Agent Groove writes:
> With all due regards to Robin Laws, the system is too vague.
That was my impression from simply reading the rulebook; but when I actually played it at the con, I didn't mind it so much.
> I think that one of the main problems with HW is how it's not
> a good 'second game' - a second game is the game one learned
> after learning how to play D&D3E or Vampire, which are what
> many people start with these days.
Oh dear, the first games I learned from were Traveller (Classic) and HERO.
> Always I was asked - 'what do these AP's represent in the
> world?'
I would use the phrases "dramatic momentum" or "narrative momentum". They don't represent something that's precisely measurable in the game world; they represent how close you are to acheiving your goal and thwarting your opponent's goals.
This doesn't strike me as a terribly difficult thing to get one's head around, but I realise I'm not the "typical newbie gamer".
> Is there avaiable any transcripts of the Glorantha D20 panel?
> I'd love to have been a fly on the wall there.
I attended the panel, and there was a fair amount of passion involved, but not much in the way of substance.
> What was the gist of that panel, if anyone cares to share?
I think the consensus opionion was (Nick will likely correct me if he thinks I mischaracterize it) was that a D20 version of Glorantha might be useful to attract others to the hobby, but would not, in fact, be practical to produce. And there were plenty of folks who felt that the jury was still out on whether a non-D&D D20 setting was, in fact, viable in the long-term.
Frankly, I suspect that HeroQuest itself in combination with a concerted effort on the part of Gloranthan grognards to promote the game amongst those who don't already know about it would be a more efficient way to secure a wider fan base for Glorantha. But that's just a personal suspicion, and I have no hard data on which to found it, really...
> I would be thrilled either with a re-release of RQ2, or a
> Glorantha D20. I'm story based in the way I run games, but my
> audiences demands clear, simulationist mechanics. As one of
> my players said, "I don't want to tell or hear a story, I want
> to play a game."
Now this boggles me, because I would have characterized all of Robin's game designs as more game and less "story telling", as they're rife with gamist constructs (like the Action Points in Hero Wars, or the taglines in Dying Earth).
Hero War is very much "a game" and has "game-based tactics" in its presentation, or seems to, that don't have much to do with the narrative immersion that's supposed to be happening.
But that doesn't address your group's frustrations: it sounds to me like what they're saying is not "I want to play a game" but "I want to play a game that's very much like a game I already know". And there's nothing wrong with that attitude.
> I, for one, prefer story and game to be interwoven, but as
> much as I want to like it, current HW mechanics are too vague
> for me to wrap my head around.
I don't see that HW mechanics are any more vague than BRP mechanics; they just emphasize different things. Perhaps you can inject a more simulationist tone in your game by depending more on simple contests and staying away from extended contests where AP-interpretation is required?
At it's very simplest level, Hero Wars seems to be still very much a "What's your skill level? Roll this die? Do you succeed?" sort of game.
> I'll support and purchase II products, no matter what, but I
> think that a Glorantha D20 or Gurps is desperately needed, or
> a RQ2 reprint. Elsewise, Glorantha will go the way of Jorune
> and Tekumel - which is ironic, since Tekumel D20 is being done
> by Guardians of Order.
(Oh dear GOD! I HOPE NOT! My understanding was that GoO's Tekumel release was going to be based on their BESM engine, and not on D20. But that's another topic...)
I would humbly suggest that, if you want to play RQ2, then getting copies of the rulebook, and a copy of the Meints reprints, should be sufficient for most any group to play happily, especially when Rick publishes the final "Borderlands" book. All the material you need for long term play is there.
And you can find RQ2 books on Ebay, used store bins, and the like for far cheaper than a new game book costs, I should have thought. (There's one on Ebay for sale currently at 5 pounds, one currently for 1 pound.)
-- Viktor
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