of about 50m), and a disgusting disease to contract (clothing and armour will be pus covered very quickly), it is non-lethal.

Any wound inflicted by one of the broos drains 1d6x5% off of the highest skill the character has.The broo then gains a number of magic points equal to the percentiles lost, although the maximum amount they can increase their mps to is equal to twice their POW. This makes the Broo especially feared by Rune Lords and other HeroQuesters for even if they are defeated they leave the Heros crippled.

All stats are at their normal RuneQuest percentage, with no modifiers for being on the HeroPlane.

	stat	average	Attributes
STR	30+4d6	42	Move	5
CON	18+2d10	28	Hit Points 24
SIZ	12+2d6	19	Fatigue	70
INT	4d6	14	Magic Points 42
POW	6d6	21	Dodge	200
DEX	10+3d6	21
APP	1d2	1	DEX SR	1

R Leg	21/8
L Leg	21/8
Abdomen 21/8
Chest	21/10
R Arm	21/6
L Arm	21/6
Head	21/8

Weapon		SR	att/par		dmg	pts
Sword		2	200/200	      2d8+3d6	20/3.5
Butt		5	200/--		1d6+3d6	--/--

Spells: Normally have full INT of spirit magic, usually a Bladesharp 7 and a Protection 7, but sometimes including Ironhand, Mobility or Heal.
Chaos Features: Each broo has 1d6 chaos features. All broo of the Black Pus have armour equal to their POW.

YAHQS statistics

Body 2+; Mind 1; Spirit 2
Skills: Agility 2, Combat 2+, Knowledge +, Perception 1+, Social +, Stealth 2.
Low Magic: Heal, Protection, Death
Runes: Chaos 8
Magic Points: 42

The Soul Eater

The Soul Eater is not a single creature, but apparently a race of creatures. Their origin is apparently from a demigod that exists somewhere on the HeroPlane, but the secrets of the HeroPath to reach (and possibly destroy) it were stolen by the God Learners and lost with their destruction. The Soul Eaters are about the size of a bison, and appear to be large skeletal birds with strips of half decayed flesh about them, and two large wings. They're eyes are solid black and never show any sign of emotion or intelligence, although the creatures themselves appear to either have sentience or a high level of instinct. They appear only on the HeroPlane, their entrance is heralded by a screeching sound and a doorway opens in the sky, spewing forth a vague, bad smelling smoke. The bird then sweeps down and attacks.

They only appear under one set of circumstances, curses. While the GM should feel free to find ways to curse player (characters), all priests of cults with the chaos rune in their runes, with the exception of Krarsht, can use Divine Intervention to curse characters. The cursed character from then on begins to suffer dreams of the Soul Eater attacking them. From then on, whenever they engage in any ceremonial ritual or HeroQuest they have a POW x1 chance of being attacked by the Soul Eater. Even if the Soul Eater is slain it can return again and again. The only way to get rid of it is to capture the Soul Eater alive and then take it back to a temple to a non-chaotic god and sacrifice it with a successful Ceremony roll. Of course, the PC doesn't have to know this.

The Soul Eater

STR	30	Move	2/15 fly
CON	30	Hit Points 25
SIZ	20	Fatigue	60
INT	12	Magic Points 10d6
POW	--	
DEX	15	DEX SR	3

R Leg (01-03/01-02)	18/9
L Leg (04-06/03-04)	18/9
Abdomen (07-08/05-07)	18/9
Chest (09-11/08-13)	18/10
Tail (12/14)		18/9
R Wing (13-14/15-16)	18/7
L Wing (15-16/17-18)	18/7
Head (17-20/19-20)	18/9

Weapon		SR	att		dmg
Tail		7	150	      1d8+2d6+POT=CON
Peck		10	110	       1d6+2d6+mp drain

Chaos Features: Can only be struck and affected by the cursed target, although magic affects it no matter who cast it (Disrupt, Palsy etc...). Peck drains 1d8 magic points. Upon reaching zero Magic Points, it begins draining POW. Immune to poison, suffocation, death magic and disease.

YAHQS statistics
Body 2, Mind 1, Spirit 1+
Skills: Agility 2, Combat 2, Knowledge 0, Perception 1+, Social 0, Stealth 1+
Runes: Undeath 2, Chaos 3, Beast 2
Magic Points: 10d6
Notes: Damage inflicted in combat causes equal damage to Spirit.

Astelkel Horse

The Astelkel Horse used to roam the Fields of the Spirit Dust Lords, it was fast and versatile and roamed freely. In the Godtime the Horse was used by the Dust Lords to flee from Chaos and hide in the mountains, in the First Age it was used by Talor to charge into Dorastor to invade Gbajis land. Its first period of enslavement was in the Second Age when the Outer Atomic Explorers captured it and destroyed all the known ways to Statham Well. It was released by the Gift Carriers and returned to discover the Fields of the Spirit Dust Lords destroyed and its Lords hiding in the mountains where the Horse could not find them. Saddened, the horse has roamed the Spirit Plane and Hero Plane ever since.

The horse appears at variable times, grazing or frolicking in the areas of the HeroPlane it finds amiable, sometimes searching for a place to live like it once had. The Horse is shy and normally flies off when approached, but every so often can be persuaded to talk or can be captured and tamed for a short while. It speaks only Beastspeech and Spiritspeech. It appears as a large white horse, with six legs and large bat wings. It knows a lot of locations of the HeroPlane, and can be commanded to fly there - it is capable of carrying upto 80 SIZ worth of people. The locations it most definitely knows are the fields of the Dead, the Blue Moon and the tunnels of Krarsht - it does not know the Red Moon or Statham Well, and a variety of other locations extorted from its mind by the God Learners that are now, and forever, forgotten. As a default, give the Horse 42% chance of knowing a specific location.

The Astelkel Horse

STR	67	Move	15/30 fly
CON	26	Hit Points 36
SIZ	45	Fatigue	93
INT	15	Magic Points 29
POW	29	Dodge 500
DEX	26	DEX SR	1

RH Leg (01-02/01-02)	29/9
LH Leg (03-04/03-04)	29/9
Hind Q (05-07/05-09)	29/15
Fore Q (08-10/10-14)	29/15
RF Leg (11-13/15-16)	29/9
LF Leg (14-16/17-18)	29/9
Head (17-20/19-20)	29/12

Weapon		SR	att		dmg
Bite 		4	60		1d8
Kick		4	120	           1d6+7d6
Rear&Plunge	4	140	           2d6+7d6
Trample		4	200	        6d6 vs. prone target

YAHQS statistics
Body 2, Mind 1, Spirit 2
Skills: Agility 2+, Combat 2, Knowledge 4, Perception 2+, Social 1, Stealth 1+
Runes: Beast 4, Spirit 3, Mobility 5
Magic Points: 29

The Spider

Only encountered by HeroQuesters Questing around northern Dragon Pass, or in areas that are sacred to the Aranean subcult of Cragspider, the spider is a feared encounter. It appears as a monstrous black spider, with an enormous red stripe across it's brow. While it is only known as the Spider to the human, elf and tusk rider HeroQuesters who have encountered it, the trolls know it's name as Dakwaeld. The Spider is a child of Aranea, spawned in the Grey Age, it wandered the mountains of northern Dragon Pass. The spider gave its loyalty to Arkat Kingtroll when he came, but failed to protect him properly in a battle against assassins. Arkat, seeing the Spider as nothing but a flaw, a spy, an agent of Gbaji, cursed the creature to wander the HeroPlane. The Spider, unfairly cursed, was slowly tormented by its own sense of loneliness and defeat, and went slightly insane. The creature still wanders the HeroPlane, wherever it stops Spirits sent by Arkat appear and chase it onwards. It attacks anything it meets.

Dakwaeld the Spider

STR	70	Move		6/12 in web
CON	60	Hit Points	78
SIZ	96	Fatigue	130
INT	14
POW	65
DEX	19	DEX SR	2

R Fourth Leg(01/01)		20/13
L Fourth Leg(02/02)		20/13
R Third Leg(03/03)		20/13
L Third Leg(04/04)		20/13
Abdomen(05-08/05-11)		20/32
R Second Leg(09-10/12)		20/13
L Second Leg(11-12/13)		20/13
R First Leg(13-14/14)		20/13
L First Leg(15-16/15)		20/13
Cephalothorax(17-20/16-20)	20/32

Weapon	SR	att		dmg
Bite		5	300	1d6+9d6+see below
Webbing	2	200	Entangles with webbing of
				STR=POW

The Dark Man

The Dark Man only appears to Mystics. Mystics include those who use Dream Magic, Mysticism, Illumination, Enlightenment, and certain mystical branches of Shamanisn. The Dark Man always appears as a cloaked figure, the cloak is of the roughest, coarsest material, and is as black as night. The figure is always of the same build and roughly the same height as a large member of the mystics own race. The figure never allows itself to be seen out of the robe, no face is ever seen, nor are hands, instead they are covered by the very thick robe the Man wears. It is always first seen leaning on a wooden cross that sticks out of the ground at an angle. If the cross is ever investigated it is carved with Darkness Runes.

The Dark Man has appeared to humans and trolls many times, other races less so. This is most likely because of he fact that humans and trolls are the races that keep most records more than anything else. Mostali have never encountered the creature as the Mostali are a Materialist race.

The Dark Man is an apostle of Hell, and appears to mystics so that they might be given unto the service of the gods Subere, Nakala, Dehor etc... The Dark Man is one of the many temptations that a mystic must face on the Other Side. The Dark Man is totally unaggressive and speaks in a voice that is most suiting to the occasion, sometimes low and guttural, other times demonic, other times feminine. The Dark Man appears a maximum of five times, each time appearing to offer greater and greater gifts to the mystic. The first appearance the gift is always minor, and hardly ever refused by the mystic. Sometimes it is a crystal, other times a bag of gold coins. Any who refuse the first gift never meet the Dark Man again. The second time the Dark Man appears to offer aid in return for a portion of the mystics soul. If they agree the Dark Man will agree to aid them in one circumstance of their choosing to the best of his ability. In return a portion of the mystics soul is taken, reduce POW and maximum POW by 1d4. From the third to fifth times the Dark Man appears fully as a source of temptation. He will appear to exchange portions of the mystics soul for more power, first he will offer great magics (about twenty points of one-use Darkness Rune Magic) in return for a quarter of their soul, the next time for half their soul they can be made a Rune Level of any Darkness cults they qualify for and the Dark Man is even willing to lead them on HeroQuests to Darkness Gods to achieve these powers, the last time he appears is in return for all their soul to become a Hero of Subere herself! The loss of soul reduces POW and maximum POW. The exact details of the powers gained should be decided by the Gamesmaster. In the later case, becoming a Hero of Subere should come with powers to suit the position, but the character no longer has any POW, and their Passions/Personality Traits should be shifted to such a degree to limit the free action of the player. The character is so much a part of Subere that they have difficulty doing anything that does not directly relate to her aims. In all cases, simply accepting anything from the Dark Man is bad for the mystics advancement through the mystical hierachy. The powers the Dark Man offers should divert the Questers attention from the life of a mystics, after all if you've been made a Rune Lord of Zorak Zoran and Himile, where are you going to find the time to study and meditate on mysticism?

If the Dark Man is ever attacked or magic used upon him, he and his cross simply disappear.