I can resist no longer the urge to make a few comments about my group's
_Hero Wars_ playtesting. Take them as you will.
- I signed on early to be a playtest GM (this is months ago). Robin Laws
told me he'd get me some material to start with. I expected 10-15 pages
of sketchy notes on game mechanics. What I got was about 100+ pages of
the text of a rulebook. I have since received the text of two full books.
I cannot help but think this bodes well for our expectations of
product support after the initial game release. I am very impressed
with Robin's productivity and pragmatic professionalism. Let us all
please buy multiple copies of HW and give them to our gaming friends for
Christmas 1999 so that Issaries can pay Robin to stay on board. I am not
kidding when I say this.
Let me say something bluntly. Only the most loyal of us are not
annoyed by Chaosium's long history of "lotsa talk, little action." How
many of us really believed all that crap about Stratelibri? What I have
personally seen lately is "a lot more action, less talk" (even if it's
been too long to get the stock shares into the hands of people who are
waiting to hand over Cold Hard Cash).
- I ran a group at the Los Angeles con a few months ago. The game was
well received. Their comments mirrored much of what has already been
posted here by others, so I won't repeat.
- I ran a five-session "campaignlet" here with my group. There were up
to ten players during the later sessions (yes, this was too many). The
general feedback was "we like this".
- I don't think I can overemphasize the importance of the makeup of this
group. On a 1-10 scale of "Glorantha Lore", there was one veteran gamer
who rates about a "2". All the other guys were "0"s and "1"s. (Yes, low
means low Gloranthan knowledge). I find it very heartening that a group
with such low preconceptions would take to the game so readily, even if
one guy got annoyed that I didn't let him swirl a Sylph around a little
fire to make it bigger (my interpretation of Gloranthan metaphysics, and
one of my pet Gloranthan peeves - sorry).
- There _is_ product cross-pollenation going on. David Dunham is working
on what looks to be a kickass computer game. (I suggest the image of
the broos ravaging the livestock be the cover art, just to boost sales a
bit). Stafford is working on a novel. Medway and Smith have _Red
Devastation_ almost ready to go, as soon as Issaries admits to themselves
they don't have the expertise or resources to build a miniatures game from
scratch.
Now, it would be nice if it was three computer games in development,
and five novels, but this is just the idealism-squashing reality of
limited resources, i.e. Cold Hard Cash. Are those of us willing to pay
$100 per share ready to buy the same number of shares at $500 each? No?
Well, then let's take what we can get, or let's choose to not buy any
shares at all.
I am heartened by recent developments. I think that _Hero Wars_ will have
the potential to generate good sales. I only hope enough of _us_, the
Gloranthan hard-core, are ready to stop wasting time arguing minutiae
here on the Digest and get out to our local clubs and conventions to
evangelize the new game when it comes out.
- David Cheng cheng_at_io.com
+1 (518) 464-1977 before 11pm Eastern US Time