Any names in mind?
I don't know what french games you're refering to.
All I can say is that complexity of the world is not a real problem I
think, except for the "fans" who can see it as an issue (afraid that people
may not play in the "right" Glorantha?).
As often, people will come to Glorantha "step by step", making mistakes
first and then learning more and more about the "official version" of the
world. I think the basic pictures and archetypes are quite easy to grasp...
The mysticism of the East, the monotheism of the West, the heortling/lunar
opposition,... If you go in the details, you can get to levels of very high
complexity.
But that's not what you start with (some do still play in Glorantha with a
very "AD&D" approach, from what I know).
Since french examples seem to be the rule, I'll talk about Agone : this new
RPG (from Multisim) is really selling very well and is certainly the best
success in french RPG lately. It is inspired from novels by Mathieu Gaborit
and its setting called "the crepuscular kingdoms" (or the "Harmonde") is
quite rich and complex.
But many people like it a lot because there is so much to discover in it.
Complexity is IMO not a big issue. You could as well say that what makes
the interest of the game is what will make it fail.
Most people like complexity, because that's what makes the interest last
more than one game session.
But for the "intuitivity" and the "layout" problems, well... I guess I have
to agree.
But I would phrase the "intuitivity" matter differently.
HW rules are pretty much intuitive, somehow... they're just really
different from the "classical" RPG rules. They need some real cooperation
between players and the Narrator, and also some "drama"-sense.
Well, those rules ARE exactly intuitive : they are to be used as you feel
them, and not mechanically. That's IMO what makes them so hard to grasp at
first : they don't bother with giving you to much details. They put you in
charge of many things instead of settling all details (I can already
imagine the questions and remarks : what's the modifier if I use a feat
blindfolded and under water? what's this truesword stroke used for, exactly
: more damage, bonus to hit, a weapon that shines in the dark,...? my
character has an ability named "omnipotent" with rating 15, what does that
mean? why do we do an ability test, I wanted an extended contest to take
advantage of my edges!!!?)
I guess the problem is not intuitivity, it is rather about responsability.
HW rules say to the Narrator and the players "you're in charge... trust
your intuition". Many people are somehow not used to that (well, I'm among
them... takes time to get to illumination)
of course I don't claim that Glorantha is easy to get for beginners and
that HW rules are the most intuitive ever.
I just mean that I don't feel in a position to judge whether the complexity
of Glorantha or the originality of the rules will lower HW chances of
success.
It's so very difficult for us to imagine what "non-biased" people will
think of HW.
XS aka unofficial "coming soon to Bacharach" french representative
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