> I don't care how much better representative Hero Wars is of
> Glorantha, but at least with Runequest there was a connection
between
> game mechanics and game reality. The possibility of HQ addressing
> this is about the only thing that's keeping me mentally invested
in
> the game.
>
> Mike Ryan
Woohoo, my thoughts exactly, but I have been too new to this list to come out and say it. Following are my comments, they are all said in good humour, and respectful of other peoples, they are just my problems with HW... this is a HW-Rules list, and I have been trying to use it to come to grips with "my" problems, many thanks so far.
I DONT want to play another game, I want to play HW/HQ in Glorantha. I like the rules, I just need to come to terms with a few issues for MY own satisfaction.
I read that RR expected to lose 25% of the RQ player base with HW due to the change in its nature. What I dont understand is why they didnt try to keep those 25% by providing an option to adjust the game.
There is no reason HW/HQ cannot have a mechanical system that is consistent, and able to mesh with the more narrative style... well at least I dont think there is. Any mechanical system can ALWAYS be overridden by a dramatic/narrative event, simply by saying it is. You dont have to be a slave to your mechanics/dice, but it is nice to have a consistent foundation there.
A fair number of people on this list seem to be narrative players, where-as I am not, nor are my players, we are simply plods who dont want to think too much, eat pizza and swill alcohol. That means we need a system that has a reasonable amount of consistancy in the "basic" mechanics, which HW doesnt... but intentionally so. The reply I get from some people is "the system isnt for you, move on, we are narrative players here"... well that is the impression I get sometimes... maybe there should be a HW_Mechanics list?
When I ask a mechanics question I dont really want to hear "just make up something", or four different ways of doing it. I am happy to improvise dramatic moments, but in HW I seem to be spending a lot of time improvising everything. Normally I rely on my players to understand the game system and resolve a lot of the work for me, they know what to roll, when and how and what the results will be... at this early stage my players are struggling, which means I am under a lot of extra work.
I triggered this post by trying to work out how something like 'Decapitate Foe" works. Letting MY players decide when to use this in a narrative fashion wont work, they will simply decap EVERYTHING! You cant fight the Big Bad Guy and allow a quick kill by such a feat, but at the same time what is the point of such a feat if it does NOT do what it says? Drive him to defeat then decap him as a coup-de-grace... why do I need a feat for that? If I do a coup- -grace and it works then it is narrative that he be decapitated... not a feat.
Shield Destroyer, Sword Breaker... how do these do what they say under the current mechanics? Let the player describe how he will do it... NO WAY. I can see my players now... Sword break him, shield destroy him, decap him... next! If they dont do what they say what is the point of having them? You may just as well say: implement augment #1, augment #2, augment #3, next!
A narrators answer to that might be 'let the players describe how they will do it', well sorry but I play a LOT and there are only so many ways you can describe Decapitate Foe before you are simply saying the same thing over and over with different adjectives.
I suppose the ultimate answer is that I need to answer my own problems, myself. If I have issues with HW then thats my problem, find my own solutions... which is ok, but I would like some help now and then. ))
As a final note (my own opinion): if you want HW/HQ to continue and prosper you have to make it economically viable in the market place. You may be able to get away with a niche market for a short time, but to grow and prosper you have to appeal to a wider audience (HW/RQ had a big advantage by having a strong fan base to keep it alive, which includes me!). HW certainly does not, it has a hard learning curve, it has internal inconsistencies, it has long term balance issues, it is poorly exampled for such a complex subject, it is changing with each supplement released, its basic mechanics are not developed enough for non-narrative players. It doesnt appeal to a mass market in its current form (and if that was the aim from the start then pardon my assumptions). I saw a developers comment that AD&D dominated the market and always would... how defeatist. If I was doing HW/HQ I would be aiming to knock AD&D on the head, decapitate it! Regardless of the result my ambition would be to be number one! With the superb setting of Glorantha, with a thriving and superb fan base, HW/HQ should be playable by a broad spectrum of players...
I now return you to normal viewing, sorry for the interruption )).
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