Re: Re: How do you compare published abilities without numbers?

From: Nick Eden <nick_at_...>
Date: Mon, 23 Feb 2009 18:29:33 +0000


On Mon, 23 Feb 2009 14:57:42 -0000, Matthew Cole wrote:

>ok. numpty me. I replied to this on WoG. Please forgive me everyone -
>I hadn't noticed that I wasn't subscribed to this group (I get yahoo
>groups posts via email).

Similarly, I replied. Googlemail deciding to merge the two versions...

>From what I know these comparisons are completely off the scope to the
>designers (setting and system). I'm not really sure what use they
>could be put to, outside of pub-style-discussions or the occasional
>in-game debate about who's heroquester would win in a celebrity death
>match (perhaps you can, in keeping with WoG topic scope, tell me how
>you think it's important to compare).

The main thing I would think is that it helps me tell stories. Often stories that aren't in the published sources, which I need to do because the published sources are thin on the ground, and besides which, they're full of ideas about someone else's game not mine.

When the PCs find out that Broyan of the Volsaxi is going to be attacked by Beat Pot Alwin, is that a credible threat? Do they need to save him, or should they be heroquesting for deck chairs and pop corn?

One thing that occurs to me about the 'everything's relative' approach: Doesn't that mean that the end of level boss will always be approximately the same, regardless of whether they're a food trollkin or the Crimson Bat?

I agree, fwiw, that within a given narrative, we need to have challenges that match the characters and the setting, but I think this can be over done: It will probably work very nicely with the kind of rail roading scenarios RQ/HW/HQ1 has suffered from in the past (I don't need to list them do I?) but I don't think I'm alone in hating such things.

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