Differing Approaches to Augmentation in Simple and Extended Contests from epweissengruber on 2006-03-17 (HeroQuest-Rules)

From: epweissengruber <epweissengruber_at_...>
Date: Fri, 17 Mar 2006 13:27:40 -0000

Been doing a lot of Heroquest play lately and doing a lot of thinking about the rules. Our group has been working out our approach to running Simple Contests and Extended Contests. Moreover, in order to cram in all of the exciting incidents arising from players' decisions, I have been opting for related Simple Contests rather than many Extended Contests. This involves a simplified extension of the rules for heroquesting to other actions.

We ran into a number of problems and misunderstandings. Here are my proposed solutions.

(These arose out of actual play but the following notes are specifically related to Heroquest and don't belong in the Actual Play forum.)

Thanks to Hans' discussion of Tunnels and Trolls (http://www.indie-rpgs.com/forum/index.php?topic=19038.msg200151#msg2001\ 51
<http://www.indie-rpgs.com/forum/index.php?topic=19038.msg200151#msg2001\ 51> ) in the Actual Play forum for clarifying my thinking on these matters.

Part of the confusion regarding augmentation can be attributed to the contradictory rules in the text itself.

Contradictory Rules

Here are the rules from page 79 of the Heroquest rulebook:

"You can augment with any number of mundane or magical abilities, if they are appropriate and the narrator agrees. You may only use a particular ability to augment another once during a single round. Thus, you cannot use Strong twice to augment Sword Fighting, and magical abilities often have limitations on stacking. The narrator may decide that it takes a certain amount of time to apply multiple augments, even with mundane abilities."

And 3 paragraphs later the book contradicts itself:

"Some abilities are inherent characteristics, such as Strong, Clever or Large. It usually takes no time to augment with them, so even augmenting with multiple abilities does not take an unrelated action in an extended contest. Thus, during each round of combat a giant automatically gets +6 each for its Large 18w2 and Strong 18w2, and another +3 for its Tough 10w."

Well, which is it?

3 Problems

#1 Does the giant use Strong once per round of an Extended Contest or only once during the entire duration of an Extended Contest? The rules take two diametrically opposed stances on this point.

#2 In Simple Contests, everything is over in one round anyway. Players have to decide how many augments are applicable. This is, in turn, affected by the duration of a contest. A second's decision might not allow 10 augments. Or it might. How many augments can be loaded on at the begining of a Simple Contest?

#3 What is the process for deciding what is a "reasonable" amount of augmentation? What is the process for deciding how long a contest lasts and what, therefore, are "reasonable" augmentations in that period? These two problems can be subsumed under a general process of decision making about conflicts. But what is this process?

Solutions

General Approach:
* Approach all problems in Heroquest as problems of conflict resolution rather than task resolution.
* A Simple Contest is, then, not a simple task. Such a contest could last for a whole day, or a whole battle. Simple Contests are simple means for resolving conflicts, not a quick way to resolve quick tasks. * Extended Contests are not necessarily long contests: they are contests whose every detail is of interest to the players. They are closeups or set pieces.

Solution to #3
* I have no general statement on the mode of decision making in Heroquest. I can only offer the practical solutions that I will apply in my games. The default seems to be the traditional role of the GM as final arbiter of the constitution of the Shared Imaginative Space.

> Rule of 3

-3 magical and 3 mundane augments seems a workable limit to an ordinary conflict that is not particularly intense or which does not involve the players' major goals or backstory or values. - The limits on magic augments are in the rules and the guideline about mundane augments is an extension of it.

> GM sets the Parameters of the Conflict
- GM has to set out what is at stake and what time, space, and resources are involved in the conflict at hand. Such guidelines allow players to make reasonable decisions about what abilities they can and should bring to bear.
- In any situation where the guidelines are being exceded, the GM and the player have to justify every single one of the augments being proposed. I as a GM have to get a little better at this, but by being fair and consistent I can prevent inter-player conflict. Fairness to all players is important as we are now seeing more intra-character conflict which should not spill out of the fictional level of the game and turn into conflicts between the players.

General Solution to #1 and #2
> Apply the Solution to #3 in both cases
> Players declare augmentations that could affect the outcome of the
entire conflict at the start of that conflict.

Specific Solution to #1
> Players declare augmentations that could affect the outcome of the
entire conflict at the start of that conflict. These last throughout the whole conflict. Such augmentations include:

* magic
* personality traits related to the conflict
* abilities related to a conflict.

> As the rounds of the Extended Contest begin, players should bring in
new one-round augments that reflect the details of the situation. A fight might have started as a straightforward sword duel. But if a character roleplays a great insult to his opponent, and could justify the use of Biting Insults ability as an augmentation, so be it. Or he could use that ability as an unrelated action.
> Of course, the situation can change. An player who began a duel with
the intention of "dispatch my enemy with haste" might then turn around an decide to "run for safety." The AP pools of the conflict stay the same. But once the player has a new ability in use he or she should consider the new applicable augmentations. The magic applied at the start will probably be in effect but will have to be reconsidered. Mundane augments should not go beyond the Rule of 3.
> Unrelated actions should use only the applicable augments in effect
since the start of the conflict. (But exceptions are possible).
> Discretion must be used and the difference between pursuing an overall
goal and momentary changes of tactic must be maintained. A giant whose stated aim is "crush the party like gnats and feast on their bones" can use Strong, Large, and Tough for the whole thing. Two suitors trying to win a lady's love should be using aguments related to seduce, flatter and persuade at the start of the contest. In individual rounds they may try things like using their strength or toughness to impress the lady, but such augments should be for one round and one round only. They are the colour that makes Extended Contests interesting.

Specific Solution to #2
- Simple Contests should have their parameters set by the GM. - The Rule of 3 provides a generally applicable limit to augmentations in such contests, regardless of how long they might be in real-time terms.
- Conflicts of deep thematic interest or of relevance to a characters goals or backstory can justify the application of augmentation in excess of the Rule of 3.
- However, Extended Contests are the venue for exploring conflicts of deep thematic or personal importance. Icing a few monsters or getting some cash are not conflicts of such importance.

What about a series of Related Simple Contests? - I have been using these more often than Extended Contests for two reasons: the players are still getting comfortable with the system and I like to save Extended Contests for climactic conflicts related to the story arc. However, we can start using them more frequently if players wish.
- My use of related simple contests is an application of the rules for heroquests to mundane situations.
- The GM may say: this is an open-ended situation. Let's resolve it with a series of Simple Contests.

- As before, the GM sets the parameters of the situation.
- Players set augments applicable for that situation.
- Each stage of the situation is resolved by a simple contest.
- If there are gaps of time or if there are major changes in the

situation, the choice of new abilities and new magical and mundane augments is appropriate.
- If I were resolving a 7 day hunting excursion using related simple contests, we could resolve it all with one Simple Contest, bringing in up to 3 magical and 3 mundane augments to a single ability. A 7 day series of contests, each of which tested a different talent of the hero, would involve deciding the ability and applicable augment for each test. Jousting would require one ability and one set of augment while Creating Poetry would involve a different ability and a different set of augments.
- However, the results of one of the Simple Contests would be rolled into the next. So a guy beaten senseless at Jousting would, the next day, suffer a penalty to his Poeticizing. But a hero who was humiliated by a foe during the Poetry Test could also be penalized when facing that foe in a subsequent Mock Duel, as a consequence of feeling weak and inadequate in the face of a superior example of chivalry and knightly perfection. So failure at Poeticizing can affect later attempts at Rapier Combat.