>From: Philippe Sigaud <sigaud_at_...>
>
>We did it because in another game we played, the similar rule was quite
>unerving. I was a plyer and I got the impression that each point (I think
>they
>were Destiny Points) I got was for growth. But the rules were so harsh that
>I
>had to store a bit of them and _spend_ them to survive or achive something
>from
>time to time.
>My overall feeling was "they are stealing my XP!!"
The difference is that, hopefully in HQ you won't feel like failure is always such a bad thing. This is part of why I wrote the article about failure. If failure is potentially fun as well being a part of the dramatic cycle of play, and not "losing" as a player, then you won't feel like you're being forced to spend the HP when the opportunity arises. Instead HP become a dramatic control. "Would it be cool for my character to do better here, or should I let him flounder for the moment?"
It only feels like stealing when the only choice is to spend the HP, or not have fun.
>Now I see it that way too. Do you whant a +20 right now, for this action.
>Or a
>+1 for one ability forever ?
>But I'm not sure my players agree with that.
It's not a +20. You use the HP after you roll. So you know precisely what the outcome of the use is. And spending the HP on an ability is really less about the tiny percentage adjustment in the result outcomes than pointing at an ability to indicate that you like it as a player. So it's more like, "Do I move this result to a victory in this case, or do I save the HP, and buy an ability to represent his anger at his defeat?"
The options are pretty well mechanically balanced, really, but they're even better dramatically balanced. Or so I've found in play. I always get players who, learning the rule say, "I'm never going to spend HP on abilities," or "I'm never going to bump, ever." And then we get to playing, and, lo, they go and do both. "Oh, huh, I guess it would be cool to have a relationship between my character and this character, I suppose I can spend one HP..." or "Damn, he just has to win here...OK, I suppose I can spend one HP here, just this once."
Either way is a slippery slope toward the center, and, before you know it, each decision whether to bump or not has weight to it.
Mike
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