> HW/HQ is a narrative game which emphasizes and rewards storytelling
> by the players.
>
> The narrator should award HPs to players in observance to this
> principle.
There are, I think, two ways to do so...
> He should also ask(*) them to spend *more* HPs when they lazily
(the
> capital sin of the players) avoid storytelling their part. The
> converse is also true: he should allow(*) the players to spend
*less*
> HPs on their heroes advancements, followers and gains when they
> narrate their achievements.
This is one way: make it cheaper to buy well-played abilities. I'm not sure what you intend to do to make it cheaper to buy abilities, but making them unrelated to session obviously makes it more expensive. How many HP you hand out will be tricky, since it should NOT depend on how well the player and character have done - the price of improvement does that instead.
The other method is directly awarding good play, either by HP awards, or directed improvement. "Your stirring speech has not only got your follower out of trouble, you've made him sound like a hero! Increase your Relationship to him by +2, he's more loyal than ever". I'd happily do this during a session, to be immediately applicable. It's a bit more difficult to punish BAD play this way, you could, I suppose, reduce a character's Close Combat because the player only ever states "I hit it with my sword", therefore the character shows a lack of skill. I don't like that though, but I'd reduce a Relationship or Personality trait more happily. "Well, you showed a distinct lack of enthusiasm in that combat, so clearly your Hate Lunar Soldiers rating must have dropped, reduce it by 2".
I intend to note, for each player, instances of good and bad roleplay, inventive ideas and uses of abilities, and distracting or off-topic activities that break up the game. Total the positive & negative, add a base number for the overall success of the session, award directed HP during play, and hand out HP at the end.
Wulf
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