I made the point about edges and handicaps because I seem to remember Greg having either written that they were his idea, or said so in a seminar. However I don't have the reference so I am happy to retract that statement.
My quiblle, and thats all it is, is that I percieve in the mechanics of Hero Wars and Heroquest a heart of 'narratavism TM' that I believe is lost due to the standard fantasy RPG logic that you use.
For example, when I run Heroquest these days, and I have not for a while, I give the characters generic abilities like Close Combat and Ranged Combat, because it matters not a jot to me to see them with abilities like Spear and Shield, Spear Combat, Dagger Combat, Bow of Heaven Combat, Throwing knife Combat, ad infintum. ad nauseum.
That is not to invalidate that style of gaming, I like that too. I contend however that other gaming systems do that kind of rather better, what with their neato weapons charts, armour lists and what have you.
With regard to your example, this is the kind of thing that means hero's require much higher abilities than the mundane to achieve something remarkable. I feel, maybe mistakenly, that Heroquest utilised the logic of the movies and books. Thus you don't need to have the greatest ability level, just need to be the hero of the tale.
I hope that in my games the real tests are the difficult choices that the characters make that reveal their character and affect their relationships, rather than whether or not they can bash up a troll.
Regards
Rob
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