Re: What's wrong with Kathy??

From: Andrew Dawson <asmpd_at_...>
Date: Tue, 11 Nov 2003 11:04:18 -0600

Kathy's mannerisms and [lack of?] grasp of the rules have come up before on this list. If you have access to the Yahoo groups web site, go to this list and search the archives for 'Kathy'. My favorite explanation is Roderick's (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HeroQuest-rules/message/16477).

I have some personal observations below:

At 05:50 PM 11/6/2003 +0000, bigblackcatmail wrote:
>What did/does Kathy do *wrong*? What does she do in her games that you
>don't in yours?
>Are there any particular reasons why so many people on this forum think
>Kathy sucks?

I don't think that there is a consensus that Kathy sucks.

As in e-mails, there is no body language or facial expression to mitigate what could be interpreted as the harshness of Kathy as she appears in print. I was put off by Kathy's apparently disdain for her players, but I run games in a different way. The examples _as written_ remind me of an old style of RPG play wherein the GM and the players are antagonists, or in competition.

Also, it has been suggested that Kathy screwed the characters that were more "frivolous." That sounds like Kathy didn't make clear the nature of the game and decided to punish the players who didn't meet her unstated expectations, but maybe I'm reading too much into that. I leave games run by GMs who act like this though.

>Would anyone be willing to post an actual transcript of honest to goodness
>HeroQuest play in order to give newbies like myself an idea of what to do
>with HeroQuest in between the specific instances for which examples are
>given in the text?

I wouldn't know how to begin to create a transcript that I would be willing to distribute, but I suggest that you run HQ like other RPGs: so that it is fun for the group, and don't to worry about any official way to run it. There are several things in HQ that are different from most or all other RPGs, but some of those things such as the lack of standard abilities should be easy to deal with. Here is some free advice and opinion:

1. Extended contests take some getting used to, and there have been discussions of how to run them on this list. I've been running and playing Hero Wars-->HeroQuest for about 3 1/2 years and I still haven't seen a consistent treatment of extended contests. You don't need to use them, but you may want to try because they can work well. You may want to attend a demo or games convention game if feasible in order to see how someone else runs them, though that may not be a method that works for you.
2. Heroquesting can be a lot more freeform than explained in the book. It has also been discussed at length in the this group. True heroquesting is supposed to be uncommon or rare, so you can avoid it for a while in your games and deal with the inner world. There are heroquests written up in other publications and web sites, but I don't have a list at hand.
3. Personally, I emphasize the everything-is-magic/alive nature of Glorantha beyond what I read in the rules. Examples: breathing is related to air gods, spears and arrows are Solar weapons because they emulate the rays of the sun, darkness is force and not an absence of light, plowing equals worship of the plow god, etc. (I am also more easygoing than the rules--as I read them--in terms of allowing characters to have cool, useful (active) magic. Everything-is-bonuses seems somewhat boring.) I don't know why you want to game with HQ or in Glorantha, but figure that out and emphasize it.

Thanks,
Andy