Simon Hibbs on Feng Shui -> Hero Wars
> I've recently been playing in a Feng Shui game, and have a few
> observations to make on the way the game mechanics have worked out for
> us. I'd like to ask anyone who's played Hero Wars if they have had
> similar experiences.
I'm not going to comment on my Hero Wars experiences at this time, but would like to mention that my own Feng Shui experiences do not match yours.
> The game encourages the players to be creative in describing how they
> defeated their opponent
Yes, it does, but you're supposed to creatively and colourfully describe what results you wish to achieve before you actually try. You write this as though your GM had you describe the results of your actions after you rolled the dice. You're supposed to state your intended action, and a combination of your character's ability and the dice tell you how successful you were. You can say _I rip his head off_, but if the roll ain't there, I guess you don't. This is basically the same structure of action as in RQ. Feng Shui has just stripped away many of the levels of detail that we see in RQ, like the grapple rules, the impale rules, the encumbrance system, and on and on.
> This works ok for a while, but eventualy it can get tedious. The problem
> is that the players are being reactive to the dice rolls.
See above.
> the destinct feeling that you have little controll over the flow of the
> game, as few of the decisions you are making actualy affect the outcome.
Actually, since Feng Shui has no rules that limit the kinds of things you can attempt, or the situations you can attempt them in, all your descriptions of your desired actions/decisions have a tremendous effect on the outcome of the story. Sure, the dice have their say as well, but don't they in any game which uses them? And certain entertaining or intelligent actions will certainly be rewarded by GMs who are thankful to have such interesting and creative players.
> Complex systems such as RQ encourage the player to think about what the
> character is doing and why. The game system is a puzzle, the solution of
> which directly affects the outcome of the combat.
I have never felt that roleplaying should involve _playing the system_, and think games where that's not really much of a factor are a step forward.
I'm sorry I haven't answered any of your Hero Wars questions. I just thought I should clarify some points about Feng Shui. I'll just say that Hero Wars isn't Feng Shui Glorantha.
Eric Hansen
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