Re: Character Development

From: David <millians.david_at_...>
Date: Sat, 06 Feb 2010 12:01:16 -0000

> >For those who have run/played in longer campaigns with Heroquest 2,
> >how have characters developed ability wise? I can very much see
> >players raising only few abilities. I know there is the catch up
> >rule you can implement every time you gain a mastery to help with
> >this, but this seems like it would only encourage sticking within
> >your best abilities. So if you are a combat monster you would stick
> >with your butt kicking abilities, and if you're a techie you'd stick
> >with your fixing/inventing/modifying abilities. Is this what you
> >have experienced through play?

I'm running a long-term game with very little character improvement. We're using the simple "nine-slots" for starting traits method, and some of the characters still have slots to fill, which they can do in play. I run a single story or episode over about two months and give them one, maybe two, hero points at the end. They tend to hang onto these hero points for one-time use, though a few players have improved a trait. I also give them a new trait or two per episode, though these tend to be related to the novel elements that have developed in the story. For example, unless they chose not to do so, they all acquired a trait in the local language of the new region but only rated at a 6.

It came across as stingy when I first described it to the players, but I reasoned aloud that most of the characters we love in books and movies don't especially "get better" at what they do and know. They often learn to do things in new ways but actually getting better seems more rare to me.

My players are very happy, and the game works well.