Re: Hero Wars playtest

From: TTrotsky_at_aol.com
Date: Sat, 2 Oct 1999 17:32:04 EDT


Ian Thomson:

<< It also seemed really wrong that my character (skill of 22) goes up against
 a guy with skill of 9, and I sacrifice a bunch of fate points on the outcome - - then I roll 7 out of 22 on a D20 and he rolls 6 out of 9, and he wins!!! >>

     The odds are pretty well stacked in your favour, but of course the weaker guy will win occaisionally, especially in a one-exchange contest. And the APs you stake don't affect your chance of victory, only how much you/your opponent suffers if you lose/win. Sacrifice Hero Points, and your chance of victory shoots up dramatically - in the above example, you would have won, even though the other guy got a better roll than you.

<< I may be wrong about Fate Points (can't remember exactly what they were
 called)>>

     Advantage points. At least, I think that's what you're referring to.

<< but the bidding system seemed a little bit munchkinish, and for me was no
big shakes on replacing HP>>

     Its supposed to indicate everything i.e. overall advantage in the contest (not necessarily a combat one), not just hit points. Doesn't mean it does it very well of course - that's a matter of taste.  

<< Also there are no MP, so you can just cast spells forever, >>

     Officially, this has been decreed to be a Good Thing.

<<not a problem if you are a Carl, like I was, as few spells would be relevent to cast
 continually, but what about a sorcerer?>>

     They too, can cast spells continuously, should they so desire. Why is that worse than it is for a carl?

<< I imagine the spells would also have to be linked to fate points in order
to restrict them>>

     They are. Spells are abilities, thus they have advantage points just like any other ability. Not that that restricts them though, except in the context of a particular contest. Doing really powerful stuff may require you to spend Hero Points to have any chance of success though, which is a genuine restriction.  

<< I do recall on the Glorantha site that Greg said Hero Wars is compatible
with any rule system (I think that's what he wrote), >>

     I think he meant the supplements, not the game. At least some of the supplements are stats free, including the first one, Introduction to Glorantha, due out next month.

<< does this mean I take my House Rules along combine the two, and only then
can play?>>

     Nothing to stop you adding House Rules, of course, but naturally, the game is designed to be used without them, as is any system - well, any system other than FUDGE, anyway.

<< Perhaps I can use their rules as a V simple version of game play if I
want, and then adapt easily with my own House Rules to fill in the gaps?>>

     I know its what I'd do. As it happens, though, I suspect the house rules would end up larger than the rulebook, so in practice I don't think I'll bother. Others may find HW more to their liking, and may need either less house rules, or none at all. That's life - no system appeals to everyone, even the very best ones.

<< It seems that the H Wars version I experienced was aimed at
GMs/Storytellers and Players with experience and savvy in gaming, and especially requires a Storyteller who can quickly write a few extra rules for clarifying and explaining>>

     You won't have had the full version of the rulebook (or, if you did, it can't have been the latest one), which has a lot more rules than the synopsis. Whether or not it has enough is, as ever, a matter of taste, though.  

<< Finally, the characters were good. despite the lack of stats making us all
 wonder how smart, tall, good-looking we were. >>

     6, if it didn't say.  

<< I truly hope H Wars doesn't throw out the baby with the bathwater as
regards the beautiful cults system already in place, and at least the essence of the Spirit and Rune magic systems. >>

     Depends what you think the essence is, I guess. Its a different system, but it has Gloranthan atmosphere IMO, and some stuff stays the same.

<< Anyhow, all this is just first impressions, and I believe it to be a
relvent topic, as the success of Hero Wars is crucial to a healthy future for Gloranthan gaming>>

    Can't imagine how it wouldn't be relevant, at least until the Hero Wars Rules Digest (or whatever it will be called) gets going, which can't be for a while. I hope you forwarded your playtest comments to Issaries, as well.  

Trotsky


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