Re: Collecting the PAQ - pretty darn long

From: Steve Lieb <styopa_at_...>
Date: Fri, 31 Mar 2000 07:51:43 -0800


> 1. Narrator vs. DM vs. GM - Dungeon Master is pretty inappropriate
for most
> games except for D&D. GM is inclusive and widely used. However,
though I
> initially disliked new jargon like Narrator, I have come around to the
> opinion that Narrator is a novice-friendly term because it describes
the
> role of the game master to those people who do not know gaming
culture. And
> let's face it, game master sounds pretentious and dungeon master
sounds
> childish.

Aha, but you discount the combined values of

1) loss of brain cells due to aging
2) nostalgia
3) the fact that "DM" or "GM" can be amusingly re-interpreted to come
up with a large variety of slurs on the individual based on what he or she just did to your character.

Not sure which is pre-eminent.

> 2. You used the phrase MGF. I don't know what that means. Is it a
common
> Internet initialism? If not, using it is liable to alienate the casual
> observer. (Can you let me know what it means in the mean time?)

Maximum Game Fun: I first saw this referred to in the Glorantha Digest in the sense that "yes, Ducks are silly, but if not taken too seriously they can add to MGF."

> 4. The game isn't novice-friendly: The world isn't clearly explained,
yet
> the mechanics are very world specific and certain abilities
(especially
> feats) are so vague as to even confuse those who are old hands at
> Glorantha. On this fourth point (or any, but especially the fourth
point)
> please try to prove me wrong. I want to see a logical argument that
> convinces me the Hero Wars is novice friendly. (Serious request)

I think the problem isn't HW. ANY game world, developed tightly enough (including but not limited to Glorantha, Tekumel, etc.) makes more demands than a shallow, superficial, artifical world that would accept just about any goofy thing without straining its believability (because it's not too credible to start with). Glorantha is no question the most deeply developed game world I can think of. That's why I think it a good idea to start players in the traditional areas of Heortland or Prax - they probably have the closest analogues to RW history and thus are "swallowed" easier by new players. IMO of course.

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