Advice one: Talk with your group.
Advice two: Get rid of endless campaigns featuring the same characters again and again. IMO HQ is not about campaigning, but about storytelling. And all good stories and some time. Okay, there are bad ones two, but after a dozen novels or so why just won't sell anymore.
Sven
Philippe Sigaud schrieb:
> You know, after many (~80) sessions of HeroQuest with the same characters and
> heavy HP distribution, I begin to see a disturbing trend.
>
> For beginner PC, best ability at 5W, and some others around 20, with a good use
> of auto-augments, you can 'aim' for 10w-1w2. All weel and good.
>
> But, as the characters abilities get better, not only your 'starting' ability
> gets higher but the augments all your (numerous, high) other abilities give you
> get higher also.
>
> My experience is that with your best ability at 1w2, you can easily get a +15
> just from the rest of your character sheet, with a good usage of inventiveness,
> improvisation and such. All well and fun and good. Part of the pleasure in
> playing HQ!
>
> Except, this is beginning to be a bit too much in my game.
>
> The PCs' best abilities are now at 5w3, with, say, around 20 abililities between
> 1w2 and 19w2 (so, potentially giving between +4 and +6, in correct
> circumstances) and 30 others at more than 1w.
> The net effect is that, all alone, in correct conditions, I know my players can
> reach 1w5. Maybe 1w6 with good circumstances (magical spots, and so on).
>
> As they tend to help each others, they regularly get up to 1w8 ! (get out
> Kallyr, bugger off Harrek)
>
> Now, as the past 15 sessions of my former campaign were on a Heroquest, it
> was not a problem. God-level quest, TN at 10w6 (or rather, between 10w3 and
> 10w8). It's OK to give them opposition at such a level.
>
>
> Now, I can see many answers, but really I'd like to know if you have the
> same problem.
>
> some 'answers':
> - considering it's not a problem. Is everyone happy? If yes, then good. Well,
> I'm not happy, not really. I'm all for giving the players what they want, and
> tailoring the game to the PCs hooks and such. But this is straining my
> suspension of disbelief, seeing these god-level TNs. I mean, I cannot have
> every NPCs at 1w5 !
>
> - up the level of play: they are obviously movers and shakers, so shape your
> game accordingly. That I did. But I'm afraid my coming campaign will be softer.
> They will be like elephants in a kindergarten.
>
> - change the theme. Center the game more on their relationships, their
> obligations, their family. That I did. They used their 1wMuch abilities to
> solve the problems :) (and fun that was)
>
> - hit them were they're bad, have low abilities. Well, I'm a bit nervous. Afraid
> they might not like it? Afraid it'd be a bit artificial really.
>
> - be harsher on the use of augments. Ask for good descriptions _before_ and then
> decide wich augments it entails. I may follow this one.
>
> - ask the players to downplay somewhat their use of augments. But... they seem
> to like it. I will have to speak to them and explain my PoV, obviously.
>
> - change the rules for augmentations. I may change the bonus based on the
> difference betwwen the basic ability and the augmenting ones. Say, you get
> nothing if it's a mastery lower, +1 if it's 10 lower, +2 of its 5 lower than
> the basic ability.
>
> - change the characters. Maybe.
>
>
>
>
> Philippe
>
>
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