> > 'broo' (this would include the possibility of horrid diseases,
> sneaky
> > attacks, torture, general unpleasantness etc.)
>
> So you wound just describe a monster as a "broo"? Or perhaps a "broo
> 10w"? Does this mean that I'm going to need a table or list somewhere
> to interpret what "broo" means? In other words, given a description
> of "broo", what do I *do* with it?
Well, since I have some experience with glorantha I _know_ what a broo is, and I _know_ what they can do. Not because I have a definition, but because I know through practice. In fact, a operationalisation would be limiting. But...
The problem with this is that it takes experience to get this kind of knowledge, and since HW is aiming at recruting new gamers your point is still valid. Perhaps HW aught to aim for something in between: where important npc get a bit fleshing out (if you like) and mooks are played with just the one keyword and a generous helping of the improvisation modifiers. It would work for me..
> Why do I suddenly fear this is a step backward? To me, the whole
> point of RPG rules is to prevent cops&robbers arguments if the "Bang!
> You're dead!", "No, I'm not!" variety. Won't this fuzziness lead to
> much the same thing? (Having played with people who would completely
> twist a D&D character class on the basis of a misplaced comma. I
> think this is a legitimate concern.)
I know what your talking about. Where I come from detailed knowledege of AD&D rules used to be vital for survival (I had a DM who enjoyd tinkering with spell combinations. He, among other things, came up with a dragons that went to battle with the following spells: Haste, Enlarge, Improved Invisibility and Stoneskin. Low strength spells all, but ff you know AD&D, you should realize how utterly lethal such a dragon would be!).
But in my experience, players only twist rules 'based on a misplaced comma' if the comma matters. In other words complex games are more prone to this than simple ones. Now, this does not mean that I don't like rules. I do. I still love reading rules, and finding those *good combinations*, but I want my games user friendly. Especially as a gm. And as a gm I would love to be able to make a scenario with the following sentence: "The party is attacked by a large group of Feral Broos-15"
Ha en god dag!
Frank Rafaelsen
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