I don't have enough experience in HeroQuest to feel comfy, but that will change, I hope. I like the idea of a game, let's say, a classic fantasy game, where the experienced fighter leads troops, the mage explodes things, the cleric heals the wounded, the barbarian fights by himself, the assassin goes unseen to murder the other adversary. I like when things mix!
But all that you said, that's very helpful for what I was asking, that would be focusing on the part of the guy who leads troops (or even the general), because to the other ones, the regular rules are clear, in my mind. I was thinking of adding rules to deal with being outnumbered, charging, holding, but you're almost convincing me that's not necessary at all! :P
emi
On Mon, Nov 22, 2010 at 9:46 PM, <ryancaveney_at_...> wrote:
>
>
> > I understand, but what if I want to simulate a story with detailed mass
> > combat, diverse and running for long?
>
> If mass combat is very important to your story, then you need to make sure
> the
> game mechanics you use focus on that. That means you need as many
> different
> kinds of combat related skills as you can possibly imagine, to keep what
> you do
> every day (fight big battles) interesting and engaging for the players. If
> no
> one ever gets sent home unless they die, you have no need for any abilities
> or
> contests which are not related to army life. Sure, relationships are still
> very
> important, but "Love Family" is only useful for general morale boosting,
> while
> "Drinking Buddy of the Quartermaster Sergeant" is much more useful day to
> day.
>
>
> > I see that bad guys don't have any stats, but... oh, well. I like to give
> > them some abilities, like, developing them as a little community. I think
> of
> > them story-wise and HQ is just so good at transforming that in stats!
>
> Mix up the enemies: sometimes the opponents use Deadly When Stealthy,
> sometimes
> they use Reckless Charge, sometimes they use Overwhelm With Vast Numbers,
> sometimes they use Massive Artillery Bombardment. Each such choice calls
> for
> different responses; if your various PCs and their units each have
> different
> military specialities, then each of them gets some time in the spotlight.
> If it
> is long-running, then you should develop a recurring villain to be the
> heroes'
> favorite foe. When your players' spontaneously exclaim, "Oh, not these
> guys
> again!" or "Come on - now's our chance to get back at them for what they
> did to
> Sarge!", you have made an impression. Recurring opponents who are
> calculated to
> exploit the characters' weak points may inspire them to grow in unexpected
> ways. If you are telling a story in which individual unit identities are
> meaningful (from imperial Roman legions to WW2 Russian divisions earning
> the
> right to be called "Guards"), then the units have identity and continuity
> even
> when their consituent soldiers and commanders die, are captured or
> transferred
> to other units. HQ is particularly good at this: there's really no
> difference
> in how it treats "Colonel Gordon" or his command, "the Queen's Own Argyle
> Fusileers Regiment". Depending on the situation, either one could be the
> sidekick of the other.
>
> Different levels of military units are also interesting. Are you making a
> war
> movie like The Big Red One, in which every player is an individual private
> in
> the same platoon; a war movie like Enemy at the Gates, which is mainly a
> one-on-one struggle which has the big war as just a backdrop; or a war
> movie
> like The Longest Day, in which you flit constantly between characters in
> completely different units at completely different levels of command? I'd
> really like to run a campaign in which each of the players is a captain
> commanding a different company in the same division -- very few movies are
> written this way, but some novels and many history books are -- and
> HeroQuest/HeroWars could be a very good approach for that.
>
>
> > how could I create that table in excel or something like that?
> > gave it a shot, no luck :(
>
> If N is the number of people, and S is the size stat which represents them,
> use
> S = A * LOG(N, B) and N = B^(S/A), where A and B are constants of your
> choice.
> The examples I gave last time used A=10 and B=5, but I normally choose A=5
> and
> B=2 for my own use. A=B=10 is the same thing as "decibels", which I
> recommend
> you look up on Wikipedia. These are set up so that no matter what A and B
> are,
> one lone guy equals Size zero; if you don't like that, the formulas get
> just a
> bit more complicated: S = A * LOG(N, B) + C and N = B^((S-C)/A), where C is
> the
> value of the Size stat you give to one guy.
>
> Crucially important is that you NEVER ADD Size stats, because that would
> mean
> *multiplying* numbers. Always convert to N first, add there, and convert
> back
> to the resulting S. You can also make tables to speed your work; for
> example,
> adding two sizes is always equal to the larger size plus a number you look
> up
> based on how far apart the two numbers are. I like "S+5 = N * 2", so I
> know
> that if I combine two equal sizes, strengths, wealths, or whatever else,
> the
> result is always five more; 5+5=10, but 55+55=60, not 110.
>
> Hope this helps,
> Ryan
>
>
>
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