This is really the rub. As soon as you move away from the mindset that "the only thing that matters is combat", the "Correct" scale of resistances depends entirely on the context of the contest.
For example, consider a "Sceptical Troll Merchant" NPC, who is attempting to use his "Sceptical" ability to resist believing a scandalous tale about his ancestors...
His mother using "relationship: son" would face Very Low if any resistance. A "clever" value trollkin of the same clan would face Normal resistance. A friendly orlanthi might find his "boasting" faces High Resistance. A Zorak Zoran Death Lord might find it Nearly Impossible to "intimidate" the canny merchant into beliveing the tale.
On the other hand, the same scepticism might be used to avoid accepting a likely suicide mission...
His doting mother may have to overcome "relationship: son" as a flaw before sending her son to his death. (Nearly Impossible) The Trollkin faces a Very Hard task to "cleverly" avoid being sent in the merchant's place. The Human, "boasting" of profitable and easy victory faces Normal Resistance. The Death Lord's "intimidation" sends the poor merchent immediately scurrying in the direction indicated (Very Low)
What value could we possibly give our NPC's "Sceptical" ability so that the above contests could come out correctly?
IMO, HQ2 isn't about making "everything relative" so much as it is about adapting the story and its supporting chars to YOUR players and YOUR situation. It's no longer about trying to make up numbers that "work" - it's about creating a compelling narrative. It doesnt mean that your PC's get to kick Harrek's butt in a fistfight just because they lost the last 10 contests. But it does mean that they could have pretty darn good odds of getting his attention if they really want too... (and then let's hope they have a REALLY clever plan for getting away)
Scale still very much matters, but the constants are up to you and your group's idea of MGF. Nothing prevents you from using the HQ1 scale if that makes sense to you, but the HQ1 mechanics made it impossible to play for any length of time without the players all ending up as superheros. HQ2 simply avoids forcing "power level inflation" on campaigns where it doesn't make sense.
> Then again, as I kid I used to collect Safari Animal Wildlife Cards and find they gave more useful information on creatures than any RPG supplement ever has.
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> Jeff
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I LOVED those cards!!! and had almost completely forgotten about them till you mentioned them just now.
happy memories )
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