Ah, this crap again. Every time someone says anything critical about Hero Wars, they're accused of being a Runequest grognard.
I don't like Hero Wars - but its not because I wanted to stick with Runequest.
I didn't like Runequest. Combats took too long, and the experience system was too prone to abuse. At best, I liked it better than other games of its era (D&D, Traveller, Empire of the Petal Throne, Chivalry & Sorcery). I played it because it was the only Gloranthan game, and I liked Glorantha as a world. I stopped using Runequest long before Hero Wars was created, even for Gloranthan campaigns.
My tastes have changed over time; I no longer prefer rules-heavy games (I was a HERO fan for a long while; my last Gloranthan game was a homemade Glorantha Hero) but now prefer rules-light games like D6, Fudge and Theatrix. Indeed, I've spent most of my role-playing time over the last few years in a completely ruleless game that used Fudge character writeups.
I was looking forward to a less-mechanical and more story-oriented game system that focused on Glorantha. I don't think I got it. I think I got an incoherent muddle. The only things I like in Hero Wars are the 100-word character writeups, simple contests (and these are merely passable, no better or worse than most systems), and masteries.
> I need make only one point clear: fan support of game companies... I'm
> talking about the "gotta have everything" mentality... is what separates
> the Wizards of the Coasts from the Avalon Hills.
Bullshit. Wizards is a success because they produced a product that appeals to lots of people, especially casual buyers.
While they have been able to sell hundred of thousands of copies of their core books, they don't expect sales like that for all of them - which is why the prices for non-core books like the Forgotten Realms hardcover are much higher.
That is, Wizards explicitly _doesn't_ expect its fans to buy anything and everything they produce.
-- Jeff Johnson jsjohnso_at_...
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