Re: What's wrong with Kathy??

From: bigblackcatmail <bigblackcatmail_at_...>
Date: Thu, 13 Nov 2003 21:49:49 -0000

"...I can see character creation needing more clarification, but I think the rest of the game is played like any other RPG. Narrator describes what happens, players say what they do, narrator describes, etc. When something isn't automatic, the narrator decides there's a roll. It can be two kind of rolls: - simple contests: an easy, non essential to the story, test. Player rolls against his ability + augment while narrator rolls against either resistance or opponents skill + augment, depending on the situation. - extended contest... well you said you grokked that."

Well, that's the gist of it but it wasn't how it played/plays out. First off, as a straight RPG with number crunching and "I hit him/I miss him" style of play, HeroQuest is downright boring. There's just not much to it. To be fair, I don't think HeroQuest designed to *play* like other RPGs. Second, there's A LOT more interpretation of results in HeroQuest than in other games. If a character bids 5 AP on an "I hit him" declaration, and then suffers a minor defeat to which the Narrator responds, "You miss," you'll be longing for d20 in no time. In my experience, HeroQuest plays up drama better than most because relationships, personality traits and so many other traits previously assigned to "pure" roleplay have a quantifiable value in HeroQuest. I've found that the *better* instances of play have involved these dramatic traits. For instance, a bar fight with a couple of random barbarians would be "so-so". Either over and done or unnecessarily drawn out. But a battle royale with the bandits that have the love of your life held captive, those instances seem to be the ones where HeroQuest shines. In other systems, you just swing at the bandits until they fall down (or you do as the case may be). Any connection to the story or setting is something that you either impose upon yourself or have imposed upon you. In HeroQuest, the fight with the bandits matters. You may normally only have a 13 with Sword Fighting, but it's augmented to 17 when your "soulmate" is being held captive. Not only do you fight better in game terms, but the loss of this relationship would be a real downer for your character. It would mean the loss of a 15W ability. Ouch! In the past, I've seen players have characters all but sell their families into slavery to avoid having them being used as plotpoints by the GM. I've seen similar approaches in HeroQuest but the best characters have always seemed to be those with a reason to live outside of "loot and kill".

In HeroQuest, if you have no relationships, no family, nothing, you're really missing out on a lot. Who's going to bail you out? If you get you butt kicked and fall to "Dying" who's going to save your life? Relationships aren't just plot pieces the GM moves into place. They're abilities as important as swinging a sword. That, IMO, is saying a lot and requires a very different approach to a typical roleplaying session.

So, in your brief summary, you have the gist of the system, at least as far as I have it. But the point, pretty much, is that HeroQuest *plays* at a different level than many other rpgs and, IMO, this level is hard to attain if all you've played are the more traditional RPG fare. IME, it would be nice to have a more extensive summary of how this game operates at the table. The examples in the book are fine, but they are disjointed, IMO, and often serve to illustrate only specific applications of the rules and *NOT* a session of play. The two different styles of writing (script for some and summary for others) only served to confuse me even further. I wished (and still do) that I could be exposed to how others make use of this system. I've learned more from the brief examples posted by members of this forum and The Forge than I have from any other source.