I've been following the threads on this list very attentively and keenly for=20 a while now without saying anything myself, and I was probably even a bit=20 more attentive over the last two or three weeks. As a result, I have, for the moment, come to the following conclusions:
I'm simply going to wait until I can actually hold a copy of the Hero Wars=20
boxed set in my own hands -- not a review, not a playtesting script, not=20
online information, but the big, basic, physical book. If I'm _very_ lucky I=20
should be able to get the set in November, and I definitely won't have read=20
all the way through it before Christmas.
(So -- talk to me again next spring!)
I understand there's a bunch of you guys out there who have their own copies=20
of HW material from the playtesting sessions, but I am _not_ one of the luck=
y=20
few.
Since I live in Germany, even if everything goes very smoothly for Issaries,=20
and even if I order direct from Chaosium / Issaries, I won't have a chance t=
o=20
see what HW is really like before at least Nov. / Dec. '99.
It's true that the wait is tough at this point, but I don't feel like=20
speculating too much.
However, to me it seems like a lot more fun to be playing and rooting for a=20
game that's in print and is being supported. My players only just sort of=20
roll their eyes each and every time I tell them about out-of-print RPG games=20
and supplements.
Here's what I can tell you for certain, though (I realize that some of this=20 may actually be a re-telling of things that I expressed earlier, or of=20 opinions already posted here by other people):
By the way, when are we ever going to see an official map of an elf forest=20
like Tarinwood? One lame paragraph in "Elder Secrets" didn't do the trick fo=
r=20
me ... there's gotta be something more IMHO.
Alright, so I _can_ basically make up a lush forest the size of Bavaria by=20
myself, but still -- wouldn't it be worth doing for the actual publisher?
3) I don't quite agree with the people on this list who said RQ3 combat was=20
all just "doing the numbers", or would take away too much time during=20
game-play. I still like that combat system. It's not all that terrible or=20
mathematical or whatever. And strike ranks were a pretty neat invention, too=
- -
Other RPG may have rolls for initiative, or the character with the higher=20
value in "speed" or "agility" goes first, but it's not like RQ3 lacks=20
anything major there. After a little practice fights in RQ3 yield a couple o=
f=20
simple logics:
A small clumsy guy with a pole-type weapon will still be slower in a standar=
d=20
situation than a 7-ft. tall agile person with an average-length. (Standard=20
situation meaning anything but surprise attacks, magically enhanced attacks,=20
attacks on a downed opponent, etc.)
Only if an opponent is very tall, but also very clumsy, this balances out to=20
some extent.
You've got good armour and can still move _and_ have a weapon ready with=20 which you're skilled -- you'll probably make it.
You've got good armour but it's weighing you down big-time -- well, think about a better solution, or don't risk long engagements!
You've got poor or no armour, but a 90% Dodge skill -- you're a=20 circus acrobat in my book! (And you'll probably make it.)
You've got poor or no armour, average hit points, average weapons and averag=
e=20
ability -- you may still survive, but you don't stand a chance against a=20
battle-hardened broo, troll or even city guard, except for exceptionally goo=
d=20
luck (i.e., Critical Hits).
Now, I can assure that during all the time I've GMed my friends in RQ3,=20
combat never took exceptionally long. Never ever!
Most opponents (except major monsters) were down after only two MRs, and the=20
whole fight was pretty much decided after three or four MRs.
By the way, my PCs are all still beginners and don't wear full plate or even=20
anything remotely resembling that. There's neither an adept sorcerer nor any=20
Rune-level PC in the group at this point.
I don't see what all the fuss is about. You take your D100 and D20, roll the=
m=20
at the same time -- voil=E0! Two easy tables for reference, is that a=20
super-complicated combat system? I don't think so.
Think of all the separate tables you've got in Rolemaster, for instance. I=20
also like the RQ3 (BRP) method of handling combat better than one other=20
system I used several years ago, where one was given detailed numbers for=20
weapon damage (usually super-high and destructive), but no hit location for=20
human beings.
I must say that RQ(3) was in a lot of ways really ahead of its time because=20
its combat system already took a lot of things into account:
weapon length, weapon balance (an axe is different from a sword, and all=20
that), a person's arm's length, a person's inborn agility and alertness --=20
everything is already laid out for you in the abstract form of the "strike=20
ranks".
When I ran GURPS, for example, I ended up giving a lot of characters the=20
Fast-Draw skill for their favourite weapon, because I just thought it's cool=
- -=20
In RQ, I have no application for a skill like that, and I don't even miss it=20
during actual gameplay. I simply assume the skilled drawing of one's sword,=20
dagger, etc. has automatically taken place during those strike ranks that=20
have taken place before that character's earliest possible "active" strike=20
rank with his weapon. By the way, a lot of weapons would realistically never=20
be "Fast-Drawn", like quarterstaves or poleaxes.
But enough of my ramblings for this time,
Cheers,
Norbert
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