Which I had given MY solution to. Not the right or universally accepted solution, but my one, as I read the rules.
> There's always a straight combat - standard results
> say that if you inflict any level of defeat on your
> opponent, you take no damage.
Not completely unscathed, but not enough to take a penalty. If you get a marginal success, then it was a close run thing and you managed to prevail. A complete success and the player has despatched his opponent with aplomb and caused any other enemies in the area to run and hide or something!
>
> Or how about the case of the children trapped ina
> burning building? How many can you get out? All,
> undamaged: none, they all die screaming horribly as
> their parents watch...?
>
> How much damage you take doing it is a separate
> question. But the Roolz at present assume that for any
> level of success (some kids out), you take no negative
> consequences at all.
Ah, but the burning building would be a series of simple contests against various different type of contests for me. In some films a whole hour is given to the events in such a situation.
However, again it would depend on what made narrative sense. If the players for some reason were not that interested in saving the children then we could abstract it into a roll, probably with a central character taking rolled augments from the rest of the party.
I think this is why Heroquest is described as a toolkit of mechanisms to use to resolve dramatic situations. There are no hard and fast rules about what you should use and when.
When I have run Heroquests, not many, one had a set of ingredients or items that gave bonuses, and we just ruled that they had them.
For another they went questing for various items, Sartars Cloak, the Eye of Telmor and Fig Leaf of Elder Wicket - you get the idea. Its all a means to an end, and what is explored in one scenario may not be the focus in the next. If that sounds complex, it isn't, I am sure you make these kinds of decisions without thinking about it.
Cheers
Rob
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