Its the difference between a first order approximation and a second
order approximation.
Jeff
- In ImmoderateGloranthaQuest_at_yahoogroups.com, "parental_unit_2"
<parental_unit_2_at_...> wrote:
>
> --- In ImmoderateGloranthaQuest_at_yahoogroups.com, "Darren"
> <d.staples_at_> wrote:
>
> I'm seeing two mutually contradictory propositions getting violent
> agreement in the forums:
>
> 1. "Rules don't matter"
>
> and
>
> 2. "HQ models Glorantha better than RQ".
>
> Pick one.
>
> If the rules of any system model Glorantha to any extent, then rules
> matter. If #2 is a reasonable proposition, then rules are a
> legitimate source of information about the lozenge, no different
than
> any other public source.
>
> If, in contrast, the rules don't tell us anything about Glorantha,
> then one set of rules is as good as another at modeling the world.
The
> only reason to prefer one or another is the style of gameplay it
affords.
>
> I have some sympathy with proposition #2 because I think fantasy
> nonfiction, like regular nonfiction, can benefit from regular doses
of
> expert input and logical analysis, and rulebooks tend to get more of
> that--like the gallows, they can wonderfully concentrate the mind.
The
> HQ rulebook in particular seems to have been gone over not just by
> Greg, but by a bunch of helpers, some seemingly Glorantha experts,
and
> others readers for clarity, consistency, and completeness.
>
> On the other hand, I think folks in my game group (especially the
> narrators) lean toward proposition #1, so in practice that's what I
> follow. It helps that my narrators have plenty of access to obscure
> publications and plenty of patience spelunking around in them, so
they
> don't have to rely on the rules as much as I do when narrating.
>