TEXT: All contents copyright © 2003 by Issaries, Inc. All rights reserved. Similarities between characters in Glorantha and any per-
  sons living or dead are coincidental. Reproduction of material from this book for any purpose, by photographic, electronic, or
  any other means of storage or retrieval, is strictly prohibited except where otherwise indicated.
  Issaries Publication ISS 1002
  First Publication September 2003
  Hero’s Book
  The Pathﬁnders
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  HeroQuest and its supplements are created and owned by Issaries, Inc.
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  We have explored the old world, now let us explore the new.
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  Hero’s Book by Mark Galeotti, based on HeroQuest by Robin D. Laws and Greg Stafford.
  Contributions by Dave Camoirano and Peter Nordstrand.
  The Pathﬁnders by Mark Galeotti.
  General Contributions, Ideas, and Invaluable Advice: Simon Bray, Max Breeks, Katie Galeotti,
  Mickey Galeotti, Chris Geddes, Handsome Samson, John Hughes, Martin Laurie, Stephen Martin,
  Peter Metcalfe, Roderick Robertson, Wesley Quadros, Mark Rowe, and Bob.
  Artwork: Heather Bruton.
  Content editing: Dave Camoirano, Suzanne Courteau. §  Copy editing: Suzanne Courteau, Merlin Cox.
  Runes: Issaries, Inc. §  Layout: Stephen Martin.
  Published by Issaries, Inc.
  P.O. Box 272914;
  Concord, CA  94527
  
  Orlanth is the god of change and adventure, but some people are
  footloose and curious even by Heortling standards. Garrulf is
  one such. He spent his youth traveling, exploring, hunting, and
  wandering. In his time, he has ﬂown up Stormwalk Mountain,
  drunk from the dusty oases of Prax, stalked hornbeetles along-
  side troll hunters of the Shadow Plateau, and counted the great
  grain barges going north up the Oslir from Tarsh. When he was
  young he was content just to travel and explore for their own
  sake, but then the Empire came to Dragon Pass, bringing divi-
  sion and despair, taxes and Chaos. He heard the call of his peo-
  ple and returned to put his talents at their disposal.
  Gathering like-minded supporters, he began to watch the
  Imperial forces and explore their ways, as once he explored the
  land around him. His Pathﬁnders are scouts and spies, some-
  times messengers, sometimes raiders. Whether an army or a
  single messenger, few are the imperial movements unseen by
  the Pathﬁnders. Sometimes they simply shadow, warning rebels
  of impending attacks. At other times, they raid and they kill,
  striking quickly and then using their unparalleled knowledge
  of Dragon Pass to disappear into the hills or the forests.
  They were, for example, instrumental is passing on the
  message for rebel forces to gather at the Aurochs Hills for the
  great battle that would see Orlanth unchained from Lunar sor-
  cery (see Orlanth is Dead!). Their success in stealing not one
  but fully three wagons bearing tribute from Boldhome to the
  Tarshite capital of Furthest, all without leaving clear evidence as
  to their identity, has left several Lunar tax farmers severely out
  of pocket. As a result, the worryingly efficient Lunar magistrate,
  Judex Ohenkash Twice-Maned, has begun investigating the
  raids. Also, the generous bounty offered for information on the
  raiders has attracted all manner of mercenaries, adventurers,
  and opportunists, including the Heortling turncoat who calls
  himself No-Orlanthi-I.
  As a player hero band, membership in the Pathﬁnders al-
  lows the heroes to resist the Empire without conﬁning them-
  selves to one part of Dragon Pass, and by taking part in a range
  of missions, from espionage to battle. Also, being a Pathﬁnder
  means that you never know what mission or errand will come
  next, and this is a great boon for a narrator who can simply tell
  the heroes that they have orders from Garrulf and throw them
  straight into the next adventure.
  Real Name: Garrulf’s Pathﬁnders.
  Form: Rebel scout group.
  Cultural Context: Irregular Sartari resistance ﬁghters.
  Ideology: “We watch, we strike, we are gone.”
  Look and Feel: Daring rebel scouts and rangers.
  Purpose: To be the eyes, ears, mouths, and sometimes
  spears of the rebellion. 
  Headquarters: Garrulf was originally from the Cinsina Tribe,
  and many in and around Jonstown know how to contact
  him. A hill to the south of the city called Tumper’s Mount
  (on which is a now-overgrown chalk outline of a wind
  rune) is a favored contact point. A stone of the right size,
  shape, and color set in the right place is a signal for a
  rendezvous in the woods at the base of the hill one week
  hence. No one is quite sure how Garrulf knows when
  such a signal has been left, but he does, and he or one of
  his most trusted companions will be there in a week.
  Reactions: The Pathﬁnders are popular heroes among those
  Heortlings who know of them. The Lunar authorities
  have not yet outlawed the band, but most of its actions
  and allies would earn them prompt cruciﬁxion if caught.
  Resources
  Leader: Garrulf Featherfoot, a lean and vigorous devotee of
  Destor, now in his late 30’s. He is never entirely at rest,
  his eyes often ﬁxed on the horizon. He is dedicated to
  the liberation of Sartar, but many believe that once this
  is accomplished, he will simply return to his travels,
  breaking the heart of many a Sartari maiden
  Renowned Members: Old Jonatan, a wily huntsman who for-
  ever complains of his old bones and aching joints, yet
  can walk for days.
  Sorane Ravenmane, a young woman warrior who can
  hide anywhere, even on the open plain.
  Leiken Longshanks, the fastest runner in three tribes,
  who carries messages between rebel leaders up hills and
  through forests quicker than a mounted Imperial dis-
  patch-rider.
  Borin Blackpaw, who worships the alynx-god Yinkin.
  He is a sly scout and deadly warrior, when he is not
  womanizing or taking cat form and curling up by the
  camp ﬁre.
  Total Membership: Around 50.
  Other Contacts: The Pathﬁnders have a wide range of con-
  tacts with many other rebels in Dragon Pass.
  Organization
  The Pathﬁnders are Garrulf’s personal warband, with no real
  hierarchy beneath him, although it is a mark of respect to be
  appointed Garrulf’s Swordthane (ﬁnest warrior), Shieldthane
  (bodyguard), Spearthane (trusted lieutenant, send on missions
  in Garrulf’s absence), and Backboy (healer or advisor). They
  rarely work together in a single unit, except for on the occa-
  sional raid. More often, Garrulf sends groups of no more than
  ten on missions. In such cases, he appoints one trusted mem-
  ber as leader, or ‘ﬁrst spear.’ Whom he chooses varies depend-
  ing on the mission, so it might be the best warrior one time,
  the most cunning hunter the next, and so forth. This is also a
  good opportunity to give different players the leading role in
  different adventures.
  Membership is open to any Sartarite who impress Garrulf
  with his adventurous nature, wilderness skills, and determina-
  tion to play their part in the war against the Empire. Those
  whom Garrulf does not know personally must prove them-
  selves before they will be trusted.
  Unseen Breath (Guardian)
  The hero band has its own guardian, granted to Garrulf after he
  found the hitherto-secret Three-Legged Path up Mount Kero
  Fin. This is the wind daimon known only as the Unseen Breath,
  which appears to and works through Garrulf himself. If joining
  the hero band during the game, characters must spend 1 hero
  point to acquire a link with the Unseen Breath. So long as mem-
  bers of the hero band remain true to the cause and maintain the
  group’s geas, Unseen Breath blesses them with far vision, helps
  keep them from being seen, and send gusts of wind to lead
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  H E R O ’ S
  B O O K
  S A M P L E
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  The Pathﬁnders
  We have explored the old world, now let us explore the new.
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  them in the right direction.
  Method: Archetype.
  Form: Cannot be seen, just felt or heard as a breeze as it
  moves around.
  Membership Requirements: Never stay under the same roof
  for more than one successive night.
  Awareness function: See Far 5W.
  Blessing function: Hide Outdoors 20.
  Defense function: Guess Best Route 5W.
  Fitting the Pre-Generated Heroes into Garrulf’s
  Pathﬁnders
  The Orlanthi and Vingan warriors (Hero’s Book, pages 54 and
  64) are the most obvious heroes to be members of the Path-
  ﬁnders, ready to follow them into battle. The Humakti (page
  55), while not quite what the band is looking for, would cer-
  tainly follow Garrulf if he felt the Lunars were a threat to his
  way of life and his concept of truth. The Issaries merchant
  (page 57) shares much of their wanderlust, and the Lawspeaker
  (page 58) might be a fugitive from the Lunars for seeking to
  hold to the old laws. Where there is war, there is injury, and the
  healer (page 60) would certainly be a valuable ally, helping the
  band survive on the move and between skirmishes.
  Adventure Ideas
  o The heroes hear rumors of a new wagon being rushed
  towards Furthest, full of taxes extorted from the poor,
  downtrodden Heortlings. There is no time to contact
  Garrulf or gather more forces. Do they strike? Is it is a
  trap? Will it be guarded by tough Tarshite huscarls or
  bored and unskilled levies? Even if they manage to seize
  the wagon, will they leave any evidence behind that may
  link the Pathﬁnders to the raid? If so, will this lead to
  the Lunars ﬁnally outlawing the band?
  o Garrulf is contacted by Barak the Black-Eyed, a warrior
  of the Torkani tribe. The Torkani are Heortlings after a
  fashion, but their prolonged and friendly contact with
  trolls means that they have magics and customs other
  Orlanthi neither trust nor understand. Barak is blessed
  with the ability to see perfectly in the dark, and owns a
  barbed javelin that returns to his hand when thrown. He
  claims to want to join the Pathﬁnders, and Garrulf asks
  the player heroes to assess him for membership. They
  need to conﬁrm that he is who he says he is, which may
  require a trip to Torkani lands, and then decide whether
  he is tough and honorable enough to merit a place in
  the band. He might be a spy, he might be on the level,
  or he might be who he claims to be but also have some
  dark secret or ulterior motives. Perhaps he aspires to re-
  place Garrulf as leader, or maybe he is just trying to live
  down some past shame?
  o Judex Ohenkash is a careful, methodical, brilliant inves-
  tigator. He is also an honorable man, un-
  comfortable with the brutality and lawless-
  ness of so much of the Lunar occupation.
  Now, he seems to be getting uncomfortably
  close to identifying the role of the Path-
  ﬁnders in the tax raids. Maybe he needs to
  be killed, but his personal retainers are form-
  idable, and his own military retinue, the Lion
  Guard, is well-trained and loyal. Perhaps it is time
  he was fed a few false leads?
  oNo-Orlanthi-I is a vicious and unscrupulous bandit
  who has turned against his own people with
  terrible glee. He has kidnapped Old Jona-
  tan’s family and is demanding that he help
  them trap Garrulf unless he wishes to see
  them all butchered. Jonatan dare not tell
  Garrulf, as he knows the leader is too brave
  and honorable a man to let innocents die
  in his name; Jonatan is afraid that he might
  willingly hand himself over. Instead, Jona-
  tan conﬁdes in the player heroes: while he
  leads No-Orlanthi-I and his closest allies on a wild
  goose chase, supposedly to ambush Garrulf, will they
  sneak into the abandoned village where the rest of the
  bandits are holding his kin and free them? Of course,
  Jonatan has no concern for his own life in this matter,
  and the players may need a few hints to help them real-
  ize this, so that they can save him, too.
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  Leiken knows that there is a time for ﬁghting, a time for running, and a time for
  not being seen in the ﬁrst place!
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  T H E
  P A T H F I N D E R S
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SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Heroquest/Heroquest Hero's Book - The Pathfinders.pdf