Re: Re: Scenarios

From: L C <lightcastle_at_...>
Date: Wed, 11 Mar 2009 16:22:46 -0400


Tim Ellis wrote:

>That doesn't answer the question. If you have already decided *NOT* to
use any provided numbers then how does what other people choose to do with them affect you? How does the existance of numbers >prevent you from narrating the outcome just as if they weren't there?
>

I would suggest the argument is that it gets in the way by providing what appears to be a "canonical value". If the number is there, someone is going to argue about the number and its relation to other numbers. Also, if the system is philosophically based on the idea of the outside resistance being relative to story needs, it is a waste of time and space.

Remember, HQ2 is *not* about recreating Glorantha. Now, you can argue that *Glorantha* should have an objective scale of numbers used for Glorantha products, but since the system doesn't require it, the decision has been made to not bother. Since the system doesn't require pre-existing numbers to be used, giving pre-existing numbers is viewed as getting in the way.

The system isn't there to model the world, and as written, would suck at doing so, I suspect. The willing suspension of disbelief required for the world to hang together *cannot* be produced by the numbers "lining up properly" in the system. It's not the way HQ2 is built, so providing numbers (implying that it does) isn't helpful.

>The game system relies on numbers. My d20 does not have "Easy",
"moderate", "Hard" etc on it, so in order to resolve any contest I need to use numbers. Words are not an option. Words will inform the >numbers, and the result of the contest will be narrated with words, but when the dice hit the table there have to be numbers unless you are just making everything up as you go along.

Exactly. You make it up as you go along. The only relevant question is "how hard is this right now" and the numbers are assigned to make it that hard. The numbers help mechanical resolution but tell you nothing about the nature of the reality it is emulating other than "how hard is this right now".

>If the source material/scenario does not include any numbers because
it believes that words alone are sufficient then there is no option but to translate these words into numbers in order to adjudicate the >outcome.

With the caveat that the numbers are transient. The same person later on can have different numbers. Their ability has not changed, the situation has.

>This, to my mind is only "a lot of unnecessary work" because
previously such numbers are largely provided "up front". They can (of course) be modified during actual play, but then you are only concerned
>with the exception not the general rule.

I understand that. Others are going to find it less work. The system is designed based on the "fixed numbers for anything other than the characters are useless" and so supplements designed with the system in mind are going to reflect that.

LC

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