>My point is that HW is not a simulation of Glorantha, but a simulation of
>Heroic fiction set in Glorantha. The results are to provide narrative tension
>and excitement, not to calculate the death rate from undercooked zebra
>burgers stored in Bobs Bisonburgers basement for three days.
Spot on, in my opinion.
A fumble is meant to represent that moment in a book or movie where things go disastrously wrong for the hero, and we gasp: "Oh no!"
Examples from non-adventurous moments in real life can be misleading in this context. (Although there are movies where the drawn-out, suspenseful climax sequence [that is, extended contest] is a cooking contest: see the Hong Kong movies CHINESE FEAST or GOD OF COOKERY.)
That said, there is a tension in HW between my conception of a fumble and Greg's. I didn't think it necessary to give every character a mastery to protect him from fumbles under ordinary circumstances, because you should almost never be rolling for what happens under ordinary circumstances. And in the heat of an adventurous crisis, all bets are off and all sorts of surprising things can happen.
Greg's explanation of why he increased the base abilities during development certainly puts this interpretation in doubt. Nonetheless, as a general rule, it's always easier to understand HW by drawing examples from fiction/movies/myth/sagas than from our everyday experience.
Take care >>> Robin
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