Abstraction vs. Detail, plus a rant (was Re: Tracking)

From: Thom Baguley <t.s.baguley_at_...>
Date: Fri, 24 Nov 2000 16:13:19 +0000


> From: Michael Schwartz <mschwartz_at_...>
>This perfectly sums up the mindset from which players and narrators
>should interpret results using HERO WARS. Focus on the outcome achieved
>and use common sense combined with the degree of success or failure to
>fill in the details of how that outcome came about. The abstraction of
>the outcome in no way means the details determined afterward need be less
>complete than a similar outcome using RUNEQUEST. As only combat in
>RUNEQUEST is modeled in detail, all other processes are equally
>abstracted regardless of which rules are being used. The innovation in
>HERO WARS is that dramatic tension, as supplied by the dice mechanic, is
>not limited to mere hand-to-hand combat. No other game manages this,
>which is why it is such a significant break-through in design.

Yes. For this reason I try to incorporate a balance of extended contests between combat and non-combat. I'm aiming for 50-50. I try to aim for 2 extended contests per session (sometimes 1 or 3, so far never 4). The best session we had so far had two extended contests: one for baragaining and one for tracking.

Thom

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