> In the spirit of IMG, here are a couple of variations on the HP
> rules we use in our house games:
>
> 1. You decide to use HPs *before* not after a roll
>
> Why? The official way means that you know you can always bump
> yourself up if necessary. This way, you assess how important the
> contest is instead. It makes, I think, for greater tension and a
> greater sense of drama in the use of HP. It also means that they get
> burnt at a greater rate, as there are times when they end up
> boosting a success beyond the minimum level needed.
At least with Bump-Downs you're not "wasting" your HP when you roll a critical (unlike Hero Wars). I'm assuming that you allow the Bump to be used exactly like a Mastery, of course. With that change to the basic mechanics, this style of play makes more sense (the only waste would be if your opponent rolled a fumble at the same time).
If I *had* a house game, I'd probably have a bunch of suggestions too :-).
At conventions, I tend to run rules-lite - It's been a couple years since I ran a game and actually had an extended contest in it, and making me laugh (or seriously playing "to genre" or "in character") impresses me more than rolling a "1" on a 20-sided die. A cool description oftens works without a roll, while dull play is sometimes "rewarded" with extra penalties on a roll, or higher resistance.
I just wish I got to *play* the game instead of run it, and that I had a group relatively local.
RR
It is by my order and for the good of the state that the bearer of this has
done what he has done.
- Richelieu
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