>
This is how I *run* things in my game(s). The heroquests that I've written for other people to see have used absolute values, but only because that's how the "official" rules work and I want to make them as "compatible" as possible.
Otherwise, I also go along with suggestion 2, below:
> 2. The "challenge" of a heroquest should be relative, not absolute. Why not
> express the strength of opposition/resistance in terms of "X mastery levels'
> advantage", not just an ability rating.
A "+X" notation would be handy, and not just for heroquests bit for conventional episodes too. I often don't write down numbers for the NPCs, but improvise based on the level of challenge that I want the player characters to face. Sometimes, I don't decide what the numbers are until I see what *abilities* the player characters are using, so that if they pick a fun and interesting skill with a low rating, they're not completely scuppered by me having already decided that the opponent has a really high ability.
It might not suit everyone, but it works for me. And when they see that they can successfully use all the fun abilities they picked up at 13 in their 100-word narrative, it only encourages the players to do it more. More variety, more fun. For them and for me. :)
Regards,
Bruce
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