17 vs 13 Starting Abilities

From: Mike Holmes <homeydont_at_...>
Date: Sat, 10 Apr 2004 17:29:08 -0500


> > The 17 vs. 13 thing? I've made it my standard house rule that, in games
>I run,
> > all the stuff from the character description is at 17 as well as the
>stuff from
> > the keywords.
> >
> > Regards,
> >
> > Bruce

I won't say that this is a wrong thing to do, but I do think it has a specific effect. I think that what people are doing here is hearkening back to other RPGs, where "niche protection" was a big deal. Niche Protection is assuring that the character is interesting because they have specific abilities that make them indispensible (or at least unique within the group). So, even if you have two fighters, you can have the one that's strong, and the one that's fast. That sort of thing.

But the nature of HQ is to make the question of the character's central identity the crux of play. HQ isn't about who can kill more orcs, it's about what the character stands for. IOW, why he's killing the trollkin. In that way, the question of who you are is given highest importance, by making three of the most important facets of identity, culture, beliefs, and occupation (and for cultures that discriminate, sex) the most prominent parts of the character description, the system makes that an automatic part of play.

Now, it'll still be important, even if you flip things around. And I think that doing so merely changes the focus of play slightly. And, sure, this might actually be better for some groups. But I can attest that the focus of play that the normal rules provide is quite excellent as is, and that I think that people should try it that way, too. It's a very different kind of RPG (more fun for my part) that has players really considering these sorts of issues in play. I don't want to go back to exploring "loose" individuals in play anymore - I want characters that are all about realistic core identiies, not about who's strongest, or best looking.

Mike



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